Performance by cohort

3 year bands · 395,184 tests

Pass rate climbs 13.9 points across the cohorts — newer Fabia examples clear the test more reliably than the early cars.

Pre-2018 cohort 328,322

Pass

73.4%

Fail

21.3%

PRS

4.8%

Avg mileage at test

81,190 mi

2018–2020 cohort 53,870

Pass

85.9%

Fail

10.7%

PRS

3.1%

Avg mileage at test

33,450 mi

2021+ cohort 12,992

Pass

87.3%

Fail

8.3%

PRS

3.9%

Avg mileage at test

24,125 mi

Cohort = vehicle's first-registration year band. Same model, different generations of build.

Generations on file · 4

Skoda Fabia · UK market

Photos: Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA / CC BY / public domain.

The picture

Fabia CV Boots and Turbo Issues at 75%

CV joint boot deterioration heads the Fabia's MOT failure list across 287,546 tests, with a 75.84% pass rate sitting in the middle of the supermini pack. Suspension pin and bush wear appears early too. More concerning are the turbo reports on 1.2 TSI units: one bearing failure at just 20,015 miles was partially covered by Skoda goodwill at £440, while a DSG dry clutch failure on a 1.0 TSI at 2,500 miles required a gearbox repair lasting over a month. Average test mileage is 69,867 — inspect CV boots and turbo condition closely on anything that's been used hard in urban traffic.

ABI Insurance Group

Group 3–16

A low-group car — among the cheapest to insure in the UK. Lower groups cost less to insure; UK fleet average is around Group 22.

Source: ABI Group Rating Panel · administered by Thatcham Research · groups cover standard variants; performance trims may sit higher. Browse all insurance groups →

3–16

out of 50

Compare quotes →

Top ten reasons for rejection.

Filter failures:

Hide wear items to see the model's real defects.

01

A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn

11,448 occurrences · 2.9% of tests
02

A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot severely deteriorated

10,378 occurrences · 2.6% of tests
03

A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources

8,289 occurrences · 2.1% of tests
04

Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view

7,722 occurrences · 2.0% of tests
05

Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements

6,897 occurrences · 1.7% of tests
06

A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc

6,290 occurrences · 1.6% of tests
07

A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning

5,935 occurrences · 1.5% of tests
08

Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen

5,602 occurrences · 1.4% of tests
09

Headlamp reflector or lens slightly defective

5,379 occurrences · 1.4% of tests
10

Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement

5,143 occurrences · 1.3% of tests

Counts cover Major and Dangerous defects logged at test. Advisory items excluded so this shows why a car was rejected, not just what the tester flagged in passing.

Worst-case fix budget · top 3 failures

£148–£370

If every one of this Fabia's most-logged Major fails hit at the same MOT, that's the real-world UK garage range. Reality is usually one or two items, not all of them. Open the estimator →

Try the calculator

Build your own retest budget.

Year-band analysis

Best year to buy. Worst to avoid.

First-time MOT pass rate split by registration band. A 13.9-point gap between bands means the year you buy Skoda Fabia has a real effect on what turns up at the garage.

Best band to buy

87.3%

2021+ registration

the 2021-on band climbs to 87.3% — a 13.9-point improvement. Tests in this band average 24,125 miles — roughly 57K miles fewer on the clock than the older band. Failures here are mostly wear items: does not clear the windscreen effectively, has a cut in excess of the… — the structural issues that drag down older examples don't appear in the top-10 for this band. Post-2020 examples are early in their MOT life and generally show the cleanest records.

Band to be cautious about

73.4%

Pre-2018 registration

On the older band (pre-2018), the data shows a 73.4% pass rate against a fleet average of 87.3% on the newer band. The main culprits logged at test: pin or bush excessively worn, constant velocity boot severely deteriorated, and inoperative in the case of multiple lamps…. Average mileage on test for this band is 81,190 miles — high-mileage wear items are a recurring theme. Honest John records: "Report that 2016 Skoda Fabia needed new rear brake discs at 8,739miles. Howver, koda ealer chareged a very reasonable £235 for the job."

Best band to buy: 2021+ (87.3% first-time pass). Worst band to avoid: pre-2018 (73.4% pass). That's a 13.9-point spread across 328,322 older tests and 12,992 newer ones — year of build makes a material difference on this model.

Year-spread leaderboard →

Tools that pre-empt a retest.

Picked against this car's top failure patterns. Affiliate links to Amazon UK — we earn a small cut at no cost to you. Disclosed up-front, doesn't shape the data.

Item 01 · Amazon UK

H7 / W21W bulb pack

A spare-bulb kit lives in the boot. Test morning is not the time to find your stop-lamp's gone.

Search Amazon UK

Item 02 · Amazon UK

Digital tyre-tread depth gauge

Five quid for a gauge beats £150 for a retest. UK MOT minimum is 1.6mm — most testers fail anything below 2mm to be safe.

Search Amazon UK

My Motor World · affiliate

Parts & supplies for this fix

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Autotek

Autotek Skoda Race Blue 300ml

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Click Mechanic · affiliate

Book a mobile mechanic

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Owner reports · Honest John

What owners actually report.

Verbatim faults logged by owners on honestjohn.co.uk over recent years. We didn't summarise — these are the words people typed in.

What's good

Practical cabin with an impressively spacious boot, DAB radio and Bluetooth as standard, comfortable and easy to drive.

Recent owner-reported faults

11 Sep 2019
Report of failure of turbo bearing of 2015/65 Skoda Fabia 1.2TSI at 20,015 miles, first shown by intermittant lack of power together with amber warning lights on the dash. Skoda have agreed a price of £440 to rectify the issue as a goodwill gesture. ( Usually petrol turbos fail because the driver habitually switches off the engine when the turbo is too hot. Petrol turbos are water cooled as well as cooled by engine oil flowing through the turbo bearings. But if the driver switches off the engine when the turbo is too hot (after driving on the motorway, after a long ascent, after towing or after ragging the car) the oil in the turbo bearing oil feed and oil return pipes carbonises to the extent it reduces the oil flow to the turbo bearing, compounding the problem and leading to failure of the bearing. So, when the turbo is replaced, these pipes also need to be replaced or the same will happen again, quite soon.) **5-1-2020:** Report of failure of DQ200 7-speed dry clutch DSG in 2018 Skoda Fabia 1.2TSI 110 estate after 16,000 miles. **24-2-2020:** Report of failure of clutch of 2017 Skoda Fabia at 5600 miles. **3-9-2021:** Report of DSG gearbox failure on 2016 Fabia. Owner bought the car from a Skoda dealer under the manufacturer's approved used scheme. Car has 38,000 miles on the clock and the dealer has quoted £5500 for a replacement transmission. Neither the dealer or Skoda UK are willing to contribute towards the repair, despite the car having a full service history.
14 Aug 2019
Report of turbo occasionally not working on 2016 Skoda Fabia 1.2TSI estate despite being driven at 60-70mph. Both times the EPC warning light was on, yet the car did not enter limp home mode. Actuator already changed by helpful Skoda dealer. Suspect sticking impeller due to bearing wear due to the bearing not getting enough oil because the oil feed and oil return pipes are blocked with carbon.
23 Jun 2019
Report of failure of DQ200 7-speed dry clutch DSG in Skoda Fabia Estate 1.0TSI 110 SEL DSG at 4 months old and 2,500 miles. Transmission failed to shift up correctly, typically going from 1st to 6th. Went into dealer of 31-5-2019. Repaired by 3-7-2019. Fault codes were "P0B0C00" and "P0C2A00": Auxiliary fluid pump motor stalled. Mechatronics replaced. Total itemised bill £1,520.25 with no VAT because repair carried out FoC under warranty.
3 May 2019
Problems reported with 30,000 mile 2016 Skoda Fabia 1.2TSI DSG estate purchased used in March 2019. DSG gearbox was not functioning as it should. It was jerky, particularly in the lower gears when pulling uphill, and produced a low pitched rumbling sound. A month later, when moving from rest at about 10 mph, two huge bangs rocked the car, the transmission appeared briefly to freeze locking the wheels, and an alarm sounded. Owner was able to restart the car and the incident has not reoccurred. The dealer checked the car but was not able to say what happened. However, he re-set the clutch plates and changed the gear box oil. Gear changing is now smooth and much improved but some rumbling persists.
27 Mar 2019
Report of problem of Petrol Particulate Filter of Skoda Fabia (1.0?) TSI DSG filling up at 4,000 miles fter being driven as speeds limited to 30mph at which the DSG keeps revs down to 1,500. Owner recommended to override the DSG and keep the revs up to 2,000rpm until the engine is properly warmed up.
19 Oct 2018
Report that 2016 Skoda Fabia needed new rear brake discs at 8,739miles. Howver, koda ealer chareged a very reasonable £235 for the job.
10 May 2018
Report of turbo failing on 2017 Skoda Fabia 1.2 TSI 110 (EA111) at 1650 miles. Turbo replaced under warranty without question by the dealer and owner provided with a courtesy car during the repair.
8 May 2018
Report of "scraping noises" in 1st and 2nd gear of 2016 Skoda Fabia 1.2 110PS DQ200 DSG at 14,000 miles.
4 May 2018
Report of low speed but heavy crash in 2015 Skoda Fabia 1.2 TSI DSG where driver monoeuvring in a narrow street felt some drivetrain judder then probably hit the accelerator instead of the brake and drove at speed into a driveway and a house. Interrogation of the ECU should determine if the accelerator was being pressed at the time.
9 Jun 2017
Complaint of notchy change into 1st gear from neutral on a 2017 Skoda Fabia 1.2 TSI 90PS with 5-speed gearbox. Not a problem if engine started with clutch depressed and 1st gear then selected. Only a problem selecting 1st gear from neutral. Owner made some further investigations and established that the external mechanism is part-cable, part-mechanical and that a notchy change is normal for the model, not something that can be fixed. Dealer offered to grease the mechanism and, because the issue was raised early, there is an indefinite warranty on the mechanism.
13 Apr 2017
Complaint that rear brake pads on a 2015 Skoda Fabia only lasted 9,000 miles. No corrosion to the discs. Skoda dealer put down to wear and tear.
8 Jun 2016
Report of intermittent radio fault on March 2015 Fabia from new. Radio does not turn on sometimes. Also loses Bluetooth phone connection. Dealership took car back 5 times but fault is still there. One year three months later the dealer has taken the car back again. Made me an offer of buying the vehicle back at book value.

Source: honestjohn.co.uk · 17 reports indexed, top 12 shown

Recall history

12 UK recalls on record.

The Fabia has 12 official UK vehicle recalls covering defect details, remedies, and affected build dates.

See all recalls

Buying or keeping a Fabia?

Use the failure ranking as a pre-test checklist or a haggling lever. Treat the headline pass rate as a fleet-wide trend, not a guarantee on any individual car.

If you own a Fabia and your last MOT looked nothing like the ranked failures above, that's normal — individual cars vary widely. The ranking shows the patterns testers flag most often across the country.