Skoda Citigo 2019: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 88 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2019 Skoda Citigo were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Headlight aim (front).

Summary

A 2019 Skoda Citigo passed first time about 4 in every 100 more often than the average of the 2018 and 2020 model years.

At a glance

How 4,402 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
88 in every 100
Did not pass first time
12 in every 100521 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
6 yearsabout 29,306 miles
First tests counted
4,402

What failed most often

  1. Headlight aim (front)10 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)10 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Tyre condition (rear)10 in every 100 failed tests

How we count this. Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Only Class 4 cars on their first MOT of the year are counted. A car that fails and is fixed at the test station still counts as a fail in the first-attempt rate. These are raw results, not adjusted for age, mileage, or peer mix. The MOT does not test engine or gearbox internals.

Note:

These are patterns across 2019 Skoda Citigo vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. A wear pattern follows age and use more than the way the car was built. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Suspension

One fault: suspension arm pins and bushes (front), 6.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 521 failed first attempts in 2025 that had a mileage recorded, which allows a like-for-like comparison.

We only list faults with at least 20 failures and a rate of about 2.0 times that of similar cars, which keeps one-off results out of the list.

Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)

Failed on 51 first tests6.0 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Pins and bushes on suspension arms fail as Major when they are excessively worn. They are graded Dangerous when likely to become detached. DVSA uses the same wording for a suspension joint.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 46 first tests, 3.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.

Brakes

One fault and one wear pattern. The strongest is the brake performance (roller test, rear): 4.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake performance (roller test, rear)

Failed on 20 first tests4.1 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A wheel with no recorded braking effort on the roller test is graded Dangerous. Inadequate effort, a brake grabbing severely, abnormal lag and excessive fluctuation in effort are each Major. So is significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied, which indicates a binding brake.

Brake discs (front)

Failed on 26 first tests2.9 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

A brake disc or drum must be significantly worn before it is rejected, and being worn below the manufacturer's recommended limits is not a reason in itself. Significantly and obviously worn is Major, as is contamination with oil or grease. A disc or drum that is fractured, insecure, seriously weakened or missing is graded Dangerous.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Lamps and electrical

One fault and one wear pattern. The strongest is the headlight aim (front): 2.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Headlight aim (front)

Failed on 52 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

Beam aim too high, too low or off to either side is Major. Where a driver's beam aim control is fitted, the aim is tested without altering the setting, and rechecked at the highest setting only if it would fail for being too low. Masks or converter kits on right hand dip headlamps are acceptable.

Headlight

Failed on 23 first tests2.0 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

On vehicles first used on or after a set date, a halogen headlamp unit converted to take HID or LED bulbs fails for light source and lamp not compatible, which is Major. A complete unit built with those light sources is not failed for that. The precise position of the lamps is not part of the inspection beyond a visual look to see that they sit at about the same height and distance from each side.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Advisories

Other things testers noted as worn or close to failing, more often than on similar cars.

An advisory is a note from the tester about something that has not failed yet. It is an early warning, not a fail. Advisories for the faults above are shown with those faults.

Non-component advisories

Noted on 28 first tests2.6 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Counts cover advisories recorded on failed first tests only, compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

MOT pass rates

How first tests ended, and how the pass rates are counted.

Passed first time
88in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
4in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
8in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 88.2% of 4,402 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 91.8%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 4 fixed and the 8 not fixed make the 12 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.

40608010020122013201420152016201720182019Older cars
4060801002019Older cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 89 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
201275 in every 1003,609
201376 in every 1006,722
201475 in every 1008,867
201577 in every 1007,810
201674 in every 1007,595
201780 in every 1006,116
201883 in every 1005,215
2019 This car88 in every 1004,402

If you are buying one

What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.

Mileage matters most on a 2019 Citigo.

Of 2019 Citigo vehicles with under 18,000 miles, 94 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 46,000 miles or more, 78 in every 100 did.

Under 18,000938 tests
94
18,000–26,000873 tests
91
26,000–34,000 Typical car847 tests
89
34,000–46,000874 tests
88
46,000 and over869 tests
78

What to check at your mileage

How often each fault turned up on a failed first test, by the car's mileage. Read it as: what is likely to need looking at on a car like the one in front of you.

Under 18,00026,000–34,00046,000 and over
Headlight aim (front)0.91.12.0
Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)0.41.22.3
Tyre condition (rear)0.90.51.7

Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.


When a car fails

57in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

16in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

2in every 100

of all first tests had a defect the tester marked dangerous (unsafe to drive away).


Every figure here is a first-attempt MOT rate from DVSA open data for this model line, for cars of this model year tested in 2025. Each mileage band holds a fifth of the tests. MOTs do not test engine or gearbox internals, so this is a pre-purchase checklist, not a full reliability score.

FAQs

Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.

A 2019 Skoda Citigo passed first time about 4 in every 100 more often than the average of the 2018 and 2020 model years. In 2025, 88.2% of 4,402 first MOTs on the 2019 Skoda Citigo passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 91.8%. Among 521 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Suspension arm pins and bushes (front) appears more often than on similar cars (9.8% of those tests; 51 observed failures; about 6.0× more often than similar cars). There is no single reliability score here; this is a pre-purchase checklist built from DVSA open data, not a guarantee for any individual car.
Ranked by how often they were actually recorded, the items that most often failed a 2019 Skoda Citigo at the first attempt were Headlight aim (front) (10.0%), Suspension arm pins and bushes (front) (9.8%) and Tyre condition (rear) (9.6%), each as a share of the year's failed first attempts. That is what goes wrong most often on the car. The common faults table shows a different measure: faults that are unusual compared with similar cars.
Among failed first-attempt tests we highlight patterns that appear more often than on similar cars. Top example: Suspension arm pins and bushes (front) (9.8% of those tests; 51 observed failures; about 6.0× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Suspension arm pins and bushes (front) shows up more often than on similar cars (9.8% of those tests; 51 observed failures; about 6.0× more often than similar cars). That does not prove a design fault. Age, mileage, and how the car was used still matter. Treat it as a pre-purchase checkpoint, not a manufacturer service bulletin.
Common MOT problem areas for the 2019 Skoda Citigo include Suspension arm pins and bushes (front), Brake performance (roller test, rear), Headlight. These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
Advisories flag issues noted at the test and are not a fail rate. We show advisory patterns that appear more often than on similar cars among failed first-attempt tests, separate from common failure rows. Use them as early-warning checks, not as a pass/fail score.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2019 Skoda Citigo (registration year) using UK DVSA open data for the selected test year. Patterns are compared with cars of a similar age and mileage. It is a buyer checklist from MOT defect statistics, not a full service history or manufacturer service-bulletin list.
No. MOT tests do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronic modules. Patterns here come from MOT defect statistics only and should not be read as engine or gearbox reliability scores.

About this data

How this page is built and what it can (and can't) say.

These figures come from UK MOT open data for this model year. We surface common failure patterns against similar cars, not a full reliability score, and not a pass/fail verdict on any individual vehicle.

2024 2025

What we include

UK Class 4 cars only. Normal MOT tests (not retests); first test per vehicle per calendar year; results pass, PRS, or fail.

Same-day repairs

PRS means the car failed items that were fixed at the test station and then passed the same day. We count PRS as a first-attempt fail in headline rates so same-day repairs do not hide problems.

How we compare

We compare this model year with other Class 4 cars of similar age and mileage in the same test year. This model family is left out of the peer group so the car is not measured against itself.

What this does not cover

  • MOTs do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronics; this is not a full reliability score.
  • Common faults come from MOT defect stats, not manufacturer TSBs or recalls.
  • Age and mileage matching reduces, but does not remove, differences in how cars were used and maintained.
  • If the data for a car is too thin to say anything useful, we say so rather than guess.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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