Model Reports 5 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Skoda Fabia 2004: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 52 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2004 Skoda Fabia were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Drive shaft joints and boots (front).

Summary

At the same mileage, a diesel 2004 Skoda Fabia passed first time more often than a petrol one: 57 in every 100 against 46 in every 100.

At a glance

How 3,340 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
52 in every 100
Did not pass first time
48 in every 1001,597 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
21 yearsabout 106,622 miles
First tests counted
3,340

What failed most often

  1. Drive shaft joints and boots (front)12 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)11 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Individual sidelight or tail light (front)11 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 2004 Skoda Fabia vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Brakes

Four faults. The strongest is the brake hand lever: 4.6 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 1,597 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.

Brake hand lever

Failed on 35 first tests4.6 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A brake lever is failed for insufficient reserve only if it is touching the floor or handlebar. On motorcycle derived systems the lever may touch the handlebar, so the extent of reserve travel is assessed during the brake test. A lever not releasing correctly is Minor, and Major where the functionality of the brakes is affected.

Flexible brake hoses (front)

Failed on 84 first tests2.9 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Testers reject a flexible brake hose for being excessively damaged or chafed only if it is severe enough to expose the reinforcement. Slight damage, chafing or twisting is graded Minor. A leak is graded Dangerous on a hydraulic braking system and Major on an air system, and a hose damaged and likely to fail is also Dangerous.

Handbrake lever

Failed on 34 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A parking brake lever pivot or ratchet mechanism that is obviously worn is graded Minor. It is Major when worn to the extent that the brake may inadvertently release, and also when the ratchet is not holding correctly. A lever must have obvious excessive travel before being rejected.

Brake imbalance across an axle (roller test, efficiency check, rear)

Failed on 65 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A wheel giving less than a set share of the maximum effort from the other wheel on the same axle is Major. On a steered axle, less than half is graded Dangerous. Testers disregard an imbalance if the lower effort is the result of a locked wheel, or if the higher effort from a wheel is at or below a low set figure.

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

Suspension

Three faults. The strongest is the anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (front): 2.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (front)

Failed on 103 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Excessive wear on an anti-roll bar linkage ball joint is Major. A joint likely to become detached is graded Dangerous.

Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (front)

Failed on 114 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A suspension joint dust cover that is severely deteriorated is Minor. It becomes Major once it is missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt, so what matters is whether it still keeps dirt out. DVSA words this for any suspension joint dust cover, and files it here under anti-roll bars.

Shock absorbers (rear)

Failed on 75 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Slight seepage that leaves a film of fluid on a shock absorber does not fail it. Severe leakage, or damage so that it does not function, is Major. A shock absorber missing or likely to become detached is graded Dangerous, though a missing one is only rejected if shock absorbers were fitted as standard.

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.

Suspension arm (front)

Noted on 132 first tests3.9 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

Exhaust system (front)

Noted on 66 first tests2.4 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
52in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
8in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
40in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 52.2% of 3,340 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 60.0%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 8 fixed and the 40 not fixed make the 48 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as testedPassed first time, same mileage
Petrol1,97486,060 miles4946
Diesel1,366145,629 miles5757

Figures are in every 100 first tests. Cars with more miles usually fail more often, so the same-mileage figure gives every fuel the mileage mix of all the cars in this year.

Same model, other years

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

4060801002004201020152020Older carsNewer cars
406080100200420102020Newer 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, 50 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200152 in every 1001,003
200255 in every 1001,339
200351 in every 1002,137
2004 This car52 in every 1003,340
200553 in every 1004,816
200654 in every 1006,023
200753 in every 1007,524
200852 in every 1009,148
200955 in every 10012,154
201062 in every 1009,798
201164 in every 10010,893
201268 in every 10012,927
201370 in every 10017,743
201472 in every 10014,144
201575 in every 10017,247
201675 in every 10018,758
201776 in every 10017,486
201878 in every 10016,266
201983 in every 10014,181
202085 in every 1009,117
202185 in every 1008,342
202291 in every 1006,921

If you are buying one

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

Mileage makes a modest difference on a 2004 Fabia.

Of 2004 Fabia vehicles with under 70,000 miles, 60 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 156,000 miles or more, 53 in every 100 did.

Under 70,000661 tests
60
70,000–94,000680 tests
50
94,000–119,000 Typical car659 tests
49
119,000–156,000677 tests
49
156,000 and over663 tests
53

Petrol or diesel?

Typical mileagePassed first time,
as tested		Passed first time,
same mileage
Petrol86,060 miles4946
Diesel145,629 miles5757

Figures are in every 100 first tests. At the same mileage, diesel passed more often (57 against 46 in every 100).

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 70,00094,000–119,000156,000 and over
Drive shaft joints and boots (front)5.65.04.5
Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)1.76.27.1
Individual sidelight or tail light (front)2.07.06.0
Headlight aim3.25.65.9
Headlight3.24.13.8

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

When a car fails

18in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

62in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

10in 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.

At the same mileage, a diesel 2004 Skoda Fabia passed first time more often than a petrol one: 57 in every 100 against 46 in every 100. In 2025, 52.2% of 3,340 first MOTs on the 2004 Skoda Fabia passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 60.0%. Among 1,597 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Brake hand lever appears more often than on similar cars (2.2% of those tests; 35 observed failures; about 4.6× 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 2004 Skoda Fabia at the first attempt were Drive shaft joints and boots (front) (11.6%), Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test) (11.3%) and Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (11.0%), 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: Brake hand lever (2.2% of those tests; 35 observed failures; about 4.6× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Brake hand lever shows up more often than on similar cars (2.2% of those tests; 35 observed failures; about 4.6× 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 2004 Skoda Fabia include Brake hand lever, Flexible brake hoses (front), Handbrake lever. 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 2004 Skoda Fabia (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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