Model Reports 5 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Skoda Fabia 2008: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 52 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2008 Skoda Fabia were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Individual sidelight or tail light (front).

Summary

A 2008 Skoda Fabia passed first time about 2 in every 100 less often than the average of the 2007 and 2009 model years.

At a glance

How 9,148 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
52 in every 100
Did not pass first time
48 in every 1004,409 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
17 yearsabout 98,547 miles
First tests counted
9,148

What failed most often

  1. Individual sidelight or tail light (front)16 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Drive shaft joints and boots (front)13 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)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 2008 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

Three faults. The strongest is the brake hand lever: 4.3 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 4,406 of 4,409 failed first attempts (99.9%) that recorded an odometer reading in 2025. Mileage is needed to compare like with like.

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 102 first tests4.3 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.

Handbrake lever

Failed on 165 first tests4.2 times as often as similar carsLikely 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 183 first tests3.6 times as often as similar carsLikely 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.

Lamps and electrical

One fault: individual direction indicators (front), 3.8 times as often as on similar cars.

Individual direction indicators (front)

Failed on 177 first tests3.8 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Direction indicators must be amber, though vehicles first used before a set date may have white at the front and red at the rear when the indicators are combined with stop or position lamps, and sequential or dynamic ones are not a reason to fail. A lamp that is missing, inoperative or has more than half of a multiple light source not functioning is graded Major. A flashing rate outside the permitted range is graded Minor.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 211 first tests, 6.0 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.

Suspension

One fault: anti-roll bar ball joint dust cover (front), 2.3 times as often as on similar cars.

Anti-roll bar ball joint dust cover (front)

Failed on 175 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A missing anti-roll bar ball joint dust cover is Major, and so is one that no longer prevents the ingress of dirt. A cover that is only severely deteriorated is Minor. DVSA uses one wording for the dust cover on any suspension joint.

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.

Power steering pipes and hoses (front)

Noted on 76 first tests4.4 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension arm (front)

Noted on 258 first tests3.2 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

Brake cable (rear)

Noted on 22 first tests3.1 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Brake imbalance across an axle (roller test, rear)

Noted on 36 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsPossible 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 51.8% of 9,148 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 60.2%: 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
Petrol5,73288,931 miles5452
Diesel3,414119,268 miles4951

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.

4060801002005200820152020Older carsNewer cars
40608010020082020Older carsNewer 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, 53 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
200452 in every 1003,340
200553 in every 1004,816
200654 in every 1006,023
200753 in every 1007,524
2008 This car52 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 matters most on a 2008 Fabia.

Of 2008 Fabia vehicles with under 68,000 miles, 66 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 133,000 miles or more, 44 in every 100 did.

Under 68,0001,859 tests
66
68,000–89,0001,803 tests
55
89,000–108,000 Typical car1,792 tests
48
108,000–133,0001,862 tests
45
133,000 and over1,825 tests
44

Petrol or diesel?

Typical mileagePassed first time,
as tested		Passed first time,
same mileage
Petrol88,931 miles5452
Diesel119,268 miles4951

Figures are in every 100 first tests. Petrol cars look better on the raw figures only because diesel cars have done more miles (typically 119,268 against 88,931). At the same mileage there is no clear difference between the two.

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 68,00089,000–108,000133,000 and over
Individual sidelight or tail light (front)2.09.611.4
Drive shaft joints and boots (front)2.96.010.6
Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)1.05.49.7
Brake light3.04.54.6
Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (front)2.14.44.4

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

When a car fails

24in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

53in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

9in 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 2008 Skoda Fabia passed first time about 2 in every 100 less often than the average of the 2007 and 2009 model years. In 2025, 51.8% of 9,148 first MOTs on the 2008 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 60.2%. Among 4,409 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Brake hand lever appears more often than on similar cars (2.3% of those tests; 102 observed failures; about 4.3× 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 2008 Skoda Fabia at the first attempt were Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (16.1%), Drive shaft joints and boots (front) (13.1%) and Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test) (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 (2.3% of those tests; 102 observed failures; about 4.3× 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 (2.3% of those tests; 102 observed failures; about 4.3× 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 2008 Skoda Fabia include Brake hand lever, Handbrake lever, Individual direction indicators (front). 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 2008 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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