Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Skoda Karoq 2020: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 88 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2020 Skoda Karoq were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Shock absorbers (front).

Summary

The 2020 Skoda Karoq follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 11,936 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
88 in every 100
Did not pass first time
12 in every 1001,449 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
5 yearsabout 37,649 miles
First tests counted
11,936

What failed most often

  1. Shock absorbers (front)18 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Tyre condition (rear)16 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Brake pads (rear)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 2020 Skoda Karoq 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.

Suspension

Two faults. The strongest is the shock absorbers (front): 23 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 1,449 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.

Shock absorbers (front)

Failed on 257 first tests23 times as often as similar carsStrong 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.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 385 first tests, 18 times as often as on similar cars.

Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)

Failed on 109 first tests4.9 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 137 first tests, 4.0 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.

Seat belts and restraints

One fault: seat belt condition (rear), 2.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Seat belt condition (rear)

Failed on 33 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Any sign of overstretching is a deficiency, and so is a cut anywhere on a child seat belt. On other belts the size of a cut decides it, with a stricter limit at the webbing edge than away from it. Webbing significantly stretched or weakened has rows in both Major and Dangerous grades.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. 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
2in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
10in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 87.9% of 11,936 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 89.6%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 2 fixed and the 10 not fixed make the 12 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as testedPassed first time, same mileage
Petrol10,25336,521 miles8888
Diesel1,68345,638 miles8789

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.

40608010020182019202020212022Older carsNewer cars
40608010020182019202020212022Older 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, 89 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
201888 in every 10013,519
201988 in every 10013,967
2020 This car88 in every 10011,936
202189 in every 10010,791
202292 in every 1008,352

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 2020 Karoq.

Of 2020 Karoq vehicles with under 26,000 miles, 91 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 52,000 miles or more, 84 in every 100 did.

Under 26,0002,498 tests
91
26,000–34,0002,354 tests
89
34,000–42,000 Typical car2,379 tests
88
42,000–52,0002,310 tests
87
52,000 and over2,395 tests
84

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 26,00034,000–42,00052,000 and over
Shock absorbers (front)1.72.61.7
Tyre condition (rear)1.32.02.7
Brake pads (rear)0.21.72.0
Tyre tread depth (front)0.30.71.6
Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)0.41.11.4

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

When a car fails

61in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

10in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

4in 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.

The 2020 Skoda Karoq follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Shock absorbers (front), about 18 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 87.9% of 11,936 first MOTs on the 2020 Skoda Karoq passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 89.6%. Among 1,449 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Shock absorbers (front) appears more often than on similar cars (17.7% of those tests; 257 observed failures; about 23× 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 2020 Skoda Karoq at the first attempt were Shock absorbers (front) (17.7%), Tyre condition (rear) (16.4%) and Brake pads (rear) (11.2%), 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: Shock absorbers (front) (17.7% of those tests; 257 observed failures; about 23× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Shock absorbers (front) shows up more often than on similar cars (17.7% of those tests; 257 observed failures; about 23× 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 2020 Skoda Karoq include Shock absorbers (front), Suspension arm pins and bushes (front), Seat belt condition (rear). These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2020 Skoda Karoq (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.

Check any vehicle’s MOT history

Full MOT history, mileage records, and reliability insights for any UK vehicle.

Run a free check