Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Skoda Kodiaq 2021: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 89 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2021 Skoda Kodiaq were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Brake pads (rear).

Summary

The 2021 Skoda Kodiaq follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 6,527 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
89 in every 100
Did not pass first time
11 in every 100750 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
4 yearsabout 37,514 miles
First tests counted
6,527

What failed most often

  1. Brake pads (rear)13 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Tyre condition (front)13 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)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 2021 Skoda Kodiaq 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

Two faults. The strongest is the suspension arm pins and bushes (front): 12 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 750 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 78 first tests12 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 117 first tests, 11 times as often as on similar cars.

Shock absorbers (front)

Failed on 32 first tests3.7 times as often as similar carsLikely 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 55 first tests, 5.1 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

Two wear patterns. The strongest is the brake discs (rear): 3.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake discs (rear)

Failed on 35 first tests3.1 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.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 120 first tests, 2.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake pads (rear)

Failed on 101 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

A pad worn down to its wear indicator, or contaminated with oil or grease, is Major. A pad worn below the set thickness limit, missing or incorrectly mounted is Dangerous. The manual treats an illuminated brake wear indicator as no reason for failure, although DVSA also lists an illuminated indicator as a Major row.

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

Noise, emissions and leaks

One fault: petrol engine warning light, 2.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Petrol engine warning light

Failed on 24 first tests2.0 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

The malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) on a petrol engine is a Major failure when it is illuminated indicating a malfunction. The detail line DVSA gives for the same row also names an inoperative lamp. The test covers only certain petrol vehicles, depending on their age, size and fuel type.

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 (rear)

Noted on 96 first tests2.0 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
89in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
1in 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 88.5% of 6,527 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 90.2%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 1 fixed and the 10 not fixed make the 11 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as testedPassed first time, same mileage
Petrol4,59135,747 miles8888
Diesel1,93542,625 miles8989

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.

406080100201720182019202020212022Older carsNewer cars
406080100201720182019202020212022Older 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, 90 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
201786 in every 1005,963
201886 in every 1007,244
201984 in every 1008,354
202088 in every 1007,033
2021 This car89 in every 1006,527
202290 in every 1007,128

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 2021 Kodiaq.

Of 2021 Kodiaq vehicles with under 27,000 miles, 93 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 51,000 miles or more, 85 in every 100 did.

Under 27,0001,245 tests
93
27,000–34,0001,319 tests
90
34,000–41,000 Typical car1,349 tests
88
41,000–51,0001,341 tests
87
51,000 and over1,273 tests
85

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 27,00034,000–41,00051,000 and over
Brake pads (rear)1.02.00.9
Tyre condition (front)0.91.91.9
Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)0.61.51.5
Tyre tread depth (front)0.31.11.3
Headlight aim0.71.00.9

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

When a car fails

62in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

12in 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 2021 Skoda Kodiaq follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Brake pads (rear), about 13 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 88.5% of 6,527 first MOTs on the 2021 Skoda Kodiaq passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 90.2%. Among 750 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Suspension arm pins and bushes (front) appears more often than on similar cars (10.4% of those tests; 78 observed failures; about 12× 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 2021 Skoda Kodiaq at the first attempt were Brake pads (rear) (13.5%), Tyre condition (front) (13.1%) and Suspension arm pins and bushes (front) (10.4%), 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) (10.4% of those tests; 78 observed failures; about 12× 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 (10.4% of those tests; 78 observed failures; about 12× 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 2021 Skoda Kodiaq include Suspension arm pins and bushes (front), Shock absorbers (front), Petrol engine warning light. 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 2021 Skoda Kodiaq (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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