Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Skoda Octavia 2004: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 58 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2004 Skoda Octavia were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Drive shaft joints and boots (front).

Summary

The 2004 Skoda Octavia follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 1,315 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
58 in every 100
Did not pass first time
42 in every 100555 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
21 yearsabout 140,920 miles
First tests counted
1,315

What failed most often

  1. Drive shaft joints and boots (front)12 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)10 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 2004 Skoda Octavia 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.

Body and structure

One fault: other passenger door condition (rear), 6.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 555 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.

Other passenger door condition (rear)

Failed on 20 first tests6.4 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A lack of door handles is not a defect where it comes from the original design or a specialist modification, provided the door latches securely closed and opens using a control such as a button or a fob. Hinges, catches and pillars are rejected for deterioration only if the doors stop working as intended. A hinged door likely to open inadvertently or not remain closed is graded Dangerous.

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

Brakes

One fault: brake imbalance across an axle (roller test, efficiency check, rear), 2.4 times as often as on similar cars.

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

Failed on 23 first tests2.4 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.

Lamps and electrical

One fault: individual direction indicators (front), 2.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Individual direction indicators (front)

Failed on 22 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsPossible 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.

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

Suspension

One fault: suspension arm pins and bushes (front), 2.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)

Failed on 54 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsPossible 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.

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.

Flexible brake hoses (front)

Noted on 36 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Exhaust system

Noted on 55 first tests2.1 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
58in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
5in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
37in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 57.8% of 1,315 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 63.3%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 5 fixed and the 37 not fixed make the 42 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsPassed first time, as tested
Diesel95757
Petrol35760

Figures are in every 100 first tests.

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.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200158 in every 100439
200263 in every 100665
200357 in every 1001,033
2004 This car58 in every 1001,315
200555 in every 1002,192
200655 in every 1003,683
200755 in every 1004,542
200857 in every 1004,443
200959 in every 1005,581
201062 in every 1007,901
201164 in every 1009,733
201264 in every 1009,485
201371 in every 1009,814
201476 in every 10015,498
201577 in every 10017,600
201680 in every 10018,877
201782 in every 10017,153
201883 in every 10015,441
201983 in every 10018,357
202086 in every 10011,334
202188 in every 1008,884
202289 in every 1005,796

FAQs

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

The 2004 Skoda Octavia follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Drive shaft joints and boots (front), about 12 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 57.8% of 1,315 first MOTs on the 2004 Skoda Octavia passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 63.3%. Among 555 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Other passenger door condition (rear) appears more often than on similar cars (3.6% of those tests; 20 observed failures; about 6.4× 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 Octavia at the first attempt were Drive shaft joints and boots (front) (12.3%), Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test) (10.5%) and Suspension arm pins and bushes (front) (9.7%), 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: Other passenger door condition (rear) (3.6% of those tests; 20 observed failures; about 6.4× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Other passenger door condition (rear) shows up more often than on similar cars (3.6% of those tests; 20 observed failures; about 6.4× 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 Octavia include Other passenger door condition (rear), Brake imbalance across an axle (roller test, efficiency check, rear), 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 2004 Skoda Octavia (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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