Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Skoda Superb 2013: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 66 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2013 Skoda Superb were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Suspension arm pins and bushes (front).

Summary

The 2013 Skoda Superb follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 3,282 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
66 in every 100
Did not pass first time
34 in every 1001,124 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
12 yearsabout 117,205 miles
First tests counted
3,282

What failed most often

  1. Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)15 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Tyre condition (front)14 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Coil spring (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 2013 Skoda Superb 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

Five faults. The strongest is the suspension arm (rear): 11 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 1,122 of 1,124 failed first attempts (99.8%) 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.

Suspension arm (rear)

Failed on 47 first tests11 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A missing bump stop rubber is not a reason to fail a suspension arm. A component that is fractured, missing or likely to fail is graded Dangerous, and one excessively damaged or corroded is Major. On some vehicles, some highly stressed parts are thin pressed steel, and many of those have hollow box sections or up-facing areas that can collect road dirt and salt, so they get special attention.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 113 first tests, 5.9 times as often as on similar cars.

Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)

Failed on 163 first tests2.9 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.

Anti-roll bar ball joint dust cover (front)

Failed on 38 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.

Coil spring (rear)

Failed on 118 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A missing bump stop rubber is not a reason to fail a coil spring. When the vehicle is jacked and lowered, a spring that does not correctly locate as the suspension returns to its normal running position is rejected as insecurely attached. A missing spring is Major, and graded Dangerous where directional control is affected.

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

Failed on 87 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.

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

Lamps and electrical

One fault: side repeater indicators, 3.5 times as often as on similar cars.

Side repeater indicators

Failed on 65 first tests3.5 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Sequential or dynamic direction indicators are not a reason to fail. Where a side repeater is required, it is allowed to be part of the front direction indicator if it has a marked wraparound lens, or an amber light coming through the front lens when viewed from a set distance to the side of the rear bumper. A lens defect with no effect on the emitted light is Minor, and one that adversely affects the light is Major.

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

Tyres

One wear pattern: tyre condition (front), 2.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Tyre condition (front)

Failed on 154 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

Exposed or damaged ply or cords are graded Dangerous. A cut in excess of the requirements and deep enough to reach the ply or cords is Major, and testers may open the cut with a blunt instrument to check its depth. A tyre contacting the vehicle through flexing or suspension movement is not a defect; fouling fails only at the time of test.

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.

Anti-roll bar (rear)

Noted on 25 first tests7.8 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (rear)

Noted on 30 first tests5.4 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension sub-frame (rear)

Noted on 72 first tests2.2 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
66in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
4in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
30in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 65.8% of 3,282 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 69.9%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 4 fixed and the 30 not fixed make the 34 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

406080100201020132020Older carsNewer cars
406080100201020132020Newer 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, 69 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200962 in every 100746
201064 in every 1001,527
201163 in every 1002,409
201264 in every 1003,471
2013 This car66 in every 1003,282
201469 in every 1004,147
201572 in every 1004,248
201680 in every 1007,675
201781 in every 1008,429
201883 in every 1006,766
201982 in every 1006,162
202085 in every 1004,449
202185 in every 1003,801
202288 in every 1002,880

If you are buying one

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

Mileage matters most on a 2013 Superb.

Of 2013 Superb vehicles with under 81,000 miles, 78 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 165,000 miles or more, 64 in every 100 did.

Under 81,000654 tests
78
81,000–106,000663 tests
65
106,000–130,000 Typical car652 tests
62
130,000–165,000652 tests
60
165,000 and over654 tests
64

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 81,000106,000–130,000165,000 and over
Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)3.15.44.6
Tyre condition (front)2.96.43.8
Coil spring (rear)2.45.22.8
Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (front)0.33.42.9
Side repeater indicators0.82.52.4

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

When a car fails

37in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

35in 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.

The 2013 Skoda Superb follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Suspension arm pins and bushes (front), about 15 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 65.8% of 3,282 first MOTs on the 2013 Skoda Superb passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 69.9%. Among 1,124 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Suspension arm (rear) appears more often than on similar cars (4.2% of those tests; 47 observed failures; about 11× 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 2013 Skoda Superb at the first attempt were Suspension arm pins and bushes (front) (14.5%), Tyre condition (front) (13.7%) and Coil spring (rear) (10.5%), 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 (rear) (4.2% of those tests; 47 observed failures; about 11× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Suspension arm (rear) shows up more often than on similar cars (4.2% of those tests; 47 observed failures; about 11× 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 2013 Skoda Superb include Suspension arm (rear), Side repeater indicators, Suspension arm pins and bushes (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 2013 Skoda Superb (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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