Model Reports 5 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Skoda Yeti 2012: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 67 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2012 Skoda Yeti were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Suspension arm pins and bushes (front).

Summary

The 2012 Skoda Yeti follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 6,325 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
67 in every 100
Did not pass first time
33 in every 1002,072 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
13 yearsabout 99,024 miles
First tests counted
6,325

What failed most often

  1. Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)18 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (front)12 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Coil spring (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 2012 Skoda Yeti 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

Four faults. The strongest is the suspension arm (rear): 6.3 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 2,069 of 2,072 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.

Suspension arm (rear)

Failed on 60 first tests6.3 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 182 first tests, 4.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)

Failed on 363 first tests3.5 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.

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

Failed on 254 first tests3.1 times as often as similar carsLikely 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.

Anti-roll bar ball joint dust cover (front)

Failed on 87 first tests2.8 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 count notes recorded on failed first tests only.

Seat belts and restraints

One fault: airbag warning light, 2.3 times as often as on similar cars.

Airbag warning light

Failed on 79 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

The airbag warning lamp (SRS MIL in DVSA's wording) is failed only if it indicates a system malfunction, which is Major. A lamp lit to show the passenger airbag is disabled is not to be regarded as a defect. Dashboard messages are not a defect in their own right, though they can help the tester confirm a malfunction.

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

Noise, emissions and leaks

One fault: diesel engine warning light, 2.3 times as often as on similar cars.

Diesel engine warning light

Failed on 105 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

An engine malfunction indicator lamp that is illuminated to show a malfunction is graded Major on a diesel, but only on the diesels the test covers, which depends on the vehicle type and when it was first used. DVSA lists it under exhaust emissions for compression ignition engines, and the detail line for the row also names an inoperative lamp.

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 32 first tests4.7 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Flexible brake hoses (front)

Noted on 39 first tests4.0 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Shock absorbers (front)

Noted on 212 first tests3.1 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension sub-frame (rear)

Noted on 255 first tests2.9 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
67in 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
29in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 67.2% of 6,325 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 70.8%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 4 fixed and the 29 not fixed make the 33 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as testedPassed first time, same mileage
Diesel4,613105,778 miles6566
Petrol1,71280,276 miles7469

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.

406080100200920102011201220132014201520162017Older carsNewer cars
4060801002012Older 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, 69 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200960 in every 100489
201061 in every 1003,404
201165 in every 1004,869
2012 This car67 in every 1006,325
201371 in every 1009,842
201473 in every 10011,842
201575 in every 10012,248
201679 in every 10012,838
201782 in every 10010,880

If you are buying one

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

Mileage matters most on a 2012 Yeti.

Of 2012 Yeti vehicles with under 69,000 miles, 79 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 130,000 miles or more, 60 in every 100 did.

Under 69,0001,252 tests
79
69,000–90,0001,266 tests
72
90,000–108,000 Typical car1,269 tests
64
108,000–130,0001,249 tests
62
130,000 and over1,280 tests
60

Petrol or diesel?

Typical mileagePassed first time,
as tested		Passed first time,
same mileage
Diesel105,778 miles6566
Petrol80,276 miles7469

Figures are in every 100 first tests. Petrol cars look better on the raw figures only because diesel cars have done more miles (typically 105,778 against 80,276). 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 69,00090,000–108,000130,000 and over
Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)3.06.77.1
Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (front)1.44.63.9
Coil spring (front)2.74.44.1
Drive shaft joints and boots (front)1.43.54.5
Tyre condition (rear)2.12.33.0

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

When a car fails

40in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

32in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

6in 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 2012 Skoda Yeti follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Suspension arm pins and bushes (front), about 18 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 67.2% of 6,325 first MOTs on the 2012 Skoda Yeti passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 70.8%. Among 2,072 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Suspension arm (rear) appears more often than on similar cars (2.9% of those tests; 60 observed failures; about 6.3× 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 2012 Skoda Yeti at the first attempt were Suspension arm pins and bushes (front) (17.5%), Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (front) (12.3%) and Coil spring (front) (10.3%), 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) (2.9% of those tests; 60 observed failures; about 6.3× 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 (2.9% of those tests; 60 observed failures; about 6.3× 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 2012 Skoda Yeti include Suspension arm (rear), Suspension arm pins and bushes (front), Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (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 2012 Skoda Yeti (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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