Skoda Yeti 2016: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 79 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2016 Skoda Yeti were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Coil spring (front).

Summary

The 2016 Skoda Yeti follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 12,838 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
79 in every 100
Did not pass first time
21 in every 1002,753 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
9 yearsabout 59,738 miles
First tests counted
12,838

What failed most often

  1. Coil spring (front)11 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Headlight aim9 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)9 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 2016 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.

Brakes

Two faults. The strongest is the anti-lock braking system (ABS): 6.8 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 2,752 of 2,753 failed first attempts 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.

Anti-lock braking system (ABS)

Failed on 183 first tests6.8 times as often as similar carsStrong evidence

What it means

ABS is failed as removed only where it has obviously been removed, because not every vehicle in the age range where removal is not permitted has ABS. A warning lamp that does not light or shows an ABS fault is Major, as is a missing or excessively damaged wheel speed sensor. Every failure row for this component is Major.

Electronic stability control

Failed on 115 first tests5.0 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

An ESC warning lamp is failed only when the tester is certain it indicates an ESC malfunction, because the lamp takes various forms and the owner's handbook may need checking. The system is also called ESP, VDC or DSC, among many other names. Every failure row is Major, covering the lamp, wheel speed sensors, wiring, other components and the switch.

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

Suspension

Two faults. The strongest is the suspension arm pins and bushes (front): 2.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)

Failed on 239 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.

Coil spring (front)

Failed on 297 first tests2.1 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.

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.

Suspension arm (rear)

Noted on 259 first tests20 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

Shock absorbers (front)

Noted on 446 first tests5.9 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension sub-frame (rear)

Noted on 60 first tests3.2 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Number plates (rear)

Noted on 93 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
79in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
3in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
18in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 78.6% of 12,838 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 82.4%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 3 fixed and the 18 not fixed make the 21 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as testedPassed first time, same mileage
Petrol7,54253,627 miles8079
Diesel5,29669,448 miles7678

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
40608010020102016Older 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, 81 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200960 in every 100489
201061 in every 1003,404
201165 in every 1004,869
201267 in every 1006,325
201371 in every 1009,842
201473 in every 10011,842
201575 in every 10012,248
2016 This car79 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 2016 Yeti.

Of 2016 Yeti vehicles with under 40,000 miles, 87 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 84,000 miles or more, 70 in every 100 did.

Under 40,0002,642 tests
87
40,000–53,0002,426 tests
82
53,000–66,000 Typical car2,539 tests
78
66,000–84,0002,624 tests
75
84,000 and over2,603 tests
70

Petrol or diesel?

Typical mileagePassed first time,
as tested
Passed first time,
same mileage
Petrol53,627 miles8079
Diesel69,448 miles7678

Figures are in every 100 first tests. Petrol cars look better on the raw figures only because diesel cars have done more miles (typically 69,448 against 53,627). 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 40,00053,000–66,00084,000 and over
Coil spring (front)2.02.12.7
Headlight aim0.81.73.7
Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)0.72.03.0
Tyre condition (rear)1.71.62.2
Anti-lock braking system (ABS)1.41.41.4

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


When a car fails

52in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

21in 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 2016 Skoda Yeti follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Coil spring (front), about 11 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 78.6% of 12,838 first MOTs on the 2016 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 82.4%. Among 2,753 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Anti-lock braking system (ABS) appears more often than on similar cars (6.6% of those tests; 183 observed failures; about 6.8× 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 2016 Skoda Yeti at the first attempt were Coil spring (front) (10.8%), Headlight aim (9.5%) and Suspension arm pins and bushes (front) (8.7%), 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: Anti-lock braking system (ABS) (6.6% of those tests; 183 observed failures; about 6.8× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Anti-lock braking system (ABS) shows up more often than on similar cars (6.6% of those tests; 183 observed failures; about 6.8× 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 2016 Skoda Yeti include Anti-lock braking system (ABS), Electronic stability control, 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 2016 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.

Check any vehicle’s MOT history

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

Run a free check