Pass rate
92.0%
Above average — 0.8 pts ahead of the 91.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 21,053 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £49–£119
2021 Skoda Octavia MOT pass rate
- 2021
- 2 trims combined
- typical 40,166 mi
Most common fault
Tyres
42.6% of faults · 19.8% nationally
mostly tread below the limit, cuts and sidewall bulges.
Part only £55–£85 for Tread depth below 1.6 mm. What fitting it takes →
4.9 pts down across model years — 9.5% in 2001, 4.6% in 2023.
Which year to buy
- Best 2025 100.0% pass
- Avoid 2000 69.7% pass
Across the 26 years on record, a spread of 30.3 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 91.3%
- Typical mileage
- 40k mi
The 2021 Skoda Octavia MOT pass rate is 92.0% of its MOT tests — about what its age and mileage predict. Tyres is the biggest single reason it fails, at 42.6% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Skoda Octavia does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Tyres: 2.2× the national share
Tyres make up 42.6% of everything recorded on the 2021 Skoda Octavia, against 19.8% nationally — 22.8 points above. Check all four tyres yourself, including the inner shoulders, and look at the date stamp — a tyre can pass on tread and still be six years old.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 0% of this model’s typical repairs come in under £30 in parts — the failures here tend to be the kind that need a garage rather than a bulb.
Written from this page's own figures: fault shares against the national composition, the like-for-like pass rate, and the priced repair list. How these are worked out
Watching a Skoda Octavia? Get an email when these numbers change .
Every Skoda Octavia first registered in 2021 is combined here — 2 trim and body variants in total — so the sample is as large as the DVSA data allows.
How does the 2021 Skoda Octavia compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 91.2%, so this figure is 0.8 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 91.3%. The median 2021 Skoda Octavia in this dataset had covered 40,166 mi.
The most common fuel recorded here is Petrol — 41% of tests, with a 92.9% pass rate. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 92.9% of the time, April–September 91.1%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view", noted on 2.27% of tests.
- 21,053 recorded tests behind this page.
- 92.0% overall pass rate, 91.3% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Skoda Octavia, the average is 83.2% — best year 2025 (100.0%), worst 2000 (69.7%).
Figures count every completed test on this vehicle-year in the dataset, including retests. See methodology for the exact definition.
This page's data
- Tests analysed
- 21,053
- Typical mileage (median)
- 40,166 mi
- Make and model
- Skoda Octavia
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Windscreen
Typically a garage job — get quotes before committing.
Does mileage affect the Octavia MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 79% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (41% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the Octavia
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 3,975 | 92.8% |
| Scotland | 2,530 | 92.3% |
| North West | 2,268 | 92.9% |
| West Midlands | 2,056 | 92.3% |
| East Midlands | 2,039 | 89.3% |
| Yorkshire | 1,981 | 91.4% |
| East of England | 1,950 | 90.5% |
| South West | 1,757 | 91.5% |
| North East | 1,144 | 92.8% |
| Wales | 781 | 92.6% |
| London | 572 | 95.3% |
Regions come from the postcode area recorded at the test station. Areas on region borders are assigned to the region with the majority of their population.
What fails a 2021 Octavia
Everything a tester recorded on this vehicle, grouped into the inspection sections that produced it. The notch on each bar is the national share, so you can see at a glance whether this car is unusual or just ordinary.
A test can record several items, so these percentages do not add up to 100%. The exact strings, with prices, are in the full DVSA record at the bottom of this page.
Before your test
Three checks worth doing on a 2021 Octavia
These are not generic tips — they are the faults recorded most often on this exact model, rewritten as things you can check yourself. All three take about ten minutes and cost nothing.
-
Check the windscreen 2.3% of tests
“windscreen damaged”
Check the driver’s side of the screen within the swept area for chips and cracks; anything larger than 10mm in the driver’s central view is a fail. Most chips can be resin-repaired for far less than a new screen.
-
Check the tyre tread 0.9% of tests
“tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm”
Check all four tyres cold, including the inner shoulder where wear hides — 1.6mm across the central three-quarters is the legal limit, and most testers fail at 1.6mm without argument.
-
Check the suspension joints 0.7% of tests
“pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn”
With the car parked on level ground, rock the top of each front wheel in and out while someone watches the suspension arm. Clunks, or rubber boots split and greasy, are what testers record here.
Shares are the proportion of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item, so they overlap: one test can record several.
What it costs to get a 2021 Octavia through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £49–£119 — and 0% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £49–£119
- Cheapest common item: brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick
- £18–£45
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 60%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 0%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 21,053 MOT tests on this vehicle. They exclude diagnostics, retest fees and garage labour where the part is a DIY fit, and they are not figures from the DVSA dataset. Older and higher-mileage examples cost more than the average. How these estimates are built → · All MOT repair costs → · Cheapest cars to put through a test →
Every year of the Octavia, side by side
26 model years on record, from 2000 to 2025. Across them the pass rate runs from 69.7% to 100.0% — a spread of 30.3 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 69.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2001 71.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2002 74.1% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2003 72.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2004 72.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2005 71.1% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2006 71.8% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2007 72.4% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2008 72.8% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2009 74.6% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2010 75.5% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2011 76.7% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2012 77.7% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2013 81.4% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2014 84.4% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2015 85.6% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2016 87.1% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2017 87.9% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2018 89.3% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2019 89.1% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2020 91.1% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2021 92.0%windscreen damaged but not…
- 2022 92.3% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2023 96.0% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2024 97.2% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2025 100.0% no single leading item
Colour is the pass rate on a fixed scale, so a block means the same thing on any model. Each year links to its own page with the full fault breakdown.
Compare the 2021 Skoda Octavia with another year
The raw pass rate mostly measures age. The year comparison adds the like-for-like figure, the mileage bands and the repair bill.
Other 2021 cars with a similar record
- Hyundai Bayon 92.0%
- MINI COOPER 92.1%
- Volkswagen Tiguan 91.9%
- Volvo XC40 91.9%
- Fiat 500 Lounge 92.1%
- MG Hs Excite 92.1%
Closest pass rates among 2021 cars with at least 2,000 tests, so a small sample cannot flatter itself into the list. See the full rankings: best and worst MOT pass rates.
The full DVSA record for the 2021 Skoda Octavia 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 10 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 13,318 individual items recorded on this vehicle, and the same share across all cars nationally. A single test can record several items, so a row is not a percentage of tests.
| Category | Items | This car | Nationally | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyres | 5,714 | 42.60% | 19.76% | +22.84 |
| Suspension | 2,326 | 17.40% | 20.98% | −3.58 |
| Brakes | 2,092 | 15.60% | 20.89% | −5.29 |
| Non-component advisories | 1,191 | 8.90% | 4.18% | +4.72 |
| Visibility | 781 | 5.80% | 4.97% | +0.83 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 691 | 5.20% | 12.21% | −7.01 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 169 | 1.30% | 1.76% | −0.46 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 152 | 1.10% | 5.52% | −4.42 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 111 | 0.80% | 0.82% | −0.02 |
| Road Wheels | 91 | 0.70% | 0.75% | −0.05 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 2.3% | £80–200 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Major | 1.6% | £45–95 |
| Has ply or cords exposed Tyres | Major | 0.96% | £45–95 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Major | 0.87% | £45–95 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Major | 0.73% | £40–150 |
| Headlamp aim too high Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 0.67% | £30–80 |
| Headlamp aim too low Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 0.65% | £30–80 |
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Major | 0.64% | £30–75 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Major | 0.48% | £18–45 |
| Has a bulge, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Major | 0.44% | £45–95 |
Severity is as recorded: Major and Dangerous fail the test outright; Minor and Advisory do not. Costs are estimates from typical UK parts prices — see how they are built.
What testers noted without failing the car
Advisories are the early warnings — the same parts a year or two before they fail. Reading them is how you tell a car that has been maintained from one that has been patched.
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 12.8% | £45–95 |
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Advisory | 5.1% | £30–75 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 4.8% | £45–95 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 4.7% | £18–45 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 3.6% | £40–150 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 2.6% | £45–110 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 6,232 | 95.3% | 21,096 mi |
| 30-60k | 10,094 | 91.5% | 42,959 mi |
| 60-90k | 3,227 | 89.2% | 72,111 mi |
| 90-120k | 1,023 | 87.5% | 102,089 mi |
| 120k+ | 470 | 88.5% | 147,128 mi |
Source: 21,053 recorded tests on this vehicle-year. Every row above is recomputed from the same DVSA extract as the rest of the page — see the methodology.
2021 Octavia MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2021 Skoda Octavia?
92.0% of the 21,053 2021 Skoda Octavia tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 91.2% for cars first used in 2021. First-attempt pass rate: 91.3%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2021 Skoda Octavia?
The three most recorded items are windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (2.27%), has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords (1.60%), has ply or cords exposed (0.96%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2021 Skoda Octavia MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 95.3% of the time, falling to 88.5% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2021 Skoda Octavia in this dataset had covered 40,166 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2021 Skoda Octavia?
Petrol: 92.9% pass rate across 8,696 tests. Hybrid: 91.2% pass rate across 7,533 tests. Diesel: 91.7% pass rate across 4,823 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2021 Skoda Octavia MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 92.9% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 91.1%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.