Is the Skoda Roomster reliable?

On MOT evidence the Skoda Roomster is well below average. It passes 63.8% of tests once age and mileage are accounted for, against a national average of 72.3%. That figure covers 61% of the national age and mileage range, which is enough to quote but not to rank. This measures how often the car meets the MOT standard, not how often it breaks down or what a repair costs.

What do testers most often warn about on a Skoda Roomster?

The most common advisory is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", noted on 26.1% of all Skoda Roomster tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.

What mileage does a Skoda Roomster usually have at its MOT?

The average odometer reading recorded at test is 88,774 miles. This is the mileage across all tested examples of every age, not an annual figure, so treat it as a description of the fleet rather than a target for one car.

Does a Skoda Roomster get harder to pass as it ages?

Yes. At 9 to 11 years old, 75.5% of Skoda Roomster tests pass. By fifteen years or more, that falls to 52.1%. Nearly every model follows this pattern, which is why comparing raw pass rates between models is misleading unless age is accounted for.

Are most Skoda Roomster models petrol or diesel?

Of the Skoda Roomster cars tested, 63% are petrol, 37% are diesel. Fuel type affects which items tend to fail, particularly emissions and exhaust components.

Model reliability file

Skoda Roomster MOT pass rate & common failures

From 17,431 recorded MOT tests of the Skoda Roomster, published by DVSA.

Data updated 29 July 2026

Quick answer

The Skoda Roomster passes 63.8% of MOT tests once results are adjusted for the age and mileage of the cars tested, against a national average of 72.3%. That is well below average. Based on 17,431 tests. Its most commonly recorded failure is transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, which appears in 17.7% of failed tests. Cars of this model average 88,774 miles on the odometer when tested.

At a glance

Pass rate, adjusted for age and mileage

63.8%national average72.3%unadjusted63.7%range covered61%

The Roomster is 8.5 percentage points below the national pass rate once age and mileage are accounted for, which is well below average. The unadjusted figure is 63.7%; the difference is what the age and mileage of this model’s fleet was hiding.

DVSA recorded wording

Most common failure items

Share of failed Skoda Roomster tests in which each item was recorded. One failed test often lists several items, so these do not sum to 100%.

1.A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc17.7%
920 occurrencesDriveshaft CV joint gaiter split or missing explained
2.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn15.7%
818 occurrencesSuspension arm bush worn explained
3.A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened14.1%
736 occurrencesRoad spring broken or fractured explained
4.A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning13.3%
692 occurrencesLamp not working explained
5.Lamp emitted colour, position or intensity not in accordance with the requirements9.4%
488 occurrencesLamp of the wrong colour, position or intensity explained
6.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements8.8%
456 occurrencesTyre worn close to the legal limit explained
7.A suspension joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc8.5%
443 occurrencesSuspension joint dust cover missing or split explained
8.A tyre cords visible or damaged8.0%
419 occurrencesTyre ply or cord exposed, or the casing separating explained
9.Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning6.9%
361 occurrencesStop lamp not working explained
10.Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake6.5%
340 occurrencesBrake binding or imbalanced across an axle explained

Warnings without a failure

Most common advisories

Share of all Skoda Roomster tests carrying each advisory. The denominator differs from the failure list above because an advisory can be issued on a car that passed.

1.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements26.1%
4,546 testsTyre worn close to the legal limit explained
2.Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured24.8%
4,316 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained
3.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn17.1%
2,988 testsSuspension arm bush worn explained
4.A tyre seriously damaged16.5%
2,876 testsTyre damaged or deteriorated explained
5.Fluid leaking excessively and likely to harm the environment or to pose a safety risk to other road users9.0%
1,564 tests
6.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm6.9%
1,199 testsBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained
7.Lamp emitted colour, position or intensity not in accordance with the requirements6.9%
1,198 testsLamp of the wrong colour, position or intensity explained
8.Play in steering rack inner joint(s)6.2%
1,087 tests

How wear changes the picture

Pass rate by vehicle age

9–11 yrs75%

12–14 yrs68%

15+ yrs52%

Bands holding too few tests to be meaningful are omitted rather than shown as a rate.

What gets tested

The Roomster fleet

Average mileage recorded at test: 88,774
Fuel mix of tested cars: Petrol63.4%
Diesel36.6%

Check a specific Skoda Roomster

A model average tells you the pattern. Its own MOT record tells you the car.

Compare within the range

Other Skoda models

Skoda Fabia — 70.5% adjusted
Skoda Octavia — 77.3% adjusted
Skoda Yeti — 72.3% adjusted
Skoda Superb — 76.7% adjusted
Skoda Karoq — 89.0% unadjusted
Skoda Citigo — 75.1% adjusted
All Skoda models

Similar test volumes

Compare against other makes

Peugeot Bipper — 59.3% adjusted, ranked 254
Alfa Romeo Mito — 61.6% adjusted, ranked 249
Peugeot 508 — 75.9% adjusted, ranked 98
BMW X4 — 84.7% adjusted, ranked 20

Common questions

Is the Skoda Roomster reliable?: On MOT evidence the Skoda Roomster is well below average. It passes 63.8% of tests once age and mileage are accounted for, against a national average of 72.3%. That figure covers 61% of the national age and mileage range, which is enough to quote but not to rank. This measures how often the car meets the MOT standard, not how often it breaks down or what a repair costs.
What is the most common MOT failure on a Skoda Roomster?: The item recorded most often is "A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc", which appears in 17.7% of failed Skoda Roomster tests. Because one failed test can list several items, these shares do not add up to 100%.
What do testers most often warn about on a Skoda Roomster?: The most common advisory is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", noted on 26.1% of all Skoda Roomster tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.
What mileage does a Skoda Roomster usually have at its MOT?: The average odometer reading recorded at test is 88,774 miles. This is the mileage across all tested examples of every age, not an annual figure, so treat it as a description of the fleet rather than a target for one car.
Does a Skoda Roomster get harder to pass as it ages?: Yes. At 9 to 11 years old, 75.5% of Skoda Roomster tests pass. By fifteen years or more, that falls to 52.1%. Nearly every model follows this pattern, which is why comparing raw pass rates between models is misleading unless age is accounted for.
Are most Skoda Roomster models petrol or diesel?: Of the Skoda Roomster cars tested, 63% are petrol, 37% are diesel. Fuel type affects which items tend to fail, particularly emissions and exhaust components.

How this was worked out

Method and limits

Figures come from the DVSA anonymised MOT testing dataset, published under the Open Government Licence. Only class 4 initial tests are counted: retests are excluded so a car appears once, and abandoned tests are excluded entirely. The adjusted rate is directly standardised across twenty-five age and mileage bands and reweighted onto the national distribution, so this model is compared against cars that have lived a similar life rather than against a younger or lighter-used fleet.

An MOT measures whether a car met a legal standard on the day. It is not a breakdown record, a service history or a running-cost estimate, and a pass rate is a property of a fleet rather than a prediction about one car.