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Škoda Rapid, Buying guide, MOT record, UK numbers and recalls

21,186 Škoda Rapids are licensed in the UK. In 2025 they passed 72.6% of initial MOT tests, in line with the 72.3% UK average.

Looking at a specific Rapid? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.

Škoda Rapid at the MOT

72.6% of 21,491 initial tests passed in 2025, ranking the Rapid 301st of 575 models. Škoda Rapids aged 3 to 5 years passed 85.6% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 68.6%.

First-time pass rate, 2025

Share of initial tests passed, retests excluded.

  • Škoda Rapid72.6%
  • All Škoda modelsThe Rapid is 3.8 pts behind76.4%
  • All cars72.3%

Pass rate by age at test

Škoda Rapid tests in 2025.

  • 3 to 5 years256 tests85.6%
  • 6 to 10 years16,099 tests73.6%
  • 11 years and over5,136 tests68.6%

Where Rapids fail

Share of all failure items recorded on Škoda Rapid tests in 2025.

  • Suspension29.1%
  • Tyres19.1%
  • Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment16.3%
  • Brakes15.7%
  • Body, chassis, structure5.8%

The items testers recorded most often were pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn (11.8%), tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (5.7%) and coil spring fractured or broken (4.3%).

The MOT page lists every common Rapid MOT failure. For one car's own results and advisories, run a free MOT history check.

Full Škoda Rapid MOT record

What to look at on a viewing

The Rapid's most common failure areas, and what a tester checks in each.

  1. Suspension

    Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters.29.1% of Rapid failure items

  2. Tyres

    Check tread depth across the full width of every tyre (the legal minimum is 1.6mm), and look for cuts, bulges and uneven wear.19.1% of Rapid failure items

  3. Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment

    Walk round with every light on: headlights, brake lights, indicators, fog lights and the number plate lamp. Check no warning lights stay on after starting.16.3% of Rapid failure items

Škoda Rapids in the UK

21,186 were licensed at the end of June 2026. The number licensed has grown 101% since the end of 2014, although it peaked at 25,086 at the end of 2019.

Change since 2014
+101%from 10,555 licensed
Typical year of first use
2015half of those licensed at the end of 2025 were first used in 2015 or earlier
First registered in 2025
6against 4,765 in 2016
Declared off the road
1,1405.1% of those registered, under SORN

Licensed Škoda Rapids since 2014

Licensed at each year end and in the latest quarter.

Show the figures
DateLicensed
End of 201410,555
End of 201514,393
End of 201618,567
End of 201722,414
End of 201824,617
End of 201925,086
End of 202024,354
End of 202124,249
End of 202223,815
End of 202323,190
End of 202422,501
End of 202521,621
End of June 202621,186

How old they are

Licensed Škoda Rapids by year of first use.

  • Licensed at the end of 2025
  • First registered that year

A further 148 were first used before 2013.

Show the figures
First usedLicensed, end 2025First registered that year
2019493516
20182,1312,303
20173,8414,351
20164,0404,765
20152,9963,724
20145,105
20132,771

2,996 Rapids first used in 2015 were still licensed at the end of 2025, roughly 80% of the 3,724 first registered that year.

Rapid engines and fuel

1.2 litre engines made up 48% of Škoda Rapid MOT tests in 2025, followed by 1.6 litre at 23%. Petrol accounts for 70% of licensed Rapids and diesel for 30%.

Engine size at MOT, 2025

Share of 21,491 initial MOT tests in 2025.

  • 1.2 litre48%
  • 1.6 litre23.4%
  • 1.0 litre15.7%
  • 1.4 litre12.9%

Fuel type, licensed Rapids

DfT licensing statistics, June 2026.

FuelLicensedShare
Petrol14,88770%
Diesel6,29430%
Gas5<0.1%

Škoda Rapid recalls

6 DVSA safety recalls launched from 1992 to October 2026 name the Škoda Rapid. Each covers vehicles built in a set period, so a recall does not mean every Rapid is affected.

  1. Sep 2026 R/2026/342

    Replacing TAKATA driver airbag

    Rapids built Mar 2017 · 9 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    On affected vehicles in the event of an accident in which the airbag is deployed the front airbag gas generator could burst sending metal fragments into the vehicle. This could cause serious harm or fatal injuries to the driver and their passengers.
    Remedy
    Replace the front airbag on the driver side.

  2. Jul 2025 R/2026/002

    Takata drivers side front airbag

    Rapids built Nov 2012 to Sep 2014 · 108 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    On affected vehicles the propellant in the front airbag may deteriorate due to high humidity and temperature fluctuations. As a result in the event of an accident and airbag deployment fragments could detach from the generator housing and injure the vehicle occupants.
    Remedy
    Replace the front airbag on the driver's side.

  3. Mar 2023 R/2023/086

    On affected vehicles from a certain production period there is a possibility that the gas generator cover could be damaged when the driver's airbag is activated

    Rapids built Nov 2013 to Jan 2015 · 63 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Remedy
    Replace the driver's airbag in affected vehicles.

  4. May 2019 R/2019/210

    Air bag may not inflate quickly enough on deployment

    Rapids built Jan 2018 to Feb 2018 · 393 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    Driver's airbag may not inflate quickly enough in case of its activation
    Remedy
    The steering wheel airbag has to be replaced in the vehicles affected

  5. Jun 2017 R/2017/192

    Parts of seat belt pretensioner may be dislodged on deployment

    Rapids built May 2016 to Oct 2016 · 1,293 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    Due to a faulty connection part of the pyrotechnical system could become dislodged on deployment in an accident and enter the vehicle interior putting the occupants at risk of injury. On affected vehicles.
    Remedy
    Replace seat belt on affected vehicles.

  6. Jul 2016 R/2016/158

    Manual child locks on rear passenger doors may disengage without warning

    Rapids built Nov 2015 to Apr 2016 · 3,258 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    The door child locks may disengage without driver knowledge. Though the door remains close it is possible for the door to then be opened from the inside.
    Remedy
    On affected vehicles inspect lock mechanism and replace where necessary.
How to check a specific Rapid for recalls

Other Škoda models

The most-tested Škoda models in 2025, against the Rapid's 72.6% MOT pass rate.

All 12 Škoda models

Škoda Rapid FAQs

How many Škoda Rapids are there in the UK?

21,186 Škoda Rapids were licensed in the UK at the end of June 2026, with a further 1,140 declared off the road (SORN), according to DfT vehicle licensing statistics.

Is the Škoda Rapid reliable?

MOT data does not measure reliability. It records whether a car met the roadworthiness standard on the day of its test. What it does show is a 72.6% first-time pass rate for the Škoda Rapid across 21,491 tests in 2025, in line with the 72.3% average for all cars.

Has the Škoda Rapid had any recalls?

6 DVSA safety recalls launched from 1992 to October 2026 name the Škoda Rapid. The most recent was published in September 2026. A recall applies to vehicles built in a set period, so check a specific car on the GOV.UK vehicle recall checker.

What should I check before buying a used Škoda Rapid?

On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: suspension, tyres and lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment. Then check the individual car's own records. Outstanding finance, insurance write-offs and police stolen markers are not part of the MOT record, so they take a history check.

How do I check a Škoda Rapid's history?

Enter the registration of the specific car. A Carpeep car history check reports outstanding finance, write-off category, stolen markers, mileage history, previous keepers, MOT and tax status, import and export markers and scrapped status in one £15 report.

Already found a Rapid?

Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.

Across the 1,548 vehicles of every make Carpeep has checked since November 2025, 19% had outstanding finance recorded and 13% an insurance write-off. More on the Škoda history check. To confirm a car's identity, see the Skoda VIN check.

  • Outstanding finance
  • Write-off records
  • Stolen markers
  • Mileage history
  • Previous keepers

MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025 (class 4 initial tests, retests excluded), which also gives the engine sizes. Licensed, SORN, fuel and registration figures are from the Department for Transport vehicle licensing statistics (VEH0120, VEH0124, VEH0160). Recalls are from the DVSA vehicle recalls data, with recalls launched up to October 2026. Government data is used under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability. History-check findings are anonymous counts from reports bought on Carpeep, each vehicle counted once, and are published only where at least 100 vehicles returned an answer.