The Skoda Yeti to buy is a 2.0 TDI, the lesser risk of its engines, but only one whose EGR and DPF have behaved since the emissions fix; avoid the 1.2 TSI, above all with the 7-speed DSG.
8 known faults, 3 rated high severity in our database; owners report 43.6 mpg, 88% of the official figure. Everything below is built from that data and the archived owner history, not from a press car.
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Check a Skoda Yeti advert (free) →A 2.0 TDI is the Yeti to go for, not because it's trouble-free but because its known fault is the milder one. On 2010 to 2015 cars the EGR valve fails and the DPF blocks between 60,000 and 100,000 miles after the Dieselgate software fix, and several owners have needed EGR coolers, temperature sensors or repeated regenerations since theirs was done. That's a repair bill, whereas the 1.2 TSI's known fault can wreck the engine.
Don't buy a 1.2 TSI from 2009 to 2014. Its timing chain stretches and the tensioner fails between 19,000 and 51,000 miles, which can skip the timing and damage the valves, and owners have lost chains at 19,000 and 34,000 miles. The Yeti didn't switch to the belt engine until partway through 2015, so an early 2015 car can still have the chain, and with the DSG it's got a second known fault running to 2017.
The 1.8 TSI 160 4x4 from 2009 to 2012 is no better, as it carries a serious known fault of its own: worn rings burn oil, climbing from somewhere between 50,000 and 70,000 miles to as much as a litre every 300 miles, and the timing chain can slip. On early diesels, one 2009 2.0 TDI had its EGR fail at 72,000 miles, and another ran rough with a leaking EGR cooler after its emissions fix.
The last Yetis, from 2015 to 2017, still sit inside two known faults: clutch and mechatronic trouble on the 1.2 TSI DSG, and panoramic sunroofs leaking into the footwells on cars from 2012 on. Owners of 2016 and 2017 1.2 TSI automatics have reported the box lurching, slipping between gears and clunking as it pulls away, and a 2017 car's sunroof leaked again after its first repair.
The 2.0 TDI's the lesser risk, but it isn't a safe one: on 2010 to 2015 cars the EGR valve fails and the DPF clogs between 60,000 and 100,000 miles after the emissions fix, bringing an engine management light, a flashing glow plug light and limp mode. One owner paid £1,000 for a first DPF at 50,000 miles. Owners have also reported sticking clutch pedals, a cracked clutch pressure plate at 21,000 miles and a 2014 170 4x4 DSG that dropped from fourth to first at 45mph.
Avoid the 1.2 TSI 105 from 2009 to 2014 for its known timing chain fault. With the 7-speed DSG it's worse, because that pairing has its own known fault on 2010 to 2017 cars: judder and hesitation pulling away, clutch packs wearing out (one at 6,000 miles) and mechatronic units failing, with owners' reports running up to 62,500 miles. On some 2011 model year cars the hesitation was cured by a turbo shim and software update.
The 1.8 TSI 160 4x4 isn't a safe alternative, as it's got a serious known fault on 2009 to 2012 cars. Worn piston rings burn oil, climbing on 2010 and 2011 cars from around 50,000 to 70,000 miles to as much as a litre every 300 miles, and the timing chain can slip. One 2011 car's chain slipped at 60,000 miles and let the valves hit the pistons, and another 2011 car needed a new engine at 65,000 miles.
Neither gearbox is clean. The six-speed manual, mostly behind the 1.2 TSI, has a known bearing fault on 2010 to 2015 cars, one failing at 29,000 miles, and a 2012 1.6 TDI Greenline needed new fourth-gear synchromesh at 41,387 miles. The 1.6 TDI isn't a way round the 2.0's trouble either: its injectors are a known weak point on 2010 to 2015 cars, failing at around 45,000 miles, and one owner's engine kept getting coolant in its cylinders despite two new heads.
Insist on hearing it start from cold. A metallic rattle for 2 to 3 seconds on a 1.2 TSI is the timing chain, and an engine management light or rough running backs that up. On a 1.8 TSI, pull the dipstick and ask how often it needs topping up, and on an early petrol ask for proof the HT leads got their extra heat shielding, since several have burned against the exhaust manifold.
On a DSG, creep through traffic and pull away uphill and on a bend once it's warm. Judder, a lurch from first to second, the box holding a high gear at low speed, or a pause before it drives away from a junction are the warning signs. Ask for proof of the DQ200 software update, and for fresh gearbox oil at 40,000-mile intervals, the regime since the recall that swapped its synthetic oil for mineral.
On a 2.0 TDI, watch for an engine management or flashing glow plug light and any drop into limp mode, and ask when the emissions fix was done and what's been replaced since. Get the receipt for the cambelt and water pump from within the last 60,000 miles or 60 months. On a manual, check the clutch pedal comes all the way back up, as owners have had pedals stick at 57,000 and 58,000 miles.
Lift the carpets in the front and rear footwells, because several Yetis have had panoramic sunroofs leak and one had twisted sunroof drains. Look for rust on the rear doors, arches and door corners and bubbling paint along the side protection strips, check the discs for corrosion, and work the windows, mirrors and central locking, since their wires can fracture where they pass into the door.
Paste the advert into the free check and it runs these against the listing, the MOT history and the DVLA record before you travel.
Buy a 5L as a 2.0 TDI with its emissions fix and any EGR or DPF work on paper, and skip both petrols with known engine faults: the 2009 to 2014 1.2 TSI, whose chain stretches, and the 2009 to 2012 1.8 TSI, which burns oil and slips its chain. The diesel's EGR and DPF fault covers 2010 to 2015 cars, so it's the lesser risk rather than a safe one, and a TDI without that paperwork isn't worth the gamble.
Owners' complaints about the Yeti centre on engines, gearboxes, leaks and rust, not on the way it drives. The 1.2 TSI DSG is the worst of it, with a known fault covering 2010 to 2017 cars: two owners of 2011 1.2 TSI automatics had their clutch packs fail at 18,000 and 34,000 miles, and the first of them then needed a mechatronic unit at 31,700 miles. A 2010 car needed a new clutch pack at 62,500 miles, and Skoda wouldn't help, calling it wear and tear.
The diesels have their own list. One owner paid £1,820 when a 2012 2.0 TDI's turbo failed at 43,000 miles, and another paid £680 for a driveshaft on a 2012 2.0 TDI 110 at 25,000 miles. Rear springs have broken on a 2011 4x4 that rarely left the road, a 2014 manual lost its gearbox bearings at 29,000 miles, and a 2012 4x4 snapped a clutch retaining ring, wearing the bell housing and leaking oil.
On a 2011 model year 1.2 TSI DSG that hesitates pulling away, ask whether it's had the turbo shim and software update, since Skoda only did it when owners complained. Some 2011 cars have paint bubbling along the side protection strips, and air conditioning condensers have failed from stone damage, while some made of poor-quality aluminium were replaced free under warranty.
Real-world economy on this generation: Skoda Yeti 43.6 mpg.
Sellers rarely admit these faults outright
Paste any Skoda Yeti advert and we check it against the faults, the MOT record and these figures in seconds.
Check an advert now (free) →Owners report 43.6 mpg across the Skoda Yeti engines with data, about 88% of the official figure, from 1,606 submissions.
Skoda Yeti Real MPG by engine →It's fun to drive. The running gear's nicely balanced, it's agile through bends and it's happy being driven briskly. It's compact outside too, so for all the high seat it doesn't feel bulky, and the chunky styling carries a lightness that its size doesn't lead you to expect.
The VarioFlex rear seats are the clever bit: they fold, and they can come out altogether when you need to carry something big. The 4x4 cars grip well and are properly capable once the tarmac runs out, so a Yeti mixes the practicality of a hatchback with the traction of a proper 4x4.
The Skoda Yeti to buy is a 2.0 TDI, the lesser risk of its engines, but only one whose EGR and DPF have behaved since the emissions fix; avoid the 1.2 TSI, above all with the 7-speed DSG. Our database holds 8 known Skoda Yeti faults, 3 rated high severity, and the sections above say which generation and engine carry them.
Insist on hearing it start from cold. Read the MOT history for repeat advisories and ask for invoices for any work the seller mentions. Then paste the advert into the free check, which reads it against every known Skoda Yeti fault before you travel.
Owners report 43.6 mpg on average, about 88% of the official figure, from 1,606 submissions. Chain (1.2 TSI, EA111): no fixed replacement interval, so budget for it if the history does not show it done. The known faults page lists a rough repair cost against each fault. Skoda Yeti Real MPG by engine.
If you used the Honest John car-by-car reviews before the site closed in 2026, this is where the Skoda Yeti buying advice now lives. It is written from the archived owner reports and model notes (archived page, 197 items read for this model), our own known-faults database, the confirmed service intervals and the Real MPG figures. Every number on the page comes from that data, not from the text. The same data feeds our free advert check.
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The Skoda Yeti is one decision. Reading the advert, the history and the seller are the rest, and these cover them.
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