Honda CR-V MOT failure rate and common faults
180,248 Honda CR-V cars aged 3 to 20 took their MOT in 2025, and 23.8% failed at the first attempt. An average car of the same age failed 31.3% of the time, which makes the Honda CR-V 24% less likely to fail than the typical car on the road. Here is what fails, and which years to look for.
23.8%
failed first time
180,248 MOT tests in 2025
-24%
vs same age average
average car of this age mix: 31.3%
35 of 208
age adjusted rank
among cars; 1 fails least
81.0
dangerous defects per 1,000
same age average: 113.0
What fails on a Honda CR-V MOT
Failure items recorded per 1,000 tests, by part of the car, set against an average car with exactly the same spread of ages. A figure well above average is a weak spot worth checking before you buy.
The most common Honda CR-V MOT failures
The individual failure items testers recorded most often, per 1,000 tests.
| Failure item | Area | Per 1,000 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm | Tyres | 31.5 |
| Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively | Windscreen, wipers and mirrors | 25.6 |
| Position lamp: not working | Lights and electrics | 23.2 |
| Stop lamp: not working | Lights and electrics | 22.4 |
| Headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect | Lights and electrics | 20.1 |
| Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick | Brakes | 19.7 |
| Linkage ball joints: ball joint excessively worn | Suspension | 18.1 |
| Ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt | Suspension | 16.4 |
| Ball joint excessively worn | Suspension | 16.4 |
| Component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength | Suspension | 14.1 |
Honda CR-V MOT failure rate by year
Every car fails more often as it ages, so each registration year is compared with the average for all cars of the same age. Years with fewer than 500 tests are left out.
| First registered | Tests | Failed | Same age average | Average mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 5,176 | 6.7% | 11.4% | 24,700 |
| 2021 | 5,819 | 8.0% | 12.8% | 32,100 |
| 2020 | 5,543 | 8.0% | 14.1% | 37,300 |
| 2019 | 8,302 | 8.8% | 16.5% | 43,600 |
| 2018 | 9,259 | 12.0% | 19.1% | 54,100 |
| 2017 | 11,862 | 13.9% | 21.8% | 63,400 |
| 2016 | 14,128 | 14.9% | 25.1% | 72,600 |
| 2015 | 14,240 | 17.2% | 28.1% | 80,900 |
| 2014 | 14,644 | 18.3% | 31.4% | 89,500 |
| 2013 | 13,908 | 20.1% | 34.3% | 96,200 |
| 2012 | 12,252 | 26.1% | 36.6% | 100,100 |
| 2011 | 9,519 | 28.6% | 38.8% | 110,400 |
| 2010 | 9,582 | 30.2% | 40.7% | 115,500 |
| 2009 | 8,788 | 35.5% | 41.8% | 130,500 |
| 2008 | 9,292 | 39.6% | 42.9% | 134,800 |
| 2007 | 12,314 | 42.6% | 42.7% | 136,400 |
| 2006 | 8,279 | 45.6% | 43.0% | 137,800 |
| 2005 | 7,341 | 46.5% | 42.4% | 139,500 |
Advisories to look for in a Honda CR-V's MOT history
An advisory is a tester's warning that something is wearing but has not failed yet. These are the ones written most often on the Honda CR-V, per 1,000 tests. If the car you are looking at has one of these, ask whether it has been fixed since.
- Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge293.6
- Tyres: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing94.1
- Brake pads: wearing thin91.2
- Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened86.1
- Suspension arms: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement81.9
- Sub-frame: corroded but not seriously weakened57.2
Checking a used Honda CR-V before you buy
The Honda CR-V has no part of the car that fails well above average for its age, so check the areas that fail most often overall.
Lights and electrics
Walk round the car with every light on: headlights on dip and main beam, indicators, brake lights, fog lights and the number plate lamp. A pattern of electrical faults costs more than a bulb.
Suspension
Drive over speed bumps with the radio off and listen for knocks. Look at the car side on: a corner sitting lower than the others often means a broken coil spring.
Tyres
Check the tread across the full width of every tyre, inner edge included. Uneven wear points to worn suspension or out of line steering geometry.
Averages only take you so far. The specific car's MOT history shows whether it has already failed on any of these, how often advisories were ignored, and whether the mileage climbs steadily from test to test. Read our guide to reading a car's MOT history before you go to view it.
Fuel mix of the Honda CR-V cars tested: Diesel 50%, Petrol 40%, Hybrid 10%. Average age at test 11.8 years, average recorded mileage 92,000.
Honda CR-V MOT questions
What is the Honda CR-V MOT failure rate?
23.8% of Honda CR-V cars failed their first MOT test of 2025, from 180,248 tests on vehicles aged 3 to 20. An average car with the same age mix failed 31.3% of the time, so the Honda CR-V was 24% less likely to fail.
What fails most often on a Honda CR-V MOT?
Lights and electrics caused the most failure items, at 166 per 1,000 tests. The single most common failure item was "Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm", recorded 31.5 times per 1,000 tests.
Which Honda CR-V year has the best MOT record?
Measured against cars of the same age, 2019 registrations did best: 8.8% failed against an average of 16.5% for cars that age. Older cars always fail more often, so compare a year with its age group rather than with newer cars.
Does this tell me whether a particular Honda CR-V will pass?
No. These are averages across every Honda CR-V tested in 2025. The car in front of you has its own record: its full MOT history shows every pass, failure and advisory it has had, and it is free to view by registration.
Other Honda models
- Honda Jazz24.6% failed
- Honda Civic31.6% failed
- Honda HR-V11.8% failed
Ranked close to the Honda CR-V
- Mercedes-Benz SLKrank 32
- BMW 4 Seriesrank 33
- BMW X1rank 34
- Land Rover Defenderrank 36
How these figures are calculated
Source: DVSA Anonymised MOT tests and results, 2025 release. We count first tests of cars and small vans (class 4) aged 3 to 20, so a car that fails and is retested is counted once. A failure includes faults fixed and passed within the same visit. The same age average weights the national failure rate for each age by how many Honda CR-V cars of that age were tested, so a model is never penalised for having an older fleet. Make and model are as recorded at the test; trim levels are combined. Full method and rankings.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.