Honda Civic — Common MOT Faults
Model-level fault breakdown for the Honda Civic (2000–present): top failure categories, dangerous defect and retest rates, mileage benchmarks, and an AI-calculated reliability score.
Honda Civic fault snapshot: first-time MOT pass rate 83.5% (failure rate 16.5%), ranks above the UK average of 64%. Dangerous defect rate 1.4%, retest rate 11.5%. Composite reliability score 80/100 (excellent). Top failure category: lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment at 14.5% of tests.
Honda Civic · reliability score
80/100
MOT Checkup reliability score: Excellent · combines pass rate, dangerous defect rate and retest rate.
83.5%
vs UK 64%
1.4%
11.5%
Top MOT failure categories — Honda Civic
Categories most likely to trigger an MOT failure on the Honda Civic. The first three account for the majority of fails.
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment
Suspension
Brakes
Tyres
Exhaust, fuel and emissions
Where on the car faults cluster
Front
31%
Rear
27%
Offside
20%
Mileage benchmarks — Honda Civic
From ages 3 to 5, average mileage on a Honda Civic rises from around 22,000 miles to 38,000 miles — about 8,000 miles a year, which is in line with the UK average use pattern. A specific car well below or above these averages warrants extra scrutiny — very low mileage on an older car can mean infrequent maintenance just as easily as low use.
Age 3
22,000 mi
Age 5
38,000 mi
Age 10
72,000 mi
Run a free MOT check on this Honda Civic
Enter the registration to see the actual MOT history for the car you’re looking at — pass/fail, advisories, dangerous defects, mileage at every test. Free and instant.
Free MOT history check at /free-mot-check.
Pre-purchase checklist for a Honda Civic
- Pull the MOT history first. A pattern of repeat advisories in the same category (e.g. suspension knock noted on three tests in a row) usually means a deferred repair waiting for you.
- Sanity-check the mileage. Compare what’s on the odometer with the readings logged at each MOT. Any backward step or implausibly large jump is a red flag.
- Inspect the top failure points yourself. For this model the cluster is lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment and suspension — both are easy to assess in a short test drive.
- Ask for the last service record. A Honda with consistent dealer or independent service stamps will normally outperform the model-average pass rate of 83.5%.
Compare and explore
Honda Civic MOT check
Free registration lookup for this model.
Honda reliability
Brand-wide reliability profile and model ranking.
Honda Civic repair costs
Indicative repair costs for the common faults above.
Volkswagen Tiguan — common faults
Sibling page at a similar pass rate (83.5%).
BMW 2 Series — common faults
Sibling page at a similar pass rate (83.5%).
Audi A1 — common faults
Sibling page at a similar pass rate (83.5%).
Honda Civic — FAQ
Is the Honda Civic reliable for MOT?
What are the most common MOT failures on a Honda Civic?
What's the dangerous defect rate on a Honda Civic?
How do I check a specific Honda Civic's MOT history?
Check the MOT history of a Honda Civic
Free, instant lookup. Every test result, advisory and mileage reading since 2005.
Source: MOT Checkup reliability dataset. Reliability score is a composite metric blending first-time pass rate, dangerous defect rate and retest rate — see /methodology for the formula. Individual cars vary considerably; the registration-level MOT history is the canonical record.