Honda Civic MOT Pass Rate & Official DVSA Failure Statistics

Honda Civic MOT History and Failure Rates vs UK National Average

The Honda Civic passed on its first attempt in 74.7%, and its overall record sits −1.8 percentage points below the national average for all cars. These figures come from every recorded DVSA MOT test for the Honda Civic in the 2023–2025 data: 985,342 tests across 24 model years (2000–2023). A test still carries exactly one pass or fail verdict.

Figures are computed from every recorded DVSA test for this model in the 2023–2025 data.

Most Common Honda Civic MOT Problems by Failure Category

Every MOT failure a tester records belongs to one inspection section of the DVSA manual. For the Honda Civic, the Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment section leads the record — the breakdown below shows where the recorded failures cluster, then the exact strings behind the three biggest sections.

Shares are over the Honda Civic's recorded defect strings, merged across its year pages.

Top Recorded Honda Civic DVSA MOT Test Statistics & Defect Descriptions

The descriptions below are the exact DVSA failure strings testers recorded most often for the Honda Civic, each with how many of the model's 985,342 tests it was noted on.

• "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources" (Minor) — noted on about 53,668 Honda Civic tests, 5.4% of the model's MOT record.
• "Track rod end ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated, but preventing the ingress of dirt" (Minor) — noted on about 43,015 Honda Civic tests, 4.4% of the model's MOT record.
• "Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated" (Minor) — noted on about 42,379 Honda Civic tests, 4.3% of the model's MOT record.
• "Headlamp lens slightly defective" (Minor) — noted on about 32,580 Honda Civic tests, 3.3% of the model's MOT record.
• "Position lamp not working" (Major) — noted on about 31,835 Honda Civic tests, 3.2% of the model's MOT record.
• "Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect" (Major) — noted on about 23,805 Honda Civic tests, 2.4% of the model's MOT record.

Best and Worst Honda Civic Model Years by Pass Rate

The strongest Honda Civic model year on record is 2022 (95.6% across 975 tests), and the weakest is 2003 (71.7%). The gap between them is 23.9 points. Years with fewer than 50 recorded tests are excluded, so these are the years with enough MOT history to mean something.

Honda Civic reliability is improving in the DVSA data — the pass rate moves about 1.0 points a year across the most recent model years shown above.

Newest model year first. Only years with at least 50 recorded tests are listed.

Pre-MOT Inspection Checklist for Honda Civic Owners

These checks follow this Honda Civic's own most-recorded failure strings, starting with what a tester is most likely to flag on a Honda Civic.

• the lights — “registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources”

  Switch everything on and walk round the car: both headlamps on dip and main, every indicator, both brake lights, reverse, fog and the two number-plate lamps. A bulb is a few pounds and a five-minute job.

• the suspension joints — “track rod end ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated,”

  With the car parked on level ground, rock the top of each front wheel in and out while someone watches the suspension arm. Clunks, or rubber boots split and greasy, are what testers record here.

• the shock absorbers — “shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak”

  Press down hard on each corner of the car and let go. It should settle in one bounce; if it keeps rocking, or you can see oil weeping down a shock absorber, that is the fault a tester will find.

Derived from the DVSA failure strings testers recorded for the Honda Civic. A check that finds nothing means the item is likely fine, not that the test is guaranteed.

Frequently Asked Questions: Honda Civic MOT & Reliability