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Honda Fr-V MOT Pass Rate & Official DVSA Failure Statistics

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Pass rate, every year

72.5% Below average

27,466 tests across 7 model years, 2004–2010.

−8.5 pts vs the national average

MOT PASS RATES

How the Honda Fr-V really fares

72.5% of its MOTs pass — over 27,466 class-4 tests, 2023–2025

Pass rates

Every figure on this page comes from the DVSA's MOT test record.

The Honda Fr-V MOT pass rate is 72.5%, −8.5 percentage points below the UK average. That is 27,466 DVSA MOT tests recorded between 2004 and 2010. This page lists the most common Honda Fr-V MOT failures by category, names the best and worst model years, and finishes with a pre-MOT checklist you can run at home.

Honda Fr-V MOT History and Failure Rates vs UK National Average

The Honda Fr-V passed on its first attempt in 64.5%, and its overall record sits −8.5 percentage points below the national average for all cars. These figures come from every recorded DVSA MOT test for the Honda Fr-V in the 2023–2025 data: 27,466 tests across 7 model years (2004–2010). A test still carries exactly one pass or fail verdict.

MeasureThis model
Tests analysed27,466
Overall pass rate72.5%
Passed on first attempt64.5%
Average mileage at test125,414 mi
Model years covered2004–2010 (7 years)
Versus UK national average−8.5 pts below

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

Most Common Honda Fr-V MOT Problems by Failure Category

Every MOT failure a tester records belongs to one inspection section of the DVSA manual. For the Honda Fr-V, 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.

Inspection section Share of failures Est. recorded instances
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 40% 6,144
Suspension 33% 5,104
Steering 15% 2,289
Visibility 6% 937
Brakes 5% 745
Noise, emissions and leaks 2% 233

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

Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment

Around 40% of the recorded Honda Fr-V failures fall in the Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment section of the MOT inspection manual. Testers recorded "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources" (8.8%), "Headlamp lens slightly defective" (7.3%), "Position lamp not working" (5.2%) among the Honda Fr-V's lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment faults.

Suspension

Around 33% of the recorded Honda Fr-V failures fall in the Suspension section of the MOT inspection manual. Testers recorded "Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated" (8.5%), "Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength" (5.2%), "Linkage ball joints ball joint excessively worn" (3.4%) among the Honda Fr-V's suspension faults.

Steering

Around 15% of the recorded Honda Fr-V failures fall in the Steering section of the MOT inspection manual. Testers recorded "Track rod end ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated, but preventing the ingress of dirt" (8.3%) among the Honda Fr-V's steering faults.

Top Recorded Honda Fr-V DVSA MOT Test Statistics & Defect Descriptions

The descriptions below are the exact DVSA failure strings testers recorded most often for the Honda Fr-V, each with how many of the model's 27,466 tests it was noted on.

  • "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources" (Minor) — noted on about 2,406 Honda Fr-V tests, 8.8% of the model's MOT record.
  • "Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated" (Minor) — noted on about 2,328 Honda Fr-V tests, 8.5% 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 2,289 Honda Fr-V tests, 8.3% of the model's MOT record.
  • "Headlamp lens slightly defective" (Minor) — noted on about 2,015 Honda Fr-V tests, 7.3% of the model's MOT record.
  • "Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength" (Major) — noted on about 1,426 Honda Fr-V tests, 5.2% of the model's MOT record.
  • "Position lamp not working" (Major) — noted on about 1,419 Honda Fr-V tests, 5.2% of the model's MOT record.

What Fr-V fails on more than most

The 8 biggest of 19 failure items this model records at least 1.5 times the UK rate for.

Share of this model's own MOT tests that record each item, against the UK rate for the same item
Failure item This model UK × UK Typical fix
Track rod end dust cover damaged Steering 8.3% 0.7% 11.9× £18–£45
Component mounting: prescribed area excessively corroded Suspension 12.4% 1.1% 11.3× £180–£450
Headlamp has a product on the lens so that the light output is severely reduced Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 9.0% 1.0% 9.0× £5–£25
Integral structure corroded Body, chassis, structure 5.0% 0.6% 8.3× £180–£450
Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 7.3% 0.9% 8.1× £5–£25
Linkage ball joint excessively worn Suspension 14.2% 1.8% 7.9× £18–£45
Chassis corroded Body, chassis, structure 3.3% 0.5% 6.6× £180–£450
Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension 8.5% 1.3% 6.5× £18–£45

Rates are a share of this model's own tests (27,466 for the top row), so a big seller cannot outrank a rare one. The UK figure is the same item's share of every test in our data. Items Fr-V records at or below the UK rate are not listed — this is where it is unusual, not a full inventory. All failure items · parts and costs

Best and Worst Honda Fr-V Model Years by Pass Rate

The strongest Honda Fr-V model year on record is 2009 (75.6% across 4,551 tests), and the weakest is 2004 (70.4%). The gap between them is 5.2 points. Years with fewer than 50 recorded tests are excluded, so these are the years with enough MOT history to mean something.

Honda Fr-V reliability is improving in the DVSA data — the pass rate moves about 0.8 points a year across the most recent model years shown above.

Year Tests Pass rate First attempt Avg mileage Most common failure
2010 Fr-V 288 73.3% 65.8% 110,130 mi Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated
2009 Fr-V 4,551 75.6% 68.8% 116,721 mi Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated
2008 Fr-V 6,465 72.9% 64.8% 124,169 mi Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated
2007 Fr-V 6,358 73.0% 65.3% 125,144 mi Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated
2006 Fr-V 5,356 70.5% 61.6% 135,417 mi Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case o
2005 Fr-V 3,894 70.6% 62.3% 133,269 mi Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case o
2004 Fr-V 554 70.4% 61.2% 133,045 mi Track rod end ball joint dust cover damaged or dete

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

Pre-MOT Inspection Checklist for Honda Fr-V Owners

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

  • 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 — “ball joint dust cover severely 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.

  • corrosion — “component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength”

    Look under the sills, around the jacking points and where the suspension mounts meet the body. Flaking, holed or crumbly metal fails; a brown stain on sound metal does not.

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

Where the Honda Fr-V is most common

Across every Fr-V model year on record (2004–2010): 10,674 Honda Fr-V cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 27,466 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 685 cars tested there. Cars are counted by the postcode area of the MOT station, so this is where they were tested, not necessarily where their owners live.

# Postcode area Cars Share of all Tests Pass rate
1 Birmingham (B) 685 6.4% 1,704 82.1%
2 London (E) 258 2.4% 537 85.7%
3 London (N) 237 2.2% 563 80.1%
4 Bristol (BS) 229 2.1% 734 64.9%
5 Manchester (M) 210 2% 526 72.6%
6 London (SE) 209 2% 442 80.5%
7 Leicester (LE) 202 1.9% 547 78.1%
8 Reading (RG) 188 1.8% 517 72.1%
9 Portsmouth (PO) 185 1.7% 595 66.9%
10 London (NW) 177 1.7% 414 78.3%
11 Kingston upon Thames (KT) 171 1.6% 459 75.6%
12 Croydon (CR) 166 1.6% 379 81.5%
13 Wembley (HA) 164 1.5% 420 79.0%
14 Brighton (BN) 163 1.5% 506 66.0%
15 High Wycombe (HP) 162 1.5% 402 75.4%
16 Hayes (UB) 162 1.5% 308 81.2%
17 Slough (SL) 155 1.5% 338 79.9%
18 Sheffield (S) 154 1.4% 364 75.3%
19 Nottingham (NG) 151 1.4% 396 69.9%
20 Guildford (GU) 149 1.4% 407 72.2%

The twenty areas with the most Honda Fr-V cars in the record, sorted by car count — sort the columns for a different question. Cars tested at a station whose postcode area could not be resolved are counted in the model's total but in no area, so the shares add up to slightly under 100% even across every area, and an area's cars are a subset of the model's. Pass rate is blank below 30 tests in an area, where a percentage is noise rather than a finding. How this model's pass rate varies by postcode →

Frequently Asked Questions: Honda Fr-V MOT & Reliability

What is the Honda Fr-V MOT pass rate?

72.5% of the 27,466 recorded Honda Fr-V MOT tests ended in a pass, −8.5 percentage points below the national average. 64.5% of those passed on the first attempt.

Which Honda Fr-V model years pass the MOT most often?

2009 is the strongest Honda Fr-V year on record at 75.6%, while 2004 is the weakest at 70.4%. The year-by-year table below lists every model year with at least 50 recorded tests.

What are the most common Honda Fr-V MOT failures?

The most recorded Honda Fr-V failures are "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources" and "Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated" — together around 17% of tests, mostly in the Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment section.