Pass rate, every year
10,513 tests across 21 model years, 2001–2021.
+1.6 pts vs the national average
Pass rate, every year
10,513 tests across 21 model years, 2001–2021.
+1.6 pts vs the national average
Best year to buy
2012 88.8%
The strongest of the 21 years on record. See the 2012 page →
Worst year to buy
2015 74.9%
13.9 points below the 2012 peak. See the 2015 page →
The Honda Stepwagon MOT pass rate is 82.6%, +1.6 percentage points above the UK average. That is 10,513 DVSA MOT tests recorded between 2001 and 2021. This page lists the most common Honda Stepwagon MOT failures by category, names the best and worst model years, and finishes with a pre-MOT checklist you can run at home.
The Honda Stepwagon passed on its first attempt in 79.8%, and its overall record sits +1.6 percentage points above the national average for all cars. These figures come from every recorded DVSA MOT test for the Honda Stepwagon in the 2023–2025 data: 10,513 tests across 21 model years (2001–2021). A test still carries exactly one pass or fail verdict.
| Measure | This model |
|---|---|
| Tests analysed | 10,513 |
| Overall pass rate | 82.6% |
| Passed on first attempt | 79.8% |
| Average mileage at test | 98,457 mi |
| Model years covered | 2001–2021 (21 years) |
| Versus UK national average | +1.6 pts above |
Figures are computed from every recorded DVSA test for this model in the 2023–2025 data.
Every MOT failure a tester records belongs to one inspection section of the DVSA manual. For the Honda Stepwagon, 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 |
|---|---|
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 49% |
| Suspension | 23% |
| Steering | 17% |
| Visibility | 8% |
| Brakes | 2% |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 1% |
| Tyres | 0% |
| Body, chassis, structure | 0% |
Shares are over the Honda Stepwagon's recorded defect strings, merged across its year pages.
Around 49% of the recorded Honda Stepwagon 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" (4.7%), "Headlamp lens slightly defective" (3.5%), "Position lamp not working" (2.7%) among the Honda Stepwagon's lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment faults.
Around 23% of the recorded Honda Stepwagon failures fall in the Suspension section of the MOT inspection manual. Testers recorded "Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated" (3.3%), "Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated" (2.0%), "Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt" (1.5%) among the Honda Stepwagon's suspension faults.
Around 17% of the recorded Honda Stepwagon 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" (5.1%), "Track rod end ball joint dust cover excessively damaged or deteriorated so that it no longer prevents the ingress of…" (0.2%) among the Honda Stepwagon's steering faults.
The descriptions below are the exact DVSA failure strings testers recorded most often for the Honda Stepwagon, each with how many of the model's 10,513 tests it was noted on.
The strongest Honda Stepwagon model year on record is 2012 (88.8% across 934 tests), and the weakest is 2015 (74.9%). The gap between them is 13.9 points. Years with fewer than 50 recorded tests are excluded, so these are the years with enough MOT history to mean something.
Honda Stepwagon reliability is improving in the DVSA data — the pass rate moves about 0.9 points a year across the most recent model years shown above.
| Year | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 Stepwagon | 321 | 82.2% |
| 2020 Stepwagon | 355 | 79.2% |
| 2019 Stepwagon | 344 | 83.4% |
| 2018 Stepwagon | 305 | 80.0% |
| 2017 Stepwagon | 348 | 77.9% |
| 2016 Stepwagon | 384 | 77.1% |
| 2015 Stepwagon | 327 | 74.9% |
| 2014 Stepwagon | 366 | 85.5% |
| 2013 Stepwagon | 789 | 88.3% |
| 2012 Stepwagon | 934 | 88.8% |
| 2011 Stepwagon | 1,053 | 83.0% |
| 2010 Stepwagon | 1,622 | 84.5% |
| 2009 Stepwagon | 823 | 82.6% |
| 2008 Stepwagon | 827 | 81.6% |
| 2007 Stepwagon | 377 | 78.8% |
| 2006 Stepwagon | 215 | 79.5% |
| 2005 Stepwagon | 390 | 76.7% |
| 2004 Stepwagon | 341 | 82.1% |
| 2003 Stepwagon | 236 | 80.9% |
| 2002 Stepwagon | 93 | 75.3% |
| 2001 Stepwagon | 63 | 81.0% |
Newest model year first. Only years with at least 50 recorded tests are listed.
These checks follow this Honda Stepwagon's own most-recorded failure strings, starting with what a tester is most likely to flag on a Honda Stepwagon.
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 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 windscreen — “windscreen damaged”
Check the driver’s side of the screen within the swept area for chips and cracks; anything larger than 10mm in the driver’s central view is a fail. Most chips can be resin-repaired for far less than a new screen.
Derived from the DVSA failure strings testers recorded for the Honda Stepwagon. A check that finds nothing means the item is likely fine, not that the test is guaranteed.
Across every Stepwagon model year on record (2001–2021): 5,254 Honda Stepwagon cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 10,513 tests. Maidstone (ME) has the most, with 264 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 | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maidstone (ME) | 264 | 89.9% |
| 2 | Birmingham (B) | 262 | 91.1% |
| 3 | Bradford (BD) | 176 | 94.1% |
| 4 | Portsmouth (PO) | 166 | 76.8% |
| 5 | Leicester (LE) | 119 | 89.6% |
| 6 | Romford (RM) | 118 | 90.6% |
| 7 | Derby (DE) | 116 | 86.7% |
| 8 | Southampton (SO) | 115 | 80.0% |
| 9 | Brighton (BN) | 114 | 71.6% |
| 10 | Hounslow (TW) | 105 | 92.3% |
| 11 | Bristol (BS) | 99 | 74.2% |
| 12 | Coventry (CV) | 95 | 85.1% |
| 13 | London (E) | 89 | 90.6% |
| 14 | Manchester (M) | 88 | 88.1% |
| 15 | Wembley (HA) | 85 | 93.0% |
| 16 | London (SE) | 83 | 86.7% |
| 17 | Sheffield (S) | 79 | 88.3% |
| 18 | London (N) | 73 | 88.2% |
| 19 | Hayes (UB) | 73 | 92.2% |
| 20 | Exeter (EX) | 71 | 74.3% |
The twenty areas with the most Honda Stepwagon 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 →
82.6% of the 10,513 recorded Honda Stepwagon MOT tests ended in a pass, +1.6 percentage points above the national average. 79.8% of those passed on the first attempt.
2012 is the strongest Honda Stepwagon year on record at 88.8%, while 2015 is the weakest at 74.9%. The year-by-year table below lists every model year with at least 50 recorded tests.
The most recorded Honda Stepwagon failures are "Track rod end ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated, but preventing the ingress of dirt" and "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources" — together around 10% of tests, mostly in the Steering section.