Honda Accord: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Honda Accord fails its first MOT more often than the average UK car, by 8.7 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 26,557 individual Honda Accord tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 68% first-time pass rate means roughly 32 in every 100 Honda Accords presented for MOT fail on the first attempt. That is worse than average, so budget for remedial work and treat a fresh 12-month MOT as a genuine selling point rather than a given. The average Honda Accord tested had covered 124,872 miles and was built around 2007.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. On a Honda Accord bought as a repairable salvage, assume the mechanical side needs more than the visible accident damage, and pad your repair estimate accordingly.

Before you bid: run the lot through the analyzer, check the car's own record, check the mileage, decode the VIN, and if it carries a marker use the write-off value calculator. Or compare it against another model.

Looking at a specific Honda Accord rather than the model in general? The free check covers its MOT and mileage history, and the full HPI report confirms the insurance write-off category, outstanding finance and whether it is recorded stolen, from licensed data for 5 credits. Already own one that has been damaged? Work out whether fixing it beats selling it with the repair or scrap calculator, and see what damaged Honda Accords actually sold for at UK salvage auction.

Most common MOT failures on a Honda Accord

1. Headlamp reflector or lens seriously defective or missing, 1.7% of tests (10.62x the national rate for this defect)
2. The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements, 6.8% of tests (3.85x the national rate for this defect)
3. The strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired, 2.9% of tests (3.53x the national rate for this defect)
4. A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning, 4.7% of tests (2.91x the national rate for this defect)
5. A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn, 10.2% of tests (2.77x the national rate for this defect)
6. A headlamp or light source missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED, 2.3% of tests (2.56x the national rate for this defect)
7. Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement, 2.4% of tests (2.5x the national rate for this defect)
8. Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake, 1.8% of tests (2.34x the national rate for this defect)
9. a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm, 3% of tests (1.94x the national rate for this defect)
10. Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning, 1.7% of tests (1.78x the national rate for this defect)

From 40,073 DVSA-tracked Honda Accord tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 4.43% of these flagged Honda Accord defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.

Honda Accord pass rate by model year

Pass rates fall steadily as cars age, so the model year matters as much as the model. First-time pass rate for each Honda Accord year:

• 1999 Honda Accord - 67.2% first-time pass, 460 tests
• 2000 Honda Accord - 61.2% first-time pass, 711 tests
• 2001 Honda Accord - 60.1% first-time pass, 544 tests
• 2002 Honda Accord - 61.7% first-time pass, 559 tests
• 2003 Honda Accord - 63.4% first-time pass, 1,554 tests
• 2004 Honda Accord - 64% first-time pass, 2,427 tests
• 2005 Honda Accord - 66.2% first-time pass, 2,907 tests
• 2006 Honda Accord - 65.9% first-time pass, 2,781 tests
• 2007 Honda Accord - 66.6% first-time pass, 3,099 tests
• 2008 Honda Accord - 70.2% first-time pass, 2,857 tests
• 2009 Honda Accord - 70.9% first-time pass, 3,046 tests
• 2010 Honda Accord - 75.9% first-time pass, 1,254 tests
• 2011 Honda Accord - 76.1% first-time pass, 1,250 tests
• 2012 Honda Accord - 75.9% first-time pass, 1,167 tests
• 2013 Honda Accord - 76.3% first-time pass, 498 tests
• 2014 Honda Accord - 83% first-time pass, 430 tests

Honda Accord by fuel type

Diesel and petrol versions of the same car fail on different things, so the fuel type moves the number:

• Petrol Honda Accord - 68.8% first-time pass, 15,804 tests
• Diesel Honda Accord - 68.3% first-time pass, 10,426 tests

Other Honda models

• Honda Jazz - 78.7%
• Honda Civic - 73.4%
• Honda Cr-V - 79.3%
• Honda Hr-V - 89.8%
• Honda Jazz Ex I-Mmd Cvt - 95.6%
• Honda Insight - 78.1%
• Honda Fr-V - 63.7%
• Honda Jazz Crosstar Ex I-Mmd Cvt - 96.7%

Models with a similar pass rate

• Saab 9-3 - 68.1%
• Fiat Qubo - 68.1%
• Ford Fusion - 68%
• Volkswagen Caravelle - 68%
• Ssangyong Musso - 68%
• Vauxhall Omega - 68%

If this car is a salvage or write-off

• What does Cat N mean? Category N explained
• What does Cat S mean? Category S explained
• Cat S vs Cat N: the real differences

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All 2,005 models ranked by MOT pass rate