Honda Prelude: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Honda Prelude fails its first MOT more often than the average UK car, by 7 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 1,048 individual Honda Prelude tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 69.7% first-time pass rate means roughly 30 in every 100 Honda Preludes 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 Prelude tested had covered 108,022 miles and was built around 1997.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. The Honda Prelude sits 7 points below the national average, ranked 1,769 of 2,005 models. On one bought as 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 Prelude 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 recorded closing bids for damaged Honda Preludes at UK salvage auction.

Most common MOT failures on a Honda Prelude

1. Emissions levels exceed the manufacturer's specified limits, 4% of tests (14.74x the national rate for this defect)
2. Emissions levels exceed default limits, 4.9% of tests (13.75x 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, 9.1% of tests (9.6x the national rate for this defect)
4. Steering rack gaiter or ball joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 6.1% of tests (8.21x the national rate for this defect)
5. Lambda coefficient outside the default limits or the range specified by the manufacturer, 3.3% of tests (6.54x the national rate for this defect)
6. Vehicle structure corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is seriously reduced, 2.7% of tests (6.46x the national rate for this defect)
7. Brakes imbalance across an axle such that the braking effort from any wheel is less than 70% of the maximum effort recorded from the other wheel on the same axle., 2.7% of tests (5.11x the national rate for this defect)
8. Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement, 5% of tests (3.81x the national rate for this defect)
9. Exhaust system leaking or insecure, 3.1% of tests (3.02x the national rate for this defect)
10. The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements, 5.8% of tests (2.48x the national rate for this defect)

From 1,048 DVSA-tracked Honda Prelude tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 2.19% of these flagged Honda Prelude defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 5.11% nationally.

Most common MOT advisories on a Honda Prelude

An advisory doesn't fail the car - the tester flags it as worth watching, but it still passes. A different list from the failures above: what testers are noting on a Honda Prelude before it actually fails on it.

1. 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, 10.2% of tests (6.73x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
2. Vehicle structure corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is seriously reduced, 7.9% of tests (6.37x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
3. Fluid leaking excessively and likely to harm the environment or to pose a safety risk to other road users, 24% of tests (4.32x the national rate for this advisory)
4. Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake, 8.1% of tests (4.06x the national rate for this advisory)
5. Exhaust system leaking or insecure, 9.3% of tests (3.25x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
6. Product on the lens or light source which obviously reduces light intensity or changes emitted colour to other than white or yellow, 3.1% of tests (2.76x the national rate for this advisory)
7. A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn, 29.3% of tests (2.19x the national rate for this advisory)
8. A suspension component excessively damaged or corroded, 10.4% of tests (2.01x the national rate for this advisory)
9. Number plate inscription missing or illegible, 5.2% of tests (1.98x the national rate for this advisory)
10. Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded, 9.9% of tests (1.6x the national rate for this advisory)

From 1,048 DVSA-tracked Honda Prelude tests, 2024.

Other Honda models

• Honda Jazz - 78.7%
• Honda Civic - 73.4%
• Honda Cr-V - 79.3%
• Honda Hr-V - 89.8%
• Honda Accord - 68%
• Honda Jazz Ex I-Mmd Cvt - 95.6%
• Honda Insight - 78.1%
• Honda Fr-V - 63.7%

Models with a similar pass rate

• Nissan Sunny - 69.8%
• Peugeot 107 - 69.7%
• Volkswagen Jetta - 69.7%
• Mazda Bt-50 - 69.7%
• Ford Galaxy - 69.6%
• MG Mgf - 69.6%

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
• Do you need an HPI check on a car you know is a write-off?

Embed this data

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All 2,005 models ranked by MOT pass rate