Honda Jazz — MOT statistics 2024
All Honda Jazz variants tested in Great Britain in 2024 — 440,547 MOT tests, every generation and engine together.
This car fails its MOT about 15% less often than expected for its age.
Rank 6 of 25 families published so far · margin of error ±1 points
What this means for buyers
- Better than average: for its age profile you would expect more failures than the 26.6% it actually shows.
- Most common specific failures: headlamp reflector or lens slightly defective · a suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn · a rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources.
- ≈12 dangerous defects found per 100 tests — a dangerous defect means the car legally cannot be driven away from the test.
- Try every light and switch — lamps are a top failure
- Listen for knocks over bumps — worn suspension joints are common
- Ask the seller about: Steering rack gaiter or ball joint dust cover damaged or det
- Feel for brake judder and pulling on the test drive
Top specific failures
Exact defect wording from test records, per 100 tests.
| What failed | per 100 |
|---|---|
| Headlamp reflector or lens slightly defective | 6.28 |
| A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn | 4.76 |
| A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources | 4.54 |
| A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning | 4.21 |
| Steering rack gaiter or ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated | 3.84 |
| a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm | 3.63 |
| 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 | 3.59 |
| The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements | 3.46 |
| Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen | 3.24 |
| A suspension joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc | 3.16 |
Failures by component area
Early warnings (advisories)
Advisories are wear the tester noted but didn't fail — what will need money soon.
How it ages
Takeaway: a 10-year-old Jazz has roughly a 17% chance of failing its MOT; from about age 16 it does worse than the average car.
Data table
| Age | Honda Jazz | All cars |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | 7.6% | 11.6% |
| 5 | 8.4% | 13.5% |
| 6 | 10.1% | 15.6% |
| 7 | 11.0% | 18.2% |
| 8 | 11.6% | 21.3% |
| 9 | 14.4% | 24.4% |
| 10 | 17.4% | 27.7% |
| 11 | 18.7% | 30.6% |
| 12 | 22.8% | 33.4% |
| 13 | 24.7% | 36.0% |
| 14 | 30.6% | 38.6% |
| 15 | 34.2% | 39.9% |
| 16 | 43.1% | 41.5% |
| 17 | 45.3% | 41.5% |
| 18 | 45.6% | 42.4% |
| 19 | 46.7% | 42.2% |
| 20 | 46.8% | 37.5% |
Petrol, diesel, hybrid — which ages best?
| Fuel | Tests | % failing |
|---|---|---|
| Petrol | 429,375 | 26.9% |
| Hybrid | 9,866 | 12.3% |
Where they fail most
Every dot is a postcode area — size = how many were tested there, colour = share failing. Raw rates: coastal and rural areas run older fleets and salted roads.
| Toughest areas | % failing |
|---|---|
| Manchester (M) | 34.23% |
| Plymouth (PL) | 33.51% |
| London SE (SE) | 33.3% |
| Truro (TR) | 32.73% |
| Leeds (LS) | 32.46% |
| Easiest areas | % failing |
|---|---|
| Doncaster (DN) | 18.51% |
| Kingston upon Thames (KT) | 19.16% |
| Chelmsford (CM) | 20.37% |
| Cleveland (TS) | 21.21% |
| Blackburn (BB) | 21.52% |
Does the test month matter?
Takeaway: the spread between best and worst month is 5.1 percentage points — noticeable seasonality.
bars: Honda Jazz · dashed: all class-4 cars
Month-by-month table
| Month | Honda Jazz | All cars |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27.25% | 27.37% |
| Feb | 25.52% | 26.14% |
| Mar | 24.15% | 24.75% |
| Apr | 28.17% | 26.01% |
| May | 26.57% | 25.01% |
| Jun | 26.02% | 25.01% |
| Jul | 25.88% | 26.04% |
| Aug | 25.85% | 25.79% |
| Sep | 25.32% | 25.19% |
| Oct | 28.92% | 27.13% |
| Nov | 29.22% | 27.2% |
| Dec | 27.9% | 26.29% |
Is the mileage normal?
A typical 8-year-old Jazz has ~34,815 miles on the clock. Much more — ask why; much less — check for gaps in the MOT history.
line: median · band: middle half of the fleet (p25–p75)
Mileage by age (p25 / median / p75)
| Age | p25 | Median | p75 | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 10,931 | 16,944 | 25,371 | 7,624 |
| 5 | 13,566 | 21,144 | 30,644 | 24,980 |
| 6 | 17,759 | 26,680 | 38,276 | 28,893 |
| 7 | 20,753 | 30,349 | 43,221 | 25,022 |
| 8 | 24,015 | 34,815 | 49,011 | 25,727 |
| 9 | 27,708 | 40,252 | 55,405 | 24,243 |
| 10 | 32,310 | 47,025 | 64,610 | 27,009 |
| 11 | 37,520 | 53,606 | 72,409 | 29,859 |
| 12 | 42,108 | 59,419 | 79,223 | 29,412 |
| 13 | 47,197 | 65,579 | 86,528 | 27,409 |
| 14 | 53,127 | 73,814 | 97,676 | 29,013 |
| 15 | 56,147 | 78,053 | 102,827 | 31,625 |
| 16 | 58,510 | 80,188 | 104,416 | 27,818 |
| 17 | 61,201 | 83,132 | 107,983 | 27,246 |
| 18 | 63,842 | 86,812 | 111,175 | 26,358 |
| 19 | 69,590 | 93,131 | 118,142 | 21,481 |
| 20+ | 71,153 | 94,767 | 119,290 | 26,610 |
Quick answers
- What most commonly fails on a Honda Jazz MOT?
- The most frequent specific failures in 2024 were: headlamp reflector or lens slightly defective; a suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn; a rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources.
- Is the Honda Jazz reliable for its age?
- Across 440,547 initial tests in 2024, it fails its MOT about 15% less often than expected for its age (MOT Risk Index 85, where 100 = normal for its age).
- What mileage is normal for a 8-year-old Jazz?
- The median is about 34,815 miles; the middle half of the fleet sits between 24,015 and 49,011.
- How often are dangerous defects found on the Honda Jazz?
- About 12 dangerous defects were recorded per 100 initial tests in 2024 — with a dangerous defect the car legally cannot be driven away.
Compare with
Honda Civic · 100.7Renault Clio · 141.5Audi A4 · 84.6Fiat 500 · 116.2
Data details & how to cite
Scope: class-4 vehicles (cars), initial tests only, outcomes pass / fail / fixed-on-the-spot at the station (PRS counts towards the failure rate — the defect was present at arrival). Index = observed initial failures ÷ failures expected for this fleet's exact age profile, ×100; margin of error is a 95% confidence interval. Covers ALL generations together — a 3-year-old and a 15-year-old are very different cars; a generation split is on the roadmap. Dataset release dvsa-2024-v1, frozen baseline. Full method: methodology.
Cite: MOT Risk Index (2026). Honda Jazz MOT statistics 2024 (dvsa-2024-v1). https://motriskindex.co.uk/cars/honda-jazz/ · Published 2026-07-30.