Common problems

Honda CR-V common problems

What MOT testers find on the Honda CR-V: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 806,907 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 9 years, the most tested age

Tyres fails per 100 MOTs (n=57,990)4.6

All cars at 9 years (n=9,949,012)6.7

Tyres advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=57,990)22.6

All cars, same age (n=9,949,012)25.8

What stands out

No part area of the Honda CR-V fails more than 1 point per 100 MOTs above all cars at 9 years old (n=57,990; all cars n=9,949,012).
Suspension fails are less common: 2.5 per 100 MOTs against 7.9 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 9 years: tyre tread below 1.6 mm, on 1.9 per 100 MOTs (all cars 2.5).
The most common advisory or minor defect: tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge, on 15.6 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 9 years

How many of every 100 MOTs found a fail, or an advisory or minor defect, in each area. A test with faults in two areas counts in both.

Honda CR-V at 9 years (n=57,990) against all cars at 9 years (n=9,949,012). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Tyres	4.6	6.7	22.6	25.8
Lights and electrics	4.4	9.2	7.1	4.5
Brakes	3.3	5.6	15.5	20.3
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	2.7	4.0	3.8	3.7
Suspension	2.5	7.9	7.7	14.9
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	0.7	2.4	1.7	3.1
Steering	0.5	1.8	3.1	2.1
Seat belts and airbags	0.4	0.6	0.2	0.4
Body and structure	0.3	2.3	0.7	2.9
Road wheels	0.3	0.4	0.1	0.7
Number plates and VIN	0.2	0.3	1.3	1.7

What testers fail most on the CR-V at 9 years

Fail items on the Honda CR-V at 9 years (n=57,990), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=9,949,012).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm	Tyres	1.9	2.5	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake pads under 1.5 mm	Brakes	1.7	2.0	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Wipers not clearing screen	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	1.6	1.7	£15 to £30 per blade
Tyre condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords	Tyres	1.0	1.3	£88 to £145 per tyre
Tyre pressure monitoring system: malfunctioning or obviously inoperative	Tyres	0.9	0.9	£53 to £125 per wheel (rough guide)
Brake light not working	Lights and electrics	0.9	1.7	£10 to £47 per lamp
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps	Lights and electrics	0.7	1.0	£10 to £47 per lamp
Headlight aimed too high	Lights and electrics	0.7	0.8	£16 to £39 per car (rough guide)
Linkage ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt	Suspension	0.6	0.4	£33 to £102 per link (rough guide)
Tyre with cords exposed	Tyres	0.6	1.3	£88 to £145 per tyre

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 9 years

Advisories and minor defects are recorded, but the car still passes. Across all cars, a part with an advisory or minor defect failed at the next MOT 5.5 times in 100 (n=88,666,940 pairs of consecutive MOTs), against 0.3 times in 100 when the same part had none (n=12,936,860,350).

Advisories and minor defects on the Honda CR-V at 9 years (n=57,990), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=9,949,012).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	15.6	16.4	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	8.3	8.3	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	6.1	8.5	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	4.1	9.2	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Stop lamp: non-obligatory stop lamp not working	Lights and electrics	3.8	0.3
Brake discs: worn, but not excessively	Brakes	3.3	2.7	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt	Other	2.9	2.3
Track rod end: ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated, but preventing the ingress of dirt	Steering	2.9	0.8
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources	Lights and electrics	2.6	2.5
Windscreen: damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	2.1	2.2

Repair estimates are a guide for an independent garage: labour at the national median local garage rate (median £78 an hour from 65 garages, ONS price quotes) times estimated labour hours, plus a parts band. Labour hours and most parts bands are estimates, not quotes, and prices vary by model, engine and region. A warning light fault shows the cost of the diagnosis only.

How problems change with age

Fails per 100 MOTs in the three most common areas at 9 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Tyres	Lights and electrics	Brakes
3 years	25,351	2.5	2.1	0.3
4 years	29,492	2.7	2.2	0.8
5 years	35,534	2.9	2.5	1.6
6 years	44,171	3.4	2.9	2.4
7 years	50,156	3.9	3.4	3.1
8 years	55,644	4.3	3.9	3.2
9 years	57,990	4.6	4.4	3.3
10 years	56,112	4.9	5.8	3.7
11 years	51,980	4.8	7.7	4.0
12 years	47,118	4.8	10.1	4.1
13 years	42,894	4.9	13.0	4.5
14 years	41,356	5.2	14.5	5.0
15 years	47,195	5.5	16.7	5.8
16 years	46,581	5.8	19.4	7.0
17 years	45,249	6.2	22.9	7.9
18 years	39,659	6.1	24.4	9.1
19 years	30,687	6.3	26.7	11.1
20 years	23,817	6.1	27.0	12.0
21 years	15,701	6.0	26.2	12.8
22 years	9,967	5.7	25.1	11.4
23 years	5,658	5.4	23.0	9.8
24 years	2,914	5.7	18.4	6.7
25 years	1,681	5.6	19.0	8.6

Mileage

At 9 years, Honda CR-V cars showing under 30,000 miles failed 9.0% of MOTs (n=2,051); the band that failed most, 120,000 to 150,000 miles, failed 23.3% (n=2,905). For pass and fail rates by age, see Honda CR-V MOT fail rates.

What to check on a viewing

On the Honda CR-V, testers most often record tyre tread below 1.6 mm; brake pads under 1.5 mm; wipers not clearing screen. Look at these first, then the areas below.

Tyres

Check the tread across the full width of all four tyres, and the spare if there is one.
Look for cuts, bulges and cracking in the sidewalls.
Wear on one edge only can point to worn suspension or the tracking being out.

Lights and electrics

With someone outside, try every light: dipped and main beam, indicators, brake lights, fog lights and number plate lamps.
Check that the warning lights come on with the ignition and go out once the engine runs.
Look for misted, cracked or yellowed headlamp lenses.

Brakes

On the test drive the car should stop in a straight line without pulling, juddering or grinding.
Look at the discs through the wheels for a deep lip, heavy rust or scoring.
Check that the handbrake or electronic parking brake holds the car on a slope.
Ask when the pads, discs and brake fluid were last changed, and for the receipts.

Ask for the car's MOT history and service record: advisories that repeat from one year to the next show what has been left. GOV.UK MOT history.

Questions

What are the most common problems on the Honda CR-V?

At 9 years, the age with the most MOT tests (57,990), the fail items testers record most often on the Honda CR-V are tyre tread below 1.6 mm (1.9 per 100 MOTs), brake pads under 1.5 mm (1.7 per 100 MOTs), wipers not clearing screen (1.6 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (15.6) and brake pads: wearing thin (8.3).

Which parts of the Honda CR-V fail more often than on other cars?

None by more than 1 point per 100 MOTs at 9 years, compared with 9,949,012 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Honda CR-V problems by area

Other Honda models

All Honda models · Common problems by make

Read this with care. A fail rate is not a measure of build quality. How far cars are driven, how they are used and how well owners maintain them all change it, and wear items such as tyres and brake pads are common fails. Compare a model only with cars of the same age. Methodology and limits.

The all cars figures cover all class 4 vehicles (cars and light vans) tested at the same age.

Looking at a Honda CR-V?

These figures describe the model, not the car in front of you. Found one you might buy? See what the VetTheCar Buying Report covers, or use the tools that work without a registration.

See a sample report Car tools · MOT fail rates by model · Compare models by MOT record

Repair estimates: ONS consumer price quotes for local garage labour (09/2025 to 08/2026), the MOT inspection manual for defect wording, and estimated labour hours and parts bands. Not affiliated with or endorsed by ONS.

Source

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data, class 4 normal MOT tests, 2022 to 2025. MOT data updated 28 September 2026.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by DVSA. How we calculate these figures · Data sources