Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Honda Accord 2004: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 55 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2004 Honda Accord were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Individual sidelight or tail light (front).

Summary

The 2004 Honda Accord follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 1,948 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
55 in every 100
Did not pass first time
45 in every 100880 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
21 yearsabout 128,823 miles
First tests counted
1,948

What failed most often

  1. Individual sidelight or tail light (front)19 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Headlight aim13 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)11 in every 100 failed tests

How we count this. Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Only Class 4 cars on their first MOT of the year are counted. A car that fails and is fixed at the test station still counts as a fail in the first-attempt rate. These are raw results, not adjusted for age, mileage, or peer mix. The MOT does not test engine or gearbox internals.

Note:

These are patterns across 2004 Honda Accord vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Suspension

Two faults. The strongest is the anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (rear): 4.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 872 of 880 failed first attempts (99.1%) that recorded an odometer reading in 2025. Mileage is needed to compare like with like.

We only list faults with at least 20 failures and a rate of about 2.0 times that of similar cars, which keeps one-off results out of the list.

Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (rear)

Failed on 26 first tests4.1 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Excessive wear on an anti-roll bar linkage ball joint is Major. A joint likely to become detached is graded Dangerous.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 54 first tests, 6.8 times as often as on similar cars.

Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)

Failed on 97 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Pins and bushes on suspension arms fail as Major when they are excessively worn. They are graded Dangerous when likely to become detached. DVSA uses the same wording for a suspension joint.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 149 first tests, 2.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.

Brakes

One fault: anti-lock braking system (ABS), 2.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Anti-lock braking system (ABS)

Failed on 70 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

ABS is failed as removed only where it has obviously been removed, because not every vehicle in the age range where removal is not permitted has ABS. A warning lamp that does not light or shows an ABS fault is Major, as is a missing or excessively damaged wheel speed sensor. Every failure row for this component is Major.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Advisories

Other things testers noted as worn or close to failing, more often than on similar cars.

An advisory is a note from the tester about something that has not failed yet. It is an early warning, not a fail. Advisories for the faults above are shown with those faults.

Suspension arm ball joint (rear)

Noted on 28 first tests23 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (rear)

Noted on 53 first tests8.3 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Brake pedal

Noted on 20 first tests4.2 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Anti-roll bar (rear)

Noted on 21 first tests3.7 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Brake pads (rear)

Noted on 67 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

Exhaust system (front)

Noted on 32 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Counts cover advisories recorded on failed first tests only, compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

MOT pass rates

How first tests ended, and how the pass rates are counted.

Passed first time
55in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
9in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
36in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 54.8% of 1,948 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 64.5%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 9 fixed and the 36 not fixed make the 45 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.

406080100200020042010Older carsNewer cars
406080100200020042010Older carsNewer cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
199957 in every 100343
200057 in every 100542
200153 in every 100398
200254 in every 100421
200355 in every 1001,268
2004 This car55 in every 1001,948
200558 in every 1002,269
200658 in every 1002,217
200757 in every 1002,499
200860 in every 1002,417
200964 in every 1002,649
201067 in every 1001,122
201170 in every 1001,149
201272 in every 1001,063
201374 in every 100465
201476 in every 100400

FAQs

Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.

The 2004 Honda Accord follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Individual sidelight or tail light (front), about 19 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 54.8% of 1,948 first MOTs on the 2004 Honda Accord passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 64.5%. Among 880 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (rear) appears more often than on similar cars (3.0% of those tests; 26 observed failures; about 4.1× more often than similar cars). There is no single reliability score here; this is a pre-purchase checklist built from DVSA open data, not a guarantee for any individual car.
Ranked by how often they were actually recorded, the items that most often failed a 2004 Honda Accord at the first attempt were Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (19.3%), Headlight aim (12.6%) and Suspension arm pins and bushes (front) (11.1%), each as a share of the year's failed first attempts. That is what goes wrong most often on the car. The common faults table shows a different measure: faults that are unusual compared with similar cars.
Among failed first-attempt tests we highlight patterns that appear more often than on similar cars. Top example: Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (rear) (3.0% of those tests; 26 observed failures; about 4.1× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (rear) shows up more often than on similar cars (3.0% of those tests; 26 observed failures; about 4.1× more often than similar cars). That does not prove a design fault. Age, mileage, and how the car was used still matter. Treat it as a pre-purchase checkpoint, not a manufacturer service bulletin.
Common MOT problem areas for the 2004 Honda Accord include Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (rear), Suspension arm pins and bushes (front), Anti-lock braking system (ABS). These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
Advisories flag issues noted at the test and are not a fail rate. We show advisory patterns that appear more often than on similar cars among failed first-attempt tests, separate from common failure rows. Use them as early-warning checks, not as a pass/fail score.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2004 Honda Accord (registration year) using UK DVSA open data for the selected test year. Patterns are compared with cars of a similar age and mileage. It is a buyer checklist from MOT defect statistics, not a full service history or manufacturer service-bulletin list.
No. MOT tests do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronic modules. Patterns here come from MOT defect statistics only and should not be read as engine or gearbox reliability scores.

About this data

How this page is built and what it can (and can't) say.

These figures come from UK MOT open data for this model year. We surface common failure patterns against similar cars, not a full reliability score, and not a pass/fail verdict on any individual vehicle.

2024 2025

What we include

UK Class 4 cars only. Normal MOT tests (not retests); first test per vehicle per calendar year; results pass, PRS, or fail.

Same-day repairs

PRS means the car failed items that were fixed at the test station and then passed the same day. We count PRS as a first-attempt fail in headline rates so same-day repairs do not hide problems.

How we compare

We compare this model year with other Class 4 cars of similar age and mileage in the same test year. This model family is left out of the peer group so the car is not measured against itself.

What this does not cover

  • MOTs do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronics; this is not a full reliability score.
  • Common faults come from MOT defect stats, not manufacturer TSBs or recalls.
  • Age and mileage matching reduces, but does not remove, differences in how cars were used and maintained.
  • If the data for a car is too thin to say anything useful, we say so rather than guess.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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