Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Honda Civic 2017: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 83 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2017 Honda Civic were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Brake pads (rear).

Summary

The 2017 Honda Civic follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 13,989 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
83 in every 100
Did not pass first time
17 in every 1002,352 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
8 yearsabout 54,906 miles
First tests counted
13,989

What failed most often

  1. Brake pads (rear)11 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Tyre condition (front)11 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Tyre tread depth (front)9 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 2017 Honda Civic vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. A wear pattern follows age and use more than the way the car was built. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Brakes

Two faults and one wear pattern. The strongest is the anti-lock braking system (ABS): 3.7 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 2,350 of 2,352 failed first attempts (99.9%) 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-lock braking system (ABS)

Failed on 65 first tests3.7 times as often as similar carsLikely 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.

Electronic stability control

Failed on 63 first tests3.5 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

An ESC warning lamp is failed only when the tester is certain it indicates an ESC malfunction, because the lamp takes various forms and the owner's handbook may need checking. The system is also called ESP, VDC or DSC, among many other names. Every failure row is Major, covering the lamp, wheel speed sensors, wiring, other components and the switch.

Brake pads (rear)

Failed on 249 first tests2.0 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

A pad worn down to its wear indicator, or contaminated with oil or grease, is Major. A pad worn below the set thickness limit, missing or incorrectly mounted is Dangerous. The manual treats an illuminated brake wear indicator as no reason for failure, although DVSA also lists an illuminated indicator as a Major row.

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

Visibility

One fault: windscreen washers (front), 2.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Windscreen washers (front)

Failed on 133 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Windscreen washers that are not working, or do not provide sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen, are graded Major. They must provide enough fluid for the wipers to clear the windscreen effectively. Vehicles with an opening windscreen, or some other adequate view to the front, left and right, are not inspected for washers.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. 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
83in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
4in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
13in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 83.2% of 13,989 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 87.0%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 4 fixed and the 13 not fixed make the 17 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as testedPassed first time, same mileage
Petrol12,13952,601 miles8483
Diesel1,84875,675 miles7984

Figures are in every 100 first tests. Cars with more miles usually fail more often, so the same-mileage figure gives every fuel the mileage mix of all the cars in this year.

Same model, other years

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

406080100199520002005201020172020Older carsNewer cars
4060801002000201020172020Older cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 84 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
199578 in every 100325
199663 in every 100482
199759 in every 100755
199861 in every 100857
199962 in every 1001,141
200064 in every 1001,362
200155 in every 1003,589
200254 in every 1005,292
200353 in every 1006,068
200456 in every 1008,557
200556 in every 10010,433
200653 in every 10011,109
200753 in every 10018,127
200853 in every 10017,412
200954 in every 10016,721
201054 in every 10015,256
201157 in every 10010,444
201269 in every 10012,469
201371 in every 10014,653
201476 in every 10013,892
201579 in every 10014,533
201681 in every 10015,631
2017 This car83 in every 10013,989
201885 in every 10012,976
201986 in every 10012,034
202087 in every 1005,301
202188 in every 1004,738
202294 in every 1001,381

If you are buying one

What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.

Mileage matters most on a 2017 Civic.

Of 2017 Civic vehicles with under 37,000 miles, 89 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 76,000 miles or more, 76 in every 100 did.

Under 37,0002,738 tests
89
37,000–50,0002,966 tests
86
50,000–61,000 Typical car2,691 tests
83
61,000–76,0002,796 tests
82
76,000 and over2,794 tests
76

Petrol or diesel?

Typical mileagePassed first time,
as tested		Passed first time,
same mileage
Petrol52,601 miles8483
Diesel75,675 miles7984

Figures are in every 100 first tests. Petrol cars look better on the raw figures only because diesel cars have done more miles (typically 75,675 against 52,601). At the same mileage there is no clear difference between the two.

What to check at your mileage

How often each fault turned up on a failed first test, by the car's mileage. Read it as: what is likely to need looking at on a car like the one in front of you.

Under 37,00050,000–61,00076,000 and over
Brake pads (rear)0.91.92.8
Tyre condition (front)1.61.62.4
Tyre tread depth (front)0.31.62.4
Windscreen wipers (front)1.11.61.0
Windscreen washers1.01.11.7

Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.

When a car fails

52in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

20in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

6in every 100

of all first tests had a defect the tester marked dangerous (unsafe to drive away).

Every figure here is a first-attempt MOT rate from DVSA open data for this model line, for cars of this model year tested in 2025. Each mileage band holds a fifth of the tests. MOTs do not test engine or gearbox internals, so this is a pre-purchase checklist, not a full reliability score.

FAQs

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

The 2017 Honda Civic follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Brake pads (rear), about 11 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 83.2% of 13,989 first MOTs on the 2017 Honda Civic passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 87.0%. Among 2,352 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Anti-lock braking system (ABS) appears more often than on similar cars (2.8% of those tests; 65 observed failures; about 3.7× 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 2017 Honda Civic at the first attempt were Brake pads (rear) (10.6%), Tyre condition (front) (10.5%) and Tyre tread depth (front) (8.9%), 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-lock braking system (ABS) (2.8% of those tests; 65 observed failures; about 3.7× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Anti-lock braking system (ABS) shows up more often than on similar cars (2.8% of those tests; 65 observed failures; about 3.7× 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 2017 Honda Civic include Anti-lock braking system (ABS), Electronic stability control, Windscreen washers (front). These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2017 Honda Civic (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.

Check any vehicle’s MOT history

Full MOT history, mileage records, and reliability insights for any UK vehicle.

Run a free check