Model Reports 5 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Honda CR-V 2002: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 49 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2002 Honda CR-V were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Individual sidelight or tail light (front).

Summary

A 2002 Honda CR-V passed first time about 3 in every 100 less often than the average of the 2001 and 2003 model years.

At a glance

How 2,508 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
49 in every 100
Did not pass first time
51 in every 1001,279 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
23 yearsabout 138,568 miles
First tests counted
2,508

What failed most often

  1. Individual sidelight or tail light (front)16 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Suspension mounting area (rear)16 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Petrol engine warning light12 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 2002 Honda CR-V 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.

Body and structure

Two faults. The strongest is the drive shaft joints and boots (rear): 31 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 1,276 of 1,279 failed first attempts (99.8%) 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.

Drive shaft joints and boots (rear)

Failed on 33 first tests31 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A constant velocity boot that is only severely deteriorated is Minor. It is Major once it is missing, split or insecure so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt. A transmission joint excessively worn is Major, and graded Dangerous when it is so worn it is likely to fail.

Exhaust system (rear)

Failed on 70 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Exhaust fumes causing a danger to health of persons on board are graded Dangerous, and so is a silencer likely to become detached. Fumes entering the cabin are Major. One or more missing or defective mountings does not necessarily make the exhaust insecure, since testers assess the overall security of the system.

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

Suspension

Five faults. The strongest is the anti-roll bar ball joint (rear): 14 times as often as on similar cars.

Anti-roll bar ball joint (rear)

Failed on 27 first tests14 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

On an anti-roll bar ball joint, DVSA fails a suspension pin, bush or joint that is excessively worn as Major. One 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 20 first tests, 12 times as often as on similar cars.

Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (rear)

Failed on 75 first tests9.6 times as often as similar carsLikely 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 113 first tests, 12 times as often as on similar cars.

Other suspension component ball joint (front)

Failed on 28 first tests3.7 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Under DVSA's general suspension wording, a ball joint that is excessively worn is Major. One likely to become detached is graded Dangerous.

Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear)

Failed on 26 first tests2.9 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.

Coil spring (rear)

Failed on 79 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A missing bump stop rubber is not a reason to fail a coil spring. When the vehicle is jacked and lowered, a spring that does not correctly locate as the suspension returns to its normal running position is rejected as insecurely attached. A missing spring is Major, and graded Dangerous where directional control is affected.

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

Two faults and one wear pattern. The strongest is the handbrake efficiency below minimum (decelerometer test): 4.7 times as often as on similar cars.

Handbrake efficiency below minimum (decelerometer test)

Failed on 27 first tests4.7 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A parking brake with efficiency below the minimum requirement is graded Major, and efficiency less than half of the required value is graded Dangerous. This check applies only to vehicles whose parking brake has not already been tested as the secondary brake.

Brake pedal

Failed on 35 first tests4.6 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A brake pedal rubber worn smooth is not a defect, and nor is a worn design pattern on an aftermarket rubber. A pedal with no rubber is rejected if its grooves or raised grip sections are worn smooth, unless the vehicle was made without them. Insufficient reserve travel is Major, but a vehicle is failed for it only if the pedal or lever is touching the floor or handlebar.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 40 first tests, 5.9 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake pads (rear)

Failed on 69 first tests2.6 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.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 93 first tests, 2.4 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.

Noise, emissions and leaks

One fault: petrol engine warning light, 3.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Petrol engine warning light

Failed on 151 first tests3.0 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

The malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) on a petrol engine is a Major failure when it is illuminated indicating a malfunction. The detail line DVSA gives for the same row also names an inoperative lamp. The test covers only certain petrol vehicles, depending on their age, size and fuel type.

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.

Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (rear)

Noted on 38 first tests4.8 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

Anti-roll bar (rear)

Noted on 33 first tests4.5 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)

Noted on 313 first tests3.4 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Brake light

Noted on 26 first tests2.4 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
49in 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
42in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 49.0% of 2,508 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 58.0%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 9 fixed and the 42 not fixed make the 51 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

40608010020022005201020152020Older cars
406080100200220102020

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 50 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
199952 in every 100343
200052 in every 100531
200155 in every 100891
2002 This car49 in every 1002,508
200350 in every 1003,782
200449 in every 1004,876
200553 in every 1006,998
200654 in every 1007,920
200757 in every 10011,743
200860 in every 1008,890
200964 in every 1008,492
201069 in every 1009,230
201171 in every 1009,222
201274 in every 10011,907
201380 in every 10013,543
201482 in every 10014,223
201583 in every 10013,859
201685 in every 10013,724
201786 in every 10011,531
201888 in every 1008,968
201991 in every 1008,055
202092 in every 1005,389
202192 in every 1005,635
202293 in every 1005,014

If you are buying one

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

Mileage matters most on a 2002 CR-V.

Of 2002 CR-V vehicles with under 107,000 miles, 60 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 173,000 miles or more, 41 in every 100 did.

Under 107,000495 tests
60
107,000–129,000495 tests
51
129,000–149,000 Typical car520 tests
47
149,000–173,000489 tests
47
173,000 and over506 tests
41

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 107,000129,000–149,000173,000 and over
Individual sidelight or tail light (front)3.68.112.5
Suspension mounting area (rear)5.910.011.7
Petrol engine warning light3.06.28.9
Petrol emissions (with catalyst)2.63.77.1
Headlight aim3.44.85.1

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

When a car fails

17in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

64in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

12in 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.

A 2002 Honda CR-V passed first time about 3 in every 100 less often than the average of the 2001 and 2003 model years. In 2025, 49.0% of 2,508 first MOTs on the 2002 Honda CR-V passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 58.0%. Among 1,279 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Drive shaft joints and boots (rear) appears more often than on similar cars (2.6% of those tests; 33 observed failures; about 31× 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 2002 Honda CR-V at the first attempt were Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (16.4%), Suspension mounting area (rear) (16.2%) and Petrol engine warning light (11.8%), 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: Drive shaft joints and boots (rear) (2.6% of those tests; 33 observed failures; about 31× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Drive shaft joints and boots (rear) shows up more often than on similar cars (2.6% of those tests; 33 observed failures; about 31× 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 2002 Honda CR-V include Drive shaft joints and boots (rear), Anti-roll bar ball joint (rear), Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (rear). 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 2002 Honda CR-V (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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