Honda CR-V 2007: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 57 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2007 Honda CR-V were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Individual sidelight or tail light (front).

Summary

The 2007 Honda CR-V follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 11,743 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
57 in every 100
Did not pass first time
43 in every 1005,101 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
18 yearsabout 135,480 miles
First tests counted
11,743

What failed most often

  1. Individual sidelight or tail light (front)12 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Headlight aim8 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Suspension arm ball joint (front)8 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 2007 Honda CR-V 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.

Body and structure

One fault: drive shaft joints and boots (rear), 24 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 5,096 of 5,101 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.

Drive shaft joints and boots (rear)

Failed on 203 first tests24 times as often as similar carsStrong 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.

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

Suspension

Two faults. The strongest is the anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (rear): 3.6 times as often as on similar cars.

Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (rear)

Failed on 134 first tests3.6 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 190 first tests, 2.9 times as often as on similar cars.

Suspension arm ball joint dust cover (front)

Failed on 286 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Whether a suspension arm ball joint dust cover still keeps dirt out decides its grade. Severely deteriorated is Minor, while missing, or no longer preventing the ingress of dirt, is Major.

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

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.

Macpherson strut (rear)

Noted on 83 first tests32 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Other towbar components

Noted on 36 first tests7.6 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Propeller shaft

Noted on 29 first tests7.6 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (rear)

Noted on 174 first tests6.6 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

Brake pedal

Noted on 160 first tests5.8 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

Power steering pipes and hoses (front)

Noted on 26 first tests3.3 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Anti-roll bar ball joint (rear)

Noted on 35 first tests2.8 times as often as similar carsPossible 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
57in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
8in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
35in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 56.6% of 11,743 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 65.3%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 8 fixed and the 35 not fixed make the 43 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as testedPassed first time, same mileage
Diesel5,957149,125 miles5557
Petrol5,785121,420 miles5856

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.

40608010020002007201020152020Older carsNewer cars
4060801002000200720102020Older carsNewer cars

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

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
199952 in every 100343
200052 in every 100531
200155 in every 100891
200249 in every 1002,508
200350 in every 1003,782
200449 in every 1004,876
200553 in every 1006,998
200654 in every 1007,920
2007 This car57 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 2007 CR-V.

Of 2007 CR-V vehicles with under 103,000 miles, 66 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 168,000 miles or more, 51 in every 100 did.

Under 103,0002,314 tests
66
103,000–126,0002,420 tests
57
126,000–145,000 Typical car2,303 tests
55
145,000–168,0002,355 tests
53
168,000 and over2,345 tests
51

Petrol or diesel?

Typical mileagePassed first time,
as tested
Passed first time,
same mileage
Diesel149,125 miles5557
Petrol121,420 miles5856

Figures are in every 100 first tests. Petrol cars look better on the raw figures only because diesel cars have done more miles (typically 149,125 against 121,420). 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 103,000126,000–145,000168,000 and over
Individual sidelight or tail light (front)2.56.26.0
Headlight aim2.13.14.4
Suspension arm ball joint (front)2.23.64.8
Track rod end (front)2.73.43.9
Brake light2.53.83.2

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


When a car fails

24in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

54in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

10in 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 2007 Honda CR-V follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Individual sidelight or tail light (front), about 12 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 56.6% of 11,743 first MOTs on the 2007 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 65.3%. Among 5,101 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Drive shaft joints and boots (rear) appears more often than on similar cars (4.0% of those tests; 203 observed failures; about 24× 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 2007 Honda CR-V at the first attempt were Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (12.1%), Headlight aim (8.4%) and Suspension arm ball joint (front) (8.3%), 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) (4.0% of those tests; 203 observed failures; about 24× 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 (4.0% of those tests; 203 observed failures; about 24× 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 2007 Honda CR-V include Drive shaft joints and boots (rear), Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (rear), Suspension arm ball joint dust cover (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.
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 2007 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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