Model Reports 5 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Honda CR-V 2013: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 80 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2013 Honda CR-V were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Tyre tread depth (front).

Summary

A 2013 Honda CR-V passed first time about 2 in every 100 more often than the average of the 2012 and 2014 model years.

At a glance

How 13,543 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
80 in every 100
Did not pass first time
20 in every 1002,735 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
12 yearsabout 93,458 miles
First tests counted
13,543

What failed most often

  1. Tyre tread depth (front)9 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Tyre condition (rear)6 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (front)5 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 2013 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.

Tyres

One wear pattern: tyre pressure monitoring system, 9.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 2,718 of 2,735 failed first attempts (99.4%) 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.

Tyre pressure monitoring system

Failed on 139 first tests9.1 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

A tyre pressure monitoring system that is obviously inoperative is graded Major, and so is one listed as malfunctioning or obviously inoperative. The Minor row uses the word malfunctioning too, but its detail is a warning lamp indicating a fault, and it also covers a tyre that is obviously under-inflated.

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

Seat belts and restraints

One fault: airbag warning light, 2.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Airbag warning light

Failed on 99 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

The airbag warning lamp (SRS MIL in DVSA's wording) is failed only if it indicates a system malfunction, which is Major. A lamp lit to show the passenger airbag is disabled is not to be regarded as a defect. Dashboard messages are not a defect in their own right, though they can help the tester confirm a malfunction.

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 (front): 2.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (front)

Failed on 133 first tests2.1 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.

Anti-roll bar ball joint dust cover (front)

Failed on 74 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A missing anti-roll bar ball joint dust cover is Major, and so is one that no longer prevents the ingress of dirt. A cover that is only severely deteriorated is Minor. DVSA uses one wording for the dust cover on any suspension joint.

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.

Macpherson strut (rear)

Noted on 22 first tests39 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Brake light (rear)

Noted on 115 first tests8.5 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (rear)

Noted on 40 first tests7.3 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (rear)

Noted on 60 first tests6.2 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

Brake pedal

Noted on 48 first tests4.6 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

Suspension arm (front)

Noted on 97 first tests3.8 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Anti-roll bar (rear)

Noted on 22 first tests3.5 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Chassis condition (rear)

Noted on 21 first tests3.4 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
80in 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
16in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 79.8% of 13,543 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 83.7%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 4 fixed and the 16 not fixed make the 20 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as testedPassed first time, same mileage
Diesel7,775103,173 miles7980
Petrol5,76880,177 miles8179

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.

40608010020002005201020132020Older carsNewer cars
4060801002000201020132020Older carsNewer 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, 81 in every 100 passed first time.

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
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
2013 This car80 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 2013 CR-V.

Of 2013 CR-V vehicles with under 68,000 miles, 84 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 123,000 miles or more, 74 in every 100 did.

Under 68,0002,758 tests
84
68,000–85,0002,599 tests
83
85,000–102,000 Typical car2,762 tests
79
102,000–123,0002,703 tests
79
123,000 and over2,685 tests
74

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 68,00085,000–102,000123,000 and over
Tyre tread depth (front)0.82.42.3
Tyre condition (rear)0.61.31.9
Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (front)1.40.80.9
Tyre pressure monitoring system0.71.21.0
Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (front)0.51.11.6

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.

5in 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 2013 Honda CR-V passed first time about 2 in every 100 more often than the average of the 2012 and 2014 model years. In 2025, 79.8% of 13,543 first MOTs on the 2013 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 83.7%. Among 2,735 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Airbag warning light appears more often than on similar cars (3.6% of those tests; 99 observed failures; about 2.4× 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 2013 Honda CR-V at the first attempt were Tyre tread depth (front) (8.5%), Tyre condition (rear) (6.2%) and Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (front) (5.4%), 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: Airbag warning light (3.6% of those tests; 99 observed failures; about 2.4× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Airbag warning light shows up more often than on similar cars (3.6% of those tests; 99 observed failures; about 2.4× 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 2013 Honda CR-V include Airbag warning light, Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (front), Anti-roll bar 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 2013 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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