Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Honda HR-V 2017: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 86 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2017 Honda HR-V were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Brake pads (front).

Summary

The 2017 Honda HR-V follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 5,661 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
86 in every 100
Did not pass first time
14 in every 100794 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
8 yearsabout 51,872 miles
First tests counted
5,661

What failed most often

  1. Brake pads (front)11 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Tyre condition (front)10 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Windscreen wipers (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 2017 Honda HR-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.

Suspension

One fault: shock absorbers (rear), 5.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 790 of 794 failed first attempts (99.5%) 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.

Shock absorbers (rear)

Failed on 57 first tests5.0 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Slight seepage that leaves a film of fluid on a shock absorber does not fail it. Severe leakage, or damage so that it does not function, is Major. A shock absorber missing or likely to become detached is graded Dangerous, though a missing one is only rejected if shock absorbers were fitted as standard.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 66 first tests, 4.7 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 wear pattern: brake pads (front), 2.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake pads (front)

Failed on 86 first tests2.1 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 wipers (front), 2.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Windscreen wipers (front)

Failed on 65 first tests2.0 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Only a clearly damaged or worn windscreen wiper needs to be rejected. A wiper that is missing or not working is graded Major, and so is a blade that is missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen. A defective blade is graded Minor.

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
86in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
3in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
11in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 86.0% of 5,661 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 88.8%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 3 fixed and the 11 not fixed make the 14 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as testedPassed first time, same mileage
Petrol3,63944,899 miles8886
Diesel2,02065,754 miles8386

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.

40608010020152016201720182019202020212022Older carsNewer cars
40608010020172020Newer 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, 88 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
201582 in every 1002,684
201682 in every 1006,628
2017 This car86 in every 1005,661
201889 in every 1005,884
201991 in every 1004,704
202091 in every 1003,596
202194 in every 100434
202295 in every 1005,895

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 HR-V.

Of 2017 HR-V vehicles with under 34,000 miles, 92 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 74,000 miles or more, 78 in every 100 did.

Under 34,0001,101 tests
92
34,000–46,0001,169 tests
89
46,000–58,000 Typical car1,138 tests
89
58,000–74,0001,124 tests
82
74,000 and over1,123 tests
78

Petrol or diesel?

Typical mileagePassed first time,
as tested		Passed first time,
same mileage
Petrol44,899 miles8886
Diesel65,754 miles8386

Figures are in every 100 first tests. Petrol cars look better on the raw figures only because diesel cars have done more miles (typically 65,754 against 44,899). 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 34,00046,000–58,00074,000 and over
Brake pads (front)0.81.52.6
Tyre condition (front)0.91.21.9
Windscreen wipers (front)1.10.81.6
Tyre tread depth (front)0.11.02.0
Shock absorbers (rear)0.41.02.2

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

When a car fails

61in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

12in 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.

The 2017 Honda HR-V follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Brake pads (front), about 11 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 86.0% of 5,661 first MOTs on the 2017 Honda HR-V passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 88.8%. Among 794 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Shock absorbers (rear) appears more often than on similar cars (7.2% of those tests; 57 observed failures; about 5.0× 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 HR-V at the first attempt were Brake pads (front) (10.9%), Tyre condition (front) (10.0%) and Windscreen wipers (front) (8.2%), 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: Shock absorbers (rear) (7.2% of those tests; 57 observed failures; about 5.0× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Shock absorbers (rear) shows up more often than on similar cars (7.2% of those tests; 57 observed failures; about 5.0× 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 HR-V include Shock absorbers (rear), Windscreen wipers (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 HR-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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