Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Honda HR-V 2018: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 89 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2018 Honda HR-V were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Windscreen wipers (front).

Summary

The 2018 Honda HR-V follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 5,884 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
89 in every 100
Did not pass first time
11 in every 100666 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
7 yearsabout 42,816 miles
First tests counted
5,884

What failed most often

  1. Windscreen wipers (front)12 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Brake pads (front)12 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Tyre condition (front)10 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 2018 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.

Visibility

One fault: windscreen wipers (front), 2.6 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 666 failed first attempts in 2025 that had a mileage recorded, which allows a like-for-like comparison.

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.

Windscreen wipers (front)

Failed on 83 first tests2.6 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.

Tyres

One wear pattern: tyre pressure monitoring system, 2.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Tyre pressure monitoring system

Failed on 35 first tests2.1 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.

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.

Shock absorbers (rear)

Noted on 27 first tests3.2 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
89in 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
8in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 88.7% of 5,884 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 91.9%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 3 fixed and the 8 not fixed make the 11 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as testedPassed first time, same mileage
Petrol4,75140,093 miles8989
Diesel1,13057,753 miles8689

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
4060801002018Older carsNewer cars

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

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
201582 in every 1002,684
201682 in every 1006,628
201786 in every 1005,661
2018 This car89 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 2018 HR-V.

Of 2018 HR-V vehicles with under 28,000 miles, 93 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 61,000 miles or more, 83 in every 100 did.

Under 28,0001,141 tests
93
28,000–38,0001,183 tests
90
38,000–48,000 Typical car1,200 tests
90
48,000–61,0001,173 tests
87
61,000 and over1,185 tests
83

Petrol or diesel?

Typical mileagePassed first time,
as tested		Passed first time,
same mileage
Petrol40,093 miles8989
Diesel57,753 miles8689

Figures are in every 100 first tests. Petrol cars look better on the raw figures only because diesel cars have done more miles (typically 57,753 against 40,093). 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 28,00038,000–48,00061,000 and over
Windscreen wipers (front)1.70.91.5
Brake pads (front)0.41.32.4
Tyre condition (front)0.91.11.7
Tyre tread depth (front)0.30.91.5

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

When a car fails

57in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

13in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

4in 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 2018 Honda HR-V follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Windscreen wipers (front), about 12 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 88.7% of 5,884 first MOTs on the 2018 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 91.9%. Among 666 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Windscreen wipers (front) appears more often than on similar cars (12.5% of those tests; 83 observed failures; about 2.6× 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 2018 Honda HR-V at the first attempt were Windscreen wipers (front) (12.5%), Brake pads (front) (12.0%) and Tyre condition (front) (10.1%), 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: Windscreen wipers (front) (12.5% of those tests; 83 observed failures; about 2.6× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Windscreen wipers (front) shows up more often than on similar cars (12.5% of those tests; 83 observed failures; about 2.6× 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 2018 Honda HR-V include 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.
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 2018 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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