Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Honda Insight 2012: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 72 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2012 Honda Insight were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Individual sidelight or tail light (front).

Summary

The 2012 Honda Insight follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 1,163 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
72 in every 100
Did not pass first time
28 in every 100322 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
13 yearsabout 117,121 miles
First tests counted
1,163

What failed most often

  1. Individual sidelight or tail light (front)19 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Headlight (front)16 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 2012 Honda Insight 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.

Lamps and electrical

One fault: headlight (front), 3.6 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 322 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.

Headlight (front)

Failed on 52 first tests3.6 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

On vehicles first used on or after a set date, a halogen headlamp unit converted to take HID or LED bulbs fails for light source and lamp not compatible, which is Major. A complete unit built with those light sources is not failed for that. The precise position of the lamps is not part of the inspection beyond a visual look to see that they sit at about the same height and distance from each side.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 23 first tests, 7.8 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.

Visibility

One fault: windscreen wipers (front), 3.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Windscreen wipers (front)

Failed on 28 first tests3.4 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.

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.

Brake discs (rear)

Noted on 51 first tests2.0 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

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
72in 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
19in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 72.3% of 1,163 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 81.3%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 9 fixed and the 19 not fixed make the 28 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

40608010020092010201120122013Older carsNewer cars
40608010020092010201120122013Older 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, 70 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200966 in every 1001,926
201066 in every 1002,600
201167 in every 1001,595
2012 This car72 in every 1001,163
201371 in every 100404

FAQs

Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.

The 2012 Honda Insight follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Individual sidelight or tail light (front), about 19 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 72.3% of 1,163 first MOTs on the 2012 Honda Insight passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 81.3%. Among 322 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Headlight (front) appears more often than on similar cars (16.1% of those tests; 52 observed failures; about 3.6× 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 2012 Honda Insight at the first attempt were Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (18.6%) and Headlight (front) (16.1%), 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: Headlight (front) (16.1% of those tests; 52 observed failures; about 3.6× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Headlight (front) shows up more often than on similar cars (16.1% of those tests; 52 observed failures; about 3.6× 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 2012 Honda Insight include Headlight (front), 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 2012 Honda Insight (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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