Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Honda Jazz 2004: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 53 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2004 Honda Jazz were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Individual sidelight or tail light (front).

Summary

The 2004 Honda Jazz follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 8,877 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
53 in every 100
Did not pass first time
47 in every 1004,146 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
21 yearsabout 93,166 miles
First tests counted
8,877

What failed most often

  1. Individual sidelight or tail light (front)16 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)14 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Petrol emissions (with catalyst)11 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 2004 Honda Jazz 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

Three faults. The strongest is the macpherson strut pins and bushes (front): 9.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 4,145 of 4,146 failed first attempts 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.

Macpherson strut pins and bushes (front)

Failed on 83 first tests9.1 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A suspension pin or bush that is excessively worn is graded Major. One likely to become detached is graded Dangerous. DVSA uses its general suspension pin, bush or joint wording here, not anything specific to a strut.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 328 first tests, 11 times as often as on similar cars.

Macpherson strut (front)

Failed on 98 first tests5.9 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Many MacPherson strut top bushes are designed to have significant lateral play when the suspension hangs free, so a top bush is rejected only when the play comes from wear or maladjustment. A top bush or bearing with excessive wear or free play is Major. Rubber or synthetic bushes are rejected only for serious deterioration of the bonding or flexible material.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 84 first tests, 3.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Wheel bearings (rear)

Failed on 154 first tests2.7 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Excessive play in a wheel bearing, or a bearing that is excessively rough, is Major. Play so excessive that the bearing is likely to break up or directional control is impaired is Dangerous, and so is a bearing so rough that it is likely to overheat or break up.

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

Two wear patterns. The strongest is the brake pads (rear): 2.5 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake pads (rear)

Failed on 188 first tests2.5 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.

Brake discs (rear)

Failed on 77 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

A brake disc or drum must be significantly worn before it is rejected, and being worn below the manufacturer's recommended limits is not a reason in itself. Significantly and obviously worn is Major, as is contamination with oil or grease. A disc or drum that is fractured, insecure, seriously weakened or missing is graded Dangerous.

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.

Macpherson strut ball joint (front)

Noted on 32 first tests20 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Handbrake efficiency on trikes, quads and pre-1968 vehicles (roller test, rear)

Noted on 28 first tests5.6 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Macpherson strut bracket and mounting (front)

Noted on 32 first tests4.1 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)

Noted on 871 first tests3.1 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Anti-roll bar ball joint (front)

Noted on 49 first tests2.6 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

Headlight (front)

Noted on 315 first tests2.5 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
53in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
10in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
37in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 53.3% of 8,877 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 62.9%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 10 fixed and the 37 not fixed make the 47 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

4060801002004201020152020Newer cars
406080100200420102020Newer cars

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

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200254 in every 1002,017
200354 in every 1004,846
2004 This car53 in every 1008,877
200553 in every 10013,028
200654 in every 10016,652
200755 in every 10017,686
200855 in every 10018,460
200964 in every 10022,436
201067 in every 10020,956
201173 in every 10019,446
201275 in every 10021,045
201378 in every 10020,706
201481 in every 10019,643
201584 in every 10017,388
201686 in every 10018,007
201788 in every 10017,579
201889 in every 10019,669
201990 in every 10016,298
202091 in every 10010,396
202193 in every 10014,213
202294 in every 10010,311

If you are buying one

What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.

Mileage matters most on a 2004 Jazz.

Of 2004 Jazz vehicles with under 64,000 miles, 68 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 124,000 miles or more, 45 in every 100 did.

Under 64,0001,768 tests
68
64,000–84,0001,755 tests
57
84,000–102,000 Typical car1,811 tests
50
102,000–124,0001,776 tests
47
124,000 and over1,766 tests
45

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 64,00084,000–102,000124,000 and over
Individual sidelight or tail light (front)1.27.512.7
Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)3.37.09.4
Petrol emissions (with catalyst)2.44.98.0
Suspension mounting area (rear)2.64.46.2
Windscreen washers2.53.95.3

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

When a car fails

20in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

60in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

11in 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 2004 Honda Jazz follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Individual sidelight or tail light (front), about 16 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 53.3% of 8,877 first MOTs on the 2004 Honda Jazz passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 62.9%. Among 4,146 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Macpherson strut pins and bushes (front) appears more often than on similar cars (2.0% of those tests; 83 observed failures; about 9.1× 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 2004 Honda Jazz at the first attempt were Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (15.5%), Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test) (14.4%) and Petrol emissions (with catalyst) (11.0%), 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: Macpherson strut pins and bushes (front) (2.0% of those tests; 83 observed failures; about 9.1× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Macpherson strut pins and bushes (front) shows up more often than on similar cars (2.0% of those tests; 83 observed failures; about 9.1× 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 2004 Honda Jazz include Macpherson strut pins and bushes (front), Macpherson strut (front), Wheel bearings (rear). 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 2004 Honda Jazz (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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