Honda Jazz 2016: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 86 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2016 Honda Jazz were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Tyre condition (front).

Summary

The 2016 Honda Jazz follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 18,007 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
86 in every 100
Did not pass first time
14 in every 1002,451 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
9 yearsabout 39,669 miles
First tests counted
18,007

What failed most often

  1. Tyre condition (front)14 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Brake pads (rear)11 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Windscreen wipers (front)9 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 2016 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.

Brakes

Three faults and two wear patterns. The strongest is the brake performance (roller test, front): 4.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 2,442 of 2,451 failed first attempts (99.6%) 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.

Brake performance (roller test, front)

Failed on 117 first tests4.2 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A wheel with no recorded braking effort on the roller test is graded Dangerous. Inadequate effort, a brake grabbing severely, abnormal lag and excessive fluctuation in effort are each Major. So is significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied, which indicates a binding brake.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 62 first tests, 2.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake pads (rear)

Failed on 269 first tests3.2 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 performance (roller test, rear)

Failed on 111 first tests2.6 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A wheel with no recorded braking effort on the roller test is graded Dangerous. Inadequate effort, a brake grabbing severely, abnormal lag and excessive fluctuation in effort are each Major. So is significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied, which indicates a binding brake.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 98 first tests, 2.7 times as often as on similar cars.

Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)

Failed on 128 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A parking brake with efficiency below the minimum requirement is Major, and graded Dangerous where efficiency is less than half of the required value. On a roller brake tester, the requirement counts as met if more than half of the wheels of a brake system lock. The check applies only to vehicles whose parking brake was not already tested as the secondary brake.

Brake discs (rear)

Failed on 63 first tests2.0 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 count notes recorded on failed first tests only.

Visibility

One fault: windscreen wipers (front), 2.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Windscreen wipers (front)

Failed on 213 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.

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 performance (plate test, rear)

Noted on 21 first tests2.9 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

Suspension sub-frame (rear)

Noted on 31 first tests2.1 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
86in 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
10in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 86.4% of 18,007 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 89.7%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 4 fixed and the 10 not fixed make the 14 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

4060801002005201020162020Older carsNewer cars
406080100201020162020Older 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
200254 in every 1002,017
200354 in every 1004,846
200453 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
2016 This car86 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 2016 Jazz.

Of 2016 Jazz vehicles with under 25,000 miles, 91 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 60,000 miles or more, 80 in every 100 did.

Under 25,0003,741 tests
91
25,000–35,0003,542 tests
88
35,000–45,000 Typical car3,472 tests
88
45,000–60,0003,633 tests
84
60,000 and over3,609 tests
80

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 25,00035,000–45,00060,000 and over
Tyre condition (front)2.11.82.2
Brake pads (rear)0.51.62.2
Windscreen wipers (front)1.11.41.4
Windscreen washers0.60.71.1
Tyre pressure monitoring system0.40.71.2

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


When a car fails

58in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

16in 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 2016 Honda Jazz follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Tyre condition (front), about 14 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 86.4% of 18,007 first MOTs on the 2016 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 89.7%. Among 2,451 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Brake performance (roller test, front) appears more often than on similar cars (4.8% of those tests; 117 observed failures; about 4.2× 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 2016 Honda Jazz at the first attempt were Tyre condition (front) (14.0%), Brake pads (rear) (11.0%) and Windscreen wipers (front) (8.7%), 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: Brake performance (roller test, front) (4.8% of those tests; 117 observed failures; about 4.2× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Brake performance (roller test, front) shows up more often than on similar cars (4.8% of those tests; 117 observed failures; about 4.2× 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 2016 Honda Jazz include Brake performance (roller test, front), Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test), 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 2016 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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