All generations and engines together · 6,037 MOT tests in the 2025 data · typical mileage at age 7: 106k
Not enough recent tests to rate this saloon or estate. Watch suspension and lights & electrics. Not enough recent MOT data to call this one yet.
Split by first-registration year. Cars registered in a changeover year can belong to either generation.
Owner folklore from forums and the motoring press, with how well each report stands up. Most of it never shows up in an MOT, which is why this section exists at all.
On the 2.2 i-CTDi and 2.2 i-DTEC diesel manuals, the clutch and dual-mass flywheel can wear out or start slipping well before a normal clutch's life. Honest John lists cases from as early as 10,000-30,000 miles against a normal 80,000-120,000 mile lifespan, with Honda's own Service Bulletin 1269 requiring dealers to investigate before any warranty replacement is agreed. A full clutch and DMF job is commonly £800-£1,200.
2008-2013 UK-spec Accords are prone to rust bubbling up around the sunroof frame and headliner edge, visible as brown staining or flaking paint around the aperture. It is common enough that Honda ended up replacing rusty sunroofs free of charge on 2009 model-year cars after initial pushback, though older or later cars outside that goodwill window still face a bill for a new frame and re-trimming.
Both the 2003-2008 5-speed auto and the 2008-2015 5-speed diesel auto have a reputation for indecisive shifting, described by owners as picking the wrong ratio mid-corner, plus a known transmission-ECU software issue that makes the box noisy on the earlier cars. It is not a mechanical failure as such, just an unrefined shift strategy, but it puts buyers off the automatic versions in favour of the manual.
On the 2008-2015 2.2 i-DTEC, owners report the DPF warning light coming on repeatedly, in some cases every 750 miles, usually from cars used mainly for short runs. Dealers have had to run forced regenerations every few months on the worst examples, and at least one owner was offered a 50% trade-in buyback by Honda after the fault could not be permanently resolved. Expect £1,000-£2,000 for a replacement filter if it clogs solid.
Both generations show a pattern of ABS and VSA (stability control) warning lights appearing from around 4 years old, usually down to the ABS/VSA modulator or module itself rather than a wheel sensor. Honest John quotes around £1,600 for the 2003-2008 cars and as much as £2,250 for a dealer modulator replacement on the 2008-2015 cars, though independent refurbishment can come in nearer £300. No recall or TSB covers it, it is just a recurring theme in reader reports.
The 45-amp battery fitted to petrol Accords has a reputation for going flat, with some owners reporting a working life as short as 18 months instead of the usual 4-5 years. Suspected causes range from water ingress into the fuse board from a bulkhead vent to faulty starter or oil-pressure switches, but Honest John itself notes the exact cause varies car to car, so it is more a recurring nuisance than a single diagnosed fault. A new battery is cheap, but repeat failures point to a wiring or module drain worth chasing down.
Ranked from this model’s own MOT record, then from what owners report.
Saveable checklistThe physical checks its own defect data says are worth your time, most telling first.
These judge the seller’s upkeep rather than the model, and they are where the haggling money is.
The physical checks its own defect data says are worth your time, most telling first.
These judge the seller’s upkeep rather than the model, and they are where the haggling money is.
Drawn from the reports above rather than the MOT data. These are the model-specific ones.
Computed from DVSA MOT results, all of Great Britain, 2025. Nothing here is opinion.
Share of tests where each item was recorded. The dark tick is the class average across all tracked models; bars are scaled within each group.
The rows that judge the model rather than its keeper. 5,899 tests in this band.
Tyres, pads and stone chips say more about how the car was driven and maintained than about how it was built.
Same segment (Saloons & estates), best MOT record first. Compare before you shortlist.