All generations and engines together · 234,469 MOT tests in the 2025 data · typical mileage at age 7: 37k
Split by first-registration year. Cars registered in a changeover year can belong to either generation.
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. 71,681 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.
Owner folklore from forums and the motoring press. Most of it never shows up in an MOT, which is why this section exists at all.
Owners of early Jazz (2002-2008) report the electric power steering going heavy or feeling vague around the centre, sometimes with an EPS warning light and a full loss of assistance. Forum diagnosis usually lands on the EPS motor, torque sensor, or simply a tired battery struggling to feed the system's high current draw. The measured MOT data backs up steering as this model's weak spot too, though the everyday owner complaint (heavy or inconsistent assist) and the MOT failure mode (worn steering components) are not necessarily the same fault.
The CVT auto box can judder or hesitate pulling away, especially if the fluid has never been changed, and Honda recalled 2015-model-year cars over a fault where high internal hydraulic pressure could snap an internal shaft and cause a total loss of drive. Owners also report the gearbox getting stuck holding a lower ratio with a noticeable hit to fuel economy on higher-mileage cars. A CVT rebuild or replacement runs into four figures, so ask for fluid change history before buying an auto.
The 2011-2015 Jazz Hybrid's nickel-metal hydride IMA pack loses capacity with age, showing up as an orange battery warning light, reduced fuel economy, and a noisier petrol engine as it does more of the work alone. Most packs seem to manage 8-12 years or roughly 100-150k miles before a proper replacement is needed, and that job is not cheap. There's no recall for wear-related degradation, this is expected end-of-life behaviour rather than a fault.
Jazz models built roughly 2002-2009 were caught up in the global Takata airbag recall, where the inflator's ammonium nitrate propellant can degrade with age and heat and rupture violently in a crash, throwing metal fragments into the cabin. Honda UK recalled the affected cars and the fix (inflator replacement) is free at a dealer, but plenty of older cars are still out there unrepaired. Check the registration on Honda's recall checker before buying.
On the i-DTEC diesel Jazz, the EGR valve is a known pain point: soot and dirt build up, particularly on cars used mostly for short trips, until the valve sticks or stops working properly. Symptoms are rough idle, a flagged fault code, and reduced performance. A clean or replacement is a few hundred pounds, cheap compared with a full DPF or turbo failure, but it's a recurring cost on town-only diesels.
Later Jazz models (RS trim and the 2020-on hybrid-only generation) get reports of the touchscreen freezing, rebooting to the Honda logo and going blank, or losing audio and Android Auto/CarPlay mid-drive. A battery disconnect or dealer firmware update usually clears it, but it's a recurring niggle rather than a one-off. Honda hasn't acknowledged a specific fault, and the fix is inconsistent.
Built from the two sections above.
Same segment (Superminis), best MOT record first. Compare before you shortlist.
Head to head with the other popular cars in its class on reliability and common faults.