Used car guide

2013 Honda FIT: common problems and what to check

What gets flagged at MOT on 2013 Honda FITs, from 962 tests in 2025, plus known faults and what to look at before you buy one.

962MOT tests in 2025
85%pass first time (all 2013 cars: 66%)
4,700typical miles a year
9.1×the usual rate for rear fog light

What stands out

Parts flagged at MOT more often on 2013 Honda FITs than on all cars registered in 2013.

  • Rear fog light9.1× usual
    Honda FIT
    6.4% All 2013 cars
    0.7%

    Failed outright at MOT: 6.3%, against 0.6% of all 2013 cars. The rest were advisories or minor defects.

    Rough price £10–£80 our estimate

    At the viewing: Ask a friend to check every light while you work the switches: indicators, brake lights, fog lights and reversing lights.

Better than most

Tread depth: 7.3% here, against 21.8% of all 2013 cars. Brake pads: 2.5% here, against 9.8% of all 2013 cars.

By area

The share of 2013 Honda FIT MOT tests where testers flagged each area, as a fail or an advisory. Rough prices are typical independent-garage costs.

  • Tyres
    14% of testsRough price £70–£150

    At the viewing: Check the tread on all four tyres, including the inside edges, and look for cracks or bulges.

  • Lights and electrics
    13% of testsRough price £10–£80

    At the viewing: Ask a friend to check every light, including brake lights and indicators, while you operate them.

  • Suspension
    10% of testsRough price £120–£400

    At the viewing: Listen for knocks over speed bumps, and look behind each front wheel for a snapped coil spring.

  • Brakes
    4% of testsRough price £150–£350

    At the viewing: Look for a lip on the disc edges and feel for judder or pulling when braking firmly from about 40mph.

  • Wipers, windscreen and mirrors
    3% of testsRough price £15–£250

    At the viewing: Check for chips in the driver's view, and test the wipers and washers.

  • Seats and seatbelts
    1% of testsRough price £80–£250

    At the viewing: Pull each seatbelt sharply. It should lock, and retract cleanly.

Looking at a Honda FIT?

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Other years

YearMOT testsMost flagged
2014929Lights and electrics 9%
20121,265Lights and electrics 22%
2011964Lights and electrics 27%

Where this comes from: the DVSA's anonymised results for every MOT test in Great Britain in 2025, counting tests of 2013 Honda FITs registered in 2013. "Flagged" includes advisories, so it isn't the same as a fail rate. How we score