The Honda Jazz to buy has a manual gearbox that runs silently or a CVT with fluid-change receipts, plus rust-free rear arches on a Mk1 (2002 to 2008); avoid the i-SHIFT automated manual, whose faults can leave it stranded.
3 known faults, 1 rated high severity in our database; owners report 47.5 mpg, 92% of the official figure. Everything below is built from that data and the archived owner history, not from a press car.
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Check a Honda Jazz advert (free) →A Jazz with the manual gearbox or the CVT automatic is the safer buy, because the range's one serious known fault is the i-SHIFT automated manual, offered on the 1.4 from 2008 until a CVT replaced it early in 2011. It can fail to select a gear with the R or D light blinking, and software faults have left cars completely immobilised. Don't buy any Jazz that's fitted with it.
On a Mk1, the known fault to check for is rust in the rear arches, which starts at the front edge of each arch where a slot in the panel traps grit, sand and road salt. Manual gearbox bearings that start to whine are a known fault too, turning up once Mk1s reach 3 to 5 years old, so only buy one that's silent on the test drive.
The 2008 to 2015 Jazz carries the same manual gearbox bearing complaint, with numerous reports of boxes turning noisy within months, and it's the car i-SHIFT appears on, with the CVT-7 returning in February 2011. The 2015 to 2020 car has far fewer reports behind it, mostly electrical niggles with parking sensors, self-dipping headlights and the radio, and there are none for the hybrid sold from April 2020. That's too little to call either one better or worse than the older cars.
Neither Mk1 petrol, the 1.2 or the 1.4 i-DSI, carries a known engine fault, so choose on gearbox and condition. The i-DSI runs 8 spark plugs and solid valve lifters that need re-shimming, and the valve clearances can't be checked without taking off the inlet manifold. Piston slap has been reported on 1.4 i-DSI engines from 2005 at about 3 years old. On the 2008 to 2015 car, two owners have had a spark plug blow out of the engine, at 73,000 and 75,000 miles.
The manual gearbox is the Jazz's long-running weak spot, on the Mk1 and the 2008 to 2015 car alike. Its bearings wear and whine, which is a known fault on both generations, one owner's 2005 1.4 i-DSI failed at 40,000 miles, and some cars have needed a whole new gearbox. It's still a lesser risk than i-SHIFT, but only if it's silent on the drive. Early Mk1s can also click turning left in second, from a sticking reverse selector bearing that a stronger part later replaced.
Of the automatics, the CVT is the one to take and i-SHIFT is the one to avoid. The Mk1 CVT wants fresh fluid every 25,000 miles if the car mostly does short trips from a cold start, and one 2004 car's judder was cured twice by a fluid change, though a 2006 car's hesitant shifts weren't. The 2008 to 2015 CVT-7 needs fluid and a filter every 25,000 miles or 2 years. On i-SHIFT cars, owners also report it refusing to engage reverse.
Crouch down at the back of the car and inspect the front edge of both rear arches, where the Mk1 rusts: bubbling along the lip, rust stains running down beneath it, or filler and a wavy line left by a cheap repair. Then lift the boot floor and feel the spare wheel well and the rear footwells for damp, because failed rear door seals and cracked sealant in the roof seams both let water in.
On the drive, a whine from the gearbox points to worn bearings, and on an early car turn left in second and listen for a click. On an i-SHIFT, a blinking R or D light with no gear selected, or shudder pulling away, means trouble (shut every door first, as an open one does that too). Check the handbrake holds on a slope, since rear-disc cars often need a hard pull, and ask whether the rear wheel bearings have been replaced on a car over 4 years old.
Run the air con, as compressors have failed, and try every electric window and door lock; one owner's 6 year old car needed a complete set of locks. Ask for proof that the passenger airbag inflator recall (it covers Jazz built up to 2014) and the driver's window switch recall (2002 to 2008) have been done. On a CVT, don't hand over money without receipts showing the fluid's been changed.
Paste the advert into the free check and it runs these against the listing, the MOT history and the DVLA record before you travel.
Yes, a Mk1 Jazz is a sound buy if it's a manual with a silent gearbox or a CVT with fluid-change receipts, and its rear arches aren't rusting. Neither engine has a known fault, and what owners do report is mostly gearbox bearings, water leaks and parts wearing out. The arches rust from the front edge of each one, so a bubbling lip or a wavy, filled arch line is a car to leave.
Gearbox bearings are the big one: noisy boxes on cars aged 3 to 5 years were well known by 2007 and common by late 2009, and one 2005 1.4 i-DSI failed at 40,000 miles. One owner needed a new clutch and clutch hydraulics on a 3 year old car at 30,000 miles, rear wheel bearings wear out on older cars, and a 2008 1.2 needed a new steering rack.
Water getting in is the Mk1 niggle that comes up again and again. Rear door seals let rain soak the rear carpets and mist the windows, and several owners have traced a wet spare wheel well to cracked sealant in the roof seams or at the ends of the roof rail gutters. One owner paid £120 at a dealer to have the roof seals on a 2006 car cleaned out, resealed and repainted.
Early cars had a faulty batch of EGR valves that made them run jerkily, and a Mk1 that's used for short trips in traffic can block its valve too. The handbrake on rear-disc cars often won't hold without a hard tug, so leave it in first or reverse when parked, and check the air con blows cold, since compressors have failed.
Real-world economy on this generation: Honda Jazz 45.7 mpg, Honda Jazz 46.8 mpg.
Go for a Mk2 with a manual gearbox that's quiet on the road, or the CVT-7 automatic from February 2011 on, and leave the i-SHIFT alone. That automated manual, fitted to the 1.4 until the CVT took over, can fail to select a gear with the R or D light blinking, software faults have immobilised cars outright, and one 2008 car needed a new gearbox and then more work three years later.
The manual isn't trouble-free, as its gearbox bearings are a known weak point and some boxes turned noisy within 6 months of new. One 2010 1.2's bearings went at 15,000 miles and its owner paid £510 after Honda covered the parts and some of the labour, and a 2010 1.4's replacement gearbox began whining again. Clutch release bearings have been replaced under warranty, and one 2010 1.4 baulked when shifting out of second from cold.
Owners have also reported the VSA warning light coming on in a 2012 and a 2015 car, door locks failing on 2010 and 2011 cars, and spark plugs blowing clean out of the engine at 73,000 and 75,000 miles. Front tyres wear fast, often lasting only 11,000 to 13,000 miles, and the Dunlops fitted to some 2009 cars cracked between the treads, so look closely at the tyres.
On a CVT-7, ask for receipts showing fresh fluid and a filter every 25,000 miles or 2 years, and don't buy one to tow with, since it isn't suited to any trailer. Rear dampers have failed on a growing number of cars, so bounce each corner, and check the heater and air con work, as one 2011 car's heater failed twice and another 2011's air con kept giving up.
Real-world economy on this generation: Honda Jazz 46.8 mpg, Honda Jazz 51.1 mpg.
Sellers rarely admit these faults outright
Paste any Honda Jazz advert and we check it against the faults, the MOT record and these figures in seconds.
Check an advert now (free) →Owners report 47.5 mpg across the Honda Jazz engines with data, about 92% of the official figure, from 1,960 submissions.
Honda Jazz Real MPG by engine →The latest Jazz, on sale from April 2020, is a very practical small car thanks to its clever Magic Seats, and its hybrid engine makes it efficient to run. It's also a more desirable car than the Jazz models that came before it.
On the 2015 to 2020 car the front passenger seat goes all the way back to make a bed. The 1.3 CVT-7 is far from quick, but it can be driven very economically if you make full use of its paddle shifters.
The Honda Jazz to buy has a manual gearbox that runs silently or a CVT with fluid-change receipts, plus rust-free rear arches on a Mk1 (2002 to 2008); avoid the i-SHIFT automated manual, whose faults can leave it stranded. Our database holds 3 known Honda Jazz faults, 1 rated high severity, and the sections above say which generation and engine carry them.
A Jazz with the manual gearbox or the CVT automatic is the safer buy, because the range's one serious known fault is the i-SHIFT automated manual, offered on the 1.4 from 2008 until a CVT replaced it early in 2011. On the fault record the Mk1 (2002 to 2008) carries 1 known fault against 2 on the Mk2 (2008 to 2015). Each generation's section above gives the detail. Honda Jazz faults by generation.
Crouch down at the back of the car and inspect the front edge of both rear arches, where the Mk1 rusts: bubbling along the lip, rust stains running down beneath it, or filler and a wavy line left by a cheap repair. Read the MOT history for repeat advisories and ask for invoices for any work the seller mentions. Then paste the advert into the free check, which reads it against every known Honda Jazz fault before you travel.
Owners report 47.5 mpg on average, about 92% of the official figure, from 1,960 submissions. The known faults page lists a rough repair cost against each fault. Honda Jazz Real MPG by engine.
If you used the Honest John car-by-car reviews before the site closed in 2026, this is where the Honda Jazz buying advice now lives. It is written from the archived owner reports and model notes (archived page, 135 items read for this model), our own known-faults database, the confirmed service intervals and the Real MPG figures. Every number on the page comes from that data, not from the text. The same data feeds our free advert check.
CarAdCheck is not affiliated with Honest John or Volkswagen Financial Services. What happened to Honest John, and where each feature lives now.
The Honda Jazz is one decision. Reading the advert, the history and the seller are the rest, and these cover them.
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