Renault Clio MOT pass rate & common failures

At a glance

Pass rate, adjusted for age and mileage

The Clio is 13.2 percentage points below the national pass rate once age and mileage are accounted for, which is well below average. The unadjusted figure is 57.0%; the difference is what the age and mileage of this model’s fleet was hiding.

DVSA recorded wording

Most common failure items

Share of failed Renault Clio tests in which each item was recorded. One failed test often lists several items, so these do not sum to 100%.

1. 1.A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened26.5%

   29,842 occurrencesRoad spring broken or fractured explained

2. 2.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn20.7%

   23,253 occurrencesSuspension arm bush worn explained

3. 3.A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning13.1%

   14,732 occurrencesLamp not working explained

4. 4.A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play12.4%

   14,015 occurrencesBall joint worn explained

5. 5.A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc11.9%

   13,439 occurrencesDriveshaft CV joint gaiter split or missing explained

6. 6.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements9.5%

   10,656 occurrencesTyre worn close to the legal limit explained

7. 7.The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements9.0%

   10,180 occurrencesHeadlamp aim incorrect explained

8. 8.Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning7.5%

   8,455 occurrencesStop lamp not working explained

9. 9.Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen7.4%

   8,298 occurrencesWiper or washer not working properly explained

10. 10.Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded7.0%

    7,859 occurrencesBrake pipe corroded explained

Warnings without a failure

Most common advisories

Share of all Renault Clio tests carrying each advisory. The denominator differs from the failure list above because an advisory can be issued on a car that passed.

1. 1.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements25.5%

   78,151 testsTyre worn close to the legal limit explained

2. 2.A tyre seriously damaged18.3%

   56,170 testsTyre damaged or deteriorated explained

3. 3.Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured14.0%

   42,935 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained

4. 4.Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded13.6%

   41,783 testsBrake pipe corroded explained

5. 5.A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened6.5%

   20,080 testsRoad spring broken or fractured explained

6. 6.Fluid leaking excessively and likely to harm the environment or to pose a safety risk to other road users6.3%

   19,302 tests

7. 7.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm5.8%

   17,725 testsBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained

8. 8.A wheel badly distorted or wear between wheel and hub at spigot mounting5.0%

   15,197 testsRoad wheel damaged, distorted or cracked explained

How wear changes the picture

Pass rate by vehicle age

Bands holding too few tests to be meaningful are omitted rather than shown as a rate.

What gets tested

The Clio fleet

Average mileage recorded at test

70,430

Across examples of every age, so this is a description of the fleet rather than an annual figure.

Fuel mix of tested cars

Petrol78.0%

Diesel20.4%

Hybrid1.6%

Compare within the range

Other Renault models

• Renault Captur — 70.8% adjusted
• Renault Trafic — 62.9% adjusted
• Renault Megane — 63.3% adjusted
• Renault Kadjar — 74.0% adjusted
• Renault Kangoo — 59.0% adjusted
• Renault Scenic — 61.8% adjusted
• All Renault models →

Similar test volumes

Compare against other makes

• Kia Sportage — 71.7% adjusted, ranked 153
• Ford Kuga — 75.3% adjusted, ranked 106
• Volkswagen Transporter — 73.7% adjusted, ranked 125
• Nissan Juke — 66.5% adjusted, ranked 210

Common questions

Is the Renault Clio reliable?

On MOT evidence the Renault Clio is well below average. It passes 59.1% of tests once age and mileage are accounted for, against a national average of 72.3%, which ranks it 256 of 262 models with enough data for a fair comparison. This measures how often the car meets the MOT standard, not how often it breaks down or what a repair costs.

What is the most common MOT failure on a Renault Clio?

The item recorded most often is "A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened", which appears in 26.5% of failed Renault Clio tests. Because one failed test can list several items, these shares do not add up to 100%.

What do testers most often warn about on a Renault Clio?

The most common advisory is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", noted on 25.5% of all Renault Clio tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.

What mileage does a Renault Clio usually have at its MOT?

The average odometer reading recorded at test is 70,430 miles. This is the mileage across all tested examples of every age, not an annual figure, so treat it as a description of the fleet rather than a target for one car.

Does a Renault Clio get harder to pass as it ages?

Yes. At 3 to 5 years old, 85.1% of Renault Clio tests pass. By fifteen years or more, that falls to 48.1%. Nearly every model follows this pattern, which is why comparing raw pass rates between models is misleading unless age is accounted for.

Are most Renault Clio models petrol or diesel?

Of the Renault Clio cars tested, 78% are petrol, 20% are diesel, 2% are hybrid. Fuel type affects which items tend to fail, particularly emissions and exhaust components.

How this was worked out

Method and limits

Figures come from the DVSA anonymised MOT testing dataset, published under the Open Government Licence. Only class 4 initial tests are counted: retests are excluded so a car appears once, and abandoned tests are excluded entirely. The adjusted rate is directly standardised across twenty-five age and mileage bands and reweighted onto the national distribution, so this model is compared against cars that have lived a similar life rather than against a younger or lighter-used fleet.

An MOT measures whether a car met a legal standard on the day. It is not a breakdown record, a service history or a running-cost estimate, and a pass rate is a property of a fleet rather than a prediction about one car.

Further reading

Make sense of the numbers

• How to judge reliability from evidence rather than reputation
• What counts as high or low mileage for a car’s age
• The most common MOT failures and how to avoid them
• What to check before buying a used Renault