Is the Renault Kadjar reliable?

On MOT evidence the Renault Kadjar is above average. It passes 74.0% of tests once age and mileage are accounted for, against a national average of 72.3%. That figure covers 62% of the national age and mileage range, which is enough to quote but not to rank. 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 Kadjar?

The item recorded most often is "a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm", which appears in 18.7% of failed Renault Kadjar 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 Kadjar?

The most common advisory is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", noted on 24.8% of all Renault Kadjar tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.

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

The average odometer reading recorded at test is 58,183 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 Kadjar get harder to pass as it ages?

Yes. At 3 to 5 years old, 82.8% of Renault Kadjar tests pass. By 9 to 11 years, that falls to 67.1%. 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 Kadjar models petrol or diesel?

Of the Renault Kadjar cars tested, 51% are petrol, 49% are diesel. Fuel type affects which items tend to fail, particularly emissions and exhaust components.

Model reliability file

Renault Kadjar MOT pass rate & common failures

From 69,281 recorded MOT tests of the Renault Kadjar, published by DVSA.

Data updated 29 July 2026

Quick answer

The Renault Kadjar passes 74.0% of MOT tests once results are adjusted for the age and mileage of the cars tested, against a national average of 72.3%. That is above average. Based on 69,281 tests. Its most commonly recorded failure is a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm, which appears in 18.7% of failed tests. Cars of this model average 58,183 miles on the odometer when tested.

At a glance

Pass rate, adjusted for age and mileage

74.0%national average72.3%unadjusted73.6%range covered62%

The Kadjar is 1.7 percentage points above the national pass rate once age and mileage are accounted for, which is above average. The unadjusted figure is 73.6%; 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 Kadjar tests in which each item was recorded. One failed test often lists several items, so these do not sum to 100%.

1.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm18.7%
2,821 occurrencesBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained
2.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements17.5%
2,634 occurrencesTyre worn close to the legal limit explained
3.A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened17.1%
2,574 occurrencesRoad spring broken or fractured explained
4.A headlamp or light source missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED12.0%
1,808 occurrencesHeadlamp not working explained
5.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn10.2%
1,532 occurrencesSuspension arm bush worn explained
6.A tyre cords visible or damaged9.5%
1,436 occurrencesTyre ply or cord exposed, or the casing separating explained
7.A tyre seriously damaged8.8%
1,325 occurrencesTyre damaged or deteriorated explained
8.A suspension joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc8.7%
1,317 occurrencesSuspension joint dust cover missing or split explained
9.Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen8.7%
1,307 occurrencesWiper or washer not working properly explained
10.A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play6.1%
912 occurrencesBall joint worn explained

Warnings without a failure

Most common advisories

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

1.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements24.8%
17,160 testsTyre worn close to the legal limit explained
2.A tyre seriously damaged18.8%
13,011 testsTyre damaged or deteriorated explained
3.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm18.4%
12,743 testsBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained
4.Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured14.9%
10,306 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained
5.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn9.6%
6,665 testsSuspension arm bush worn explained
6.Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt5.2%
3,592 tests
7.Brake disc or drum significantly and obviously worn4.5%
3,128 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained
8.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements3.1%
2,133 testsTyre worn close to the legal limit explained

How wear changes the picture

Pass rate by vehicle age

3–5 yrs83%

6–8 yrs75%

9–11 yrs67%

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

What gets tested

The Kadjar fleet

Average mileage recorded at test: 58,183
Fuel mix of tested cars: Petrol50.8%
Diesel49.2%

Trim names grouped into this model (9)

Recorded exactly as DVSA holds them. Trim-level names are rolled up so one model is not split across a dozen thin pages.

KADJAR DCI
KADJAR DYNAMIQUE
KADJAR DYNAMIQUE TCE
KADJAR EQUILIBRE TCE
KADJAR EQUILIBRE TCE AUTO
KADJAR GT LINE BLUE DCI 4X4
KADJAR GT LINE TCE
KADJAR TECHNO TCE
KADJAR TECHNO TCE AUTO

Check a specific Renault Kadjar

A model average tells you the pattern. Its own MOT record tells you the car.

Compare within the range

Other Renault models

Renault Clio — 59.1% adjusted
Renault Captur — 70.8% adjusted
Renault Trafic — 62.9% adjusted
Renault Megane — 63.3% adjusted
Renault Kangoo — 59.0% adjusted
Renault Scenic — 61.8% adjusted
All Renault models

Similar test volumes

Compare against other makes

Nissan Navara — 68.6% adjusted, ranked 186
Volkswagen Touran — 75.1% adjusted, ranked 111
Citroen DS3 — 51.9% adjusted, ranked 262
Ford S-Max — 71.4% adjusted, ranked 156

Common questions

Is the Renault Kadjar reliable?: On MOT evidence the Renault Kadjar is above average. It passes 74.0% of tests once age and mileage are accounted for, against a national average of 72.3%. That figure covers 62% of the national age and mileage range, which is enough to quote but not to rank. 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 Kadjar?: The item recorded most often is "a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm", which appears in 18.7% of failed Renault Kadjar 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 Kadjar?: The most common advisory is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", noted on 24.8% of all Renault Kadjar tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.
What mileage does a Renault Kadjar usually have at its MOT?: The average odometer reading recorded at test is 58,183 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 Kadjar get harder to pass as it ages?: Yes. At 3 to 5 years old, 82.8% of Renault Kadjar tests pass. By 9 to 11 years, that falls to 67.1%. 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 Kadjar models petrol or diesel?: Of the Renault Kadjar cars tested, 51% are petrol, 49% are diesel. 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.