Renault Master MOT pass rate & common failures

At a glance

Pass rate, adjusted for age and mileage

The Master is 0.6 percentage points below the national pass rate once age and mileage are accounted for, which is about average. The unadjusted figure is 66.7%; 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 Master tests in which each item was recorded. One failed test often lists several items, so these do not sum to 100%.

1. 1.Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement20.6%

   934 occurrencesParking brake efficiency too low explained

2. 2.A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning12.0%

   543 occurrencesLamp not working explained

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

   523 occurrencesDriveshaft CV joint gaiter split or missing explained

4. 4.Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen11.3%

   512 occurrencesWiper or washer not working properly explained

5. 5.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn10.7%

   485 occurrencesSuspension arm bush worn explained

6. 6.Steering rack gaiter or ball joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc10.6%

   483 occurrencesSteering rack gaiter split, damaged or missing explained

7. 7.Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake8.8%

   400 occurrencesBrake binding or imbalanced across an axle explained

8. 8.Parking brake inoperative on one side7.9%

   361 occurrencesParking brake efficiency too low explained

9. 9.The strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired7.9%

   360 occurrencesSuspension mounting corroded or insecure explained

10. 10.Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded6.8%

    311 occurrencesBrake pipe corroded explained

Warnings without a failure

Most common advisories

Share of all Renault Master 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.Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured14.6%

   2,450 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained

2. 2.Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded11.2%

   1,869 testsBrake pipe corroded explained

3. 3.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements10.8%

   1,816 testsTyre worn close to the legal limit explained

4. 4.A tyre seriously damaged9.7%

   1,622 testsTyre damaged or deteriorated explained

5. 5.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn8.7%

   1,458 testsSuspension arm bush worn explained

6. 6.Fluid leaking excessively and likely to harm the environment or to pose a safety risk to other road users7.2%

   1,204 tests

7. 7.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm6.9%

   1,151 testsBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained

8. 8.Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake4.2%

   709 testsBrake binding or imbalanced across an axle 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 Master fleet

Average mileage recorded at test

103,069

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

Fuel mix of tested cars

Diesel99.7%

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 Kadjar — 74.0% adjusted
• Renault Kangoo — 59.0% adjusted
• All Renault models →

Similar test volumes

Compare against other makes

• Subaru Impreza — 78.5% adjusted, ranked 70
• Audi A7 — 86.0% adjusted, ranked 13
• BMW M3 — 88.3% adjusted, ranked 7
• Alfa Romeo Mito — 61.6% adjusted, ranked 249

Common questions

Is the Renault Master reliable?

On MOT evidence the Renault Master is about average. It passes 71.7% of tests once age and mileage are accounted for, against a national average of 72.3%, which ranks it 154 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 Master?

The item recorded most often is "Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement", which appears in 20.6% of failed Renault Master 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 Master?

The most common advisory is "Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured", noted on 14.6% of all Renault Master tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.

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

The average odometer reading recorded at test is 103,069 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 Master get harder to pass as it ages?

Yes. At 3 to 5 years old, 78.0% of Renault Master tests pass. By fifteen years or more, that falls to 58.3%. Nearly every model follows this pattern, which is why comparing raw pass rates between models is misleading unless age is accounted for.

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