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MOT fail rates

Renault Clio MOT fail rate by age

How often the Renault Clio fails its MOT at each age, compared with all cars of the same age, and what it fails on. From 1,326,120 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated

At 9 years, the most tested age

MOT fail rate at age 9 (n=94,996)42.3%
All cars at 9 years (n=9,949,012)27.1%
Median mileage at test61,348
All cars, median mileage68,033

301 of 315 model groups with enough tests fail less often at 9 years.

What stands out

  • At 3 years the Renault Clio fails 14.1% of MOTs (46,074 tests), 2.0 points above the 12.1% for all cars that age. At 25 years it fails 47.9% (1,794 tests), 11.6 points above the 36.3% average.
  • The gap is widest at 8 years: 15.5 points above all cars.
  • Its most common structural or mechanical fail item at 9 years: Suspension ball joint worn, at 11.2 per 100 MOTs.

MOT fail rate by age

3 years 25 years 58.5%

Solid line: this model. Dashed line: all cars at the same age.

Renault Clio: share of MOT tests that failed, by age, against all cars. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
AgeMOT fail rateTests (n)All carsDifferenceMedian mileage
3 years14.1%46,07412.1%+2.0 pts19,075 miles
4 years17.1%57,49013.4%+3.8 pts25,306 miles
5 years20.8%67,67915.3%+5.5 pts31,892 miles
6 years28.1%79,59517.8%+10.3 pts38,984 miles
7 years34.6%86,87220.6%+13.9 pts46,333 miles
8 years39.3%93,73323.8%+15.5 pts54,077 miles
9 years42.3%94,99627.1%+15.1 pts61,348 miles
10 years45.5%87,36930.3%+15.2 pts67,434 miles
11 years48.3%81,50833.3%+15.0 pts72,472 miles
12 years50.6%80,92936.0%+14.7 pts76,249 miles
13 years52.2%77,92038.3%+14.0 pts79,073 miles
14 years52.9%80,14240.3%+12.6 pts83,155 miles
15 years52.7%84,89641.6%+11.1 pts86,373 miles
16 years53.1%77,54242.6%+10.6 pts88,574 miles
17 years53.2%66,49743.1%+10.1 pts89,412 miles
18 years52.9%54,76943.3%+9.6 pts89,003 miles
19 years51.7%38,84843.2%+8.5 pts87,456 miles
20 years50.5%27,00442.8%+7.7 pts85,650 miles
21 years49.0%18,56342.1%+7.0 pts83,252 miles
22 years48.0%11,44941.0%+7.0 pts79,927 miles
23 years47.6%6,83939.6%+7.9 pts76,615 miles
24 years46.6%3,61237.8%+8.8 pts73,039 miles
25 years47.9%1,79436.3%+11.6 pts67,656 miles

Most common fail items at 9 years

Split into structural or mechanical items and wear items. Wear items (tyres, brake pads, wipers, bulbs) say more about upkeep than about the design.

Structural and mechanical

Fail itemPer 100 MOTs
Suspension ball joint worn Major11.2
Coil spring broken Major9.5
Driveshaft CV boot split Major6.1
Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded Major4.3
Service brake performance: excessively binding Major4.2

Out of 94,996 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Wear and upkeep

Fail itemPer 100 MOTs
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm Dangerous4.5
Wipers not clearing screen Major3.6
Tyre with cords exposed Dangerous3.3
Headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect Major3
Dipped headlight not working Major2.4

Out of 94,996 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Other models at 9 years

ModelMOT fail rateTests (n)All cars
Renault Captur30.0%71,54427.1%
Renault Megane41.7%26,44927.1%
Renault Kadjar32.2%22,06427.1%

MOT fail rate by first-use year

Each year has its own page: the fail rate for cars first used that year at each MOT from 2022 to 2025 with at least 1,000 tests, the most common faults at that age, and the car tax and ULEZ rules for that year.

First-use year data updated .

Latest MOT age with at least 1,000 tests for each first-use year.
First usedAge at testMOT fail rateTests (n)All cars
200024 years in 202448.2%1,01637.8%
200124 years in 202545.3%1,51137.8%
200223 years in 202544.6%2,55139.6%
200322 years in 202548.1%3,86441.0%
200421 years in 202548.8%5,96242.1%
200520 years in 202549.2%7,32042.8%
200619 years in 202551.2%11,81443.2%
200718 years in 202552.5%16,19043.3%
200817 years in 202553.1%13,58143.1%
200916 years in 202553.2%14,78742.6%
201015 years in 202553.2%21,42041.6%
201114 years in 202553.6%16,37440.3%
201213 years in 202552.8%14,00238.3%
201312 years in 202546.6%19,77636.0%
201411 years in 202547.1%25,98333.3%
201510 years in 202544.2%24,04630.3%
20169 years in 202543.0%22,34727.1%
20178 years in 202536.5%19,31323.8%
20187 years in 202531.2%19,81220.6%
20196 years in 202526.9%17,31217.8%
20205 years in 202516.6%10,84815.3%
20214 years in 202515.3%9,24713.4%
20223 years in 202511.7%7,91812.1%

More on the Renault Clio

Read this with care. A fail rate is not a measure of build quality. How far cars are driven, how they are used and how well owners maintain them all change it, and wear items such as tyres and brake pads are common fails. Compare a model only with cars of the same age. Methodology and limits.

Looking at one Renault Clio?

These are figures for the model, not for one car. The VetTheCar Buying Report looks at a single car: its MOT tests, defects, advisories and mileage readings.

See an example report Browse the car tools

Source

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data, class 4 normal MOT tests, 2022 to 2025. MOT data updated 22 September 2026.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by DVSA. How we calculate these figures · Data sources