Common problems

Peugeot 306 common problems

What MOT testers find on the Peugeot 306: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 14,057 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 24 years, the most tested age

Brakes fails per 100 MOTs (n=3,518)17.9

All cars at 24 years (n=428,815)12.2

Brakes advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=3,518)37.3

All cars, same age (n=428,815)30.7

What stands out

Brakes fails show up on 17.9 of every 100 MOTs of a Peugeot 306 at 24 years old (n=3,518), against 12.2 for all cars of that age (n=428,815).
The fail item testers record most often at 24 years: handbrake too weak, on 6.2 per 100 MOTs (all cars 2.3).
The most common advisory or minor defect: engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive, on 19.5 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 24 years

How many of every 100 MOTs found a fail, or an advisory or minor defect, in each area. A test with faults in two areas counts in both.

Peugeot 306 at 24 years (n=3,518) against all cars at 24 years (n=428,815). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Brakes	17.9	12.2	37.3	30.7
Lights and electrics	16.7	17.2	11.0	12.5
Suspension	13.7	13.5	26.7	32.5
Body and structure	10.3	9.4	18.2	16.6
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	10.1	7.0	21.0	16.8
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	7.6	6.9	6.2	5.9
Steering	6.7	3.7	8.0	6.8
Tyres	5.5	4.5	23.1	21.0
Seat belts and airbags	3.6	3.2	1.9	2.0
Number plates and VIN	0.9	0.8	7.9	6.2
Road wheels	0.4	0.3	1.1	0.7

What testers fail most on the 306 at 24 years

Fail items on the Peugeot 306 at 24 years (n=3,518), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=428,815).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Handbrake too weak	Brakes	6.2	2.3
Steering rack: gaiter missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt	Steering	4.0	1.1	£63 to £147 per side (rough guide)
Exhaust system: has a major leak of exhaust gases	Body and structure	3.8	2.2	£182 to £263 per section
Wipers not clearing screen	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	3.6	3.3	£15 to £30 per blade
Driveshaft CV boot split	Body and structure	3.3	2.4	£88 to £196 per boot (rough guide)
Catalyst emissions: Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	3.3	2.2
Side/position light not working	Lights and electrics	3.2	3.8	£10 to £47 per lamp
Catalyst emissions: carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	2.9	1.4
Service brake imbalance: across an axle	Brakes	2.8	1.5
Suspension ball joint worn	Suspension	2.8	1.6	£75 to £237 per side (rough guide)

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 24 years

Advisories and minor defects are recorded, but the car still passes. Across all cars, a part with an advisory or minor defect failed at the next MOT 5.5 times in 100 (n=88,666,940 pairs of consecutive MOTs), against 0.3 times in 100 when the same part had none (n=12,936,860,350).

Advisories and minor defects on the Peugeot 306 at 24 years (n=3,518), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=428,815).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	19.5	15.1
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	13.5	9.2	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material	Brakes	12.5	14.7	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	12.2	9.8	£88 to £145 per tyre
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	11.8	11.2	£88 to £145 per tyre
Exhaust system: has a minor leak of exhaust gases	Body and structure	10.0	5.4	£182 to £263 per section
Registration plates: deteriorated but not likely to be misread	Number plates and VIN	7.9	6.1	£23 to £63 per plate (rough guide)
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	7.4	4.2	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	5.7	5.4	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Coil spring: corroded	Suspension	5.5	7.1

Repair estimates are a guide for an independent garage: labour at the national median local garage rate (median £78 an hour from 65 garages, ONS price quotes) times estimated labour hours, plus a parts band. Labour hours and most parts bands are estimates, not quotes, and prices vary by model, engine and region. A warning light fault shows the cost of the diagnosis only.

How problems change with age

Fails per 100 MOTs in the three most common areas at 24 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Brakes	Lights and electrics	Suspension
21 years	1,508	17.8	18.8	14.9
22 years	2,811	18.7	17.1	14.2
23 years	3,375	18.2	15.9	12.7
24 years	3,518	17.9	16.7	13.7
25 years	2,845	17.1	15.5	13.0

What to check on a viewing

On the Peugeot 306, testers most often record handbrake too weak; steering rack: gaiter missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt; exhaust system: has a major leak of exhaust gases. Look at these first, then the areas below.

Brakes

On the test drive the car should stop in a straight line without pulling, juddering or grinding.
Look at the discs through the wheels for a deep lip, heavy rust or scoring.
Check that the handbrake or electronic parking brake holds the car on a slope.
Ask when the pads, discs and brake fluid were last changed, and for the receipts.

Lights and electrics

With someone outside, try every light: dipped and main beam, indicators, brake lights, fog lights and number plate lamps.
Check that the warning lights come on with the ignition and go out once the engine runs.
Look for misted, cracked or yellowed headlamp lenses.

Suspension

Listen for knocks or clonks over speed bumps and rough roads on the test drive.
Push down hard on each corner: the car should settle at once rather than keep bouncing.
Look behind the wheels for broken or heavily rusted coil springs and split rubber bushes.
Check that the car sits level and that no tyre is worn on one edge only.

Ask for the car's MOT history and service record: advisories that repeat from one year to the next show what has been left. GOV.UK MOT history.

Questions

What are the most common problems on the Peugeot 306?

At 24 years, the age with the most MOT tests (3,518), the fail items testers record most often on the Peugeot 306 are handbrake too weak (6.2 per 100 MOTs), steering rack: gaiter missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (4.0 per 100 MOTs), exhaust system: has a major leak of exhaust gases (3.8 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive (19.5) and brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened (13.5).

Which parts of the Peugeot 306 fail more often than on other cars?

At 24 years: brakes (17.9 per 100 MOTs against 12.2 for all cars); exhaust, emissions and leaks (10.1 per 100 MOTs against 7.0 for all cars); steering (6.7 per 100 MOTs against 3.7 for all cars). Compared with 428,815 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Peugeot 306 problems by area

Other Peugeot models

All Peugeot models · Common problems by make

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.

The all cars figures cover all class 4 vehicles (cars and light vans) tested at the same age.

Looking at a Peugeot 306?

These figures describe the model, not the car in front of you. Found one you might buy? See what the VetTheCar Buying Report covers, or use the tools that work without a registration.

See a sample report Car tools · MOT fail rates by model · Compare models by MOT record

Repair estimates: ONS consumer price quotes for local garage labour (09/2025 to 08/2026), the MOT inspection manual for defect wording, and estimated labour hours and parts bands. Not affiliated with or endorsed by ONS.

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 28 September 2026.

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