Common problems

Renault Clio common problems

What MOT testers find on the Renault Clio: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 1,326,120 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 9 years, the most tested age

Suspension fails per 100 MOTs (n=94,996)20.2

All cars at 9 years (n=9,949,012)7.9

Brakes advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=94,996)31.2

All cars, same age (n=9,949,012)20.3

What stands out

Suspension fails show up on 20.2 of every 100 MOTs of a Renault Clio at 9 years old (n=94,996), against 7.9 for all cars of that age (n=9,949,012).
The fail item testers record most often at 9 years: suspension ball joint worn, on 9.9 per 100 MOTs (all cars 1.5).
The most common advisory or minor defect: tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge, on 18.0 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 9 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.

Renault Clio at 9 years (n=94,996) against all cars at 9 years (n=9,949,012). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Suspension	20.2	7.9	12.3	14.9
Brakes	13.2	5.6	31.2	20.3
Lights and electrics	12.6	9.2	4.9	4.5
Tyres	9.3	6.7	30.8	25.8
Body and structure	6.9	2.3	3.7	2.9
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	6.3	4.0	3.4	3.7
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	2.0	2.4	1.4	3.1
Steering	1.5	1.8	0.9	2.1
Road wheels	0.5	0.4	3.2	0.7
Seat belts and airbags	0.3	0.6	0.2	0.4
Number plates and VIN	0.2	0.3	1.4	1.7

What testers fail most on the Clio at 9 years

Fail items on the Renault Clio at 9 years (n=94,996), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=9,949,012).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Suspension ball joint worn	Suspension	9.9	1.5	£75 to £237 per side (rough guide)
Coil spring broken	Suspension	8.5	2.7	£64 to £236 per spring (rough guide)
Driveshaft CV boot split	Body and structure	5.5	1.1	£88 to £196 per boot (rough guide)
Service brake performance: excessively binding	Brakes	3.5	0.5	£55 to £267 per wheel (rough guide)
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm	Tyres	3.3	2.5	£88 to £145 per tyre
Wipers not clearing screen	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	3.0	1.7	£15 to £30 per blade
Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded	Brakes	2.8	0.3	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect	Lights and electrics	2.7	0.8	£16 to £39 per car (rough guide)
Tyre with cords exposed	Tyres	2.6	1.3	£88 to £145 per tyre
Dipped headlight not working	Lights and electrics	2.3	1.5	£18 to £86 per lamp

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 9 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 Renault Clio at 9 years (n=94,996), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=9,949,012).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	18.0	16.4	£88 to £145 per tyre
Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material	Brakes	13.5	2.1	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	12.6	8.5	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	10.9	9.2	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	5.5	8.3	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Suspension arm ball joint: ball joint has slight play	Suspension	4.4	1.2	£75 to £237 per side (rough guide)
Service brake performance: binding but not excessively	Brakes	4.0	1.1	£55 to £267 per wheel (rough guide)
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources	Lights and electrics	3.3	2.5
Road wheel condition: slightly distorted	Road wheels	3.2	0.7
Brake discs: worn, but not excessively	Brakes	3.0	2.7	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)

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 9 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Suspension	Brakes	Lights and electrics
3 years	46,074	0.7	2.7	2.1
4 years	57,490	1.7	3.5	2.8
5 years	67,679	4.9	4.7	3.7
6 years	79,595	11.0	6.4	5.6
7 years	86,872	16.8	9.1	7.5
8 years	93,733	19.8	11.3	10.1
9 years	94,996	20.2	13.2	12.6
10 years	87,369	22.0	13.7	16.4
11 years	81,508	24.0	12.6	20.9
12 years	80,929	24.6	10.9	26.3
13 years	77,920	25.6	9.8	29.7
14 years	80,142	25.0	10.4	30.2
15 years	84,896	24.3	11.1	29.6
16 years	77,542	24.9	12.1	29.2
17 years	66,497	24.2	12.4	29.8
18 years	54,769	23.4	12.5	29.9
19 years	38,848	22.4	12.0	29.8
20 years	27,004	20.9	11.4	29.4
21 years	18,563	19.1	11.4	28.1
22 years	11,449	17.5	12.0	26.0
23 years	6,839	16.9	12.5	24.5
24 years	3,612	15.6	13.0	23.1
25 years	1,794	16.9	13.7	24.5

Mileage

At 9 years, Renault Clio cars showing under 30,000 miles failed 22.5% of MOTs (n=6,394); the band that failed most, 120,000 to 150,000 miles, failed 54.0% (n=2,127). For pass and fail rates by age, see Renault Clio MOT fail rates.

What to check on a viewing

On the Renault Clio, testers most often record suspension ball joint worn; coil spring broken; driveshaft CV boot split. Look at these first, then the areas below.

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.

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.

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 Renault Clio?

At 9 years, the age with the most MOT tests (94,996), the fail items testers record most often on the Renault Clio are suspension ball joint worn (9.9 per 100 MOTs), coil spring broken (8.5 per 100 MOTs), driveshaft CV boot split (5.5 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (18.0) and rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material (13.5).

Which parts of the Renault Clio fail more often than on other cars?

At 9 years: suspension (20.2 per 100 MOTs against 7.9 for all cars); brakes (13.2 per 100 MOTs against 5.6 for all cars); body and structure (6.9 per 100 MOTs against 2.3 for all cars). Compared with 9,949,012 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Renault Clio problems by area

Other Renault models

All Renault 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 Renault Clio?

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