Common problems

Renault Grand Scenic common problems

What MOT testers find on the Renault Grand Scenic: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 98,535 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 12 years, the most tested age

Lights and electrics fails per 100 MOTs (n=13,704)26.0

All cars at 12 years (n=7,303,151)15.4

Brakes advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=13,704)34.1

All cars, same age (n=7,303,151)24.0

What stands out

Lights and electrics fails show up on 26.0 of every 100 MOTs of a Renault Grand Scenic at 12 years old (n=13,704), against 15.4 for all cars of that age (n=7,303,151).
The fail item testers record most often at 12 years: coil spring broken, on 12.3 per 100 MOTs (all cars 3.9).
The most common advisory or minor defect: tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge, on 23.5 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 12 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 Grand Scenic at 12 years (n=13,704) against all cars at 12 years (n=7,303,151). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Lights and electrics	26.0	15.4	14.1	9.3
Suspension	22.9	13.4	25.4	24.9
Steering	11.1	2.8	6.4	3.1
Brakes	11.0	8.2	34.1	24.0
Tyres	8.2	7.1	31.7	27.7
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	5.8	5.2	5.3	4.4
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	5.2	3.7	4.5	6.9
Body and structure	4.9	4.3	3.1	6.5
Seat belts and airbags	1.5	1.0	1.9	0.6
Road wheels	0.8	0.5	1.2	1.1
Number plates and VIN	0.4	0.4	2.5	2.8

What testers fail most on the Grand Scenic at 12 years

Fail items on the Renault Grand Scenic at 12 years (n=13,704), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=7,303,151).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Coil spring broken	Suspension	12.3	3.9	£64 to £236 per spring (rough guide)
Brake light not working	Lights and electrics	10.1	2.8	£10 to £47 per lamp
Steering track rod end: ball joint play	Steering	10.0	1.9	£54 to £128 per side (rough guide)
Anti-roll bar link worn	Suspension	5.0	1.1	£33 to £102 per link (rough guide)
Brake pads under 1.5 mm	Brakes	4.6	2.1	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Suspension ball joint worn	Suspension	4.5	2.4	£75 to £237 per side (rough guide)
Side/position light not working	Lights and electrics	4.3	4.1	£10 to £47 per lamp
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm	Tyres	4.0	2.9	£88 to £145 per tyre
Driveshaft CV boot split	Body and structure	3.4	1.8	£88 to £196 per boot (rough guide)
Dipped headlight not working	Lights and electrics	3.1	2.1	£18 to £86 per lamp

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 12 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 Grand Scenic at 12 years (n=13,704), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=7,303,151).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	23.5	18.0	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	16.8	10.4	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	12.3	7.6	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	7.2	8.9	£88 to £145 per tyre
Linkage ball joints: ball joint has slight play	Suspension	7.0	1.9	£33 to £102 per link (rough guide)
Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material	Brakes	6.7	4.5	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources	Lights and electrics	6.5	4.6
Suspension arm ball joint: ball joint has slight play	Suspension	5.9	1.9	£75 to £237 per side (rough guide)
Track rod end: ball joint has slight play	Steering	5.8	1.6	£54 to £128 per side (rough guide)
Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt	Other	5.5	2.0

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 12 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Lights and electrics	Suspension	Steering
3 years	1,176	6.7	2.0
4 years	1,875	8.3	3.9	0.2
5 years	3,001	9.5	5.5	0.1
6 years	4,028	12.8	7.1	0.6
7 years	4,585	14.6	7.8	2.1
8 years	4,887	18.2	10.9	4.3
9 years	5,056	20.7	13.4	6.4
10 years	5,832	22.5	18.1	8.0
11 years	9,078	23.6	20.6	9.7
12 years	13,704	26.0	22.9	11.1
13 years	12,922	26.6	23.6	10.5
14 years	11,407	28.8	23.7	10.6
15 years	8,538	30.4	24.3	10.3
16 years	5,049	31.8	23.5	10.7
17 years	4,020	31.3	24.1	10.5
18 years	2,344	29.9	22.9	9.6
19 years	1,033	29.5	22.1	8.6

Mileage

At 12 years, Renault Grand Scenic cars showing 60,000 to 90,000 miles failed 48.1% of MOTs (n=3,984); the band that failed most, 120,000 to 150,000 miles, failed 54.0% (n=2,445). For pass and fail rates by age, see Renault Grand Scenic MOT fail rates.

What to check on a viewing

On the Renault Grand Scenic, testers most often record coil spring broken; brake light not working; steering track rod end: ball joint play. Look at these first, then the areas below.

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.

Steering

The steering should feel tight with no clunks when you turn from lock to lock.
On a straight road the car should hold its line without constant correction.
Look for split rubber gaiters on the steering rack and track rod ends.

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 Grand Scenic?

At 12 years, the age with the most MOT tests (13,704), the fail items testers record most often on the Renault Grand Scenic are coil spring broken (12.3 per 100 MOTs), brake light not working (10.1 per 100 MOTs), steering track rod end: ball joint play (10.0 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (23.5) and brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened (16.8).

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

At 12 years: lights and electrics (26.0 per 100 MOTs against 15.4 for all cars); suspension (22.9 per 100 MOTs against 13.4 for all cars); steering (11.1 per 100 MOTs against 2.8 for all cars). Compared with 7,303,151 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Renault Grand Scenic 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 Grand Scenic?

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