Common problems

Renault Koleos (before 2017) common problems

What MOT testers find on the Renault Koleos (before 2017): the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 3,856 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025. These figures cover cars first used before 2017. Later cars sold under the same name are not included; see Renault Koleos cars first used 2017 or later.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 14 years, the most tested age

Suspension fails per 100 MOTs (n=1,419)24.3

All cars at 14 years (n=6,054,526)16.0

Suspension advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=1,419)45.1

All cars, same age (n=6,054,526)30.4

What stands out

Steering fails show up on 11.8 of every 100 MOTs of a Renault Koleos (before 2017) at 14 years old (n=1,419), against 3.2 for all cars of that age (n=6,054,526).
Body and structure fails are less common: 4.5 per 100 MOTs against 5.9 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 14 years: steering track rod end: ball joint play, on 11.1 per 100 MOTs (all cars 2.0).
The most common advisory or minor defect: tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge, on 21.8 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 14 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 Koleos (before 2017) at 14 years (n=1,419) against all cars at 14 years (n=6,054,526). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Suspension	24.3	16.0	45.1	30.4
Lights and electrics	23.3	18.3	14.8	12.2
Steering	11.8	3.2	12.3	3.9
Brakes	10.7	9.9	35.8	26.4
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	7.6	5.1	11.3	9.7
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	7.0	6.1	4.2	5.1
Tyres	6.3	7.5	30.0	28.4
Body and structure	4.5	5.9	6.7	9.7
Road wheels	0.8	0.6
Seat belts and airbags	0.4	1.5	0.6	0.9
Number plates and VIN	0.1	0.5	1.3	3.8

What testers fail most on the Koleos (before 2017) at 14 years

Fail items on the Renault Koleos (before 2017) at 14 years (n=1,419), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=6,054,526).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Steering track rod end: ball joint play	Steering	11.1	2.0	£54 to £128 per side (rough guide)
Side/position light not working	Lights and electrics	10.4	5.4	£10 to £47 per lamp
Suspension arm bush worn	Suspension	5.2	2.1	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Suspension ball joint worn	Suspension	5.1	2.5	£75 to £237 per side (rough guide)
Anti-roll bar link worn	Suspension	5.1	1.5	£33 to £102 per link (rough guide)
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	5.1	0.8	diagnosis from £39 (rough guide)
Suspension arm: corroded and seriously weakened	Suspension	4.7	0.3	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Brake light not working	Lights and electrics	4.4	3.5	£10 to £47 per lamp
Brake pads under 1.5 mm	Brakes	4.2	2.1	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm	Tyres	3.9	3.1	£88 to £145 per tyre

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 14 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 Koleos (before 2017) at 14 years (n=1,419), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=6,054,526).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	21.8	18.4	£88 to £145 per tyre
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	18.0	8.4	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	14.7	7.2	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	13.3	11.0	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Suspension arm: corroded but not seriously weakened	Suspension	11.8	2.4	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Track rod end: ball joint has slight play	Steering	11.1	1.7	£54 to £128 per side (rough guide)
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	10.4	8.5
Sub-frame: corroded but not seriously weakened	Suspension	9.1	4.5
Coil spring: corroded	Suspension	8.5	6.4
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	8.5	9.3	£88 to £145 per tyre

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 14 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Suspension	Lights and electrics	Steering
13 years	1,289	25.9	23.7	14.7
14 years	1,419	24.3	23.3	11.8
15 years	1,148	23.4	24.9	15.9

What to check on a viewing

On the Renault Koleos (before 2017), testers most often record steering track rod end: ball joint play; side/position light not working; suspension arm bush worn. 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.

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.

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 Koleos (before 2017)?

At 14 years, the age with the most MOT tests (1,419), the fail items testers record most often on the Renault Koleos (before 2017) are steering track rod end: ball joint play (11.1 per 100 MOTs), side/position light not working (10.4 per 100 MOTs), suspension arm bush worn (5.2 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (21.8) and suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement (18.0).

Which parts of the Renault Koleos (before 2017) fail more often than on other cars?

At 14 years: steering (11.8 per 100 MOTs against 3.2 for all cars); suspension (24.3 per 100 MOTs against 16.0 for all cars); lights and electrics (23.3 per 100 MOTs against 18.3 for all cars). Compared with 6,054,526 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Renault Koleos (before 2017) 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 Koleos (before 2017)?

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