Fault File
All models / All cars / Family hatchbacks / Infiniti Q30

Infiniti Q30

All generations and engines together · 4,851 MOT tests in the 2025 data · typical mileage at age 7: 62k

Reliability verdict
DBy age
CBy miles

Graded against its peers

Worse than most family hatchbacks for its age, and about average per mile driven. Watch suspension and lights & electrics. A used buy worth some caution. Check the MOT history for repeating suspension advisories before you go.

First-time failure at age 7
21.0%
Across 1,352 tests. The average for family hatchbacks is 18.5%.
First-time failure at 50-60k miles
19.1%
Across 854 tests. The average for family hatchbacks is 20.4%.
Rank in its class
15 of 28
1 = lowest failure rate among the 28 family hatchbacks we can rank.
Typical mileage at age 7
62k miles
How far the average car has gone by seven years old. Low-mileage models can look better by age than they are.

What owners report

Reported

Owner folklore from forums and the motoring press, with how well each report stands up. Most of it never shows up in an MOT, which is why this section exists at all.

Paint peeling from the bonnet

Emerging

Owners have reported patches of paint lifting or peeling from the bonnet, most visibly on darker colours, with one documented case on a 2016 car surfacing in 2019. Infiniti's UK warranty ran to 3 years/60,000 miles and specifically covered paint imperfections, which suggests the factory was aware of a quality issue rather than it being pure bad luck. No formal recall exists, so a car out of warranty with peeling paint is the owner's bill, usually a respray of the affected panel.

Reported from around 3 years old · sources: Honest John, Auto Express

Dual-clutch automatic hesitation and low-speed judder

EmergingAutomatics only

Cars fitted with the seven-speed dual-clutch automatic (a design shared with Mercedes-Benz's 7G-DCT) can feel lazy pulling away and clunky shifting at parking speeds, and reviewers found the box's behaviour inconsistent between Eco and Sport modes when new. Dual-clutch units of this type are known elsewhere in the range for clutch-pack wear and judder developing with age, a repair that runs into four figures out of warranty. Manual-gearbox cars are not affected.

Judder typically reported from higher mileage · sources: Honest John, Carbuyer

Cabin trim rattles and a dated, laggy infotainment system

Disputed

Reviewers found rattles and flimsy-feeling trim on test cars, with fit and finish behind BMW, Audi and Mercedes rivals away from the surfaces you touch most often, and the InTouch touchscreen was criticised for fuzzy graphics, slow menus and no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto on any UK car. Owners are split, some report no issues at all over years of ownership, others get persistent squeaks from the dash or door cards within a couple of years. It's a comfort and usability gripe rather than a safety one, and nothing here is covered once the warranty ends.

Reported from new · sources: Auto Express, Honest John

Firm ride and front-end knocks or creaks

Partly in the MOT data

The Q30 shares its underpinnings with the Mercedes A-Class, and reviewers marked the ride as firm and restless even in standard trim, worse on Sport models with their stiffer setup. Owners report creaks and knocks developing from the front end as mileage builds, with strut top mounts and anti-roll bar links the usual suspects on this platform. The measured MOT data backs this up, with suspension standing out as the fault category most likely to catch out Q30 buyers in this class, so a noisy front end on a test drive is worth taking seriously rather than writing off as normal wear.

Reported from around 40-60k miles · sources: Honest John, Carbuyer

What to check on this car

Ranked from this model’s own MOT record, then from what owners report.

Saveable checklist

From this model’s MOT record

The physical checks its own defect data says are worth your time, most telling first.

Rubber boots and gaitersRuns high on this model On full steering lock, look in behind each front wheel at the concertina rubber boots on the driveshafts and steering rack. Splits, or grease flung around the arch, mean dirt is getting into a joint that costs far more than the boot protecting it.Recorded on 4.2% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 1.0%
Coil springsRuns high on this model Look through the wheel spokes at the bottom coil of each spring; when springs snap it is usually there, and the break is visible. Step back and check the car sits level too. A dropped corner is often a broken spring.Recorded on 3.7% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 1.4%
Bushes and ball jointsRuns high on this model Drive slowly over broken tarmac with the windows down and listen for clonks from either end. Back at the car, have someone rock the steering wheel while you rest a hand on each front wheel; play you can feel through the tyre is a worn joint.Recorded on 2.2% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 0.9%
Headlamp lensesRuns high on this model Check for condensation inside the headlamps and for cloudy or yellowed lenses. Both attract MOT trouble, and moisture inside a sealed LED unit generally means a whole new lamp.Recorded on 1.3% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 0.0%
Brake pipes underneath Follow the metal brake lines with a torch where they run along the sills and over the rear axle. White crust or flaking metal means they are corroding, and the online MOT history usually shows the same advisory creeping up for years before the fail.Recorded on 1.9% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 1.9%
Warning lights on ignitionRuns high on this model Turn the ignition on without starting the engine and watch the dash. Every warning light should appear, then go out once it is running. Be more suspicious of a light that never comes on at all than of one that stays on; warning bulbs have been known to vanish before a sale.Recorded on 1.0% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 0.4%
Lights and horn walkround With a helper, run every light: dipped, main beam, indicators, brake lights including the high-level one, reverse, fog, and the horn. On newer cars a dead LED section can mean replacing the whole lamp unit rather than a bulb.Recorded on 1.1% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 1.3%

Worth doing on any used car

These judge the seller’s upkeep rather than the model, and they are where the haggling money is.

Tyres, all four Check the tread across the full width of each tyre, inner edge included, and look for cracking and mismatched brands. A set of decent tyres is £500 or more on most cars, which makes this the easiest money to take off a price. If the pressure warning light is on, budget for sensors too.Recorded on 22.5% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 20.1%
Pads and discsRuns high on this model Look through the wheel spokes at the brake disc. A pronounced lip on its outer edge, or a rusty and scored face, means discs and pads are due all round, a few hundred pounds on most cars. A haggling point rather than a reason to walk away.Recorded on 17.4% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 10.1%
Windscreen and wipers Scan the glass in daylight for chips, especially in the driver's line of sight where even a small one can fail the MOT. Run the washers and check the wipers clear without smearing.Recorded on 1.7% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 2.0%

Because of what owners report

Drawn from the reports above rather than the MOT data. These are the model-specific ones.

Check the bonnet, roof and door edges for paint that looks thin, bubbled or has clearly been resprayed. Peeling paint is a known early issue; a respray means it's already happened once.
Pull away gently from a dead stop, then try a slow stop-start crawl as if in traffic. A jerky clunk or hesitation on dual-clutch automatics is the start of the clutch-pack wear owners report; manuals won't show this.
Accelerate hard from low speed in Sport mode, then try the same in Eco. Feeling lazy in one mode and sharp in the other is normal for this car, but flaring revs or a harsh bang into gear is not.
Push down hard on each corner of the car and drive over speed bumps or rough tarmac. Creaks or knocks from the front end point to worn strut top mounts or anti-roll bar links, the area most likely to show up as a suspension advisory.
Read the MOT history for suspension advisories, especially repeated ones. This is the fault category that shows up most in the measured data for the Q30, so a clean history here matters more than most.
Flex the door cards and dash trim, and listen for rattles over a rough road. Persistent squeaks or creaks reflect known fit-and-finish inconsistency, and there's no warranty left to fix it for free.
Try the touchscreen, pairing a phone and scrolling through the menus. Slow, laggy response and no CarPlay or Android Auto is normal for the car's age; a screen that freezes or reboots on its own is not.

Open the saveable checklist, tick it off at the car

The MOT data

Measured

Computed from DVSA MOT results, all of Great Britain, 2025. Nothing here is opinion.

How this model wears

Infiniti Q30Class average, all tracked models

What testers flag

Share of tests where each item was recorded. The dark tick is the class average across all tracked models; bars are scaled within each group.

Faults with the car itself

The rows that judge the model rather than its keeper. 4,756 tests in this band.

A suspension joint dust cover severely deteriorated
Minor
6.5%class 1.1%
A suspension joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc
Fail
5.3%class 0.7%
A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened
Fail
3.7%class 1.4%
A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn
Advisory
3.2%class 1.6%
Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded
Advisory
1.9%class 1.9%
A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened
Advisory
1.3%class 1.3%
Lamp emitted colour, position or intensity not in accordance with the requirements
Minor
1.3%class 0.0%
A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning
Fail
1.1%class 1.3%
A headlamp or light source missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED
Fail
1.1%class 0.8%
A lamp with a multiple light source up to 1/2 not functioning
Minor
1.1%class 0.1%

Wear, upkeep and luck

Tyres, pads and stone chips say more about how the car was driven and maintained than about how it was built.

Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements
Advisory
25.6%class 22.9%
A tyre seriously damaged
Advisory
22.6%class 12.7%
Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured
Advisory
17.4%class 10.1%
A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm
Advisory
10.6%class 8.7%
Brake disc or drum significantly and obviously worn
Advisory
6.4%class 3.4%
Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements
Fail
3.2%class 2.3%
Nail in tyre
Advisory
2.8%class 1.6%
Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt
Advisory
2.7%class 2.2%

Others in its class

Same segment (Family hatchbacks), best MOT record first. Compare before you shortlist.

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