Fault File
All models / All cars / Small SUVs / Renault Arkana

Renault Arkana

All generations and engines together · 3,533 MOT tests in the 2025 data

How this model wears

Renault ArkanaClass average, all tracked models

Known issues

Measured

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

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. 3,533 tests in this band.

Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake
Advisory
0.9%class 0.2%
A shock absorber damaged to the extent that it does not function or showing signs of severe leakage
Advisory
0.8%class 2.1%
A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play
Advisory
0.7%class 0.3%
A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play
Fail
0.7%class 0.1%
A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn
Advisory
0.6%class 2.4%
Vehicles internal headlight adjuster altered to recheck lights
Advisory
0.4%class 0.1%
Excessive fluctuation in brake effort through each wheel revolution.
Advisory
0.4%class 0.3%
A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened
Fail
0.3%class 0.2%

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
30.4%class 18.8%
A tyre seriously damaged
Advisory
10.6%class 12.3%
Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured
Advisory
6.6%class 7.0%
Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen
Fail
6.2%class 1.7%
A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm
Advisory
5.0%class 7.2%
Wiper blade defective
Minor
3.7%class 1.1%
Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt
Advisory
3.4%class 2.1%
Nail in tyre
Advisory
2.2%class 1.7%

Unconfirmed issues

Reported

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

Hesitant, jerky hybrid gearbox

Emerging

The E-Tech hybrid's clutchless automatic can get confused at low speed, hunting for the right gear and lurching or kangarooing as it hands over between electric and petrol drive. Auto Express and Honest John both flag it as a driving-experience gripe from new rather than something that wears in, but one Honest John reader on a six-month-old car reported it alongside unexplained warning lights and an electrical fault the dealer could not trace. No manufacturer acknowledgement or fix has surfaced.

Reported from new onward · sources: Honest John, Auto Express

Automatic gearbox not shifting properly under load

Emerging

A Honest John reader reported the automatic gearbox failing to shift down properly on hills, causing the engine to over-rev, on a fairly young car. The dealer treated it as a one-off and declined to deal with it under warranty rather than treating it as a known fault, so it is not clear how widespread this is. Worth a proper hill test on any test drive.

Reported on a used example, age not specified · sources: Honest John

Unexplained electrical faults and warning lights

Emerging

More than one owner report describes random warning lights and, in one case, a car left stranded by an electrical fault the dealer's diagnostics could not pin down. It is the kind of intermittent gremlin that is hard to reproduce at a pre-purchase check and does not show up as an MOT advisory. Treat any dash warning light history, even if currently off, as worth asking about.

Reported on cars under a year old · sources: Honest John

Laggy, freezing touchscreen infotainment

Emerging

The 9.3in portrait touchscreen has been criticised by both Honest John and Auto Express as laggy, with occasional freezing reported on earlier cars, though reviewers note later software updates have improved it somewhat. It is an annoyance rather than a safety issue, but a frozen screen also means losing the reversing camera and climate controls, which are only accessible through it. Try every menu and pairing a phone before buying.

Reported across model years, said to improve on updated software · sources: Honest John, Auto Express

Grabby, hard-to-modulate brakes on hybrid cars

Partly in the MOT data

Regenerative braking on the E-Tech hybrid blends friction and motor braking, and reviewers including Honest John and Parkers have described the pedal as grabby and difficult to modulate smoothly, especially at low speed. That measured MOT signature for this class, brakes, may partly reflect this: a pedal that is awkward to feel out can lead to uneven pad wear or heavier reliance on the discs when drivers overcompensate. It is a driveability complaint first and a wear issue second, so don't assume every brake advisory is neglect.

Reported on hybrid variants from new · sources: Honest John, Parkers

Costly steering column failure

Disputed

One documented case had the steering pulling hard to one side together with an engine warning light, resolved only by a steering column replacement costing around £3,000. It is a single well-reported instance rather than a pattern seen across multiple independent sources, so treat it as a possibility to check for rather than a confirmed fault. Feel for any steering pull or heaviness on a test drive.

Reported on a 2022 example · sources: Honest John

Viewing one? Ask this

Built from the two sections above.

Drive it from a cold start and through a low-speed manoeuvre like a car park. Hesitation, lurching or a 'kangaroo' jerk points to the hybrid gearbox confusion owners report.
Find a hill and accelerate firmly up it. Flaring revs or a gearbox that won't shift down cleanly matches a reported automatic fault.
Check every warning light comes on at ignition and goes off after starting. Any light that stays on, or a history of lights the owner can't explain, fits the reported electrical gremlins.
Use the touchscreen for several minutes: pair a phone, switch camera views, adjust climate. Lag or a freeze means losing access to the reversing camera and climate controls until it reboots.
Brake gently from low speed, then try a firmer stop. A grabby, hard-to-judge pedal is normal for this hybrid but check the discs and pads for uneven wear as a result.
Check for any steering pull to one side and listen for knocks on full lock. A pull combined with a warning light has led to an expensive steering column replacement in at least one case.
Pull the full MOT history, not just the pass/fail. Repeated brake advisories with no work done between tests suggests wear is being ignored rather than addressed.

Others in its class

Same segment (Small SUVs), best MOT record first. Compare before you shortlist.