Fault File
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Renault Captur

All generations and engines together · 155,671 MOT tests in the 2025 data · typical mileage at age 7: 49k

First-time failure at age 7
22.3%
Across 19,029 tests. The average across all tracked models is 19.5%.
Rank at age 7
176 of 239
1 = lowest failure rate among the models tracked.
Typical mileage at age 7
49k miles
Check the mileage view below; low-mileage models can look better by age than they are.

Generation

Split by first-registration year. Cars registered in a changeover year can belong to either generation.

How this model wears

Renault CapturClass 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. 83,938 tests in this band.

A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn
Fail
5.2%class 1.0%
A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn
Advisory
3.6%class 1.6%
Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning
Fail
2.2%class 0.8%
Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake
Advisory
2.0%class 0.7%
A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened
Fail
1.9%class 1.4%
Lamp emitted colour, position or intensity not in accordance with the requirements
Advisory
1.8%class 0.3%
Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake
Fail
1.5%class 0.2%
Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement
Fail
1.2%class 0.3%
A wheel badly distorted or wear between wheel and hub at spigot mounting
Advisory
1.2%class 0.6%
A suspension joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc
Fail
1.1%class 0.6%

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
26.9%class 22.9%
A tyre seriously damaged
Advisory
21.9%class 11.1%
Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured
Advisory
9.2%class 10.1%
A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm
Advisory
7.3%class 8.7%
Brake disc or drum significantly and obviously worn
Advisory
4.5%class 3.4%
A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources
Minor
3.7%class 1.2%
Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt
Advisory
3.4%class 2.2%
Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements
Fail
3.1%class 2.2%

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.

EDC dual-clutch automatic: judder and hesitation

Automatics only

Cars with the EDC (efficient dual clutch) automatic can develop low-speed shudder, hunting between gears, or the engine flaring up in revs without the car actually accelerating. Owners on the Captur Facebook owners club report it recurring every year or so rather than being a one-off; specialist gearbox repairers describe it as a known weak point of this transmission. A clutch pack or mechatronic repair typically runs into four figures out of warranty. Does not affect manual cars.

Reported from a few years/tens of thousands of miles · sources: Honest John, Renault Captur Owners Club (Facebook), ASR Gearbox Repairs

Clutch judder and premature wear (manual dCi)

Emerging

Manual cars, especially the 1.5 dCi diesel, have a history of clutch judder, most noticeable pulling away from a stop or once the engine has warmed up. Some owners report it appearing within weeks of buying a used car, which points to a wearing pressure plate or contamination rather than just driving style. A clutch replacement is a few hundred pounds; no manufacturer campaign covers it.

Reported anywhere from early ownership to 60k+ miles · sources: Honest John, Captur Owners Club forum, JustAnswer

Front suspension knocks and creaks (strut top mounts)

Partly in the MOT data

A long-running owner complaint: clonks and creaks from the front end over speed bumps and on full steering lock, usually traced to worn strut top mounts and bearings. Honest John flags strut top bearing failure as apparently common on this model. The measured MOT data for this segment shows suspension as the standout fault category, so the folklore and the numbers point the same way, though the data can't confirm the top mount specifically is the culprit rather than bushes or drop links.

Reported from 50k miles onward · sources: Honest John, owner forum reports

Scuttle drain blockage flooding the footwells

Emerging

The drain channels under the windscreen scuttle panel clog with leaves and debris, and instead of draining away, water backs up and drips into the front footwells, sometimes an inch deep after heavy rain. It's a cheap fix once you know the cause, clearing the drains or removing the footwell plug, but it catches owners out because it looks like a bigger leak. No recall or TSB covers it, this is a design trait owners have worked around themselves.

Reported across model years · sources: Honest John, Captur Owners Club forum, ClioSport, Renault Forums UK

DPF and EGR clogging on short journeys (dCi diesel)

Diesel only

The 1.5 dCi diesel, shared across several Renault-Nissan models, is prone to the DPF failing to regenerate and the EGR valve furring up with soot if the car is mostly used for short, low-speed trips. Symptoms are a persistent DPF warning light, a flat spot under acceleration, or smoke on hard throttle. A forced regen or garage clean can sort it early; left too long, DPF replacement is well into four figures. This is a trait of the engine rather than something specific to the Captur, so it hits any dCi model bought for mostly town driving.

Most likely on high-mileage town-driven diesels · sources: Honest John, general K9K/dCi owner reports

R-Link infotainment freezing and glitches

Disputed

The R-Link touchscreen can freeze, drop into an "unconfigured radio" state, or lose Bluetooth and CarPlay connections, on both older and newer Captur generations. Owners on Honest John's forum call it a known fault; a five-press reset on the home button often clears it without a trip to the dealer. Whether it's a real electrical fault or just clunky software splits opinion among owners, some cars never show it at all.

Reported across 2014-2019 and newer E-Tech models · sources: Honest John forum, owner reports

Viewing one? Ask this

Built from the two sections above.

On the test drive, pull away from cold and from a dead stop a few times, in both an automatic (EDC) and manual if you can compare. Judder, a revving flare with no matching acceleration, or hunting between gears points to gearbox or clutch wear.
Turn the wheel lock to lock at low speed and drive over a speed bump or rough patch. Clonks or creaks from the front end suggest worn strut top mounts or bushes, the segment's most common MOT-fail area.
Lift the front footwell carpets and check for damp, staining, or a musty smell. Signs of past water ingress mean the scuttle drains have blocked before and probably will again.
On a diesel, check the MOT history for emissions-related advisories and ask about recent long motorway runs. A car used mostly for short trips is more likely to have a clogged DPF or sooted EGR valve.
Play with the touchscreen: change a setting, pair a phone, switch to the reversing camera. Freezing, an 'unconfigured radio' message, or failed Bluetooth pairing points to the known R-Link glitches.
Check the MOT advisory history for repeated suspension notes rather than just the pass/fail. The same advisory two or three years running means the underlying wear was never fixed, not just picked up early.
Ask for service history around the clutch and gearbox specifically, not just cambelt/oil changes. No record of clutch or gearbox attention on a high-mileage manual or EDC car is a reason to get it inspected before buying.

Others in its class

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

How it compares

Head to head with the other popular cars in its class on reliability and common faults.