All generations and engines together · 15,425 MOT tests in the 2025 data · typical mileage at age 7: 67k
Split by first-registration year. Cars registered in a changeover year can belong to either generation.
Computed from DVSA MOT results, all of Great Britain, 2025. Nothing here is opinion.
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.
The rows that judge the model rather than its keeper. 4,228 tests in this band.
Tyres, pads and stone chips say more about how the car was driven and maintained than about how it was built.
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.
On the 1.5 and 1.9 dCi engines the EGR valve can stick open or shut. Stuck shut, exhaust gas temperatures climb and the turbo bearings cook, and owners report replacement turbos failing again shortly after fitting because the EGR itself was never dealt with. Expect it from around 60-80k miles; a new EGR valve is a few hundred pounds, a turbo on top of that pushes well past £1,000. No factory recall, but it is a well-worn repair on this engine family.
The digital instrument cluster is a recurring weak point across generations: total blackouts, the clock resetting itself, wrong mileage readings, or the speedo cutting in and out. Honest John notes it turning up from around 4 years old, and by the mid-2010s it was common enough that Renault was subsidising replacements, though owners still faced bills of roughly £150-£200 even with the discount. Full replacement without any goodwill contribution runs higher.
The electromechanical parking brake fails repeatedly on both the 2003-2009 and 2009-2016 cars: worn cables, seized calipers, or the control module giving up, sometimes leaving the brake stuck on or refusing to release on a slope. It typically shows around the 4-year mark and Renault has offered goodwill contributions on some claims, but a full motor-and-cable replacement can still run £500-£600 out of pocket. It has also caused MOT failures where the Bowden cable has corroded.
Front window regulators are a persistent complaint on the 2003-2009 cars, with plastic components in the mechanism breaking and the glass dropping into the door. It is described as a problem across the production run rather than a one-off batch. A regulator and motor replacement is roughly £200-£300 per door. Not manufacturer-acknowledged as a defect, just a widely repeated owner complaint.
Reviewers and owners of the facelifted Grand Scenic (2016-2020) consistently flag a firm, unsettled ride on the standard 20-inch alloys, worse over broken surfaces than rival French MPVs, and the measured MOT data for this segment shows suspension as the standout failure category. It lines up: bigger wheels and lower-profile tyres mean less give in the system and more load through the same bushes and mounts, so components that would otherwise last are working harder. A test drive over a rough back road will tell you more than the spec sheet.
On cars fitted with the EDC dual-clutch automatic, owners report hesitation and stuttering pulling away, a 'check auto gearbox' warning appearing, and in at least one case the box getting stuck in Park, with failures showing from around 43,000-64,000 miles. Manual cars are not affected. A gearbox rebuild or replacement mechatronic unit is an expensive job, well into four figures if it goes wrong out of warranty.
Built from the two sections above.
Same segment (MPVs), best MOT record first. Compare before you shortlist.