All generations and engines together · 3,392 MOT tests in the 2025 data
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. 3,392 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.
Owners have complained about clonks from the front end and a car that pulls or wanders for years, usually put down to anti-roll bar bushes, front dampers and coil springs going soft or corroding. The measured MOT data backs this up directly: suspension is the standout fault category for the Laguna, well above the marque and national averages, with worn bushes, misted shock absorbers and corroded springs all showing up regularly. This lines up almost exactly with the forum folklore, so treat any knocking or uneven tyre wear as a real warning sign rather than a minor niggle.
The 1.9 and 2.0 dCi engines are interference designs, so a timing belt that goes past its service life or is left unchanged by a previous owner can snap and bend valves, sometimes writing the engine off. Forums describe belts failing anywhere from the mid-60,000s to the low 70,000s on a neglected car, and a full repair after a snapped belt runs well over a thousand pounds versus a routine cambelt kit change costing a fraction of that. No recall exists for this, it is purely a servicing risk that catches out buyers with no paperwork.
The UCH (the body's central electronic control unit) is repeatedly blamed for random electrical faults on Laguna II and III: central locking stops responding on one or more doors, key fobs stop working, or dash warnings light up for no clear reason. Owners on Renault and French-car forums trace it to a mix of failing UCH modules, damp wiring connectors and tired earths, but there is no single acknowledged fix, some cars need a full module replacement and re-coding, others just need a connector cleaned. It tends to show up gradually from mid-life onwards rather than as a sudden failure.
1.9 and 2.0 dCi cars used mainly for short runs build up soot in the EGR valve and diesel particulate filter, leading to a warning light, reduced power and eventually limp-home mode. Owners on forums describe the same pattern of symptoms and link it to blocked crankcase ventilation contributing to turbo problems as well. A forced regeneration or EGR clean can sort it early on, but a neglected DPF replacement runs into four figures.
A failing heater matrix lets coolant weep into the footwell area, giving off a sweet or curry-like smell and misting up the inside of the windscreen, sometimes with a gargling noise from behind the dash when the engine is revved. It is a known job across the Laguna range rather than one specific generation, and fixing it means stripping much of the dashboard out, which is most of the labour cost. No manufacturer bulletin covers it, it is just a weak point in the heater box design.
On automatic Laguna I and early Laguna II cars, the gearbox multi-function switch (which tells the car what gear is selected) can fail, causing reverse lights not to work, starting problems, or the gearbox behaving oddly when moving off. Manual cars are unaffected. It is a known weak point rather than a rare one-off, and the fix is a relatively affordable switch replacement rather than a full gearbox rebuild.
Built from the two sections above.
Same segment (Saloons & estates), best MOT record first. Compare before you shortlist.