Renault Clio: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Renault Clio fails its first MOT more often than the average UK car, by 15.1 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 303,396 individual Renault Clio tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 61.6% first-time pass rate means roughly 38 in every 100 Renault Clios presented for MOT fail on the first attempt. That is worse than average, so budget for remedial work and treat a fresh 12-month MOT as a genuine selling point rather than a given. The average Renault Clio tested had covered 72,225 miles and was built around 2012.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. On a Renault Clio bought as a repairable salvage, assume the mechanical side needs more than the visible accident damage, and pad your repair estimate accordingly.

Before you bid: run the lot through the analyzer, check the car's own record, check the mileage, decode the VIN, and if it carries a marker use the write-off value calculator. See how it stacks up against the Ford Fiesta.

Looking at a specific Renault Clio rather than the model in general? The free check covers its MOT and mileage history, and the full HPI report confirms the insurance write-off category, outstanding finance and whether it is recorded stolen, from licensed data for 5 credits. Already own one that has been damaged? Work out whether fixing it beats selling it with the repair or scrap calculator, and see what damaged Renault Clios actually sold for at UK salvage auction, from 22 real settled sales.

Most common MOT failures on a Renault Clio

1. A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play, 4.7% of tests (4.91x the national rate for this defect)
2. A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened, 6.6% of tests (4.02x the national rate for this defect)
3. Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake, 2.3% of tests (2.99x the national rate for this defect)
4. A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 3% of tests (2.71x the national rate for this defect)
5. A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn, 9.6% of tests (2.6x the national rate for this defect)
6. A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning, 4.2% of tests (2.59x the national rate for this defect)
7. Windscreen washers not working or not providing sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen, 3.2% of tests (2.57x the national rate for this defect)
8. A headlamp or light source missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED, 2.3% of tests (2.52x the national rate for this defect)
9. Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded, 2% of tests (2.44x the national rate for this defect)
10. The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements, 4.3% of tests (2.43x the national rate for this defect)

From 440,713 DVSA-tracked Renault Clio tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 4.84% of these flagged Renault Clio defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.

Renault Clio pass rate by model year

Pass rates fall steadily as cars age, so the model year matters as much as the model. First-time pass rate for each Renault Clio year:

• 1998 Renault Clio - 56.5% first-time pass, 223 tests
• 1999 Renault Clio - 56% first-time pass, 520 tests
• 2000 Renault Clio - 58.4% first-time pass, 1,006 tests
• 2001 Renault Clio - 60.8% first-time pass, 1,938 tests
• 2002 Renault Clio - 60.6% first-time pass, 3,298 tests
• 2003 Renault Clio - 56.9% first-time pass, 4,949 tests
• 2004 Renault Clio - 56.4% first-time pass, 7,523 tests
• 2005 Renault Clio - 55.3% first-time pass, 9,096 tests
• 2006 Renault Clio - 55% first-time pass, 15,072 tests
• 2007 Renault Clio - 55.1% first-time pass, 19,986 tests
• 2008 Renault Clio - 55.8% first-time pass, 16,187 tests
• 2009 Renault Clio - 57.5% first-time pass, 16,724 tests
• 2010 Renault Clio - 56.5% first-time pass, 23,782 tests
• 2011 Renault Clio - 55.6% first-time pass, 17,737 tests
• 2012 Renault Clio - 55.9% first-time pass, 14,805 tests
• 2013 Renault Clio - 61.4% first-time pass, 20,237 tests
• 2014 Renault Clio - 60% first-time pass, 26,332 tests
• 2015 Renault Clio - 63.3% first-time pass, 24,466 tests
• 2016 Renault Clio - 65.8% first-time pass, 22,491 tests
• 2017 Renault Clio - 72.6% first-time pass, 19,448 tests
• 2018 Renault Clio - 78.2% first-time pass, 19,863 tests
• 2019 Renault Clio - 81.1% first-time pass, 15,087 tests

Renault Clio by fuel type

Diesel and petrol versions of the same car fail on different things, so the fuel type moves the number:

• Petrol Renault Clio - 62.3% first-time pass, 235,648 tests
• Diesel Renault Clio - 60.5% first-time pass, 65,901 tests

Other Renault models

• Renault Captur - 79.7%
• Renault Megane - 61.1%
• Renault Trafic - 61.6%
• Renault Kadjar - 81.7%
• Renault Kangoo - 61.1%
• Renault Scenic - 62.3%
• Renault Twingo - 66.3%
• Renault Grand Scenic - 60.6%

Models with a similar pass rate

• Mitsubishi Shogun Sport - 61.8%
• Vauxhall Signum - 61.8%
• Alfa Romeo 147 - 61.7%
• Renault Trafic - 61.6%
• Peugeot 406 - 61.6%
• Suzuki Wagon-R+ - 61.5%

If this car is a salvage or write-off

• Does a car's age affect its MOT pass rate? We checked 32.6 million tests
• Britain's most and least reliable cars: 33 million MOT tests analysed
• Britain's most and least reliable car brands: MOT pass rate by manufacturer
• Diesel vs petrol MOT pass rate by manufacturer: petrol wins for 28 of 31 brands
• What does Cat N mean? Category N explained
• What does Cat S mean? Category S explained
• Cat S vs Cat N: the real differences

Embed this data

Run a site about the Renault Clio? Embed the real DVSA pass-rate badge free, linked back to this page.

<a href="https://www.salvageprophet.co.uk/mot/renault-clio"><img src="https://www.salvageprophet.co.uk/badge/renault-clio.svg" width="340" height="92" alt="Renault Clio MOT Pass Rate: 61.6% - Salvage Prophet"></a>

All 2,005 models ranked by MOT pass rate