Renault Zoe: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Renault Zoe fails its first MOT more often than the average UK car, by 7.3 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 9,631 individual Renault Zoe tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 69.4% first-time pass rate means roughly 31 in every 100 Renault Zoes 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 Zoe tested had covered 40,267 miles and was built around 2017.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. On a Renault Zoe 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. Or compare it against another model.

Looking at a specific Renault Zoe 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 Zoes actually sold for at UK salvage auction.

Most common MOT failures on a Renault Zoe

1. A stop lamp not showing a steady red light or has significantly reduced light intensity, 0.6% of tests (20.83x the national rate for this defect)
2. A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn, 14.9% of tests (4.03x the national rate for this defect)
3. Lamp emitted colour, position or intensity not in accordance with the requirements, 1.6% of tests (3.74x the national rate for this defect)
4. A headlamp or light source missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED, 2.4% of tests (2.64x the national rate for this defect)
5. A tyre cords visible or damaged, 3.2% of tests (2.63x the national rate for this defect)
6. A tyre seriously damaged, 4.9% of tests (2.46x the national rate for this defect)
7. Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning, 1.6% of tests (1.62x the national rate for this defect)
8. Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake, 1.1% of tests (1.38x the national rate for this defect)
9. A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened, 2% of tests (1.23x the national rate for this defect)
10. Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements, 1.7% of tests

From 13,923 DVSA-tracked Renault Zoe tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 6.45% of these flagged Renault Zoe defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.

Renault Zoe 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 Zoe year:

• 2013 Renault Zoe - 65.5% first-time pass, 316 tests
• 2014 Renault Zoe - 64.1% first-time pass, 820 tests
• 2015 Renault Zoe - 67.5% first-time pass, 1,716 tests
• 2016 Renault Zoe - 69.4% first-time pass, 1,539 tests
• 2017 Renault Zoe - 67.8% first-time pass, 1,031 tests
• 2018 Renault Zoe - 69.6% first-time pass, 1,822 tests
• 2019 Renault Zoe - 74.4% first-time pass, 2,311 tests

Other Renault models

• Renault Clio - 61.6%
• 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%

Models with a similar pass rate

• Jeep Grand Cherokee Crd Ltd A - 69.6%
• Mercedes-Benz Citan - 69.5%
• MG Zr - 69.5%
• Fiat Panda - 69.3%
• Saab 900 - 69.3%
• Renault Master - 69.2%

If this car is a salvage or write-off

• What does Cat N mean? Category N explained
• What does Cat S mean? Category S explained
• Cat S vs Cat N: the real differences

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All 2,005 models ranked by MOT pass rate