Renault Captur MOT failure rate and common faults
162,091 Renault Captur cars aged 3 to 20 took their MOT in 2025, and 24.0% failed at the first attempt. An average car of the same age failed 21.9% of the time, which makes the Renault Captur 10% more likely to fail than the typical car on the road. Here is what fails, and which years to look for.
24.0%
failed first time
162,091 MOT tests in 2025
+10%
vs same age average
average car of this age mix: 21.9%
160 of 208
age adjusted rank
among cars; 1 fails least
85.9
dangerous defects per 1,000
same age average: 86.6
What fails on a Renault Captur MOT
Failure items recorded per 1,000 tests, by part of the car, set against an average car with exactly the same spread of ages. A figure well above average is a weak spot worth checking before you buy.
The most common Renault Captur MOT failures
The individual failure items testers recorded most often, per 1,000 tests.
| Failure item | Area | Per 1,000 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Ball joint excessively worn | Suspension | 39.9 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm | Tyres | 29.2 |
| Coil spring: fractured or broken | Suspension | 27.7 |
| Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively | Windscreen, wipers and mirrors | 26.7 |
| Tyres: has ply or cords exposed | Tyres | 18.2 |
| Headlamp aim: too low | Lights and electrics | 16.4 |
| Stop lamp: not working | Lights and electrics | 16.1 |
| Service brake performance: excessively binding | Brakes | 15.3 |
| Linkage ball joints: ball joint excessively worn | Suspension | 15.2 |
| Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick | Brakes | 14.8 |
Renault Captur MOT failure rate by year
Every car fails more often as it ages, so each registration year is compared with the average for all cars of the same age. Years with fewer than 500 tests are left out.
| First registered | Tests | Failed | Same age average | Average mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 8,936 | 8.5% | 11.4% | 20,700 |
| 2021 | 9,762 | 9.6% | 12.8% | 27,200 |
| 2020 | 13,196 | 12.9% | 14.1% | 32,200 |
| 2019 | 19,885 | 18.4% | 16.5% | 38,400 |
| 2018 | 20,668 | 21.3% | 19.1% | 45,800 |
| 2017 | 19,378 | 23.1% | 21.8% | 51,800 |
| 2016 | 24,149 | 27.1% | 25.1% | 59,300 |
| 2015 | 22,557 | 33.2% | 28.1% | 68,100 |
| 2014 | 17,966 | 35.9% | 31.4% | 76,100 |
| 2013 | 5,594 | 44.8% | 34.3% | 81,900 |
Advisories to look for in a Renault Captur's MOT history
An advisory is a tester's warning that something is wearing but has not failed yet. These are the ones written most often on the Renault Captur, per 1,000 tests. If the car you are looking at has one of these, ask whether it has been fixed since.
- Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge279.1
- Tyres: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing198.0
- Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened83.4
- Brake pads: wearing thin68.5
- Brake discs: worn, but not excessively40.4
- Service brake performance: binding but not excessively21.6
Checking a used Renault Captur before you buy
Against cars of the same age, the Renault Captur fails more often than average on suspension, brakes and windscreen, wipers and mirrors. Start there.
Suspension
Drive over speed bumps with the radio off and listen for knocks. Look at the car side on: a corner sitting lower than the others often means a broken coil spring.
Brakes
Look through the wheel spokes at the discs for a deep lip or scoring, check the handbrake holds the car on a slope, and feel for a pull to one side when braking hard.
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors
Look for chips or cracks in the driver's line of sight, and test the wipers and washers. Windscreen damage in the swept area is an MOT failure.
Averages only take you so far. The specific car's MOT history shows whether it has already failed on any of these, how often advisories were ignored, and whether the mileage climbs steadily from test to test. Read our guide to reading a car's MOT history before you go to view it.
Fuel mix of the Renault Captur cars tested: Petrol 58%, Diesel 40%. Average age at test 7.8 years, average recorded mileage 51,700.
Renault Captur MOT questions
What is the Renault Captur MOT failure rate?
24.0% of Renault Captur cars failed their first MOT test of 2025, from 162,091 tests on vehicles aged 3 to 20. An average car with the same age mix failed 21.9% of the time, so the Renault Captur was 10% more likely to fail.
What fails most often on a Renault Captur MOT?
Suspension caused the most failure items, at 124 per 1,000 tests. The single most common failure item was "Ball joint excessively worn", recorded 39.9 times per 1,000 tests.
Which Renault Captur year has the best MOT record?
Measured against cars of the same age, 2022 registrations did best: 8.5% failed against an average of 11.4% for cars that age. Older cars always fail more often, so compare a year with its age group rather than with newer cars.
Does this tell me whether a particular Renault Captur will pass?
No. These are averages across every Renault Captur tested in 2025. The car in front of you has its own record: its full MOT history shows every pass, failure and advisory it has had, and it is free to view by registration.
Other Renault models
- Renault Clio42.9% failed
- Renault Trafic40.5% failed
- Renault Megane44.7% failed
- Renault Kadjar26.4% failed
- Renault Kangoo45.2% failed
- Renault Scenic44.0% failed
Ranked close to the Renault Captur
- Vauxhall Insigniarank 157
- Hyundai ix35rank 158
- Volvo V50rank 159
- Volkswagen Polorank 161
How these figures are calculated
Source: DVSA Anonymised MOT tests and results, 2025 release. We count first tests of cars and small vans (class 4) aged 3 to 20, so a car that fails and is retested is counted once. A failure includes faults fixed and passed within the same visit. The same age average weights the national failure rate for each age by how many Renault Captur cars of that age were tested, so a model is never penalised for having an older fleet. Make and model are as recorded at the test; trim levels are combined. Full method and rankings.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.