Renault Kadjar MOT failure rate and common faults
69,280 Renault Kadjar cars aged 3 to 20 took their MOT in 2025, and 26.4% failed at the first attempt. An average car of the same age failed 20.4% of the time, which makes the Renault Kadjar 29% more likely to fail than the typical car on the road. Here is what fails, and which years to look for.
26.4%
failed first time
69,280 MOT tests in 2025
+29%
vs same age average
average car of this age mix: 20.4%
194 of 208
age adjusted rank
among cars; 1 fails least
129.6
dangerous defects per 1,000
same age average: 83.9
What fails on a Renault Kadjar 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 Kadjar MOT failures
The individual failure items testers recorded most often, per 1,000 tests.
| Failure item | Area | Per 1,000 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Headlamp: not working on dipped beam | Lights and electrics | 42.9 |
| Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick | Brakes | 41.6 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm | Tyres | 39.2 |
| Coil spring: fractured or broken | Suspension | 37.4 |
| Ball joint excessively worn | Suspension | 26.3 |
| Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively | Windscreen, wipers and mirrors | 25.0 |
| Tyres: has ply or cords exposed | Tyres | 20.9 |
| Ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt | Suspension | 20.6 |
| Tyres: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords | Tyres | 19.3 |
| Headlamp aim: too high | Lights and electrics | 16.2 |
Renault Kadjar 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 | 685 | 11.8% | 11.4% | 25,000 |
| 2021 | 1,547 | 13.3% | 12.8% | 30,700 |
| 2020 | 7,968 | 18.4% | 14.1% | 37,500 |
| 2019 | 11,715 | 20.6% | 16.5% | 43,700 |
| 2018 | 10,945 | 25.4% | 19.1% | 55,200 |
| 2017 | 14,507 | 28.3% | 21.8% | 63,900 |
| 2016 | 18,933 | 32.6% | 25.1% | 73,200 |
| 2015 | 2,979 | 34.8% | 28.1% | 80,400 |
Advisories to look for in a Renault Kadjar'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 Kadjar, 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 edge278.4
- Tyres: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing187.7
- Brake pads: wearing thin183.9
- Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened148.7
- Suspension arms: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement96.2
- Brake discs: worn, but not excessively45.0
Checking a used Renault Kadjar before you buy
Against cars of the same age, the Renault Kadjar fails more often than average on suspension, tyres and lights and electrics. 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.
Tyres
Check the tread across the full width of every tyre, inner edge included. Uneven wear points to worn suspension or out of line steering geometry.
Lights and electrics
Walk round the car with every light on: headlights on dip and main beam, indicators, brake lights, fog lights and the number plate lamp. A pattern of electrical faults costs more than a bulb.
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 Kadjar cars tested: Petrol 51%, Diesel 49%. Average age at test 7.4 years, average recorded mileage 58,200.
Renault Kadjar MOT questions
What is the Renault Kadjar MOT failure rate?
26.4% of Renault Kadjar cars failed their first MOT test of 2025, from 69,280 tests on vehicles aged 3 to 20. An average car with the same age mix failed 20.4% of the time, so the Renault Kadjar was 29% more likely to fail.
What fails most often on a Renault Kadjar MOT?
Suspension caused the most failure items, at 117 per 1,000 tests. The single most common failure item was "Headlamp: not working on dipped beam", recorded 42.9 times per 1,000 tests.
Which Renault Kadjar year has the best MOT record?
Measured against cars of the same age, 2021 registrations did best: 13.3% failed against an average of 12.8% 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 Kadjar will pass?
No. These are averages across every Renault Kadjar 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 Captur24.0% failed
- Renault Trafic40.5% failed
- Renault Megane44.7% failed
- Renault Kangoo45.2% failed
- Renault Scenic44.0% failed
Ranked close to the Renault Kadjar
- Peugeot 2008rank 191
- Fiat 500Lrank 192
- MG ZSrank 193
- Vauxhall Adamrank 195
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 Kadjar 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.