Performance by cohort

3 year bands · 120,458 tests

Pass rate climbs 9.6 points across the cohorts — newer Kadjar examples clear the test more reliably than the early cars.

Pre-2018 cohort 73,861

Pass

79.2%

Fail

16.3%

PRS

4.1%

Avg mileage at test

61,566 mi

2018–2020 cohort 43,770

Pass

84.7%

Fail

11.2%

PRS

3.8%

Avg mileage at test

35,693 mi

2021+ cohort 2,827

Pass

88.8%

Fail

6.4%

PRS

4.5%

Avg mileage at test

23,627 mi

Cohort = vehicle's first-registration year band. Same model, different generations of build.

The picture

Kadjar Passes 81.9% — Brake Pads and Rust Hit Early

From 78,274 tests, the Renault Kadjar passes first time 81.9% of the time at a relatively low average mileage of 44,514. Brake pads worn below 1.5mm and tyre tread are the most common failure causes — not unusual, but notable given how little distance most Kadjars have covered. A 2015 car needed fresh rear discs and pads at 40,000 miles, costing £325. That is early for a compact SUV.

The TCe automatic has drawn complaints about juddering when pulling away, with owners reporting the need to reach nearly 1,900 rpm before the car moves cleanly. Infotainment system failures — a flat screen within weeks of delivery on a 2019 facelift car — are a separate nuisance. Overall the Kadjar passes well, but keep an eye on brakes and check for the TCe gearbox stutter on a test drive.

ABI Insurance Group

Group 18–27

Around the UK fleet average for insurance cost. Lower groups cost less to insure; UK fleet average is around Group 22.

Source: ABI Group Rating Panel · administered by Thatcham Research · groups cover standard variants; performance trims may sit higher. Browse all insurance groups →

18–27

out of 50

Compare quotes →

Top ten reasons for rejection.

Filter failures:

Hide wear items to see the model's real defects.

01

A suspension joint dust cover severely deteriorated

3,396 occurrences · 2.8% of tests
02

a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm

2,787 occurrences · 2.3% of tests
03

Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements

2,628 occurrences · 2.2% of tests
04

A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources

2,368 occurrences · 2.0% of tests
05

A headlamp or light source missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED

1,764 occurrences · 1.5% of tests
06

A tyre seriously damaged

1,467 occurrences · 1.2% of tests
07

A tyre cords visible or damaged

1,453 occurrences · 1.2% of tests
08

Wiper blade defective

1,428 occurrences · 1.2% of tests
09

Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen

1,325 occurrences · 1.1% of tests
10

A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened

1,310 occurrences · 1.1% of tests

Counts cover Major and Dangerous defects logged at test. Advisory items excluded so this shows why a car was rejected, not just what the tester flagged in passing.

Worst-case fix budget · top 5 failures

£238–£610

If every one of this Kadjar's most-logged Major fails hit at the same MOT, that's the real-world UK garage range. Reality is usually one or two items, not all of them. Open the estimator →

Try the calculator

Build your own retest budget.

Year-band analysis

Best year to buy. Worst to avoid.

First-time MOT pass rate split by registration band. A 9.6-point gap between bands means the year you buy Renault Kadjar has a real effect on what turns up at the garage.

Best band to buy

88.8%

2021+ registration

the 2021-on band climbs to 88.8% — a 9.6-point improvement. Tests in this band average 23,627 miles — roughly 38K miles fewer on the clock than the older band. Failures here are mostly wear items: blade defective, has ply or cords exposed — the structural issues that drag down older examples don't appear in the top-10 for this band. Post-2020 examples are early in their MOT life and generally show the cleanest records.

Band to be cautious about

79.2%

Pre-2018 registration

On the older band (pre-2018), the data shows a 79.2% pass rate against a fleet average of 88.8% on the newer band. The main culprits logged at test: ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated, less than 1.5 mm thick, and tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm. Average mileage on test for this band is 61,566 miles — high-mileage wear items are a recurring theme. Honest John records: "Report of noise seemingly from the front wheels of a 2015/65 Renault Kadjar 1.6 dCi 4WD at 42,000 miles. Turned out to be both front wheel bearings which Renault replaced…"

Best band to buy: 2021+ (88.8% first-time pass). Worst band to avoid: pre-2018 (79.2% pass). That's a 9.6-point spread across 73,861 older tests and 2,827 newer ones — year of build makes a material difference on this model.

Year-spread leaderboard →

Tools that pre-empt a retest.

Picked against this car's top failure patterns. Affiliate links to Amazon UK — we earn a small cut at no cost to you. Disclosed up-front, doesn't shape the data.

Item 01 · Amazon UK

Brake pad measurement gauge

Testers fail pads under 1.5mm. A wear gauge tells you if you've got two months left or two weeks.

Search Amazon UK

Item 02 · Amazon UK

Digital tyre-tread depth gauge

Five quid for a gauge beats £150 for a retest. UK MOT minimum is 1.6mm — most testers fail anything below 2mm to be safe.

Search Amazon UK

Item 03 · Amazon UK

H7 / W21W bulb pack

A spare-bulb kit lives in the boot. Test morning is not the time to find your stop-lamp's gone.

Search Amazon UK

My Motor World · affiliate

Parts & supplies for this fix

Affiliate links — small commission, no extra cost to you.

Hycote

Hycote Renault Black Pearlescent Double Acrylic Spray Paint 150ml

£6.59

View at My Motor World →

Hycote

Hycote Renault Tungsten Metallic Double Acrylic Spray Paint 150ml

£6.59

View at My Motor World →

Hycote

Hycote Renault Glacier White Double Acrylic Spray Paint 150ml

£6.59

View at My Motor World →

Hycote

Hycote Renault Platinum Metallic Double Acrylic Spray Paint 150ml

£6.59

View at My Motor World →

Click Mechanic · affiliate

Book a mobile mechanic

Affiliate links — small commission, no extra cost to you.

Mobile mechanic · UK-wide

Book a mechanic at your door.

Fixed-price quotes upfront. No garage needed. Click Mechanic sends a vetted local mechanic to you — home, work, or roadside.

Get a quote →

Owner reports · Honest John

What owners actually report.

Verbatim faults logged by owners on honestjohn.co.uk over recent years. We didn't summarise — these are the words people typed in.

Where it falls short

Owner reports (14 entries) flag recurring problems with gearbox/clutch, brake discs, engine failure.

Recent owner-reported faults

10 Jul 2020
Report of 2017 Kadjar TCE auto juddering when starting. Reader says "I have to reach 18/1900rpm before the car will move and then it jerks very violently when the electronic handbrake disengages". * Terms and Conditions * Privacy * Cookies * Advertise on this site * Contact * Mobile) Website of the Year 2016, 2017 & 2018
17 Nov 2019
Problems reported with the infotainment system of a March 2019 facelift Renault Kadjar. Purchased on a PCP. After six weeks the infotainment system "flat lined". The dealer reset it and then again after approximately eight weeks the same fault occurred. Dealer reset it again, and said if it occurred again, a new computer would be ordered. Fault happened again so, true to word, new infotainment system ordered and fitted.
2 Oct 2019
Report of rusted rear brake discs on 2015 Renault Kadjar at 40,000 miles. Fresh discs and pads required at £325.
10 Jul 2019
Report that stone damage to the a/c condenser of a January 2017 Renault Kadjar meant that the system lost its refrigerant. Not covered by warranty, of course. May be a case for owners fitting a stainless steel stone shield in front of the condenser.
3 Jul 2019
Report of 1,332cc engine block of new June 2019 Renault Kadjar GT 1.3 TCe cracking at 700 miles, losing all its oil. Engine written off by the dealer and a new engine to be fitted under warranty.
22 May 2019
Clutch problems with 2016 Renault Kadjar now at 24k miles: "I have a 2016 Kadjar clutch cylinder already been changed when car had 10k on the clock with the previous owner, I have the car since last May, done just 10K again and now the clutch is already gone."
4 Feb 2019
Report of 2018 Renault Kadjar. Five months old, now on its third satnav/infotainment system.
4 Sep 2018
Report of noise seemingly from the front wheels of a 2015/65 Renault Kadjar 1.6 dCi 4WD at 42,000 miles. Turned out to be both front wheel bearings which Renault replaced at no charge under the four year warranty.
6 Jun 2018
Report of problem with 6-speed manual transmission of Renault Kadjar 1.6 sCi, purchased at 7000 miles now at 10,000 miles. Gears became very stiff to get out of second and sixth. Then it jammed in second and owner had to stop to use both hands to get of gear.
1 Apr 2018
Report of front 19-inch 45 profile Continental Eco Contact tyres down to 2mm on Renault Kadjar 1.6 dCi 130 Signature 2WD at 16,600 miles.
5 Sep 2017
DAB signal sometimes lost in R-Link system of 2016 Kadjar Signature. Sometimes can be brought back by switching on and off. Sometimes can be lost for an entire 300 mile journey, necessitating use of FM instead.
28 Jul 2017
EDC of new Kadjar 1.2 TCe 130 Signature S Nav EDC bought on 10th May has repeatedly failed despite three attempts by the dealer to fix it. Renault refused to allow the dealer to accept rejection until a new clutch pack has been tried.

Source: honestjohn.co.uk · 14 reports indexed, top 12 shown

Recall history

6 UK recalls on record.

The Kadjar has 6 official UK vehicle recalls covering defect details, remedies, and affected build dates.

See all recalls

Buying or keeping a Kadjar?

Use the failure ranking as a pre-test checklist or a haggling lever. Treat the headline pass rate as a fleet-wide trend, not a guarantee on any individual car.

If you own a Kadjar and your last MOT looked nothing like the ranked failures above, that's normal — individual cars vary widely. The ranking shows the patterns testers flag most often across the country.