Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Renault Grand Scenic 2009: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 50 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2009 Renault Grand Scenic were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Individual sidelight or tail light (front).

Summary

A 2009 Renault Grand Scenic passed first time about 5 in every 100 more often than the average of the 2008 and 2010 model years.

At a glance

How 941 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
50 in every 100
Did not pass first time
50 in every 100469 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
16 yearsabout 117,852 miles
First tests counted
941

What failed most often

  1. Individual sidelight or tail light (front)14 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Coil spring (rear)11 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Suspension arm ball joint (front)11 in every 100 failed tests

How we count this. Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Only Class 4 cars on their first MOT of the year are counted. A car that fails and is fixed at the test station still counts as a fail in the first-attempt rate. These are raw results, not adjusted for age, mileage, or peer mix. The MOT does not test engine or gearbox internals.

Note:

These are patterns across 2009 Renault Grand Scenic vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. A wear pattern follows age and use more than the way the car was built. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Suspension

One fault: coil spring (rear), 2.8 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 457 of 469 failed first attempts (97.4%) that recorded an odometer reading in 2025. Mileage is needed to compare like with like. 2.6% of failures are excluded because no mileage was recorded, so treat these shares as indicative for this model year.

We only list faults with at least 20 failures and a rate of about 2.0 times that of similar cars, which keeps one-off results out of the list.

Coil spring (rear)

Failed on 52 first tests2.8 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A missing bump stop rubber is not a reason to fail a coil spring. When the vehicle is jacked and lowered, a spring that does not correctly locate as the suspension returns to its normal running position is rejected as insecurely attached. A missing spring is Major, and graded Dangerous where directional control is affected.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Noise, emissions and leaks

One fault: diesel emissions test (compression-ignition rules for vehicles from 01/07/2008), 2.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Diesel emissions test (compression-ignition rules for vehicles from 01/07/2008)

Failed on 23 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Brakes

One wear pattern: brake pads (rear), 2.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake pads (rear)

Failed on 29 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

A pad worn down to its wear indicator, or contaminated with oil or grease, is Major. A pad worn below the set thickness limit, missing or incorrectly mounted is Dangerous. The manual treats an illuminated brake wear indicator as no reason for failure, although DVSA also lists an illuminated indicator as a Major row.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Steering

One fault: track rod end (front), 2.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Track rod end (front)

Failed on 47 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play is Major, and one worn to the extent there is a serious risk of detachment is graded Dangerous. A dust cover that is damaged but still keeps dirt out is Minor, and one missing or no longer keeping dirt out is Major. Testers must tell wear from a joint's built-in clearance or spring loading.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Advisories

Other things testers noted as worn or close to failing, more often than on similar cars.

An advisory is a note from the tester about something that has not failed yet. It is an early warning, not a fail.

Headlight (front)

Noted on 23 first tests3.0 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Rigid brake pipes (rear)

Noted on 56 first tests2.6 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Brake discs (rear)

Noted on 71 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

Suspension arm ball joint (front)

Noted on 26 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (front)

Noted on 23 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Counts cover advisories recorded on failed first tests only, compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

MOT pass rates

How first tests ended, and how the pass rates are counted.

Passed first time
50in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
10in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
40in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 50.2% of 941 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 59.6%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 10 fixed and the 40 not fixed make the 50 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.

40608010020092015Older carsNewer cars
4060801002009Newer cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 49 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200651 in every 100429
200746 in every 100697
200843 in every 100739
2009 This car50 in every 100941
201047 in every 1003,255
201149 in every 1002,970
201249 in every 1001,298
201352 in every 100448
201454 in every 100807
201558 in every 1001,305
201662 in every 1001,224
201764 in every 1001,031
201869 in every 100613
201969 in every 100853

FAQs

Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.

A 2009 Renault Grand Scenic passed first time about 5 in every 100 more often than the average of the 2008 and 2010 model years. In 2025, 50.2% of 941 first MOTs on the 2009 Renault Grand Scenic passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 59.6%. Among 469 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Coil spring (rear) appears more often than on similar cars (11.4% of those tests; 52 observed failures; about 2.8× more often than similar cars). There is no single reliability score here; this is a pre-purchase checklist built from DVSA open data, not a guarantee for any individual car.
Ranked by how often they were actually recorded, the items that most often failed a 2009 Renault Grand Scenic at the first attempt were Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (14.4%), Coil spring (rear) (11.4%) and Suspension arm ball joint (front) (10.9%), each as a share of the year's failed first attempts. That is what goes wrong most often on the car. The common faults table shows a different measure: faults that are unusual compared with similar cars.
Among failed first-attempt tests we highlight patterns that appear more often than on similar cars. Top example: Coil spring (rear) (11.4% of those tests; 52 observed failures; about 2.8× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Coil spring (rear) shows up more often than on similar cars (11.4% of those tests; 52 observed failures; about 2.8× more often than similar cars). That does not prove a design fault. Age, mileage, and how the car was used still matter. Treat it as a pre-purchase checkpoint, not a manufacturer service bulletin.
Common MOT problem areas for the 2009 Renault Grand Scenic include Coil spring (rear), Track rod end (front). These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
Advisories flag issues noted at the test and are not a fail rate. We show advisory patterns that appear more often than on similar cars among failed first-attempt tests, separate from common failure rows. Use them as early-warning checks, not as a pass/fail score.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2009 Renault Grand Scenic (registration year) using UK DVSA open data for the selected test year. Patterns are compared with cars of a similar age and mileage. It is a buyer checklist from MOT defect statistics, not a full service history or manufacturer service-bulletin list.
No. MOT tests do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronic modules. Patterns here come from MOT defect statistics only and should not be read as engine or gearbox reliability scores.

About this data

How this page is built and what it can (and can't) say.

These figures come from UK MOT open data for this model year. We surface common failure patterns against similar cars, not a full reliability score, and not a pass/fail verdict on any individual vehicle.

2024 2025

What we include

UK Class 4 cars only. Normal MOT tests (not retests); first test per vehicle per calendar year; results pass, PRS, or fail.

Same-day repairs

PRS means the car failed items that were fixed at the test station and then passed the same day. We count PRS as a first-attempt fail in headline rates so same-day repairs do not hide problems.

How we compare

We compare this model year with other Class 4 cars of similar age and mileage in the same test year. This model family is left out of the peer group so the car is not measured against itself.

What this does not cover

  • MOTs do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronics; this is not a full reliability score.
  • Common faults come from MOT defect stats, not manufacturer TSBs or recalls.
  • Age and mileage matching reduces, but does not remove, differences in how cars were used and maintained.
  • If the data for a car is too thin to say anything useful, we say so rather than guess.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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