Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Renault Kangoo 2004: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 50 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2004 Renault Kangoo were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Drive shaft joints and boots (front).

Summary

The 2004 Renault Kangoo follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 1,475 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
50 in every 100
Did not pass first time
50 in every 100731 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
21 yearsabout 98,742 miles
First tests counted
1,475

What failed most often

  1. Drive shaft joints and boots (front)12 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Coil spring (front)11 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Individual sidelight or tail light (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 2004 Renault Kangoo vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Steering

One fault: steering rack (front), 8.9 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 726 of 731 failed first attempts (99.3%) that recorded an odometer reading in 2025. Mileage is needed to compare like with like.

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.

Steering rack (front)

Failed on 72 first tests8.9 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Steering gear casing retaining devices dangerously loose, or visible relative movement to the chassis or bodywork, is graded Dangerous. A casing not properly attached, or fractured, is Major, but a fracture that affects the stability or attachment of the casing is Dangerous. A gaiter damaged but still keeping dirt out is Minor, and Major once missing or no longer doing so.

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

Suspension

Four faults. The strongest is the anti-roll bar linkage pins and bushes (front): 5.9 times as often as on similar cars.

Anti-roll bar linkage pins and bushes (front)

Failed on 34 first tests5.9 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Excessive wear in an anti-roll bar linkage pin or bush is Major. If the pin or bush is likely to become detached, it is graded Dangerous. The wording is DVSA's general one for a suspension pin, bush or joint.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 89 first tests, 9.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Coil spring (front)

Failed on 80 first tests3.4 times as often as similar carsLikely 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.

Wheel bearings (rear)

Failed on 25 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Excessive play in a wheel bearing, or a bearing that is excessively rough, is Major. Play so excessive that the bearing is likely to break up or directional control is impaired is Dangerous, and so is a bearing so rough that it is likely to overheat or break up.

Wheel bearings (front)

Failed on 28 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Excessive play in a wheel bearing, or a bearing that is excessively rough, is Major. Play so excessive that the bearing is likely to break up or directional control is impaired is Dangerous, and so is a bearing so rough that it is likely to overheat or break up.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.

Lamps and electrical

One fault: horn, 3.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Horn

Failed on 39 first tests3.1 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A horn that does not work, or is likely to be confused with an emergency vehicle siren, is graded Major. Gongs, bells, sirens and anything with more than one tone, which includes a horn that alternates between its notes, are not allowed, except a gong, bell or siren on vehicles first used before a set date. Sound defects are Minor for named cases such as a bell or harsh sound, and Major under a general row.

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

Noise, emissions and leaks

One fault: diesel emissions test (pre-reg turbo rules before 01/07/2008), 2.5 times as often as on similar cars.

Diesel emissions test (pre-reg turbo rules before 01/07/2008)

Failed on 24 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

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

Brakes

Two faults. The strongest is the handbrake performance (roller test): 2.5 times as often as on similar cars.

Handbrake performance (roller test)

Failed on 22 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A parking brake that is inoperative on one side is Major. When tested on the road, the failure is the vehicle deviating excessively from a straight line. Vehicles whose parking brake was already tested as the secondary brake are not tested again for this.

Brake imbalance across an axle (roller test, efficiency check, rear)

Failed on 31 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A wheel giving less than a set share of the maximum effort from the other wheel on the same axle is Major. On a steered axle, less than half is graded Dangerous. Testers disregard an imbalance if the lower effort is the result of a locked wheel, or if the higher effort from a wheel is at or below a low set figure.

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

Seat belts and restraints

One fault: airbag warning light, 2.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Airbag warning light

Failed on 51 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

The airbag warning lamp (SRS MIL in DVSA's wording) is failed only if it indicates a system malfunction, which is Major. A lamp lit to show the passenger airbag is disabled is not to be regarded as a defect. Dashboard messages are not a defect in their own right, though they can help the tester confirm a malfunction.

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. Advisories for the faults above are shown with those faults.

Macpherson strut pins and bushes (front)

Noted on 25 first tests3.9 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Brake light

Noted on 20 first tests2.8 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
7in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
43in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 50.4% of 1,475 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 56.9%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 7 fixed and the 43 not fixed make the 50 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsPassed first time, as tested
Diesel79552
Petrol67949

Figures are in every 100 first tests.

Same model, other years

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

4060801002004201020152020Newer cars
406080100200420102020Newer 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, 48 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200250 in every 100634
200348 in every 100947
2004 This car50 in every 1001,475
200549 in every 1001,833
200651 in every 1002,128
200752 in every 1002,743
200853 in every 1002,544
200948 in every 1001,850
201046 in every 1004,122
201147 in every 1004,550
201251 in every 1002,876
201347 in every 1002,099
201450 in every 1002,970
201552 in every 1003,715
201656 in every 1003,207
201757 in every 1002,258
201862 in every 1002,304
201965 in every 1002,975
202069 in every 1001,927
202171 in every 1001,823
202285 in every 100509

FAQs

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

The 2004 Renault Kangoo follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Drive shaft joints and boots (front), about 12 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 50.4% of 1,475 first MOTs on the 2004 Renault Kangoo passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 56.9%. Among 731 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Steering rack (front) appears more often than on similar cars (9.9% of those tests; 72 observed failures; about 8.9× 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 2004 Renault Kangoo at the first attempt were Drive shaft joints and boots (front) (12.0%), Coil spring (front) (11.0%) and Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (10.7%), 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: Steering rack (front) (9.9% of those tests; 72 observed failures; about 8.9× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Steering rack (front) shows up more often than on similar cars (9.9% of those tests; 72 observed failures; about 8.9× 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 2004 Renault Kangoo include Steering rack (front), Anti-roll bar linkage pins and bushes (front), Coil spring (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 2004 Renault Kangoo (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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