Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Renault Scenic 2008: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 47 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2008 Renault Scenic were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Individual sidelight or tail light (front).

Summary

The 2008 Renault Scenic follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 1,877 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
47 in every 100
Did not pass first time
53 in every 1001,002 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
17 yearsabout 91,997 miles
First tests counted
1,877

What failed most often

  1. Individual sidelight or tail light (front)38 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Suspension arm ball joint (front)15 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Coil spring (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 2008 Renault 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.

Brakes

One fault and one wear pattern. The strongest is the electronic parking brake: 28 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 973 of 1,002 failed first attempts (97.1%) that recorded an odometer reading in 2025. Mileage is needed to compare like with like. 2.9% 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.

Electronic parking brake

Failed on 21 first tests28 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

An electronic parking brake is applied electronically but must still be maintained in operation by direct mechanical means. It may apply automatically in certain conditions, such as when the ignition is switched off or when the driver's door is opened. A control that is missing, defective or inoperative is Major, and so is a malfunction warning.

Brake discs (rear)

Failed on 31 first tests3.1 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

A brake disc or drum must be significantly worn before it is rejected, and being worn below the manufacturer's recommended limits is not a reason in itself. Significantly and obviously worn is Major, as is contamination with oil or grease. A disc or drum that is fractured, insecure, seriously weakened or missing is graded Dangerous.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 158 first tests, 2.6 times as often as on similar cars.

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

Steering

Two faults. The strongest is the steering ball joint (front): 14 times as often as on similar cars.

Steering ball joint (front)

Failed on 23 first tests14 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play is graded Major, and one worn to the extent that there is a serious risk of detachment is graded Dangerous. Movement from excessive wear is distinguished from built-in clearance or spring loading of a joint. A dust cover that is damaged but still keeps dirt out is Minor.

Steering rack (front)

Failed on 21 first tests3.6 times as often as similar carsPossible 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.

Lamps and electrical

Two faults. The strongest is the individual direction indicators (front): 3.3 times as often as on similar cars.

Individual direction indicators (front)

Failed on 35 first tests3.3 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Direction indicators must be amber, though vehicles first used before a set date may have white at the front and red at the rear when the indicators are combined with stop or position lamps, and sequential or dynamic ones are not a reason to fail. A lamp that is missing, inoperative or has more than half of a multiple light source not functioning is graded Major. A flashing rate outside the permitted range is graded Minor.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 34 first tests, 4.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Individual sidelight or tail light (front)

Failed on 373 first tests3.2 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A position lamp showing red light to the front or white light to the rear is Major. Rear lamps must show a steady red light, and front ones can show white, predominantly white with a blue tinge, or yellow if combined in a yellow headlamp. With a multiple light source, up to half not working is Minor and more than half is Major.

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

Suspension

One fault: suspension arm ball joint (front), 2.7 times as often as on similar cars.

Suspension arm ball joint (front)

Failed on 147 first tests2.7 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A suspension arm ball joint is failed under the general suspension pin, bush or joint wording. Excessively worn is Major, and likely to become detached is graded Dangerous.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 43 first tests, 2.0 times as often as on similar cars.

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

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.

Non-component advisories (front)

Noted on 169 first tests3.8 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Individual direction indicators (rear)

Noted on 43 first tests2.9 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Track rod end (front)

Noted on 33 first tests2.6 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Shock absorbers (rear)

Noted on 74 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Flexible brake hoses (rear)

Noted on 49 first tests2.0 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
47in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
8in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
45in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 46.6% of 1,877 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 55.0%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 8 fixed and the 45 not fixed make the 53 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsPassed first time, as tested
Petrol1,38647
Diesel49146

Figures are in every 100 first tests.

Same model, other years

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

406080100200520082015Older carsNewer cars
4060801002008Older carsNewer cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200355 in every 100354
200453 in every 100403
200549 in every 100558
200649 in every 1001,370
200748 in every 1002,022
2008 This car47 in every 1001,877
200950 in every 1001,520
201051 in every 1004,946
201153 in every 1003,452
201257 in every 1002,346
201355 in every 1002,646
201457 in every 1002,919
201562 in every 1002,883
201669 in every 1001,015
201774 in every 1001,028
201879 in every 100545

FAQs

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

The 2008 Renault Scenic follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Individual sidelight or tail light (front), about 38 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 46.6% of 1,877 first MOTs on the 2008 Renault Scenic passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 55.0%. Among 1,002 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Electronic parking brake appears more often than on similar cars (2.2% of those tests; 21 observed failures; about 28× 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 2008 Renault Scenic at the first attempt were Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (38.3%), Suspension arm ball joint (front) (15.1%) and Coil spring (front) (11.1%), 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: Electronic parking brake (2.2% of those tests; 21 observed failures; about 28× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Electronic parking brake shows up more often than on similar cars (2.2% of those tests; 21 observed failures; about 28× 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 2008 Renault Scenic include Electronic parking brake, Steering ball joint (front), Steering rack (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 2008 Renault 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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