Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Renault Trafic 2013: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 49 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2013 Renault Trafic were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Track rod end (front).

Summary

The 2013 Renault Trafic follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 3,949 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
49 in every 100
Did not pass first time
51 in every 1002,004 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
12 yearsabout 129,857 miles
First tests counted
3,949

What failed most often

  1. Track rod end (front)18 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Individual sidelight or tail light (front)17 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)16 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 2013 Renault Trafic 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.

Suspension

Three faults. The strongest is the suspension sub-frame pins and bushes (front): 29 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 1,991 of 2,004 failed first attempts (99.4%) 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.

Suspension sub-frame pins and bushes (front)

Failed on 46 first tests29 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A sub-frame pin or bush with excessive wear is Major. Under DVSA's general wording for a suspension pin, bush or joint, one 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 61 first tests, 21 times as often as on similar cars.

Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (front)

Failed on 40 first tests7.2 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

An anti-roll bar pin or bush that is excessively worn is Major, and one likely to become detached is graded Dangerous. The wording is DVSA's general rule 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 87 first tests, 12 times as often as on similar cars.

Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear)

Failed on 106 first tests5.5 times as often as similar carsStrong evidence

What it means

Pins and bushes on suspension arms fail as Major when they are excessively worn. They are graded Dangerous when likely to become detached. DVSA uses the same wording for a suspension joint.

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: hazard warning switch, 24 times as often as on similar cars.

Hazard warning switch

Failed on 107 first tests24 times as often as similar carsStrong evidence

What it means

A hazard warning switch that is inoperative is Major, while one that is faulty or insecure is Minor. The lamps must work from one switch only, with the engine or ignition switch both on and off.

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

Brakes

Four faults. The strongest is the rigid brake pipes (front): 5.6 times as often as on similar cars.

Rigid brake pipes (front)

Failed on 81 first tests5.6 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Chafing, corrosion or damage to a rigid brake pipe justifies rejection once its wall thickness is reduced by a set amount, although DVSA accepts this is not easy to determine. If a tester is not sure, the benefit of the doubt applies. A leaking pipe or connection is graded Dangerous on a hydraulic system and Major on an air system.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 134 first tests, 2.8 times as often as on similar cars.

Rigid brake pipes (rear)

Failed on 119 first tests5.0 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Chafing, corrosion or damage to a rigid brake pipe justifies rejection once its wall thickness is reduced by a set amount, although DVSA accepts this is not easy to determine. If a tester is not sure, the benefit of the doubt applies. A leaking pipe or connection is graded Dangerous on a hydraulic system and Major on an air system.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 227 first tests, 3.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Handbrake performance (roller test, rear)

Failed on 73 first tests3.0 times as often as similar carsLikely 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.

Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)

Failed on 313 first tests2.7 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A parking brake with efficiency below the minimum requirement is Major, and graded Dangerous where efficiency is less than half of the required value. On a roller brake tester, the requirement counts as met if more than half of the wheels of a brake system lock. The check applies only to vehicles whose parking brake was not already tested as the secondary brake.

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

One fault: track rod end (front), 3.3 times as often as on similar cars.

Track rod end (front)

Failed on 365 first tests3.3 times as often as similar carsLikely 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.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 91 first tests, 2.7 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.

Noise, emissions and leaks

One fault: diesel engine warning light, 2.7 times as often as on similar cars.

Diesel engine warning light

Failed on 173 first tests2.7 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

An engine malfunction indicator lamp that is illuminated to show a malfunction is graded Major on a diesel, but only on the diesels the test covers, which depends on the vehicle type and when it was first used. DVSA lists it under exhaust emissions for compression ignition engines, and the detail line for the row also names an inoperative lamp.

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.

Brake light (rear)

Noted on 70 first tests5.1 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Macpherson strut pins and bushes (front)

Noted on 38 first tests3.2 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

Brake pedal

Noted on 31 first tests2.9 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
49in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
9in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
42in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 49.3% of 3,949 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 57.9%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 9 fixed and the 42 not fixed make the 51 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

4060801002005201020132020Older carsNewer cars
406080100201020132020Older carsNewer 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, 50 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200251 in every 100477
200346 in every 1001,082
200446 in every 1001,806
200550 in every 1002,240
200647 in every 1003,019
200748 in every 1003,414
200850 in every 1003,340
200947 in every 1002,494
201047 in every 1004,402
201144 in every 1005,387
201249 in every 1004,026
2013 This car49 in every 1003,949
201452 in every 1006,199
201557 in every 1009,873
201660 in every 10011,420
201761 in every 1008,443
201865 in every 1006,706
201969 in every 1007,525
202076 in every 1004,163
202177 in every 1006,081
202277 in every 1004,715

If you are buying one

What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.

Mileage makes little difference on a 2013 Trafic.

Of 2013 Trafic vehicles with under 91,000 miles, 52 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 176,000 miles or more, 50 in every 100 did.

Under 91,000784 tests
52
91,000–118,000801 tests
50
118,000–143,000 Typical car757 tests
47
143,000–176,000794 tests
47
176,000 and over791 tests
50

What to check at your mileage

How often each fault turned up on a failed first test, by the car's mileage. Read it as: what is likely to need looking at on a car like the one in front of you.

Under 91,000118,000–143,000176,000 and over
Track rod end (front)8.510.87.8
Individual sidelight or tail light (front)8.08.78.8
Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)4.38.510.6
Suspension arm ball joint (front)2.85.47.8
Drive shaft joints and boots (front)7.75.53.8

Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.

When a car fails

18in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

63in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

13in every 100

of all first tests had a defect the tester marked dangerous (unsafe to drive away).

Every figure here is a first-attempt MOT rate from DVSA open data for this model line, for cars of this model year tested in 2025. Each mileage band holds a fifth of the tests. MOTs do not test engine or gearbox internals, so this is a pre-purchase checklist, not a full reliability score.

FAQs

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

The 2013 Renault Trafic follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Track rod end (front), about 18 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 49.3% of 3,949 first MOTs on the 2013 Renault Trafic passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 57.9%. Among 2,004 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Hazard warning switch appears more often than on similar cars (5.4% of those tests; 107 observed failures; about 24× 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 2013 Renault Trafic at the first attempt were Track rod end (front) (18.3%), Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (17.4%) and Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test) (15.7%), 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: Hazard warning switch (5.4% of those tests; 107 observed failures; about 24× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Hazard warning switch shows up more often than on similar cars (5.4% of those tests; 107 observed failures; about 24× 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 2013 Renault Trafic include Hazard warning switch, Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear), Suspension sub-frame pins and bushes (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 2013 Renault Trafic (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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