Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Renault Twingo 2017: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 77 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2017 Renault Twingo were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Suspension arm ball joint (front).

Summary

The 2017 Renault Twingo follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 1,345 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
77 in every 100
Did not pass first time
23 in every 100316 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
8 yearsabout 33,459 miles
First tests counted
1,345

What failed most often

  1. Suspension arm ball joint (front)18 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 2017 Renault Twingo 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: suspension arm ball joint (front), 7.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 316 failed first attempts in 2025 that had a mileage recorded, which allows a like-for-like comparison.

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 arm ball joint (front)

Failed on 56 first tests7.2 times as often as similar carsLikely 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.

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

Noise, emissions and leaks

One fault: petrol emissions (with catalyst), 7.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Petrol emissions (with catalyst)

Failed on 41 first tests7.0 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Emissions levels over the manufacturer's specified limits are Major, as are levels over default limits, which apply when no exact match is found for the vehicle. Dense blue or clearly visible black smoke at idle, held for a set period, is Major, except for certain older vehicles and two stroke engines where smoke is unavoidable. An induction or exhaust leak that could affect emissions levels is Major too.

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

Tyres

One wear pattern: tyre tread depth (rear), 5.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Tyre tread depth (rear)

Failed on 33 first tests5.1 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

Only primary grooves count when tread depth is assessed: those holding the wear indicators, or cut as deep as those when new. Shallower secondary grooves are ignored. Tread depth below the minimum for the vehicle is Dangerous, and so is a pattern not visible over the whole tread, but that second row applies only to vehicles that need the lower minimum.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 59 first tests, 2.9 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.

Brakes

One wear pattern: brake discs (front), 3.7 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake discs (front)

Failed on 23 first tests3.7 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.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. 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
77in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
3in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
20in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 76.5% of 1,345 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 80.2%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 3 fixed and the 20 not fixed make the 23 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

40608010020102017Older cars
40608010020102017Older 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, 81 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200754 in every 100349
200851 in every 1002,173
200954 in every 1001,384
201054 in every 1003,574
201150 in every 1002,203
201257 in every 1001,180
201355 in every 100908
201463 in every 100859
201566 in every 1004,824
201668 in every 1002,822
2017 This car77 in every 1001,345
201879 in every 100764

FAQs

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

The 2017 Renault Twingo follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Suspension arm ball joint (front), about 18 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 76.5% of 1,345 first MOTs on the 2017 Renault Twingo passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 80.2%. Among 316 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Suspension arm ball joint (front) appears more often than on similar cars (17.7% of those tests; 56 observed failures; about 7.2× 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 2017 Renault Twingo at the first attempt were Suspension arm ball joint (front) (17.7%), 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: Suspension arm ball joint (front) (17.7% of those tests; 56 observed failures; about 7.2× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Suspension arm ball joint (front) shows up more often than on similar cars (17.7% of those tests; 56 observed failures; about 7.2× 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 2017 Renault Twingo include Suspension arm ball joint (front), Petrol emissions (with catalyst). These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2017 Renault Twingo (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.

Check any vehicle’s MOT history

Full MOT history, mileage records, and reliability insights for any UK vehicle.

Run a free check