Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Renault Zoe 2017: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 61 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2017 Renault Zoe were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Suspension arm ball joint (front).

Summary

With 960 first tests, there are too few to say whether the 2017 Renault Zoe differs from the model years either side.

At a glance

How 960 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
61 in every 100
Did not pass first time
39 in every 100379 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
8 yearsabout 48,122 miles
First tests counted
960

What failed most often

  1. Suspension arm ball joint (front)41 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Tyre condition (front)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 2017 Renault Zoe 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.

Lamps and electrical

Two faults. The strongest is the individual direction indicators (rear): 22 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 378 of 379 failed first attempts (99.7%) 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.

Individual direction indicators (rear)

Failed on 32 first tests22 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 28 first tests, 27 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake light (rear)

Failed on 28 first tests3.3 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

All stop lamps missing or not working is graded Dangerous, and so is a stop lamp that stays on when the brakes are released. A stop lamp that is missing or not working is Major. On some vehicles with LED rear lamps, part of the stop lamp can go out when the rear fog lamp is lit, which is not regarded as a defect.

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), 14 times as often as on similar cars.

Suspension arm ball joint (front)

Failed on 154 first tests14 times as often as similar carsStrong 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 32 first tests, 9.2 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.

MOT pass rates

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

Passed first time
61in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
4in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
35in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 60.5% of 960 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 65.1%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 4 fixed and the 35 not fixed make the 39 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

406080100201420152016201720182019202020212022Older carsNewer cars
40608010020172020Older 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, 63 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
201460 in every 100741
201558 in every 1001,582
201661 in every 1001,407
2017 This car61 in every 100960
201865 in every 1001,739
201966 in every 1002,182
202085 in every 1005,904
202187 in every 1005,894
202289 in every 1005,387

FAQs

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

With 960 first tests, there are too few to say whether the 2017 Renault Zoe differs from the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Suspension arm ball joint (front), about 41 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 60.5% of 960 first MOTs on the 2017 Renault Zoe passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 65.1%. Among 379 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Suspension arm ball joint (front) appears more often than on similar cars (40.7% of those tests; 154 observed failures; about 14× 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 Zoe at the first attempt were Suspension arm ball joint (front) (40.7%) and Tyre condition (front) (15.9%), 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: Suspension arm ball joint (front) (40.7% of those tests; 154 observed failures; about 14× 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 (40.7% of those tests; 154 observed failures; about 14× 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 Zoe include Suspension arm ball joint (front), Individual direction indicators (rear), Brake light (rear). 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 Zoe (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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