Pass rate
68.8%
Below average — 4.1 pts behind the 72.9% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 247 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £55–£157
2002 Renault Espace MOT pass rate
- 2002
- typical 105,972 mi
Most common fault
Brakes
21.2% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Which year to buy
- Best 2000 75.0% pass
- Avoid 2011 66.0% pass
Across the 13 years on record, a spread of 9 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 57.7%
- Typical mileage
- 106k mi
The 2002 Renault Espace MOT pass rate is 68.8% of its MOT tests — 4.1 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 21.2% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Renault Espace does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Advisories: 2.7× the national share
Advisories make up 11.3% of everything recorded on the 2002 Renault Espace, against 4.2% nationally — 7.1 points above. Brakes are still the single largest share at 21.2%, but at 20.9% nationally that one is ordinary. Most of what testers record here is advisory — worth reading, not worth walking away from on its own.
- Falls short of its own age and mileage. Like-for-like, cars this age and mileage expect about 72.9%; this one manages 68.8% — 4.1 points below. Age is a fair excuse; this is not age.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 11% of this model’s typical repairs come in under £30 in parts — the failures here tend to be the kind that need a garage rather than a bulb.
Written from this page's own figures: fault shares against the national composition, the like-for-like pass rate, and the priced repair list. How these are worked out
Watching a Renault Espace? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2002 Renault Espace compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.9%, so this figure is 4.1 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 57.7%. The median 2002 Renault Espace in this dataset had covered 105,972 mi.
The most common fuel recorded here is Petrol — 66% of tests, with a 68.9% pass rate. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 67.8% of the time, April–September 70.3%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Steering rack gaiter missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt", noted on 5.26% of tests.
- 247 recorded tests behind this page.
- 68.8% overall pass rate, 57.7% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Renault Espace, the average is 68.5% — best year 2000 (75.0%), worst 2011 (66.0%).
Figures count every completed test on this vehicle-year in the dataset, including retests. See methodology for the exact definition.
This page's data
- Tests analysed
- 247
- Typical mileage (median)
- 105,972 mi
- Make and model
- Renault Espace
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Steering Rack
Typically a garage job — get quotes before committing.
Does mileage affect the Espace MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 55% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (66% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the Espace
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South West | 65 | 61.5% |
| South East | 63 | 73.0% |
| London | 22 | 90.9% |
| West Midlands | 21 | 71.4% |
| East of England | 18 | 61.1% |
| East Midlands | 16 | 68.8% |
| North West | 15 | 60.0% |
Regions come from the postcode area recorded at the test station. Areas on region borders are assigned to the region with the majority of their population.
What fails a 2002 Espace
Everything a tester recorded on this vehicle, grouped into the inspection sections that produced it. The notch on each bar is the national share, so you can see at a glance whether this car is unusual or just ordinary.
A test can record several items, so these percentages do not add up to 100%. The exact strings, with prices, are in the full DVSA record at the bottom of this page.
Before your test
Three checks worth doing on a 2002 Espace
These are not generic tips — they are the faults recorded most often on this exact model, rewritten as things you can check yourself. All three take about ten minutes and cost nothing.
-
Check the steering 5.3% of tests
“steering rack gaiter missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt”
With the wheels straight, rock the steering wheel gently with the engine off — more than about an inch of free play before the wheels move is worth investigating. Split rack gaiters are cheap to replace and commonly recorded.
-
Check the wipers and washers 4.5% of tests
“wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively”
Run the wipers with the screen wet: they should clear it in one sweep without smearing or juddering. Top the washer bottle up and check both jets hit the screen.
-
Check the suspension joints 4.0% of tests
“ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated”
With the car parked on level ground, rock the top of each front wheel in and out while someone watches the suspension arm. Clunks, or rubber boots split and greasy, are what testers record here.
Shares are the proportion of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item, so they overlap: one test can record several.
What it costs to get a 2002 Espace through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £55–£157 — and 11% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £55–£157
- Cheapest common item: wipers does not clear the windscreen…
- £8–£22
- Dearest common item: steering rack gaiter missing or no longer…
- £120–£300
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 40%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 11%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 247 MOT tests on this vehicle. They exclude diagnostics, retest fees and garage labour where the part is a DIY fit, and they are not figures from the DVSA dataset. Older and higher-mileage examples cost more than the average. How these estimates are built → · All MOT repair costs → · Cheapest cars to put through a test →
Every year of the Espace, side by side
13 model years on record, from 2000 to 2012. Across them the pass rate runs from 66.0% to 75.0% — a spread of 9 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 75.0% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2001 72.2% battery(ies) insecure but not…
- 2002 68.8%steering rack gaiter missing or…
- 2003 72.6% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2004 71.1% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2005 71.5% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2006 69.6% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2007 66.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2008 67.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2009 68.1% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2010 68.3% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2011 66.0% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2012 70.4% joints constant velocity boot…
Colour is the pass rate on a fixed scale, so a block means the same thing on any model. Each year links to its own page with the full fault breakdown.
Compare the 2002 Renault Espace with another year
The raw pass rate mostly measures age. The year comparison adds the like-for-like figure, the mileage bands and the repair bill.
Other 2002 cars with a similar record
- Vauxhall Corsa 68.8%
- Volkswagen Polo 68.7%
- Honda Accord 68.7%
- Peugeot 307 68.9%
- Citroen C3 68.6%
- Peugeot 206 69.1%
Closest pass rates among 2002 cars with at least 2,000 tests, so a small sample cannot flatter itself into the list. See the full rankings: best and worst MOT pass rates.
The full DVSA record for the 2002 Renault Espace 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 10 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 943 individual items recorded on this vehicle, and the same share across all cars nationally. A single test can record several items, so a row is not a percentage of tests.
| Category | Items | This car | Nationally | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brakes | 203 | 21.20% | 20.89% | +0.31 |
| Suspension | 179 | 18.70% | 20.98% | −2.28 |
| Tyres | 113 | 11.80% | 19.76% | −7.96 |
| Non-component advisories | 108 | 11.30% | 4.18% | +7.12 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 80 | 8.30% | 5.52% | +2.78 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 74 | 7.70% | 12.21% | −4.51 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 70 | 7.30% | 5.57% | +1.73 |
| Steering | 45 | 4.70% | 2.57% | +2.13 |
| Visibility | 37 | 3.90% | 4.97% | −1.07 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 34 | 3.50% | 0.82% | +2.68 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steering rack gaiter missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Steering | Major | 5.3% | £120–300 |
| Joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Body, chassis, structure | Major | 4.9% | £80–250 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 4.5% | £8–22 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 4.0% | £18–45 |
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Major | 4.0% | £45–120 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 3.6% | £18–45 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 3.6% | £80–250 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 3.2% | £80–200 |
| Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 2.8% | £60–250 |
| Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Suspension | Major | 2.8% | £18–45 |
Severity is as recorded: Major and Dangerous fail the test outright; Minor and Advisory do not. Costs are estimates from typical UK parts prices — see how they are built.
What testers noted without failing the car
Advisories are the early warnings — the same parts a year or two before they fail. Reading them is how you tell a car that has been maintained from one that has been patched.
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 28.3% | £45–110 |
| Non-component advisories Play in steering rack inner joint(s) Non-component advisories | Advisory | 25.1% | £120–300 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 21.5% | £200–700 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 21.1% | £45–95 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 17.0% | £45–95 |
| Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 11.7% | £25–65 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 8 | 75.0% | 14,788 mi |
| 30-60k | 22 | 63.6% | 51,170 mi |
| 60-90k | 56 | 71.4% | 79,544 mi |
| 90-120k | 83 | 68.7% | 106,100 mi |
| 120k+ | 74 | 68.9% | 158,641 mi |
Source: 247 recorded tests on this vehicle-year. Every row above is recomputed from the same DVSA extract as the rest of the page — see the methodology.
2002 Espace MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2002 Renault Espace?
68.8% of the 247 2002 Renault Espace tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.9% for cars first used in 2002. First-attempt pass rate: 57.7%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2002 Renault Espace?
The three most recorded items are steering rack gaiter missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (5.26%), joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (4.86%), wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively (4.45%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2002 Renault Espace MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 75.0% of the time, falling to 68.9% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2002 Renault Espace in this dataset had covered 105,972 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2002 Renault Espace?
Petrol: 68.9% pass rate across 164 tests. Diesel: 68.7% pass rate across 83 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2002 Renault Espace MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 67.8% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 70.3%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.