Pass rate
68.5%
Below average — 3.9 pts behind the 72.4% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 8,674 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £32–£94
2005 Renault Megane MOT pass rate
- 2005
- typical 93,963 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Brakes
23.7% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Which year to buy
- Best 2021 88.5% pass
- Avoid 2006 67.8% pass
Across the 23 years on record, a spread of 20.7 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 57.4%
- Typical mileage
- 94k mi
The 2005 Renault Megane MOT pass rate is 68.5% of its MOT tests — 3.9 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 23.7% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Lamps & electrics: 1.5× the national share
Lamps & electrics make up 17.9% of everything recorded on the 2005 Renault Megane, against 12.2% nationally — 5.7 points above. Brakes are still the single largest share at 23.7%, but at 20.9% nationally that one is ordinary. Walk round the car with the lights on before the test: bulbs, indicators and number-plate lamps are the cheapest failures to prevent and among the most common.
- Falls short of its own age and mileage. Like-for-like, cars this age and mileage expect about 72.4%; this one manages 68.5% — 3.9 points below. Age is a fair excuse; this is not age.
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 Megane? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2005 Renault Megane compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.4%, so this figure is 3.9 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 57.4%. The median 2005 Renault Megane in this dataset had covered 93,963 mi.
73% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Petrol, which passed 68.5% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 68.3% of the time, April–September 68.7%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources", noted on 7.02% of tests.
- 8,674 recorded tests behind this page.
- 68.5% overall pass rate, 57.4% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Renault Megane, the average is 71.4% — best year 2021 (88.5%), worst 2006 (67.8%).
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
- 8,674
- Typical mileage (median)
- 93,963 mi
- Make and model
- Renault Megane
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Number Plate Lamp
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Megane MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 58% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (73% of tests).
Where the Renault Megane is most common
Across all Megane model years on record (2000–2022): 157,634 Renault Megane cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 411,695 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 6,010 cars tested there. Cars are counted by the postcode area of the MOT station, so this is where they were tested, not necessarily where their owners live.
| # | Postcode area | Cars | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Birmingham (B) | 6,010 | 77.7% |
| 2 | Sheffield (S) | 3,947 | 73.4% |
| 3 | Peterborough (PE) | 3,608 | 73.4% |
| 4 | Glasgow (G) | 3,213 | 69.4% |
| 5 | Nottingham (NG) | 3,131 | 69.9% |
| 6 | Manchester (M) | 2,953 | 73.3% |
| 7 | Leicester (LE) | 2,922 | 74.2% |
| 8 | Cardiff (CF) | 2,740 | 68.3% |
| 9 | Newcastle upon Tyne (NE) | 2,628 | 70.7% |
| 10 | Swansea (SA) | 2,570 | 70.1% |
| 11 | Doncaster (DN) | 2,556 | 70.8% |
| 12 | Coventry (CV) | 2,498 | 73.9% |
| 13 | Norwich (NR) | 2,438 | 70.2% |
| 14 | Chester (CH) | 2,292 | 69.4% |
| 15 | Northampton (NN) | 2,289 | 72.2% |
| 16 | Bristol (BS) | 2,263 | 68.4% |
| 17 | Derby (DE) | 2,242 | 73.2% |
| 18 | Stoke On Trent (ST) | 2,096 | 70.0% |
| 19 | Wolverhampton (WV) | 2,063 | 74.1% |
| 20 | Warrington (WA) | 2,030 | 72.1% |
The twenty areas with the most Renault Megane cars in the record, sorted by car count — sort the columns for a different question. Cars tested at a station whose postcode area could not be resolved are counted in the model's total but in no area, so the shares add up to slightly under 100% even across every area, and an area's cars are a subset of the model's. Pass rate is blank below 30 tests in an area, where a percentage is noise rather than a finding. How this model's pass rate varies by postcode →
Regional pass rates for the Megane
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 1,763 | 69.5% |
| East of England | 1,075 | 68.9% |
| South West | 956 | 63.9% |
| West Midlands | 918 | 70.0% |
| North West | 897 | 69.3% |
| Yorkshire | 846 | 67.4% |
| East Midlands | 688 | 69.5% |
| Scotland | 443 | 64.1% |
| Wales | 401 | 63.6% |
| London | 385 | 77.4% |
| North East | 302 | 70.2% |
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 2005 Megane
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 2005 Megane
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 lights 7.0% of tests
“registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources”
Switch everything on and walk round the car: both headlamps on dip and main, every indicator, both brake lights, reverse, fog and the two number-plate lamps. A bulb is a few pounds and a five-minute job.
-
Check the suspension joints 5.6% of tests
“ball joint excessively worn”
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.
-
Check the coil springs 5.3% of tests
“coil spring fractured or broken”
Look up inside each wheel arch with a torch, all the way round the spring. A snapped spring usually breaks at the very bottom coil, where a quick glance will not reach.
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 2005 Megane through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £32–£94 — and 36% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £32–£94
- Cheapest common item: registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the…
- £5–£20
- Dearest common item: joints constant velocity boot severely…
- £80–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 60%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 36%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 8,674 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 Megane, side by side
23 model years on record, from 2000 to 2022. Across them the pass rate runs from 67.8% to 88.5% — a spread of 20.7 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 72.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2001 72.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2002 73.3% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2003 71.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2004 68.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2005 68.5%registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2006 67.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2007 68.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2008 68.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2009 68.3% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2010 68.7% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2011 69.5% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2012 70.2% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2013 70.6% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2014 70.4% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2015 74.1% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2016 79.5% stop lamp not working
- 2017 81.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2018 84.4% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2019 84.8% wipers does not clear the…
- 2020 86.8% wipers does not clear the…
- 2021 88.5% wipers does not clear the…
- 2022 85.8% windscreen damaged but not…
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 2005 Renault Megane 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 2005 cars with a similar record
- Citroen C2 68.5%
- Peugeot 307 68.6%
- Kia Picanto 68.6%
- Volkswagen Polo 68.3%
- Vauxhall Corsa 68.7%
- Toyota Aygo 68.3%
Closest pass rates among 2005 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 2005 Renault Megane 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 30,053 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 | 7,290 | 23.70% | 20.89% | +2.81 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 5,521 | 17.90% | 12.21% | +5.69 |
| Suspension | 5,000 | 16.20% | 20.98% | −4.78 |
| Tyres | 3,235 | 10.50% | 19.76% | −9.26 |
| Non-component advisories | 2,470 | 8.00% | 4.18% | +3.82 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 1,844 | 6.00% | 5.57% | +0.43 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 1,542 | 5.00% | 5.52% | −0.52 |
| Steering | 1,374 | 4.50% | 2.57% | +1.93 |
| Visibility | 1,315 | 4.30% | 4.97% | −0.67 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 462 | 1.50% | 1.76% | −0.26 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 7.0% | £5–20 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 6.5% | £5–25 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 5.6% | £18–45 |
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 5.3% | £30–80 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 5.3% | £25–65 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 4.6% | £80–250 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 4.5% | £5–25 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 3.9% | £80–200 |
| Joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Body, chassis, structure | Major | 3.8% | £80–250 |
| Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 3.6% | £45–110 |
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 | 23.7% | £45–110 |
| Non-component advisories Play in steering rack inner joint(s) Non-component advisories | Advisory | 22.2% | £120–300 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 17.7% | £80–180 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 17.6% | £45–95 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 11.7% | £200–700 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 11.2% | £45–95 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 146 | 78.8% | 21,935 mi |
| 30-60k | 1,119 | 72.7% | 48,772 mi |
| 60-90k | 2,622 | 69.3% | 76,121 mi |
| 90-120k | 2,596 | 67.4% | 103,959 mi |
| 120k+ | 2,112 | 66.4% | 145,317 mi |
Source: 8,674 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.
2005 Megane MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2005 Renault Megane?
68.5% of the 8,674 2005 Renault Megane tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.4% for cars first used in 2005. First-attempt pass rate: 57.4%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2005 Renault Megane?
The three most recorded items are registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (7.02%), headlamp lens slightly defective (6.48%), ball joint excessively worn (5.63%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2005 Renault Megane MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 78.8% of the time, falling to 66.4% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2005 Renault Megane in this dataset had covered 93,963 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2005 Renault Megane?
Petrol: 68.5% pass rate across 6,313 tests. Diesel: 68.5% pass rate across 2,361 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2005 Renault Megane MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 68.3% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 68.7%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.