VehicleScore research
Renault Clio: coil-spring comments that usually fail
Coil-spring comments appeared on 20.6% of 7,445 Renault Clios aged 6–8 and under 60,000 miles, against 5.8% of other vehicles in that slice. 89.2% of the Clio comments were failures: 1,617 of 1,812.
That failure share is the point of the page. On the Peugeot 208, a high exhaust-comment rate is mostly not a failure. On these Clios, a coil-spring comment usually is. The age-standardised pass rate is 72.0%, from 155,871 tests. That number is lower than the dataset’s 78.5%, and it is not a reliability score. The spring comments are the more specific fact.
Coil-spring comments on the Clio
Age 6–8, under 60k
Age 6–8, 60–120k
Age 9–11, 60–120k
The pattern is not confined to lower-mileage cars. At ages 6–8 and 60,000–119,999 miles, 22.5% of 4,187 Clios had a coil-spring comment, against 7.0%, and 83.9% of those comments were failures. At ages 9–11 in that mileage band the vehicle rate is 28.1% of 5,294, against 12.4%, with a failure share of 73.1%. The failure share eases as the cars age. It stays a majority in these three slices.
Buying a Clio?
Look at the coil-spring line on the actual car, and at whether it was a failure. Enter the registration to open that MOT history.
Ball joints show up as well, and they also fail often
At ages 9–11 and 60,000–119,999 miles, ball-joint comments appeared on 27.8% of 5,294 Clios, against 10.1%. 58.1% of those comments were failures. A Clio MOT in this age band is worth reading for springs and ball joints specifically. A generic “suspension advisory” would hide the failure share.
Share of Clio vehicles in each age and mileage slice with at least one matching MOT comment. The comparison is other vehicles in the same slice, not the model itself. Failure share is the percentage of matched comments recorded as a fail. The rest are advisory, minor or PRS comments.
| Comment | Slice | Clio | Other vehicles | Gap | Comments that were failures |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coil spring issues | Age 6–8, under 60,000 miles | 20.6% 1,535 of 7,445 | 5.8% 613,879 vehicles | +14.8 pp | 89.2% 1,617 of 1,812 |
| Coil spring issues | Age 9–11, 60,000–119,999 miles | 28.1% 1,490 of 5,294 | 12.4% 506,537 vehicles | +15.7 pp | 73.1% 1,421 of 1,944 |
| Coil spring issues | Age 6–8, 60,000–119,999 miles | 22.5% 942 of 4,187 | 7.0% 512,819 vehicles | +15.5 pp | 83.9% 949 of 1,131 |
| Ball joint wear | Age 9–11, 60,000–119,999 miles | 27.8% 1,474 of 5,294 | 10.1% 506,537 vehicles | +17.7 pp | 58.1% 1,208 of 2,079 |
Pass rate by age
The Clio’s test pass rate is below the age band from the first tests onward: 78.7% against 84.4% at ages 3–5, and 70.6% against 79.3% at ages 6–8. The crude model rate is 71.5%. Age standardisation lifts it to 72.0%, so the Clio’s age mix was making the raw rate look slightly worse. The lift is half a percentage point. It does not remove the gap.
Test pass rate by the vehicle’s age at the test. The comparison column is every pass/fail test in that age band, including Clio. A vehicle can appear in more than one band.
| Age at test | Vehicles | Tests | Clio | All tests in the band |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0–2 years | 7,501 | 8,757 | 85.6% | 87.4% |
| 3–5 years | 10,145 | 36,584 | 78.7% | 84.4% |
| 6–8 years | 9,729 | 38,639 | 70.6% | 79.3% |
| 9–11 years | 8,339 | 32,622 | 67.3% | 75.0% |
| 12–14 years | 5,686 | 21,106 | 65.7% | 72.3% |
| 15 or over years | 3,490 | 18,134 | 66.6% | 71.3% |
Use the pass rate as context for how often tests were failed. Use the spring table for what those failures were about. The two are linked only in the sense that a failed spring comment is one way to fail a test. Plenty of failures will be lamps, tyres and brakes, which dominate the overall comment list.
Related VehicleScore research
Methodology
Snapshot 27 September 2026, job 2026-09-27.1. Clio means the resolved Renault Clio. Comparisons are other vehicles in the same age and mileage slice, with non-overlapping Wilson 95% intervals. A comment counts whether it is a fail, advisory, minor or PRS. The failure share is fails divided by matched comments.
Age standardisation uses the age mix of tests and includes every Clio age band. The sample is vehicles checked through VehicleScore. The data do not identify why a spring was commented on.