Renault Austral problems (2022–today)

All 2 engines of the Renault Austral that we have documented have high or critical severity faults: the E-Tech Híbrido and the 1.3 TCe. The safest option is the 1.3 TCe, with a «Buy» verdict. Outside the engine, the Austral (since 2022) has accumulated four Safety Gate recalls (wheels, seats, ABS-ESP and parking brake), a gearbox fault on the 200 hp hybrid that Renault covers beyond the warranty in France, and openR Link screen freezes that Renault fixes with a remote software update. The ADAC, by contrast, places it among the best in its class for on-the-road breakdowns, but based only on the first units.

Among the 2 engines we have documented, the safest option is the 1.3 TCe, with a «Buy» verdict. The reliability record is clearly better than that of the 1.2 TCe and PSA's 1.2 PureTech, according to L'argus: no oil consumption or chain problems have been documented. The only known outstanding issue is the fuel pump fuse failure on the Captur II and Clio V, with no confirmed factory fix at the date of the latest source consulted.^[1]

Outside the engine, the Austral (since 2022) has accumulated four Safety Gate recalls (wheels, seats, ABS-ESP and parking brake), a gearbox fault on the 200 hp hybrid that Renault covers beyond the warranty in France, and openR Link screen freezes that Renault fixes with a remote software update. The ADAC, by contrast, places it among the best in its class for on-the-road breakdowns, but based only on the first units. The most important documented faults are: erratic behaviour of the E-Tech hybrid automatic gearbox (gearbox and clutch, high severity), ABS-ESP control unit that does not warn of braking system faults (campaign 0EN9) (brakes, high severity), park (P) lock and parking brake that do not engage properly due to a misaligned sensor (campaigns 0EWQ and 0EY9) (brakes, high severity) and openR Link infotainment screen freezes and restarts (electronics and infotainment, medium severity).^{[2][3][4][5][6]}

The most important by severity and frequency, on the engines we have documented, are: multi-mode gearbox failure (risk of breakage) (E-Tech Híbrido, high severity), stalling and injection warnings on the 1.2 E-Tech 200 (HR12) (E-Tech Híbrido, high severity), blown fuel pump fuse (1.3 TCe, high severity), hybrid system electrical fault with "DANGER" warning and car won't start (E-Tech Híbrido, medium severity) and 12 V battery going flat or needing early replacement (E-Tech Híbrido, medium severity).

According to our rating by year, the best is 2026 (7.3/10); the worst rated is 2023 (6.2/10). Each year's rating counts only the engines sold that year and the faults that affect those units: open each year to see what changes.

Yes: we have documented 4 campaigns for the Renault Austral, such as parking brake actuator with misaligned position sensor (2025). Check with your VIN at the official service centre whether yours has been done.