MOT pass rates / Nissan

Nissan MOT pass rates and common failures

Name: Nissan MOT statistics
Creator: Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency
License: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Nissan cars passed 68% of their MOTs first time in 2024, across 1,450,007 class-4 initial tests and 44 model groups. That is below the 71.2% UK average, and ranks Nissan 40th of 59 makes in the dataset.

Pass rates track age more strongly than badge: an older Nissan is compared here against older cars of every other make, so read the age table below before drawing conclusions about the brand.

Checking a Nissan?

Make-level pass rates cannot reveal the condition or provenance of one car.

Check its registration free for the actual MOT, tax and mileage record. Before buying, the optional £9.99 full history check adds outstanding-finance, stolen and insurance write-off checks.

What Nissan cars fail on

The items most often behind a first-test failure across Nissan model groups, as a share of Nissan tests. DVSA publishes each model group's six most common categories, so this ranks the biggest published causes rather than every possible one.

Suspension Arms — 7.6% of Nissan tests. Worn arms or bushes. A common age-related repair that affects handling and tyre wear.
Steering Linkage Components — 3.6% of Nissan tests. Worn track rod ends or joints. Affects steering and tyre wear, and is a normal age-related repair.
Position Lamps — 3.4% of Nissan tests. A side or tail light out. Usually a bulb.
Mechanical Brake Components — 2.8% of Nissan tests. Worn discs, pads or callipers. Routine wear, but it should be priced into the deal.
Headlamp Aim — 1.9% of Nissan tests. Headlights pointing too high or low. Cheap to adjust, and common on every make.
Anti-roll Bars — 1.7% of Nissan tests. Worn anti-roll bar links or bushes. Inexpensive but often recurring.
Wipers — 1.5% of Nissan tests. Worn wiper blades. Minutes to fix, and a fair hint that servicing was skipped.
Brake Performance — 1.3% of Nissan tests. The brakes underperformed on the rolling road. Expect brake work rather than an adjustment.

Nissan MOT pass rate by age

Age at test	Tests	Initial pass rate
3–5 years	235,947	86.4%
6–9 years	507,537	75.6%
10–14 years	452,638	58%
15–30 years	253,505	53.4%

Nissan models by MOT pass rate

Model	Tests	Initial pass rate
Qashqai	514,505	68.8%
Micra	222,768	63.9%
Juke	220,039	67.5%
Note	129,231	63.3%
X-trail	82,363	70.6%
Navara	69,668	68.1%
Leaf	39,794	80.2%
Nv200	23,841	55.6%
Pulsar	19,343	73.4%
Almera	12,880	55.4%
Elgrand	12,205	68%
Pixo	11,037	63.7%
Juke N-connecta Dig-t	9,587	88.1%
Primastar	8,266	46.6%
Juke N-connecta Dig-t S-A	6,677	88.4%
Juke Tekna Dig-t	5,656	88.3%
E-nv200	5,409	74.4%
Juke Tekna Dig-t S-A	4,745	88.4%
Pathfinder	4,620	53.1%
350 Z	4,265	73.1%
Juke Tekna + Dig-t S-A	3,330	89.6%
Primera	2,909	55.2%
Juke Acenta Dig-t	2,617	86.4%
Cube	2,581	66.4%
Juke Tekna + Dig-t	2,430	90.3%
Gt-r	2,340	93.8%
Nv300	2,306	72.8%
Serena	2,139	75.6%
Figaro	1,829	61.8%
Qashqai N-connecta Dig-t MHEV	1,787	89%
Skyline	1,765	87.1%
Qashqai Acenta Prem Dig-t MHEV	1,743	89.7%
Qashqai Acenta Prem T MHEV CVT	1,583	91.4%
Qashqai Nconncta Digt MHEV CVT	1,570	89.8%
Nv250 Acenta DCI	1,443	69.6%
370 Z	1,394	83.8%
Qashqai Prem ED Dig-t MHEV CVT	1,391	90.8%
Qashqai Premiere ED Dig-t MHEV	1,237	91.3%
Terrano	1,232	57.1%
Leaf E + N-connecta	1,160	87.8%
Pickup	1,132	53.6%
Qashqai Tekna + Dig-t MHEV CVT	1,131	91%
Qashqai Tekna Dig-t MHEV	1,038	93.4%
Qashqai Tekna Dig-t MHEV CVT	1,021	92.2%

How many Nissan vehicles are left?

At the end of 2026 Q1, DfT recorded 1,874,148 licensed and 151,339 SORN Nissan vehicles across 49 published model groups.

Licensed and SORN counts for every Nissan model

Before you buy

Suspension Arms — 7.6% of tests in 2024. Worn arms or bushes. A common age-related repair that affects handling and tyre wear.
Steering Linkage Components — 3.6% of tests in 2024. Worn track rod ends or joints. Affects steering and tyre wear, and is a normal age-related repair.
Position Lamps — 3.4% of tests in 2024. A side or tail light out. Usually a bulb.
Mechanical Brake Components — 2.8% of tests in 2024. Worn discs, pads or callipers. Routine wear, but it should be priced into the deal.
Check the actual Nissan — These figures describe the model group. Enter the registration for that vehicle's free MOT, tax and mileage record before you pay a deposit.

Common questions

What is the Nissan MOT pass rate?

68% of 1,450,007 class-4 initial MOT tests on Nissan cars passed first time in 2024 — below the 71.2% UK average across all published models.

Which Nissan has the best MOT pass rate?

Of the Nissan model groups with a substantial sample, the Juke N-connecta Dig-t S-A has the highest initial pass rate at 88.4% across 6,677 tests. Pass rates track vehicle age closely, so newer model groups tend to sit higher.

Does a good Nissan pass rate mean the car I am looking at is fine?

No. A model-level rate describes a population, not one vehicle. Enter the registration for that car's own MOT, tax and mileage record, and check for outstanding finance, write-off and stolen markers before you buy.

Methodology and limitations

MOT outcomes describe testable items at the time of inspection. They are not a measure of overall mechanical reliability.

Scope: Class 4 normal initial MOT tests completed in 2024. Models require at least 1,000 qualifying tests. Duplicate source rows are removed using official DVSA test IDs.

Source: Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency anonymised MOT tests and results, 2024, published 2025-05-23 under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Check the actual car

Enter the registration for that Nissan's own free MOT, tax and mileage record. Before money changes hands, the £9.99 full history check adds outstanding finance, insurance write-off and stolen checks.