MOT statistics · Nissan

Nissan MOT failure rates by model, 2024–25

Our analysis of DVSA's anonymised MOT data covers 3,079,163 initial MOT tests on Nissan vehicles in Great Britain in 2024 and 2025. 33.5% failed at the first attempt — 14% more often than vehicles of the same ages and fuel types, which failed 29.3%.

initial tests analysed
3,079,163initial tests analysed
failed at the first attempt
33.5%failed at the first attempt
expected for the same age and fuel mix
29.3%expected for the same age and fuel mix
typical age at the test
10 yrstypical age at the test

Fuel mix of the vehicles tested: 61% petrol, 37% diesel and 1% hybrid or electric. Nissan is 27 of 34 makes with 100,000+ tests, ranked from least to most often failing against same-age vehicles — see the full table.

Nissan MOT failure rate by age

Each age band compares Nissan vehicles with all vehicles of exactly the same ages and fuel types, so the difference is not just a matter of how old they are. Bands with fewer than 1,000 tests are left out.

NissanCars of the same age and fuel (all makes)

Nissan initial MOT failure rate by age band, against vehicles of the same age and fuel
AgeTestsBarsNissanSame age & fuelDifference
3–5 years456,986
15.0%14.2%5% higher
6–9 years1,071,599
26.2%23.5%11% higher
10–14 years1,005,175
42.6%35.4%20% higher
15–19 years426,250
46.9%42.8%9% higher
20–40 years119,153
44.4%40.1%10% higher

What Nissan vehicles fail on

The share of initial tests that failed in each defect category, against what vehicles of the same ages and fuel types would show. Nissan vehicles failed noticeably more often on suspension & axles; brakes; visibility, glass & wipers; steering; body, structure & corrosion; and seat belts & other equipment.

NissanCars of the same age and fuel (all makes)

Nissan initial MOT failures by defect category, against vehicles of the same age and fuel
CategoryBarsNissanSame age & fuelDifference
Suspension & axles
13.9%9.5%46% higher
Lights & electrics
12.1%11.4%About the same
Brakes
7.5%6.7%11% higher
Wheels & tyres
6.3%6.8%About the same
Visibility, glass & wipers
5.8%4.6%26% higher
Steering
4.5%2.1%118% higher
Body, structure & corrosion
4.0%3.4%15% higher
Emissions, noise & leaks
3.2%3.4%About the same
Seat belts & other equipment
1.6%1.0%63% higher
Plates & VIN
0.3%0.3%About the same

Categories are our grouping of DVSA's defect sections. A dash means too few failures in that category to compare.

Nissan MOT failure rates by model

Every Nissan model with at least 1,000 initial tests for a fuel type, most-tested first. “Same age & fuel” is the rate vehicles of the same ages and fuel types failed at; “Difference” is how far the model is from it.

Nissan initial MOT failure rate by model
ModelTestsTypical ageFailure rateSame age & fuelDifference
QashqaiCommon problems & recalls1,113,4509 yrs32.1%27.2%18% higher
JukeCommon problems & recalls612,4299 yrs31.4%25.8%21% higher
Micra474,29514 yrs37.0%33.9%9% higher
Note299,35412 yrs36.6%35.3%About the same
X-Trail177,5178 yrs30.4%27.8%9% higher
Navara137,3758 yrs33.1%27.6%19% higher
NV20049,37210 yrs45.0%29.6%51% higher
Pulsar42,0398 yrs28.2%24.4%14% higher
Elgrand26,33816 yrs32.0%36.7%11% lower
Almera25,20220 yrs44.5%41.9%About the same
Pixo22,25414 yrs36.3%39.1%5% lower
Primastar16,67416 yrs52.1%40.9%26% higher
e-NV20010,5434 yrs26.5%12.9%99% higher
Pathfinder10,33715 yrs45.4%40.5%10% higher
350Z9,92718 yrs26.9%41.3%33% lower
Cube5,58114 yrs32.8%37.4%9% lower
Serena5,44112 yrs25.1%30.4%14% lower
Primera5,25620 yrs43.7%40.1%6% higher
Figaro4,75119 yrs36.4%36.1%About the same
GT-R4,72912 yrs5.5%32.1%81% lower
NV3004,1545 yrs29.7%19.3%47% higher
Skyline4,09721 yrs13.6%34.1%57% lower
370Z3,54213 yrs15.2%34.8%53% lower
Terrano2,55921 yrs41.7%42.5%About the same
Pickup2,26920 yrs43.9%42.8%About the same
Patrol1,82021 yrs30.3%41.6%22% lower
Kubistar1,70718 yrs49.6%43.1%9% higher
Murano1,46417 yrs38.3%42.4%About the same
D221,27220 yrs42.6%42.9%About the same

Model names are as recorded at the MOT, grouped by us; a few are conversions built on a Nissan base vehicle. “Typical age” is the median age of the vehicles tested.

How to read these figures

  • They are MOT outcomes, not a reliability rating, and describe groups of vehicles — never one car.
  • How vehicles are used and maintained shows up as much as how they were built: vans, taxis and high-mileage fleet vehicles fail more often than second cars.
  • The comparison is with vehicles of the same age and fuel type, not the same mileage.
  • Differences are the conservative end of a 95% confidence interval. Full methodology.

Looking at one Nissan?

A model's average says nothing certain about one vehicle. Its own MOT history shows every test, the mileage at each and the faults found — free, from the registration.

More on Nissan

MOT failure rates for other makes

Common questions

What percentage of Nissan vehicles fail their MOT?

In our analysis of DVSA's anonymised MOT data for 2024 and 2025, 33.5% of 3,079,163 initial MOT tests on Nissan vehicles failed at the first attempt — 14% more often than vehicles of the same ages and fuel types, which failed 29.3%. Because failure rates rise steeply with age, we compare with vehicles of the same age and fuel rather than with the overall average.

Which Nissan models fail their MOT least and most often?

Among Nissan models with at least 20,000 initial tests, and against vehicles of the same age and fuel: the Elgrand failed 11% less often (32.0% of 26,338 tests). The NV200 failed 51% more often (45.0% of 49,372 tests). These are MOT outcomes, which reflect how vehicles are used and maintained as well as how they are built — not a reliability rating.

How do I check a specific Nissan's MOT history?

These figures describe groups of vehicles, never one car. Our free MOT history check shows every MOT test on record for a registration, with the mileage at each test and the faults and advisories found.

Cite this data

Free to quote and reuse with a link back to this page. Please describe the figures as our analysis of DVSA's anonymised MOT data, not as DVSA figures.

FindServiceHistory (2026). Nissan MOT failure rates by model, 2024–25: an analysis of DVSA anonymised MOT test data. https://www.findservicehistory.com/mot-statistics/nissan

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source data: the DVSA anonymised MOT tests and results dataset. The analysis, groupings and comparisons are FindServiceHistory's own and are not endorsed by DVSA.