Nissan Leaf MOT failures and reliability
In 2023 the Nissan Leaf took 37,488 MOT tests in Britain and passed 82% of them first time, above the national average of 71% for all cars. The figures below come from the DVSA's record of every test, so they show what testers actually found on these cars rather than what owners report.
- MOT tests in 2023
- 37,488
- First-time pass rate
- 82%
- All cars
- 71%
What the Leaf fails on
Share of tests with at least one failure in each area, against the figure for all cars.
- Tyres6.1% (all cars 6.4%)
- Suspension5.7% (all cars 9.0%)
- Brakes4.0% (all cars 6.8%)
- Visibility3.5% (all cars 4.8%)
- Lights and electrics3.3% (all cars 11.3%)
- Steering0.9% (all cars 1.8%)
- Seat belts and airbags0.4% (all cars 1.0%)
- Wheels0.3% (all cars 0.4%)
Most common failure items
Share of tests on which each item was recorded.
- Suspension arms, ball joint: ball joint excessively worn 3.7%
- Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm 2.2%
- Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively 2.1%
- Tyres, condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords 1.5%
- Tyres, condition: has ply or cords exposed 1.1%
- Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid 0.9%
- Position lamp: not working 0.9%
- Rbt (sp): efficiency below requirements 0.9%
Most common advisories
- Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge 16.1%
- Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened 13.3%
- Tyres, condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing 7.7%
- Suspension arms, pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement 5.5%
- Brake pads: wearing thin 3.9%
- Non-component advisories: Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt 2.4%
- Suspension arms, ball joint: ball joint has slight play 2.2%
- Non-component advisories: Nail in tyre 1.9%
Pass rate by year of registration
Older cars fail more often whatever the model, so compare a car with others of the same age.
| First registered | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 454 | 68% |
| 2012 | 490 | 66% |
| 2013 | 1,273 | 61% |
| 2014 | 3,058 | 65% |
| 2015 | 4,022 | 70% |
| 2016 | 4,002 | 76% |
| 2017 | 4,976 | 83% |
| 2018 | 5,102 | 87% |
| 2019 | 5,246 | 90% |
| 2020 | 7,983 | 91% |
| 2021 | 742 | 94% |
Typical mileage by age
Average odometer reading at the MOT, by the car's age in years at the test.
| Age at test | Average mileage |
|---|---|
| 3 years | 25,680 miles |
| 4 years | 34,369 miles |
| 5 years | 42,649 miles |
| 6 years | 43,659 miles |
| 7 years | 52,492 miles |
| 8 years | 52,689 miles |
| 9 years | 60,369 miles |
| 10 years | 64,838 miles |
| 11 years | 56,081 miles |
| 12 years | 58,772 miles |
Check a particular Leaf
Model figures tell you what to look out for. To see one car's own MOT history, mileage and tax, enter its registration.
Other Nissan models
- Nissan Qashqai
- Nissan Juke
- Nissan Micra
- Nissan Note
- Nissan X Trail
- Nissan Navara
- Nissan NV200
- Nissan Pulsar
- Nissan Almera
- Nissan Elgrand
- Nissan Pixo
- Nissan Primastar
- Nissan Pathfinder
- Nissan 350 Z
- Nissan E NV200
- Nissan Primera
- Nissan Cube
- Nissan Figaro
- Nissan Serena
- Nissan Skyline
- Nissan Terrano
- Nissan 370 Z
- Nissan NV300
- Nissan Pickup
- Nissan Kubistar
- Nissan Murano
- Nissan Patrol
Source: Department for Transport, Anonymised MOT tests and results, 2023, cars and light vans, normal tests only. Pass rates are first-time passes; a pass after repair at the test station counts as a fail. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.