Nissan Micra MOT failures and reliability

In 2023 the Nissan Micra took 255,896 MOT tests in Britain and passed 64% of them first time, below 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: 255,896
First-time pass rate: 64%
All cars: 71%

What the Micra fails on

Share of tests with at least one failure in each area, against the figure for all cars.

Lights and electrics17.7% (all cars 11.3%)
Suspension13.6% (all cars 9.0%)
Visibility7.0% (all cars 4.8%)
Brakes6.5% (all cars 6.8%)
Tyres5.7% (all cars 6.4%)
Body and structure4.2% (all cars 3.5%)
Exhaust and emissions3.0% (all cars 3.1%)
Seat belts and airbags1.9% (all cars 1.0%)

Most common failure items

Share of tests on which each item was recorded.

Position lamp: not working 4.7%
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps 3.9%
Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively 3.9%
Coil spring: fractured or broken 3.5%
Headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect 3.2%
Suspension arms, pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn 3.1%
Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm 2.4%
Suspension arms, ball joint: ball joint excessively worn 2.3%

Most common advisories

Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge 15.6%
Suspension arms, pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement 13.6%
Tyres, condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing 13.2%
Coil spring: corroded 7.8%
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened 6.8%
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive 6.0%
Brake pads: wearing thin 4.9%
Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material 3.6%

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
1995	390	57%
1996	602	54%
1997	838	54%
1998	1,685	53%
1999	2,781	53%
2000	3,498	51%
2001	4,981	53%
2002	8,415	54%
2003	11,283	52%
2004	12,016	52%
2005	16,838	51%
2006	18,802	55%
2007	13,864	57%
2008	14,823	61%
2009	16,159	61%
2010	16,117	61%
2011	12,750	64%
2012	11,593	65%
2013	11,480	69%
2014	14,108	74%
2015	12,971	76%
2016	10,756	79%
2017	12,732	74%
2018	10,043	81%
2019	8,625	88%
2020	6,361	91%

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	16,772 miles
4 years	22,286 miles
5 years	30,450 miles
6 years	34,736 miles
7 years	32,229 miles
8 years	39,252 miles
9 years	43,917 miles
10 years	50,251 miles
11 years	56,090 miles
12 years	60,260 miles
13 years	69,202 miles
14 years	72,079 miles
15 years	76,190 miles
16 years	78,066 miles
17 years	83,271 miles
18 years	83,500 miles
19 years	80,725 miles
20 years	77,862 miles

Check a particular Micra

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

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.