Nissan Leaf MOT failure rate and common faults
52,897 Nissan Leaf cars aged 3 to 20 took their MOT in 2025, and 19.8% failed at the first attempt. An average car of the same age failed 18.5% of the time, which makes the Nissan Leaf 7% more likely to fail than the typical car on the road. Here is what fails, and which years to look for.
19.8%
failed first time
52,897 MOT tests in 2025
+7%
vs same age average
average car of this age mix: 18.5%
152 of 208
age adjusted rank
among cars; 1 fails least
83.2
dangerous defects per 1,000
same age average: 75.9
What fails on a Nissan Leaf MOT
Failure items recorded per 1,000 tests, by part of the car, set against an average car with exactly the same spread of ages. A figure well above average is a weak spot worth checking before you buy.
The most common Nissan Leaf MOT failures
The individual failure items testers recorded most often, per 1,000 tests.
| Failure item | Area | Per 1,000 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Ball joint excessively worn | Suspension | 50.7 |
| Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively | Windscreen, wipers and mirrors | 29.5 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm | Tyres | 27.0 |
| Tyres: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords | Tyres | 24.9 |
| Tyres: has ply or cords exposed | Tyres | 15.9 |
| Suspension arms: pin or bush excessively worn | Suspension | 12.8 |
| Position lamp: not working | Lights and electrics | 10.9 |
| Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid | Windscreen, wipers and mirrors | 10.5 |
| Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick | Brakes | 10.3 |
| Linkage ball joints: ball joint excessively worn | Suspension | 9.4 |
Nissan Leaf MOT failure rate by year
Every car fails more often as it ages, so each registration year is compared with the average for all cars of the same age. Years with fewer than 500 tests are left out.
| First registered | Tests | Failed | Same age average | Average mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 8,753 | 9.0% | 11.4% | 22,800 |
| 2021 | 8,764 | 10.9% | 12.8% | 32,000 |
| 2020 | 7,748 | 14.5% | 14.1% | 41,200 |
| 2019 | 4,995 | 16.2% | 16.5% | 48,500 |
| 2018 | 4,924 | 19.4% | 19.1% | 56,900 |
| 2017 | 4,872 | 23.9% | 21.8% | 54,900 |
| 2016 | 3,873 | 33.7% | 25.1% | 63,000 |
| 2015 | 3,969 | 34.9% | 28.1% | 62,200 |
| 2014 | 2,963 | 39.6% | 31.4% | 69,500 |
| 2013 | 1,206 | 42.5% | 34.3% | 72,800 |
Advisories to look for in a Nissan Leaf's MOT history
An advisory is a tester's warning that something is wearing but has not failed yet. These are the ones written most often on the Nissan Leaf, per 1,000 tests. If the car you are looking at has one of these, ask whether it has been fixed since.
- Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge265.4
- Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened172.9
- Tyres: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing165.5
- Suspension arms: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement98.4
- Brake pads: wearing thin64.9
- Ball joint has slight play32.9
Checking a used Nissan Leaf before you buy
Against cars of the same age, the Nissan Leaf fails more often than average on suspension, tyres and brakes. Start there.
Suspension
Drive over speed bumps with the radio off and listen for knocks. Look at the car side on: a corner sitting lower than the others often means a broken coil spring.
Tyres
Check the tread across the full width of every tyre, inner edge included. Uneven wear points to worn suspension or out of line steering geometry.
Brakes
Look through the wheel spokes at the discs for a deep lip or scoring, check the handbrake holds the car on a slope, and feel for a pull to one side when braking hard.
Averages only take you so far. The specific car's MOT history shows whether it has already failed on any of these, how often advisories were ignored, and whether the mileage climbs steadily from test to test. Read our guide to reading a car's MOT history before you go to view it.
Nissan Leaf MOT questions
What is the Nissan Leaf MOT failure rate?
19.8% of Nissan Leaf cars failed their first MOT test of 2025, from 52,897 tests on vehicles aged 3 to 20. An average car with the same age mix failed 18.5% of the time, so the Nissan Leaf was 7% more likely to fail.
What fails most often on a Nissan Leaf MOT?
Suspension caused the most failure items, at 99 per 1,000 tests. The single most common failure item was "Ball joint excessively worn", recorded 50.7 times per 1,000 tests.
Which Nissan Leaf year has the best MOT record?
Measured against cars of the same age, 2022 registrations did best: 9.0% failed against an average of 11.4% for cars that age. Older cars always fail more often, so compare a year with its age group rather than with newer cars.
Does this tell me whether a particular Nissan Leaf will pass?
No. These are averages across every Nissan Leaf tested in 2025. The car in front of you has its own record: its full MOT history shows every pass, failure and advisory it has had, and it is free to view by registration.
Other Nissan models
- Nissan Qashqai31.1% failed
- Nissan Juke30.3% failed
- Nissan Micra35.0% failed
- Nissan Note36.9% failed
- Nissan X-Trail30.1% failed
- Nissan Navara32.9% failed
Ranked close to the Nissan Leaf
- Vauxhall Crosslandrank 149
- Hyundai Santa Ferank 150
- Volvo V40rank 151
- Ford B-Maxrank 154
How these figures are calculated
Source: DVSA Anonymised MOT tests and results, 2025 release. We count first tests of cars and small vans (class 4) aged 3 to 20, so a car that fails and is retested is counted once. A failure includes faults fixed and passed within the same visit. The same age average weights the national failure rate for each age by how many Nissan Leaf cars of that age were tested, so a model is never penalised for having an older fleet. Make and model are as recorded at the test; trim levels are combined. Full method and rankings.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.