Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Nissan Leaf 2020: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 85 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2020 Nissan Leaf were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Tyre condition (front).

Summary

The 2020 Nissan Leaf follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 7,191 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
85 in every 100
Did not pass first time
15 in every 1001,043 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
5 yearsabout 34,875 miles
First tests counted
7,191

What failed most often

  1. Tyre condition (front)18 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Windscreen wipers (front)12 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Tyre tread depth (front)10 in every 100 failed tests

How we count this. Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Only Class 4 cars on their first MOT of the year are counted. A car that fails and is fixed at the test station still counts as a fail in the first-attempt rate. These are raw results, not adjusted for age, mileage, or peer mix. The MOT does not test engine or gearbox internals.

Note:

These are patterns across 2020 Nissan Leaf vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. A wear pattern follows age and use more than the way the car was built. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Suspension

Two faults. The strongest is the suspension arm ball joint (front): 8.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 1,040 of 1,043 failed first attempts (99.7%) that recorded an odometer reading in 2025. Mileage is needed to compare like with like.

We only list faults with at least 20 failures and a rate of about 2.0 times that of similar cars, which keeps one-off results out of the list.

Suspension arm ball joint (front)

Failed on 101 first tests8.1 times as often as similar carsStrong evidence

What it means

A suspension arm ball joint is failed under the general suspension pin, bush or joint wording. Excessively worn is Major, and likely to become detached is graded Dangerous.

Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)

Failed on 47 first tests2.9 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Pins and bushes on suspension arms fail as Major when they are excessively worn. They are graded Dangerous when likely to become detached. DVSA uses the same wording for a suspension joint.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 99 first tests, 4.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.

Brakes

One wear pattern: brake discs (front), 2.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake discs (front)

Failed on 33 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

A brake disc or drum must be significantly worn before it is rejected, and being worn below the manufacturer's recommended limits is not a reason in itself. Significantly and obviously worn is Major, as is contamination with oil or grease. A disc or drum that is fractured, insecure, seriously weakened or missing is graded Dangerous.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

MOT pass rates

How first tests ended, and how the pass rates are counted.

Passed first time
85in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
3in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
12in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 85.5% of 7,191 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 88.2%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 3 fixed and the 12 not fixed make the 15 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.

40608010020152020Older carsNewer cars
4060801002020Older cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 88 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
201163 in every 100375
201262 in every 100408
201357 in every 1001,148
201460 in every 1002,854
201565 in every 1003,785
201666 in every 1003,724
201776 in every 1004,697
201880 in every 1004,627
201984 in every 1004,664
2020 This car85 in every 1007,191
202189 in every 1008,202
202291 in every 1008,331

If you are buying one

What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.

Mileage matters most on a 2020 Leaf.

Of 2020 Leaf vehicles with under 22,000 miles, 92 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 52,000 miles or more, 78 in every 100 did.

Under 22,0001,413 tests
92
22,000–31,0001,517 tests
88
31,000–39,000 Typical car1,340 tests
86
39,000–52,0001,504 tests
84
52,000 and over1,413 tests
78

What to check at your mileage

How often each fault turned up on a failed first test, by the car's mileage. Read it as: what is likely to need looking at on a car like the one in front of you.

Under 22,00031,000–39,00052,000 and over
Tyre condition (front)1.72.73.4
Windscreen wipers (front)1.82.31.5
Tyre tread depth (front)0.30.73.5
Suspension arm ball joint (front)0.01.03.7

Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.

When a car fails

55in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

16in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

5in every 100

of all first tests had a defect the tester marked dangerous (unsafe to drive away).

Every figure here is a first-attempt MOT rate from DVSA open data for this model line, for cars of this model year tested in 2025. Each mileage band holds a fifth of the tests. MOTs do not test engine or gearbox internals, so this is a pre-purchase checklist, not a full reliability score.

FAQs

Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.

The 2020 Nissan Leaf follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Tyre condition (front), about 18 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 85.5% of 7,191 first MOTs on the 2020 Nissan Leaf passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 88.2%. Among 1,043 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Suspension arm ball joint (front) appears more often than on similar cars (9.7% of those tests; 101 observed failures; about 8.1× more often than similar cars). There is no single reliability score here; this is a pre-purchase checklist built from DVSA open data, not a guarantee for any individual car.
Ranked by how often they were actually recorded, the items that most often failed a 2020 Nissan Leaf at the first attempt were Tyre condition (front) (17.8%), Windscreen wipers (front) (12.0%) and Tyre tread depth (front) (9.9%), each as a share of the year's failed first attempts. That is what goes wrong most often on the car. The common faults table shows a different measure: faults that are unusual compared with similar cars.
Among failed first-attempt tests we highlight patterns that appear more often than on similar cars. Top example: Suspension arm ball joint (front) (9.7% of those tests; 101 observed failures; about 8.1× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Suspension arm ball joint (front) shows up more often than on similar cars (9.7% of those tests; 101 observed failures; about 8.1× more often than similar cars). That does not prove a design fault. Age, mileage, and how the car was used still matter. Treat it as a pre-purchase checkpoint, not a manufacturer service bulletin.
Common MOT problem areas for the 2020 Nissan Leaf include Suspension arm ball joint (front), Suspension arm pins and bushes (front). These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2020 Nissan Leaf (registration year) using UK DVSA open data for the selected test year. Patterns are compared with cars of a similar age and mileage. It is a buyer checklist from MOT defect statistics, not a full service history or manufacturer service-bulletin list.
No. MOT tests do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronic modules. Patterns here come from MOT defect statistics only and should not be read as engine or gearbox reliability scores.

About this data

How this page is built and what it can (and can't) say.

These figures come from UK MOT open data for this model year. We surface common failure patterns against similar cars, not a full reliability score, and not a pass/fail verdict on any individual vehicle.

2024 2025

What we include

UK Class 4 cars only. Normal MOT tests (not retests); first test per vehicle per calendar year; results pass, PRS, or fail.

Same-day repairs

PRS means the car failed items that were fixed at the test station and then passed the same day. We count PRS as a first-attempt fail in headline rates so same-day repairs do not hide problems.

How we compare

We compare this model year with other Class 4 cars of similar age and mileage in the same test year. This model family is left out of the peer group so the car is not measured against itself.

What this does not cover

  • MOTs do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronics; this is not a full reliability score.
  • Common faults come from MOT defect stats, not manufacturer TSBs or recalls.
  • Age and mileage matching reduces, but does not remove, differences in how cars were used and maintained.
  • If the data for a car is too thin to say anything useful, we say so rather than guess.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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