Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Nissan Micra 2000: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 52 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2000 Nissan Micra were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Suspension mounting area (rear).

Summary

The 2000 Nissan Micra follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 2,059 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
52 in every 100
Did not pass first time
48 in every 100989 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
25 yearsabout 64,368 miles
First tests counted
2,059

What failed most often

  1. Suspension mounting area (rear)23 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Drive shaft joints and boots (front)16 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Individual sidelight or tail light (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 2000 Nissan Micra 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.

Seat belts and restraints

One fault: seat belt mounting area (rear), 5.7 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 986 of 989 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.

Seat belt mounting area (rear)

Failed on 66 first tests5.7 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A seat belt anchorage likely to become detached in the event of a collision is graded Dangerous. The load bearing structure near an anchorage, called a prescribed area, is Major when its strength or continuity is significantly reduced or it is inadequately repaired. Anchorage points are inspected for all seat belts fitted, except a belt with no corresponding seat.

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

Body and structure

Three faults. The strongest is the drive shaft joints and boots (front): 3.5 times as often as on similar cars.

Drive shaft joints and boots (front)

Failed on 159 first tests3.5 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A constant velocity boot that is only severely deteriorated is Minor. It is Major once it is missing, split or insecure so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt. A transmission joint excessively worn is Major, and graded Dangerous when it is so worn it is likely to fail.

Vehicle structure condition (rear)

Failed on 39 first tests2.8 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Structure that is fractured, deformed, corroded, modified or inadequately repaired is failed on rigidity only if the overall structural rigidity of the vehicle is significantly reduced. Structure that is likely to affect steering or braking adversely is graded Dangerous. Prescribed areas are not covered here, as they are checked under other sections, including brakes and steering.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 33 first tests, 2.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Chassis condition (rear)

Failed on 46 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A main load-bearing structural member that is fractured, deformed, modified or inadequately repaired is Major when structural rigidity is significantly reduced, and Dangerous where steering or braking is likely to be adversely affected. Corrosion of the body, cab or chassis at a mounting point is Dangerous where overall security or stability is impaired.

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 pads (front), 3.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake pads (front)

Failed on 37 first tests3.4 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

A pad worn down to its wear indicator, or contaminated with oil or grease, is Major. A pad worn below the set thickness limit, missing or incorrectly mounted is Dangerous. The manual treats an illuminated brake wear indicator as no reason for failure, although DVSA also lists an illuminated indicator as a Major row.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 60 first tests, 2.7 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.

Suspension

One fault: suspension mounting area (rear), 3.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Suspension mounting area (rear)

Failed on 224 first tests3.4 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

The load bearing structure within a set distance of a sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting is a prescribed area. Major applies when its strength or continuity is significantly reduced or it is inadequately repaired. Dangerous applies when it is so weakened that control of the vehicle is likely to be adversely affected.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 73 first tests, 2.3 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.

Tyres

One wear pattern: tyre tread depth (front), 2.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Tyre tread depth (front)

Failed on 35 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

Only primary grooves count when tread depth is assessed: those holding the wear indicators, or cut as deep as those when new. Shallower secondary grooves are ignored. Tread depth below the minimum for the vehicle is Dangerous, and so is a pattern not visible over the whole tread, but that second row applies only to vehicles that need the lower minimum.

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

Advisories

Other things testers noted as worn or close to failing, more often than on similar cars.

An advisory is a note from the tester about something that has not failed yet. It is an early warning, not a fail. Advisories for the faults above are shown with those faults.

Coil spring (rear)

Noted on 107 first tests2.8 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Number plates (rear)

Noted on 72 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension arm ball joint (front)

Noted on 51 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Individual direction indicators (front)

Noted on 21 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Counts cover advisories recorded on failed first tests only, 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
52in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
7in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
41in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 52.0% of 2,059 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 59.4%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 7 fixed and the 41 not fixed make the 48 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

40608010020002005201020152020Older cars
406080100200020102020

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 51 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
199655 in every 100390
199754 in every 100511
199853 in every 100998
199953 in every 1001,611
2000 This car52 in every 1002,059
200153 in every 1003,180
200254 in every 1005,719
200352 in every 1007,303
200451 in every 1008,187
200550 in every 10012,239
200653 in every 10014,777
200755 in every 10011,492
200858 in every 10012,819
200958 in every 10014,267
201059 in every 10014,496
201161 in every 10011,937
201262 in every 10010,933
201364 in every 10011,066
201469 in every 10013,596
201572 in every 10012,552
201673 in every 10010,366
201767 in every 10012,148
201869 in every 1009,549
201978 in every 1008,211
202082 in every 1005,989
202189 in every 1006,438
202291 in every 1005,542

FAQs

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

The 2000 Nissan Micra follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Suspension mounting area (rear), about 23 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 52.0% of 2,059 first MOTs on the 2000 Nissan Micra passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 59.4%. Among 989 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Seat belt mounting area (rear) appears more often than on similar cars (6.7% of those tests; 66 observed failures; about 5.7× 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 2000 Nissan Micra at the first attempt were Suspension mounting area (rear) (22.7%), Drive shaft joints and boots (front) (16.1%) and Individual sidelight or tail light (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: Seat belt mounting area (rear) (6.7% of those tests; 66 observed failures; about 5.7× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Seat belt mounting area (rear) shows up more often than on similar cars (6.7% of those tests; 66 observed failures; about 5.7× 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 2000 Nissan Micra include Seat belt mounting area (rear), Drive shaft joints and boots (front), Suspension mounting area (rear). These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
Advisories flag issues noted at the test and are not a fail rate. We show advisory patterns that appear more often than on similar cars among failed first-attempt tests, separate from common failure rows. Use them as early-warning checks, not as a pass/fail score.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2000 Nissan Micra (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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