At a glance
How 7,303 first tests went in 2025.
- Passed first time
- 52 in every 100
- Did not pass first time
- 48 in every 1003,525 failed first-attempt tests
- The typical car
- 22 yearsabout 75,696 miles
- First tests counted
- 7,303
What failed most often
- Individual sidelight or tail light (front)14 in every 100 failed tests
- Headlight aim12 in every 100 failed tests
- Number plate lights10 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.
These are patterns across 2003 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.
Lamps and electrical
Three faults and one wear pattern. The strongest is the number plate lights (rear): 3.4 times as often as on similar cars.
Figures below are measured across the 3,509 of 3,525 failed first attempts (99.5%) 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.
Number plate lights (rear)
What it means
Registration plate lamps must light up the rear registration plate and operate at the same time as the position lamps. A missing or inoperative lamp is Major when the plate has only one lamp or all its lamps are not working, and Minor when the plate has several lamps or light sources and not all have failed. A lamp throwing direct white light to the rear is also Minor.
Side repeater indicators
What it means
Sequential or dynamic direction indicators are not a reason to fail. Where a side repeater is required, it is allowed to be part of the front direction indicator if it has a marked wraparound lens, or an amber light coming through the front lens when viewed from a set distance to the side of the rear bumper. A lens defect with no effect on the emitted light is Minor, and one that adversely affects the light is Major.
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 122 first tests, 6.3 times as often as on similar cars.
Individual direction indicators (rear)
What it means
Direction indicators must be amber, though vehicles first used before a set date may have white at the front and red at the rear when the indicators are combined with stop or position lamps, and sequential or dynamic ones are not a reason to fail. A lamp that is missing, inoperative or has more than half of a multiple light source not functioning is graded Major. A flashing rate outside the permitted range is graded Minor.
Headlight aim not tested (front)
What it means
Headlamp aim recorded as not tested, or unable to be tested, is a Major failure. These results must only be used where it becomes apparent during the test that the item cannot be tested, and this could not have been identified before starting. The reason must be included in the additional information box.
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
Five faults. The strongest is the anti-roll bar ball joint dust cover (front): 2.9 times as often as on similar cars.
Anti-roll bar ball joint dust cover (front)
Wheel bearings (rear)
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 92 first tests, 2.2 times as often as on similar cars.
Coil spring (front)
What it means
A missing bump stop rubber is not a reason to fail a coil spring. When the vehicle is jacked and lowered, a spring that does not correctly locate as the suspension returns to its normal running position is rejected as insecurely attached. A missing spring is Major, and graded Dangerous where directional control is affected.
Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (front)
What it means
A suspension joint dust cover that is severely deteriorated is Minor. It becomes Major once it is missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt, so what matters is whether it still keeps dirt out. DVSA words this for any suspension joint dust cover, and files it here under anti-roll bars.
Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)
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 541 first tests, 2.5 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.
Steering
One fault: track rod end (front), 2.6 times as often as on similar cars.
Track rod end (front)
What it means
A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play is Major, and one worn to the extent there is a serious risk of detachment is graded Dangerous. A dust cover that is damaged but still keeps dirt out is Minor, and one missing or no longer keeping dirt out is Major. Testers must tell wear from a joint's built-in clearance or spring loading.
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 110 first tests, 2.2 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.
Seat belts and restraints
One fault: airbag warning light, 2.5 times as often as on similar cars.
Airbag warning light
What it means
The airbag warning lamp (SRS MIL in DVSA's wording) is failed only if it indicates a system malfunction, which is Major. A lamp lit to show the passenger airbag is disabled is not to be regarded as a defect. Dashboard messages are not a defect in their own right, though they can help the tester confirm a malfunction.
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.
Suspension sub-frame pins and bushes (front)
Brake light (rear)
Wheel condition (front)
Macpherson strut (front)
Vehicle structure condition (rear)
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
- 10in every 100
- Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
- Failed
- 38in every 100
- Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.
First-attempt pass 51.7% of 7,303 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 62.4%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 10 fixed and the 38 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.
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.
| Year | Passed first time | First tests |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 55 in every 100 | 390 |
| 1997 | 54 in every 100 | 511 |
| 1998 | 53 in every 100 | 998 |
| 1999 | 53 in every 100 | 1,611 |
| 2000 | 52 in every 100 | 2,059 |
| 2001 | 53 in every 100 | 3,180 |
| 2002 | 54 in every 100 | 5,719 |
| 2003 This car | 52 in every 100 | 7,303 |
| 2004 | 51 in every 100 | 8,187 |
| 2005 | 50 in every 100 | 12,239 |
| 2006 | 53 in every 100 | 14,777 |
| 2007 | 55 in every 100 | 11,492 |
| 2008 | 58 in every 100 | 12,819 |
| 2009 | 58 in every 100 | 14,267 |
| 2010 | 59 in every 100 | 14,496 |
| 2011 | 61 in every 100 | 11,937 |
| 2012 | 62 in every 100 | 10,933 |
| 2013 | 64 in every 100 | 11,066 |
| 2014 | 69 in every 100 | 13,596 |
| 2015 | 72 in every 100 | 12,552 |
| 2016 | 73 in every 100 | 10,366 |
| 2017 | 67 in every 100 | 12,148 |
| 2018 | 69 in every 100 | 9,549 |
| 2019 | 78 in every 100 | 8,211 |
| 2020 | 82 in every 100 | 5,989 |
| 2021 | 89 in every 100 | 6,438 |
| 2022 | 91 in every 100 | 5,542 |
If you are buying one
What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.
Mileage matters most on a 2003 Micra.
Of 2003 Micra vehicles with under 51,000 miles, 64 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 104,000 miles or more, 44 in every 100 did.
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 51,000 | 68,000–84,000 | 104,000 and over | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual sidelight or tail light (front) | 2.5 | 7.3 | 9.0 |
| Headlight aim | 4.3 | 5.7 | 6.3 |
| Number plate lights | 1.4 | 5.5 | 6.6 |
| Track rod end (front) | 2.3 | 4.9 | 5.0 |
| Headlight (front) | 2.9 | 5.2 | 4.9 |
Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.
When a car fails
of failed cars had one item to fix.
of failed cars had three or more items to fix.
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.
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.
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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