Nissan Micra 2006: reliability & common MOT faults

At a glance

How 14,777 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time: 53 in every 100
Did not pass first time: 47 in every 1006,938 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car: 19 yearsabout 84,148 miles
First tests counted: 14,777

What failed most often

Individual sidelight or tail light (front)16 in every 100 failed tests
Number plate lights13 in every 100 failed tests
Headlight aim13 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 2006 Nissan Micra vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Lamps and electrical

Three faults. The strongest is the number plate lights (rear): 4.8 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 6,927 of 6,938 failed first attempts (99.8%) 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)

Failed on 926 first tests4.8 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

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.

Individual direction indicators (front)

Failed on 414 first tests4.7 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

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.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 312 first tests, 4.7 times as often as on similar cars.

Individual direction indicators (rear)

Failed on 510 first tests2.9 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

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.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 348 first tests, 2.8 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: wheel bearings (rear), 3.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Wheel bearings (rear)

Failed on 296 first tests3.2 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Excessive play in a wheel bearing, or a bearing that is excessively rough, is Major. Play so excessive that the bearing is likely to break up or directional control is impaired is Dangerous, and so is a bearing so rough that it is likely to overheat or break up.

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.

All direction indicators

Noted on 73 first tests16 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

Suspension sub-frame pins and bushes (front)

Noted on 118 first tests12 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

Side repeater indicators (front)

Noted on 101 first tests7.4 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Individual sidelight or tail light (rear)

Noted on 94 first tests6.2 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Macpherson strut (front)

Noted on 227 first tests3.8 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Wheel condition (rear)

Noted on 142 first tests2.2 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: 53in every 100; Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station: 12in every 100; Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed: 35in every 100; Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 53.0% of 14,777 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 65.2%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 12 fixed and the 35 not fixed make the 47 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, 54 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	52 in every 100	7,303
2004	51 in every 100	8,187
2005	50 in every 100	12,239
2006 This car	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 2006 Micra.

Of 2006 Micra vehicles with under 56,000 miles, 69 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 116,000 miles or more, 41 in every 100 did.

Under 56,0002,956 tests

69

56,000–75,0002,901 tests

58

75,000–93,000 Typical car2,971 tests

50

93,000–116,0002,963 tests

47

116,000 and over2,968 tests

41

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 56,000	75,000–93,000	116,000 and over
Individual sidelight or tail light (front)	2.0	7.9	11.3
Number plate lights	2.2	6.9	9.8
Headlight aim	3.9	6.5	7.9
Coil spring (front)	2.4	4.1	5.1
Suspension arm ball joint (front)	0.9	3.6	7.4

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

When a car fails

21in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

57in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

9in 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.

Is the 2006 Nissan Micra reliable?

The 2006 Nissan Micra follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Individual sidelight or tail light (front), about 16 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 53.0% of 14,777 first MOTs on the 2006 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 65.2%. Among 6,938 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Number plate lights (rear) appears more often than on similar cars (13.4% of those tests; 926 observed failures; about 4.8× 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.

What is most likely to fail on a 2006 Nissan Micra?

Ranked by how often they were actually recorded, the items that most often failed a 2006 Nissan Micra at the first attempt were Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (15.6%), Number plate lights (13.4%) and Headlight aim (12.9%), 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.

What common MOT faults stand out on the Nissan Micra 2006?

Among failed first-attempt tests we highlight patterns that appear more often than on similar cars. Top example: Number plate lights (rear) (13.4% of those tests; 926 observed failures; about 4.8× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.

Why does Number plate lights (rear) stand out?

Number plate lights (rear) shows up more often than on similar cars (13.4% of those tests; 926 observed failures; about 4.8× 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.

What are common problems with the 2006 Nissan Micra?

Common MOT problem areas for the 2006 Nissan Micra include Number plate lights (rear), Individual direction indicators (front), Wheel bearings (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.

How should I read advisories vs fails?

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.

What does this Nissan Micra 2006 MOT report cover?

This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2006 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.

Does this include engine and gearbox problems?

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.

At a glance

What failed most often

Lamps and electrical

Number plate lights (rear)

What it means

Individual direction indicators (front)

What it means

Also noted as an advisory

Individual direction indicators (rear)

What it means

Also noted as an advisory

Suspension

Wheel bearings (rear)

What it means

Advisories

All direction indicators

Suspension sub-frame pins and bushes (front)

Side repeater indicators (front)

Individual sidelight or tail light (rear)

Macpherson strut (front)

Wheel condition (rear)

MOT pass rates

Same model, other years

If you are buying one

Mileage matters most on a 2006 Micra.

What to check at your mileage

When a car fails

FAQs

About this data

What we include

Same-day repairs

How we compare

What this does not cover

Check any vehicle’s MOT history