Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Nissan Micra 2011: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 61 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2011 Nissan Micra were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Individual sidelight or tail light (front).

Summary

The 2011 Nissan Micra follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 11,937 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
61 in every 100
Did not pass first time
39 in every 1004,628 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
14 yearsabout 64,888 miles
First tests counted
11,937

What failed most often

  1. Individual sidelight or tail light (front)17 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Drive shaft joints and boots (front)13 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)11 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 2011 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.

Suspension

Four faults. The strongest is the wheel bearings (rear): 6.3 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 4,626 of 4,628 failed first attempts 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.

Wheel bearings (rear)

Failed on 136 first tests6.3 times as often as similar carsStrong 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.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 39 first tests, 2.3 times as often as on similar cars.

Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (front)

Failed on 347 first tests3.1 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Excessive wear on an anti-roll bar linkage ball joint is Major. A joint likely to become detached is graded Dangerous.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 238 first tests, 3.3 times as often as on similar cars.

Wheel bearings (front)

Failed on 102 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsPossible 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.

Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)

Failed on 524 first tests2.5 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 1,015 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.

Brakes

Two faults. The strongest is the brake performance (plate test, rear): 4.7 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake performance (plate test, rear)

Failed on 106 first tests4.7 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Braking effort that is inadequate at a wheel, a brake grabbing severely and a binding brake are among the Major failures. A wheel with no recorded effort is graded Dangerous. If a vehicle fails any aspect of the plate test, the check should be repeated to confirm the result.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 65 first tests, 2.8 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake performance (roller test, rear)

Failed on 389 first tests3.3 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A wheel with no recorded braking effort on the roller test is graded Dangerous. Inadequate effort, a brake grabbing severely, abnormal lag and excessive fluctuation in effort are each Major. So is significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied, which indicates a binding brake.

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

Body and structure

One fault: drive shaft joints and boots (front), 3.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Drive shaft joints and boots (front)

Failed on 610 first tests3.2 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.

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

Noise, emissions and leaks

One fault: petrol engine warning light, 3.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Petrol engine warning light

Failed on 367 first tests3.0 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

The malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) on a petrol engine is a Major failure when it is illuminated indicating a malfunction. The detail line DVSA gives for the same row also names an inoperative lamp. The test covers only certain petrol vehicles, depending on their age, size and fuel type.

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

Lamps and electrical

Two faults. The strongest is the number plate lights (rear): 2.6 times as often as on similar cars.

Number plate lights (rear)

Failed on 321 first tests2.6 times as often as similar carsPossible 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 99 first tests2.3 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 186 first tests, 4.9 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.

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 (front)

Noted on 386 first tests3.8 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Brake pedal

Noted on 50 first tests3.6 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Headlight (front)

Noted on 135 first tests3.3 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Anti-roll bar ball joint (front)

Noted on 47 first tests3.0 times as often as similar carsPossible 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
61in 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
29in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 61.2% of 11,937 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 70.9%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 10 fixed and the 29 not fixed make the 39 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

40608010020002005201120152020Older carsNewer cars
406080100200020112020Older carsNewer 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, 62 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
200052 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
2011 This car61 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

If you are buying one

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

Mileage matters most on a 2011 Micra.

Of 2011 Micra vehicles with under 41,000 miles, 74 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 93,000 miles or more, 50 in every 100 did.

Under 41,0002,360 tests
74
41,000–57,0002,417 tests
65
57,000–73,000 Typical car2,390 tests
62
73,000–93,0002,411 tests
55
93,000 and over2,356 tests
50

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 41,00057,000–73,00093,000 and over
Individual sidelight or tail light (front)2.16.89.6
Drive shaft joints and boots (front)0.95.58.8
Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)2.84.35.5
Suspension arm ball joint (front)1.23.95.9
Brake performance (roller test, rear)3.42.83.5

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

When a car fails

30in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

44in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

6in 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 2011 Nissan Micra follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Individual sidelight or tail light (front), about 17 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 61.2% of 11,937 first MOTs on the 2011 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 70.9%. Among 4,628 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Wheel bearings (rear) appears more often than on similar cars (2.9% of those tests; 136 observed failures; about 6.3× 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 2011 Nissan Micra at the first attempt were Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (16.6%), Drive shaft joints and boots (front) (13.2%) and Suspension arm pins and bushes (front) (11.3%), 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: Wheel bearings (rear) (2.9% of those tests; 136 observed failures; about 6.3× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Wheel bearings (rear) shows up more often than on similar cars (2.9% of those tests; 136 observed failures; about 6.3× 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 2011 Nissan Micra include Wheel bearings (rear), Brake performance (plate test, rear), Brake performance (roller test, 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 2011 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.

Check any vehicle’s MOT history

Full MOT history, mileage records, and reliability insights for any UK vehicle.

Run a free check