At a glance
How 13,596 first tests went in 2025.
- Passed first time
- 69 in every 100
- Did not pass first time
- 31 in every 1004,233 failed first-attempt tests
- The typical car
- 11 yearsabout 47,574 miles
- First tests counted
- 13,596
What failed most often
- Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)15 in every 100 failed tests
- Brake performance (roller test, rear)14 in every 100 failed tests
- Individual sidelight or tail light (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.
These are patterns across 2014 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.
Brakes
Three faults. The strongest is the brake performance (plate test, rear): 8.0 times as often as on similar cars.
Figures below are measured across the 4,233 failed first attempts in 2025 that had a mileage recorded, which allows a like-for-like comparison.
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.
Brake performance (plate test, rear)
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 59 first tests, 3.6 times as often as on similar cars.
Brake performance (roller test, rear)
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 276 first tests, 3.5 times as often as on similar cars.
Rigid brake pipes (rear)
What it means
Chafing, corrosion or damage to a rigid brake pipe justifies rejection once its wall thickness is reduced by a set amount, although DVSA accepts this is not easy to determine. If a tester is not sure, the benefit of the doubt applies. A leaking pipe or connection is graded Dangerous on a hydraulic system and Major on an air system.
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 327 first tests, 3.1 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
Three faults. The strongest is the wheel bearings (rear): 7.8 times as often as on similar cars.
Wheel bearings (rear)
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 28 first tests, 3.0 times as often as on similar cars.
Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (front)
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 141 first tests, 4.5 times as often as on similar cars.
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 1,004 first tests, 3.4 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.
Lamps and electrical
Two faults. The strongest is the number plate lights (rear): 2.8 times as often as on similar cars.
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.
Individual sidelight or tail light (front)
What it means
A position lamp showing red light to the front or white light to the rear is Major. Rear lamps must show a steady red light, and front ones can show white, predominantly white with a blue tinge, or yellow if combined in a yellow headlamp. With a multiple light source, up to half not working is Minor and more than half is Major.
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.
Headlight (front)
Coil spring (rear)
Coil spring (front)
Anti-roll bar ball joint (front)
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
- 69in 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
- 24in every 100
- Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.
First-attempt pass 68.9% of 13,596 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 75.6%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 7 fixed and the 24 not fixed make the 31 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, 70 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 | 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 This car | 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 2014 Micra.
Of 2014 Micra vehicles with under 29,000 miles, 79 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 73,000 miles or more, 57 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 29,000 | 41,000–55,000 | 73,000 and over | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suspension arm pins and bushes (front) | 2.5 | 5.2 | 5.8 |
| Brake performance (roller test, rear) | 5.2 | 4.1 | 3.6 |
| Individual sidelight or tail light (front) | 0.8 | 2.6 | 8.0 |
| Suspension arm ball joint (front) | 0.7 | 2.3 | 5.9 |
| Windscreen wipers (front) | 2.2 | 1.6 | 2.5 |
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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