Model Reports 5 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Nissan Note 2010: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 55 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2010 Nissan Note were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Individual sidelight or tail light (front).

Summary

The 2010 Nissan Note follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 13,004 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
55 in every 100
Did not pass first time
45 in every 1005,821 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
15 yearsabout 88,344 miles
First tests counted
13,004

What failed most often

  1. Individual sidelight or tail light (front)17 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Coil spring (front)15 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)15 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 2010 Nissan Note 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

Five faults. The strongest is the suspension sub-frame pins and bushes (front): 42 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 5,818 of 5,821 failed first attempts (99.9%) 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.

Suspension sub-frame pins and bushes (front)

Failed on 139 first tests42 times as often as similar carsStrong evidence

What it means

A sub-frame pin or bush with excessive wear is Major. Under DVSA's general wording for a suspension pin, bush or joint, one 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 230 first tests, 33 times as often as on similar cars.

Wheel bearings (rear)

Failed on 223 first tests6.0 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 109 first tests, 3.8 times as often as on similar cars.

Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)

Failed on 859 first tests3.4 times as often as similar carsLikely 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.

Suspension arm ball joint (front)

Failed on 841 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A suspension arm ball joint is failed under the general suspension pin, bush or joint wording. Excessively worn is Major, and likely to become detached is graded Dangerous.

Coil spring (front)

Failed on 863 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

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.

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, 3.3 times as often as on similar cars.

Airbag warning light

Failed on 271 first tests3.3 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

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.

Lamps and electrical

One fault: brake light (rear), 2.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake light (rear)

Failed on 556 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

All stop lamps missing or not working is graded Dangerous, and so is a stop lamp that stays on when the brakes are released. A stop lamp that is missing or not working is Major. On some vehicles with LED rear lamps, part of the stop lamp can go out when the rear fog lamp is lit, which is not regarded as a defect.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 65 first tests, 3.8 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.

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 mounting area (front)

Noted on 57 first tests4.2 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

Macpherson strut (front)

Noted on 136 first tests3.0 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Side repeater indicators (front)

Noted on 37 first tests2.8 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
55in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
11in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
34in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 55.2% of 13,004 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 65.6%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 11 fixed and the 34 not fixed make the 45 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as testedPassed first time, same mileage
Petrol10,59184,436 miles5756
Diesel2,410111,705 miles4954

Figures are in every 100 first tests. Cars with more miles usually fail more often, so the same-mileage figure gives every fuel the mileage mix of all the cars in this year.

Same model, other years

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

40608010020102015Older carsNewer cars
4060801002010Older 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, 56 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200649 in every 1007,318
200750 in every 10010,076
200851 in every 10013,223
200954 in every 10013,504
2010 This car55 in every 10013,004
201157 in every 10011,196
201258 in every 10011,143
201363 in every 10011,398
201472 in every 10021,068
201578 in every 10014,496
201682 in every 10010,463
201782 in every 1005,027

If you are buying one

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

Mileage matters most on a 2010 Nissan Note.

Of 2010 Nissan Note vehicles with under 61,000 miles, 70 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 120,000 miles or more, 45 in every 100 did.

Under 61,0002,570 tests
70
61,000–80,0002,631 tests
59
80,000–97,000 Typical car2,530 tests
54
97,000–120,0002,706 tests
49
120,000 and over2,563 tests
45

Petrol or diesel?

Typical mileagePassed first time,
as tested		Passed first time,
same mileage
Petrol84,436 miles5756
Diesel111,705 miles4954

Figures are in every 100 first tests. Petrol cars look better on the raw figures only because diesel cars have done more miles (typically 111,705 against 84,436). At the same mileage there is no clear difference between the two.

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 61,00080,000–97,000120,000 and over
Individual sidelight or tail light (front)1.97.212.3
Coil spring (front)5.57.27.5
Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)4.16.19.1
Suspension arm ball joint (front)2.07.510.3
Brake light (rear)2.94.55.1

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

When a car fails

28in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

47in 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.

The 2010 Nissan Note 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, 55.2% of 13,004 first MOTs on the 2010 Nissan Note passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 65.6%. Among 5,821 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Suspension sub-frame pins and bushes (front) appears more often than on similar cars (2.4% of those tests; 139 observed failures; about 42× 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 2010 Nissan Note at the first attempt were Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (16.6%), Coil spring (front) (14.8%) and Suspension arm pins and bushes (front) (14.8%), 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: Suspension sub-frame pins and bushes (front) (2.4% of those tests; 139 observed failures; about 42× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Suspension sub-frame pins and bushes (front) shows up more often than on similar cars (2.4% of those tests; 139 observed failures; about 42× 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 2010 Nissan Note include Suspension sub-frame pins and bushes (front), Wheel bearings (rear), Suspension arm pins and bushes (front). 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 2010 Nissan Note (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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