Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Nissan NV250 2021: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 69 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2021 Nissan NV250 were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Brake light.

Summary

The 2021 Nissan NV250 follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 1,416 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
69 in every 100
Did not pass first time
31 in every 100445 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
4 yearsabout 51,334 miles
First tests counted
1,416

What failed most often

  1. Brake light20 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Individual sidelight or tail light (front)15 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Number plate lights13 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 2021 Nissan NV250 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 individual sidelight or tail light (front): 16 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 445 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.

Individual sidelight or tail light (front)

Failed on 65 first tests16 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

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.

Brake light (rear)

Failed on 89 first tests15 times as often as similar carsLikely 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.

Number plate lights

Failed on 56 first tests6.7 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.

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

Noise, emissions and leaks

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

Diesel engine warning light

Failed on 34 first tests3.0 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

An engine malfunction indicator lamp that is illuminated to show a malfunction is graded Major on a diesel, but only on the diesels the test covers, which depends on the vehicle type and when it was first used. DVSA lists it under exhaust emissions for compression ignition engines, and the detail line for the row also names an inoperative lamp.

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.

Brake pads (rear)

Noted on 64 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

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
9in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
22in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 68.6% of 1,416 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 78.4%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 9 fixed and the 22 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.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
202065 in every 100614
2021 This car69 in every 1001,416

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb.

FAQs

Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.

The 2021 Nissan NV250 follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Brake light, about 20 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 68.6% of 1,416 first MOTs on the 2021 Nissan NV250 passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 78.4%. Among 445 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Individual sidelight or tail light (front) appears more often than on similar cars (14.6% of those tests; 65 observed failures; about 16× 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 2021 Nissan NV250 at the first attempt were Brake light (20.0%), Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (14.6%) and Number plate lights (12.6%), 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: Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (14.6% of those tests; 65 observed failures; about 16× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Individual sidelight or tail light (front) shows up more often than on similar cars (14.6% of those tests; 65 observed failures; about 16× 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 2021 Nissan NV250 include Individual sidelight or tail light (front), Brake light (rear), Number plate lights. 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 2021 Nissan NV250 (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