Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Nissan Primastar 2011: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 48 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2011 Nissan Primastar were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test).

Summary

With 788 first tests, there are too few to say whether the 2011 Nissan Primastar differs from the model years either side.

At a glance

How 788 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
48 in every 100
Did not pass first time
52 in every 100412 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
14 yearsabout 137,971 miles
First tests counted
788

What failed most often

  1. Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)22 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Track rod end (front)18 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Suspension arm ball joint (front)18 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 Primastar 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

Two faults. The strongest is the rigid brake pipes (rear): 3.6 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 410 of 412 failed first attempts (99.5%) 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.

Rigid brake pipes (rear)

Failed on 24 first tests3.6 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

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 56 first tests, 3.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)

Failed on 91 first tests3.0 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A parking brake with efficiency below the minimum requirement is Major, and graded Dangerous where efficiency is less than half of the required value. On a roller brake tester, the requirement counts as met if more than half of the wheels of a brake system lock. The check applies only to vehicles whose parking brake was not already tested as the secondary 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.

Steering

One fault: track rod end (front), 3.3 times as often as on similar cars.

Track rod end (front)

Failed on 75 first tests3.3 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play is Major, and one worn to the extent there is a serious risk of detachment is graded Dangerous. A dust cover that is damaged but still keeps dirt out is Minor, and one missing or no longer keeping dirt out is Major. Testers must tell wear from a joint's built-in clearance or spring loading.

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, 2.5 times as often as on similar cars.

Diesel engine warning light

Failed on 32 first tests2.5 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.

Suspension

Two faults. The strongest is the suspension arm ball joint (front): 2.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Suspension arm ball joint (front)

Failed on 74 first tests2.4 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.

Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (front)

Failed on 35 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsPossible 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 22 first tests, 2.1 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.

Lamps and electrical

One fault: number plate lights, 2.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Number plate lights

Failed on 39 first tests2.2 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.

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.

Rigid brake pipes (front)

Noted on 34 first tests3.1 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
48in 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
45in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 47.7% of 788 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 55.5%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 7 fixed and the 45 not fixed make the 52 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

40608010020052011Older carsNewer cars
4060801002011Older 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, 44 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200343 in every 100352
200447 in every 100560
200546 in every 100755
200650 in every 100808
200749 in every 1001,033
200847 in every 100711
200947 in every 100608
201047 in every 100369
2011 This car48 in every 100788
201250 in every 100446
201340 in every 100441
201451 in every 100390

FAQs

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

With 788 first tests, there are too few to say whether the 2011 Nissan Primastar differs from the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test), about 22 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 47.7% of 788 first MOTs on the 2011 Nissan Primastar passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 55.5%. Among 412 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Rigid brake pipes (rear) appears more often than on similar cars (5.9% of those tests; 24 observed failures; about 3.6× 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 Primastar at the first attempt were Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test) (22.2%), Track rod end (front) (18.3%) and Suspension arm ball joint (front) (18.0%), 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: Rigid brake pipes (rear) (5.9% of those tests; 24 observed failures; about 3.6× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Rigid brake pipes (rear) shows up more often than on similar cars (5.9% of those tests; 24 observed failures; about 3.6× 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 Primastar include Rigid brake pipes (rear), Track rod end (front), Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test). 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 Primastar (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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