Nissan Almera: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Nissan Almera fails its first MOT more often than the average UK car, by 12.6 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 14,547 individual Nissan Almera tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 64.1% first-time pass rate means roughly 36 in every 100 Nissan Almeras presented for MOT fail on the first attempt. That is worse than average, so budget for remedial work and treat a fresh 12-month MOT as a genuine selling point rather than a given. The average Nissan Almera tested had covered 86,969 miles and was built around 2004.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. On a Nissan Almera bought as a repairable salvage, assume the mechanical side needs more than the visible accident damage, and pad your repair estimate accordingly.

Before you bid: run the lot through the analyzer, check the car's own record, check the mileage, decode the VIN, and if it carries a marker use the write-off value calculator. Or compare it against another model.

Looking at a specific Nissan Almera rather than the model in general? The free check covers its MOT and mileage history, and the full HPI report confirms the insurance write-off category, outstanding finance and whether it is recorded stolen, from licensed data for 5 credits. Already own one that has been damaged? Work out whether fixing it beats selling it with the repair or scrap calculator, and see what damaged Nissan Almeras actually sold for at UK salvage auction.

Most common MOT failures on a Nissan Almera

1. An SRS malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) indicates a system malfunction, 2.6% of tests (8.37x the national rate for this defect)
2. The strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired, 5.5% of tests (6.67x the national rate for this defect)
3. Steering rack gaiter or ball joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 3.1% of tests (5.6x the national rate for this defect)
4. Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake, 4.1% of tests (5.31x the national rate for this defect)
5. Exhaust system leaking or insecure, 4% of tests (5.21x the national rate for this defect)
6. The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements, 6.5% of tests (3.72x the national rate for this defect)
7. Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement, 2.9% of tests (2.94x the national rate for this defect)
8. Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning, 2.8% of tests (2.9x the national rate for this defect)
9. A headlamp or light source missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED, 2.6% of tests (2.87x the national rate for this defect)
10. Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen, 3.4% of tests (2.46x the national rate for this defect)

From 21,143 DVSA-tracked Nissan Almera tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 4.11% of these flagged Nissan Almera defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.

Nissan Almera pass rate by model year

Pass rates fall steadily as cars age, so the model year matters as much as the model. First-time pass rate for each Nissan Almera year:

• 2000 Nissan Almera - 63.4% first-time pass, 268 tests
• 2001 Nissan Almera - 68.5% first-time pass, 672 tests
• 2002 Nissan Almera - 63.4% first-time pass, 1,676 tests
• 2003 Nissan Almera - 66.1% first-time pass, 1,974 tests
• 2004 Nissan Almera - 65.5% first-time pass, 3,557 tests
• 2005 Nissan Almera - 63.5% first-time pass, 4,544 tests
• 2006 Nissan Almera - 64.2% first-time pass, 1,290 tests

Nissan Almera by fuel type

Diesel and petrol versions of the same car fail on different things, so the fuel type moves the number:

• Petrol Nissan Almera - 64.6% first-time pass, 14,161 tests
• Diesel Nissan Almera - 63.1% first-time pass, 287 tests

Other Nissan models

• Nissan Qashqai - 72.7%
• Nissan Juke - 71.8%
• Nissan Micra - 71.7%
• Nissan Note - 72.1%
• Nissan X-Trail - 73.5%
• Nissan Navara - 72.9%
• Nissan Leaf - 83.1%
• Nissan Nv200 - 65.1%

Models with a similar pass rate

• Peugeot Bipper - 64.3%
• Daihatsu Terios - 64.3%
• Mitsubishi Colt - 64.2%
• Mitsubishi Delica - 64%
• Toyota Previa - 63.8%
• Nissan Primera - 63.8%

If this car is a salvage or write-off

• What does Cat N mean? Category N explained
• What does Cat S mean? Category S explained
• Cat S vs Cat N: the real differences

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All 2,005 models ranked by MOT pass rate