2012 Nissan Note: MOT pass rate and reliability

68.6% of 2012 Nissan Notes pass the MOT first time, measured across 11,718 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 76,001 miles.

How the 2012 compares

  • Against all Nissan Notes (72.5%, 152,621 tests): -3.9 points
  • Against all 2012 cars (70.8%): -2.2 points
  • National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%

Every Nissan Note model year

Pass rates fall as cars age, so the only fair comparison for a 2012 car is other cars of the same age. The full run for the Nissan Note:

Year Pass rate Tests Avg mileage
2006 61.6% 8,593 104,170
2007 62.9% 11,696 100,461
2008 64.5% 15,024 97,715
2009 66% 14,842 92,529
2010 66.1% 14,104 89,372
2011 67.9% 11,945 83,058
2012 68.6% 11,718 76,001
2013 73% 11,804 70,938
2014 80.4% 21,871 63,219
2015 84.9% 14,969 55,393
2016 87.4% 10,811 46,297
2017 88.4% 5,192 42,511

What this means if you are buying a 2012 Note

The 2012 is a weaker year for this model, passing 3.9 points less often than the Nissan Note average. Some of that is simply age, so compare it against the 2012 figure for all cars above rather than against newer examples. Check the exact car with the free MOT history checker before you buy, and run its VIN and mileage through our free VIN decoder and clocking check.

What a 14-year-old car fails on

A 2012 car is 14 years old now, and age drives the failure mix more than the badge does. Across all cars tested, these are the categories that actually cause failures:

  • Lights and electrical: 10.36% of all cars tested
  • Suspension: 8.65% of all cars tested
  • Tyres: 6.23% of all cars tested
  • Brakes: 6.1% of all cars tested
  • Visibility: wipers, washers, glass: 4.65% of all cars tested
  • Body, chassis and structure: 3.18% of all cars tested

That is a shade above the middle of the range, still ordinary wear rather than a red flag, but worth checking against the service book for the car's age. On a 2012 Nissan Note the average at test was 76,001 miles, so treat anything far above that as a car that has worked harder than its peers, and anything far below as one worth checking for the faults that come from standing still.

The strongest year for this model is 2017 at 88.4%, and the weakest in our data is 2006 at 61.6%. That 26.8 point spread across the model's life is why comparing a 2012 car against a newer one tells you very little.

Nearby model years

All Nissan Note MOT data · Every model