Nissan Pathfinder: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Nissan Pathfinder fails its first MOT more often than the average UK car, by 17.9 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 5,808 individual Nissan Pathfinder tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 58.8% first-time pass rate means roughly 41 in every 100 Nissan Pathfinders 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 Pathfinder tested had covered 125,852 miles and was built around 2009.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. On a Nissan Pathfinder 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 Pathfinder 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 Pathfinders actually sold for at UK salvage auction.

Most common MOT failures on a Nissan Pathfinder

1. A door will not open using the relevant control or close properly, 3% of tests (22.33x the national rate for this defect)
2. Body, cab or chassis excessively corroded at a mounting point, 2.6% of tests (12.83x the national rate for this defect)
3. Vehicle structure corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is seriously reduced, 3.2% of tests (8.74x the national rate for this defect)
4. A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play, 5.1% of tests (5.35x the national rate for this defect)
5. Exhaust system leaking or insecure, 3.8% of tests (4.98x the national rate for this defect)
6. A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 4.3% of tests (3.81x the national rate for this defect)
7. 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, 3% of tests (3.59x the national rate for this defect)
8. A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn, 13.1% of tests (3.56x the national rate for this defect)
9. Windscreen washers not working or not providing sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen, 3.7% of tests (3.03x the national rate for this defect)
10. A headlamp or light source missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED, 2.7% of tests (2.99x the national rate for this defect)

From 9,286 DVSA-tracked Nissan Pathfinder tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 4.4% of these flagged Nissan Pathfinder defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.

Nissan Pathfinder 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 Pathfinder year:

• 2005 Nissan Pathfinder - 63.7% first-time pass, 515 tests
• 2006 Nissan Pathfinder - 58.4% first-time pass, 866 tests
• 2007 Nissan Pathfinder - 57.7% first-time pass, 944 tests
• 2008 Nissan Pathfinder - 58.4% first-time pass, 469 tests
• 2009 Nissan Pathfinder - 57.5% first-time pass, 645 tests
• 2010 Nissan Pathfinder - 62.6% first-time pass, 486 tests
• 2011 Nissan Pathfinder - 64.8% first-time pass, 633 tests
• 2012 Nissan Pathfinder - 57.1% first-time pass, 401 tests
• 2013 Nissan Pathfinder - 60.3% first-time pass, 393 tests
• 2014 Nissan Pathfinder - 62.1% first-time pass, 327 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

• Renault Grand Espace - 59.4%
• Mitsubishi Shogun Pinin - 59.1%
• Mazda 5 - 59%
• Hyundai Matrix - 58.7%
• Renault Grand Modus - 58.7%
• Renault G - 58.5%

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