Nissan Serena: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Nissan Serena passes its MOT first time more often than the average UK car, by 3.4 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 2,563 individual Nissan Serena tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 80.1% first-time pass rate means roughly 20 in every 100 Nissan Serenas presented for MOT fail on the first attempt. That is better than average, so a well-kept example is a reasonably safe used buy. The average Nissan Serena tested had covered 84,980 miles and was built around 2012.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. On a Nissan Serena bought as a repairable salvage, the mechanical side is less likely to spring surprises, so your repair estimate should hold up reasonably well.

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 Serena 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 Serenas actually sold for at UK salvage auction.

Most common MOT failures on a Nissan Serena

1. Front or rear fog lamp emitted colour, position or intensity not in accordance with the requirements, 1% of tests (28.53x the national rate for this defect)
2. An obligatory rear fog lamp missing, or a front or rear fog lamp inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning, 2.6% of tests (7.6x 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, 1.2% of tests (2.19x the national rate for this defect)
4. An SRS malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) indicates a system malfunction, 0.5% of tests (1.77x the national rate for this defect)
5. A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn, 2.9% of tests
6. a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm, 1.6% of tests
7. The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements, 1.6% of tests
8. A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning, 1.5% of tests
9. Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements, 1.2% of tests
10. Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen, 1.2% of tests

From 6,039 DVSA-tracked Nissan Serena tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 4.55% of these flagged Nissan Serena defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.

Nissan Serena 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 Serena year:

• 2009 Nissan Serena - 80.1% first-time pass, 206 tests
• 2010 Nissan Serena - 78% first-time pass, 273 tests
• 2012 Nissan Serena - 82.9% first-time pass, 257 tests
• 2013 Nissan Serena - 91.9% first-time pass, 357 tests

Nissan Serena by fuel type

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

• Petrol Nissan Serena - 78.5% first-time pass, 1,802 tests
• Hybrid Nissan Serena - 88% first-time pass, 686 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

• Tesla Model X - 80.2%
• Citroen Berlingo Multispace - 80.2%
• MG 3 - 80.1%
• Skoda Superb - 80%
• BMW Z4 - 80%
• Lexus Is250 - 80%

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

Embed this data

Run a site about the Nissan Serena? Embed the real DVSA pass-rate badge free, linked back to this page.

<a href="https://www.salvageprophet.co.uk/mot/nissan-serena"><img src="https://www.salvageprophet.co.uk/badge/nissan-serena.svg" width="340" height="92" alt="Nissan Serena MOT Pass Rate: 80.1% - Salvage Prophet"></a>

All 2,005 models ranked by MOT pass rate