Nissan Terrano: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Nissan Terrano fails its first MOT more often than the average UK car, by 14.1 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 1,485 individual Nissan Terrano tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 62.6% first-time pass rate means roughly 37 in every 100 Nissan Terranos 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 Terrano tested had covered 113,280 miles and was built around 2003.

What this means at salvage auction

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

Most common MOT failures on a Nissan Terrano

1. The strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any seat belt anchorage (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired, 5% of tests (21.68x the national rate for this defect)
2. Body, cab or chassis excessively corroded at a mounting point, 4.3% of tests (21.48x the national rate for this defect)
3. Vehicle structure corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is seriously reduced, 4.6% of tests (12.56x the national rate for this defect)
4. 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, 9% of tests (10.84x the national rate for this defect)
5. An SRS malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) indicates a system malfunction, 2.8% of tests (8.96x the national rate for this defect)
6. Exhaust system leaking or insecure, 5.2% of tests (6.91x the national rate for this defect)
7. A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 5.8% of tests (5.14x the national rate for this defect)
8. Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded, 3.9% of tests (4.75x the national rate for this defect)
9. A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play, 4.4% of tests (4.68x the national rate for this defect)
10. A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn, 11.3% of tests (3.06x the national rate for this defect)

From 2,344 DVSA-tracked Nissan Terrano tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 3.86% of these flagged Nissan Terrano defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.

Nissan Terrano 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 Terrano year:

• 2003 Nissan Terrano - 65.2% first-time pass, 247 tests
• 2004 Nissan Terrano - 61.5% first-time pass, 390 tests
• 2005 Nissan Terrano - 59.7% first-time pass, 248 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

• Mazda 323 - 62.8%
• Nissan D22 - 62.7%
• Rover 75 - 62.6%
• Fiat Grand Punto - 62.5%
• Citroen Ds4 - 62.4%
• Renault Scenic - 62.3%

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