Common problems

Nissan Micra common problems

What MOT testers find on the Nissan Micra: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 994,896 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 17 years, the most tested age

Lights and electrics fails per 100 MOTs (n=64,136)28.6

All cars at 17 years (n=4,040,458)21.0

Suspension advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=64,136)29.7

All cars, same age (n=4,040,458)34.7

What stands out

Lights and electrics fails show up on 28.6 of every 100 MOTs of a Nissan Micra at 17 years old (n=64,136), against 21.0 for all cars of that age (n=4,040,458).
Brakes fails are less common: 5.9 per 100 MOTs against 12.3 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 17 years: headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect, on 7.2 per 100 MOTs (all cars 3.6).
The most common advisory or minor defect: tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge, on 17.0 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 17 years

How many of every 100 MOTs found a fail, or an advisory or minor defect, in each area. A test with faults in two areas counts in both.

Nissan Micra at 17 years (n=64,136) against all cars at 17 years (n=4,040,458). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Lights and electrics	28.6	21.0	18.6	16.9
Suspension	18.0	17.2	29.7	34.7
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	8.4	7.1	5.3	6.0
Tyres	6.9	7.3	28.5	28.1
Brakes	5.9	12.3	19.8	31.1
Body and structure	4.5	8.3	8.0	13.9
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	4.4	6.5	12.0	13.2
Steering	3.3	3.6	3.5	5.1
Seat belts and airbags	2.8	2.5	0.4	1.2
Number plates and VIN	0.7	0.6	4.8	5.2
Road wheels	0.5	0.6	2.7	1.4

What testers fail most on the Micra at 17 years

Fail items on the Nissan Micra at 17 years (n=64,136), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=4,040,458).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect	Lights and electrics	7.2	3.6	£16 to £39 per car (rough guide)
Side/position light not working	Lights and electrics	7.1	5.8	£10 to £47 per lamp
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps	Lights and electrics	7.1	1.9	£10 to £47 per lamp
Coil spring broken	Suspension	5.1	3.5	£64 to £236 per spring (rough guide)
Wipers not clearing screen	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	4.5	2.8	£15 to £30 per blade
Suspension ball joint worn	Suspension	3.5	2.4	£75 to £237 per side (rough guide)
Suspension arm bush worn	Suspension	3.5	2.2	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm	Tyres	3.4	3.0	£88 to £145 per tyre
Individual direction indicators: incorrect colour	Lights and electrics	3.4	1.0	£10 to £47 per lamp
Linkage ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt	Suspension	3.0	1.8	£33 to £102 per link (rough guide)

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 17 years

Advisories and minor defects are recorded, but the car still passes. Across all cars, a part with an advisory or minor defect failed at the next MOT 5.5 times in 100 (n=88,666,940 pairs of consecutive MOTs), against 0.3 times in 100 when the same part had none (n=12,936,860,350).

Advisories and minor defects on the Nissan Micra at 17 years (n=64,136), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=4,040,458).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	17.0	17.9	£88 to £145 per tyre
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	13.2	8.7	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	11.5	9.6	£88 to £145 per tyre
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	11.2	11.7
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	8.7	11.3	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Coil spring: corroded	Suspension	7.7	7.5
Individual direction indicators: slightly discoloured	Lights and electrics	5.3	1.9	£10 to £47 per lamp
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	5.1	6.6	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Headlamp: lens slightly defective	Lights and electrics	4.9	3.7
Registration plates: deteriorated but not likely to be misread	Number plates and VIN	4.6	5.1	£23 to £63 per plate (rough guide)

Repair estimates are a guide for an independent garage: labour at the national median local garage rate (median £78 an hour from 65 garages, ONS price quotes) times estimated labour hours, plus a parts band. Labour hours and most parts bands are estimates, not quotes, and prices vary by model, engine and region. A warning light fault shows the cost of the diagnosis only.

How problems change with age

Fails per 100 MOTs in the three most common areas at 17 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Lights and electrics	Suspension	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors
3 years	28,013	2.2	1.5	1.6
4 years	31,796	1.9	2.8	3.9
5 years	37,656	2.5	7.2	5.2
6 years	42,172	3.4	10.6	4.7
7 years	46,532	4.8	11.5	4.5
8 years	50,642	6.7	10.4	5.3
9 years	49,401	8.9	8.3	5.8
10 years	50,142	10.9	10.3	6.5
11 years	50,142	12.5	11.6	7.1
12 years	52,264	16.1	13.9	7.4
13 years	56,832	18.5	15.4	7.6
14 years	59,670	20.1	16.6	7.6
15 years	60,062	22.8	17.4	7.7
16 years	63,020	25.1	17.2	8.1
17 years	64,136	28.6	18.0	8.4
18 years	60,151	31.0	18.6	8.7
19 years	55,646	31.5	18.6	9.0
20 years	44,575	29.3	17.9	8.7
21 years	32,463	26.0	17.1	8.4
22 years	24,289	23.5	15.5	8.5
23 years	17,257	20.0	14.4	8.7
24 years	10,948	20.1	15.2	8.7
25 years	7,087	20.3	15.7	8.5

Mileage

At 17 years, Nissan Micra cars showing under 30,000 miles failed 20.6% of MOTs (n=2,714); the band that failed most, over 150,000 miles, failed 58.9% (n=2,177). For pass and fail rates by age, see Nissan Micra MOT fail rates.

What to check on a viewing

On the Nissan Micra, testers most often record headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect; side/position light not working; registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps. Look at these first, then the areas below.

Lights and electrics

With someone outside, try every light: dipped and main beam, indicators, brake lights, fog lights and number plate lamps.
Check that the warning lights come on with the ignition and go out once the engine runs.
Look for misted, cracked or yellowed headlamp lenses.

Suspension

Listen for knocks or clonks over speed bumps and rough roads on the test drive.
Push down hard on each corner: the car should settle at once rather than keep bouncing.
Look behind the wheels for broken or heavily rusted coil springs and split rubber bushes.
Check that the car sits level and that no tyre is worn on one edge only.

Windscreen, wipers and mirrors

Look for chips or cracks in the windscreen, above all in front of the driver.
Run the wipers and washers: they should clear the screen without smearing.
Check that the mirrors are present, secure and not cracked.

Ask for the car's MOT history and service record: advisories that repeat from one year to the next show what has been left. GOV.UK MOT history.

Questions

What are the most common problems on the Nissan Micra?

At 17 years, the age with the most MOT tests (64,136), the fail items testers record most often on the Nissan Micra are headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect (7.2 per 100 MOTs), side/position light not working (7.1 per 100 MOTs), registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps (7.1 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (17.0) and suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement (13.2).

Which parts of the Nissan Micra fail more often than on other cars?

At 17 years: lights and electrics (28.6 per 100 MOTs against 21.0 for all cars); windscreen, wipers and mirrors (8.4 per 100 MOTs against 7.1 for all cars). Compared with 4,040,458 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Nissan Micra problems by area

Other Nissan models

All Nissan models · Common problems by make

Read this with care. A fail rate is not a measure of build quality. How far cars are driven, how they are used and how well owners maintain them all change it, and wear items such as tyres and brake pads are common fails. Compare a model only with cars of the same age. Methodology and limits.

The all cars figures cover all class 4 vehicles (cars and light vans) tested at the same age.

Looking at a Nissan Micra?

These figures describe the model, not the car in front of you. Found one you might buy? See what the VetTheCar Buying Report covers, or use the tools that work without a registration.

See a sample report Car tools · MOT fail rates by model · Compare models by MOT record

Repair estimates: ONS consumer price quotes for local garage labour (09/2025 to 08/2026), the MOT inspection manual for defect wording, and estimated labour hours and parts bands. Not affiliated with or endorsed by ONS.

Source

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data, class 4 normal MOT tests, 2022 to 2025. MOT data updated 28 September 2026.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by DVSA. How we calculate these figures · Data sources