Common problems

Nissan Note suspension problems

How often MOT testers find suspension faults on the Nissan Note at each age, against all cars of the same age, and which items come up most. From 620,623 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 10 years, the most tested age

Suspension fails per 100 MOTs (n=60,800)12.0

All cars at 10 years (n=9,049,507)9.7

Suspension advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=60,800)25.9

All cars, same age (n=9,049,507)18.2

What stands out

At 10 years, 12.0 of every 100 MOTs of the Nissan Note found a suspension fail (n=60,800), against 9.7 for all cars of that age (n=9,049,507).
It is above the all-car rate at 12 of the 15 ages with at least 1,000 tests.
The gap is widest at 12 years: 20.4 per 100 MOTs against 13.4 for all cars.
The suspension fail item recorded most often at 10 years: suspension ball joint worn, on 3.4 per 100 MOTs.
The most common suspension advisory or minor defect: suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement, on 14.7 per 100 MOTs.

Suspension fails by age

Solid line: this model. Dashed line: all cars at the same age.

Nissan Note: suspension fails and advisories per 100 MOTs, by age, against all cars. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
5 years	5,265	1.9	1.6	6.1	4.2
6 years	16,120	2.3	2.9	9.4	6.1
7 years	31,170	3.2	4.4	12.7	8.7
8 years	53,266	4.9	6.1	17.4	11.8
9 years	59,661	8.0	7.9	21.6	14.9
10 years	60,800	12.0	9.7	25.9	18.2
11 years	58,161	16.3	11.6	29.5	21.6
12 years	50,928	20.4	13.4	30.4	24.9
13 years	54,131	21.4	14.9	30.8	27.9
14 years	58,216	21.6	16.0	32.0	30.4
15 years	58,251	21.5	16.7	33.6	32.3
16 years	52,491	21.8	17.1	35.4	33.7
17 years	35,282	21.9	17.2	37.7	34.7
18 years	19,194	22.4	17.2	40.3	35.3
19 years	7,687	22.5	16.9	41.7	35.4

Suspension fail items at 10 years

Suspension fail items on the Nissan Note at 10 years (n=60,800), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=9,049,507).
Item	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Suspension ball joint worn	3.4	1.8	£75 to £237 per side (rough guide)
Coil spring broken	3.1	3.2	£64 to £236 per spring (rough guide)
Suspension arm bush worn	3.1	1.4	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Anti-roll bar link worn	1.8	0.6	£33 to £102 per link (rough guide)
Wheel bearings: rough when rotated	0.7	0.2	£103 to £276 per wheel (rough guide)
Anti-roll bar ball joint: ball joint excessively worn	0.5	0.2	£33 to £102 per link (rough guide)

Suspension advisories and minor defects at 10 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).

Suspension advisories and minor defects on the Nissan Note at 10 years (n=60,800), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=9,049,507).
Item	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	14.7	5.8	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Coil spring: corroded	5.8	2.9
Linkage ball joints: ball joint has slight play	3.4	1.0	£33 to £102 per link (rough guide)
Suspension arm ball joint: ball joint has slight play	1.9	1.4	£75 to £237 per side (rough guide)
Sub-frame: corroded but not seriously weakened	1.1	1.4
Shock absorbers: has light misting of oil	0.9	3.4	£122 to £484 per axle (pair) (rough guide)
Anti-roll bar ball joint: ball joint has slight play	0.8	0.3	£33 to £102 per link (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.

What to check on a viewing

On the Nissan Note, the suspension items testers fail most are suspension ball joint worn; coil spring broken; suspension arm bush worn.

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.

Ask for the car's MOT history: a suspension advisory that repeats from year to year has not been fixed. GOV.UK MOT history.

Questions

What are the common suspension problems on the Nissan Note?

At 10 years (60,800 MOTs), the suspension fail items testers record most often are suspension ball joint worn (3.4 per 100 MOTs), coil spring broken (3.1 per 100 MOTs), suspension arm bush worn (3.1 per 100 MOTs). The most common suspension advisories or minor defects are suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement (14.7) and coil spring: corroded (5.8).

Does the Nissan Note have more suspension problems than other cars?

At 10 years it has 12.0 suspension fails per 100 MOTs against 9.7 for all cars of the same age (2.3 more). It is above the all-car rate at 12 of the 15 ages with enough tests.

What does a suspension repair cost on the Nissan Note?

For suspension ball joint worn, an independent garage estimate is £75 to £237 per side (rough guide). This is a guide built from the national median garage labour rate and estimated labour hours, not a quote.

Suspension problems on other Nissan models

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 Note?

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.

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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