Common problems

Nissan Primera common problems

What MOT testers find on the Nissan Primera: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 11,060 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 19 years, the most tested age

Lights and electrics fails per 100 MOTs (n=2,403)25.7

All cars at 19 years (n=2,479,858)21.5

Suspension advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=2,403)34.6

All cars, same age (n=2,479,858)35.4

What stands out

Lights and electrics fails show up on 25.7 of every 100 MOTs of a Nissan Primera at 19 years old (n=2,403), against 21.5 for all cars of that age (n=2,479,858).
Suspension fails are less common: 12.9 per 100 MOTs against 16.9 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 19 years: headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect, on 6.6 per 100 MOTs (all cars 4.1).
The most common advisory or minor defect: engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive, on 16.8 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 19 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 Primera at 19 years (n=2,403) against all cars at 19 years (n=2,479,858). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Lights and electrics	25.7	21.5	27.8	17.9
Brakes	14.1	13.3	33.8	33.3
Suspension	12.9	16.9	34.6	35.4
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	9.0	7.0	18.4	14.7
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	7.4	7.5	4.2	6.3
Body and structure	7.2	9.0	14.0	15.2
Tyres	7.1	6.8	27.8	26.9
Seat belts and airbags	5.1	2.9	2.7	1.4
Steering	2.8	4.1	10.4	6.0
Number plates and VIN	0.6	0.7	6.5	5.9
Road wheels	0.3	0.5	1.0	1.2

What testers fail most on the Primera at 19 years

Fail items on the Nissan Primera at 19 years (n=2,403), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=2,479,858).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect	Lights and electrics	6.6	4.1	£16 to £39 per car (rough guide)
Side/position light not working	Lights and electrics	5.7	5.4	£10 to £47 per lamp
Brake light not working	Lights and electrics	5.2	4.0	£10 to £47 per lamp
Wipers not clearing screen	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	4.7	3.3	£15 to £30 per blade
Handbrake too weak	Brakes	4.4	2.9
Airbag (SRS) warning light on	Seat belts and airbags	4.2	1.4	diagnosis from £39 (rough guide)
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	3.4	2.6	diagnosis from £39 (rough guide)
Brake pads under 1.5 mm	Brakes	2.9	1.7	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Suspension arm bush worn	Suspension	2.8	2.2	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Exhaust system: has a major leak of exhaust gases	Body and structure	2.8	2.1	£182 to £263 per section

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 19 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 Primera at 19 years (n=2,403), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=2,479,858).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	16.8	13.2
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	16.2	16.6	£88 to £145 per tyre
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	11.9	9.9	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	11.5	10.8	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	10.6	6.0	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	10.2	8.1	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Headlamp: has a product on the lens but not seriously reducing light output	Lights and electrics	9.2	3.9	£28 to £98 per lamp (rough guide)
Headlamp: lens slightly defective	Lights and electrics	7.7	4.3
Linkage ball joints: ball joint has slight play	Suspension	6.8	2.6	£33 to £102 per link (rough guide)
Registration plates: deteriorated but not likely to be misread	Number plates and VIN	6.5	5.8	£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 19 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Lights and electrics	Brakes	Suspension
17 years	1,848	25.2	11.8	11.6
18 years	2,243	27.0	14.3	13.4
19 years	2,403	25.7	14.1	12.9
20 years	2,087	26.0	16.1	13.7
21 years	1,471	21.2	15.0	11.8
22 years	1,008	22.1	14.7	12.5

What to check on a viewing

On the Nissan Primera, testers most often record headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect; side/position light not working; brake light not working. 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.

Brakes

On the test drive the car should stop in a straight line without pulling, juddering or grinding.
Look at the discs through the wheels for a deep lip, heavy rust or scoring.
Check that the handbrake or electronic parking brake holds the car on a slope.
Ask when the pads, discs and brake fluid were last changed, and for the receipts.

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.

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 Primera?

At 19 years, the age with the most MOT tests (2,403), the fail items testers record most often on the Nissan Primera are headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect (6.6 per 100 MOTs), side/position light not working (5.7 per 100 MOTs), brake light not working (5.2 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive (16.8) and tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (16.2).

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

At 19 years: lights and electrics (25.7 per 100 MOTs against 21.5 for all cars); seat belts and airbags (5.1 per 100 MOTs against 2.9 for all cars); exhaust, emissions and leaks (9.0 per 100 MOTs against 7.0 for all cars). Compared with 2,479,858 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Nissan Primera 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 Primera?

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