Common problems

Nissan Qashqai common problems

What MOT testers find on the Nissan Qashqai: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 2,264,112 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 7 years, the most tested age

Tyres fails per 100 MOTs (n=222,364)5.6

All cars at 7 years (n=10,537,318)6.0

Tyres advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=222,364)27.8

All cars, same age (n=10,537,318)24.8

What stands out

Brakes fails show up on 5.4 of every 100 MOTs of a Nissan Qashqai at 7 years old (n=222,364), against 4.1 for all cars of that age (n=10,537,318).
Lights and electrics fails are less common: 2.9 per 100 MOTs against 5.8 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 7 years: brake pads under 1.5 mm, on 4.0 per 100 MOTs (all cars 2.0).
The most common advisory or minor defect: brake pads: wearing thin, on 17.0 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 7 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 Qashqai at 7 years (n=222,364) against all cars at 7 years (n=10,537,318). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Tyres	5.6	6.0	27.8	24.8
Brakes	5.4	4.1	24.8	17.9
Suspension	5.2	4.4	11.9	8.7
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	3.8	3.4	2.9	3.3
Lights and electrics	2.9	5.8	1.8	2.5
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	1.9	1.7	1.1	1.7
Steering	0.7	0.8	2.3	1.1
Body and structure	0.6	1.3	0.6	1.6
Road wheels	0.3	0.3	0.8	0.6
Number plates and VIN	0.2	0.2	1.2	1.2
Seat belts and airbags	0.2	0.4	0.2	0.3

What testers fail most on the Qashqai at 7 years

Fail items on the Nissan Qashqai at 7 years (n=222,364), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=10,537,318).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Brake pads under 1.5 mm	Brakes	4.0	2.0	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm	Tyres	2.3	2.2	£88 to £145 per tyre
Wipers not clearing screen	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	1.7	1.7	£15 to £30 per blade
Coil spring broken	Suspension	1.6	1.6	£64 to £236 per spring (rough guide)
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	1.3	1.0	£2 to £14 per car (rough guide)
Tyre condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords	Tyres	1.2	1.3	£88 to £145 per tyre
Suspension arm ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt	Suspension	1.1	0.2	£75 to £237 per side (rough guide)
Suspension ball joint worn	Suspension	1.1	0.7	£75 to £237 per side (rough guide)
Tyre with cords exposed	Tyres	0.8	1.1	£88 to £145 per tyre
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	0.8	0.6	diagnosis from £39 (rough guide)

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 7 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 Qashqai at 7 years (n=222,364), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=10,537,318).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	17.0	9.0	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	15.1	15.0	£88 to £145 per tyre
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	13.1	8.9	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	10.0	8.0	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	6.1	3.0	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt	Other	4.9	2.4
Suspension arm ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated	Suspension	3.4	0.4
Brake discs: worn, but not excessively	Brakes	2.5	2.6	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Nail in tyre	Other	2.4	2.0
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	2.0	2.0	£88 to £145 per tyre

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 7 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Tyres	Brakes	Suspension
3 years	160,434	3.0	2.0	0.3
4 years	161,836	3.5	2.7	0.6
5 years	190,696	4.3	3.9	1.2
6 years	215,769	5.2	4.9	2.6
7 years	222,364	5.6	5.4	5.2
8 years	219,937	5.9	5.7	8.8
9 years	206,163	6.0	6.8	13.0
10 years	188,092	6.2	8.2	17.3
11 years	165,341	6.4	10.0	20.5
12 years	152,233	6.4	12.6	22.8
13 years	129,694	6.8	13.5	25.3
14 years	101,864	7.0	14.1	26.6
15 years	77,522	7.3	13.8	27.2
16 years	43,826	7.3	12.3	27.1
17 years	20,633	7.5	12.2	26.1
18 years	7,708	7.3	12.1	23.0

Mileage

At 7 years, Nissan Qashqai cars showing under 30,000 miles failed 12.2% of MOTs (n=18,929); the band that failed most, 120,000 to 150,000 miles, failed 32.0% (n=2,267). For pass and fail rates by age, see Nissan Qashqai MOT fail rates.

What to check on a viewing

On the Nissan Qashqai, testers most often record brake pads under 1.5 mm; tyre tread below 1.6 mm; wipers not clearing screen. Look at these first, then the areas below.

Tyres

Check the tread across the full width of all four tyres, and the spare if there is one.
Look for cuts, bulges and cracking in the sidewalls.
Wear on one edge only can point to worn suspension or the tracking being out.

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 Qashqai?

At 7 years, the age with the most MOT tests (222,364), the fail items testers record most often on the Nissan Qashqai are brake pads under 1.5 mm (4.0 per 100 MOTs), tyre tread below 1.6 mm (2.3 per 100 MOTs), wipers not clearing screen (1.7 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are brake pads: wearing thin (17.0) and tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (15.1).

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

At 7 years: brakes (5.4 per 100 MOTs against 4.1 for all cars). Compared with 10,537,318 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Nissan Qashqai 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 Qashqai?

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