Pass rate
73.1%
Below average — 4.1 pts behind the 77.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 5,587 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £31–£81
2012 Citroen Nemo MOT pass rate
- 2012
- typical 96,641 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Suspension
23.4% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Part only £40–£65 for Shock absorber leaking. What fitting it takes →
1.5 pts down across model years — 2.7% in 2008, 1.2% in 2017.
Which year to buy
- Best 2017 77.5% pass
- Avoid 2008 69.5% pass
Across the 11 years on record, a spread of 8 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 64.6%
- Typical mileage
- 97k mi
The 2012 Citroen Nemo MOT pass rate is 73.1% of its MOT tests — 4.1 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 23.4% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Emissions & leaks: 2.1× the national share
Emissions & leaks make up 11.6% of everything recorded on the 2012 Citroen Nemo, against 5.5% nationally — 6.1 points above. Suspension is still the single largest share at 23.4%, but at 21.0% nationally that one is ordinary. A smoky diesel or a leaking joint fails on emissions more often than on wear, so ask for a recent emissions printout.
- Falls short of its own age and mileage. Like-for-like, cars this age and mileage expect about 77.2%; this one manages 73.1% — 4.1 points below. Age is a fair excuse; this is not age.
Written from this page's own figures: fault shares against the national composition, the like-for-like pass rate, and the priced repair list. How these are worked out
Watching a Citroen Nemo? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2012 Citroen Nemo compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 77.2%, so this figure is 4.1 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 64.6%. The median 2012 Citroen Nemo in this dataset had covered 96,641 mi.
The most common fuel recorded here is Diesel — 96% of tests, with a 73.0% pass rate. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 73.8% of the time, April–September 72.3%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view", noted on 8.30% of tests.
- 5,587 recorded tests behind this page.
- 73.1% overall pass rate, 64.6% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Citroen Nemo, the average is 73.0% — best year 2017 (77.5%), worst 2008 (69.5%).
Figures count every completed test on this vehicle-year in the dataset, including retests. See methodology for the exact definition.
This page's data
- Tests analysed
- 5,587
- Typical mileage (median)
- 96,641 mi
- Make and model
- Citroen Nemo
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Windscreen
Typically a garage job — get quotes before committing.
Does mileage affect the Nemo MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 63% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Diesel is the most common here (96% of tests).
Where the Citroen Nemo is most common
Across all Nemo model years on record (2008–2018): 21,008 Citroen Nemo cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 54,476 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 503 cars tested there. Cars are counted by the postcode area of the MOT station, so this is where they were tested, not necessarily where their owners live.
| # | Postcode area | Cars | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Birmingham (B) | 503 | 78.8% |
| 2 | Newcastle upon Tyne (NE) | 494 | 73.1% |
| 3 | Cardiff (CF) | 425 | 69.0% |
| 4 | Sheffield (S) | 412 | 76.6% |
| 5 | Peterborough (PE) | 411 | 72.8% |
| 6 | Nottingham (NG) | 391 | 72.2% |
| 7 | Portsmouth (PO) | 383 | 71.2% |
| 8 | Swansea (SA) | 362 | 72.0% |
| 9 | Ashford (TN) | 342 | 74.6% |
| 10 | Norwich (NR) | 319 | 72.7% |
| 11 | Wrexham (LL) | 319 | 73.3% |
| 12 | Bristol (BS) | 318 | 68.2% |
| 13 | Doncaster (DN) | 312 | 74.2% |
| 14 | Exeter (EX) | 304 | 69.6% |
| 15 | Plymouth (PL) | 294 | 68.2% |
| 16 | Manchester (M) | 288 | 76.0% |
| 17 | Leicester (LE) | 287 | 75.4% |
| 18 | Brighton (BN) | 276 | 71.6% |
| 19 | Southampton (SO) | 274 | 73.2% |
| 20 | Edinburgh (EH) | 273 | 71.1% |
The twenty areas with the most Citroen Nemo cars in the record, sorted by car count — sort the columns for a different question. Cars tested at a station whose postcode area could not be resolved are counted in the model's total but in no area, so the shares add up to slightly under 100% even across every area, and an area's cars are a subset of the model's. Pass rate is blank below 30 tests in an area, where a percentage is noise rather than a finding. How this model's pass rate varies by postcode →
Regional pass rates for the Nemo
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 848 | 73.7% |
| South West | 722 | 70.9% |
| Scotland | 690 | 71.6% |
| East of England | 568 | 71.8% |
| North West | 553 | 75.9% |
| West Midlands | 531 | 73.8% |
| Yorkshire | 512 | 75.0% |
| Wales | 468 | 73.5% |
| East Midlands | 359 | 69.4% |
| North East | 278 | 75.5% |
| London | 58 | 81.0% |
Regions come from the postcode area recorded at the test station. Areas on region borders are assigned to the region with the majority of their population.
What fails a 2012 Nemo
Everything a tester recorded on this vehicle, grouped into the inspection sections that produced it. The notch on each bar is the national share, so you can see at a glance whether this car is unusual or just ordinary.
A test can record several items, so these percentages do not add up to 100%. The exact strings, with prices, are in the full DVSA record at the bottom of this page.
Before your test
Three checks worth doing on a 2012 Nemo
These are not generic tips — they are the faults recorded most often on this exact model, rewritten as things you can check yourself. All three take about ten minutes and cost nothing.
-
Check the windscreen 8.3% of tests
“windscreen damaged”
Check the driver’s side of the screen within the swept area for chips and cracks; anything larger than 10mm in the driver’s central view is a fail. Most chips can be resin-repaired for far less than a new screen.
-
Check the coil springs 7.2% of tests
“coil spring fractured or broken”
Look up inside each wheel arch with a torch, all the way round the spring. A snapped spring usually breaks at the very bottom coil, where a quick glance will not reach.
-
Check the lights 5.5% of tests
“registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources”
Switch everything on and walk round the car: both headlamps on dip and main, every indicator, both brake lights, reverse, fog and the two number-plate lamps. A bulb is a few pounds and a five-minute job.
Shares are the proportion of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item, so they overlap: one test can record several.
What it costs to get a 2012 Nemo through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £31–£81 — and 38% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £31–£81
- Cheapest common item: stop lamp not working
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 90%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 38%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 5,587 MOT tests on this vehicle. They exclude diagnostics, retest fees and garage labour where the part is a DIY fit, and they are not figures from the DVSA dataset. Older and higher-mileage examples cost more than the average. How these estimates are built → · All MOT repair costs → · Cheapest cars to put through a test →
Every year of the Nemo, side by side
11 model years on record, from 2008 to 2018. Across them the pass rate runs from 69.5% to 77.5% — a spread of 8 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2008 69.5% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2009 71.1% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2010 72.2% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2011 73.4% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2012 73.1%windscreen damaged but not…
- 2013 73.6% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2014 73.4% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2015 73.9% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2016 75.0% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2017 77.5% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2018 77.4% windscreen damaged but not…
Colour is the pass rate on a fixed scale, so a block means the same thing on any model. Each year links to its own page with the full fault breakdown.
Compare the 2012 Citroen Nemo with another year
The raw pass rate mostly measures age. The year comparison adds the like-for-like figure, the mileage bands and the repair bill.
Other 2012 cars with a similar record
- Peugeot 3008 73.2%
- Volvo V50 73.2%
- Chevrolet Spark 72.9%
- Kia Sorento 73.3%
- Kia Ceed 72.7%
- Suzuki SX4 72.7%
Closest pass rates among 2012 cars with at least 2,000 tests, so a small sample cannot flatter itself into the list. See the full rankings: best and worst MOT pass rates.
The full DVSA record for the 2012 Citroen Nemo 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 10 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 13,232 individual items recorded on this vehicle, and the same share across all cars nationally. A single test can record several items, so a row is not a percentage of tests.
| Category | Items | This car | Nationally | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suspension | 3,135 | 23.40% | 20.98% | +2.42 |
| Tyres | 2,388 | 17.80% | 19.76% | −1.96 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 2,058 | 15.40% | 12.21% | +3.19 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 1,559 | 11.60% | 5.52% | +6.08 |
| Brakes | 1,448 | 10.80% | 20.89% | −10.09 |
| Visibility | 987 | 7.40% | 4.97% | +2.43 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 698 | 5.20% | 5.57% | −0.37 |
| Steering | 421 | 3.10% | 2.57% | +0.53 |
| Non-component advisories | 331 | 2.50% | 4.18% | −1.68 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 207 | 1.50% | 1.76% | −0.26 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 8.3% | £80–200 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 7.2% | £25–65 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 5.5% | £5–20 |
| Shock absorbers has an excessively worn bush Suspension | Major | 4.4% | £30–75 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 2.6% | £5–25 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.6% | £5–25 |
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Major | 1.8% | £30–75 |
| Stop lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.8% | £3–12 |
| Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.7% | £3–12 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Major | 1.5% | £45–95 |
Severity is as recorded: Major and Dangerous fail the test outright; Minor and Advisory do not. Costs are estimates from typical UK parts prices — see how they are built.
What testers noted without failing the car
Advisories are the early warnings — the same parts a year or two before they fail. Reading them is how you tell a car that has been maintained from one that has been patched.
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 21.7% | £45–95 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 16.0% | £200–700 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 12.1% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 7.3% | £45–110 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 6.9% | £40–150 |
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Advisory | 5.6% | £30–75 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 98 | 81.6% | 22,989 mi |
| 30-60k | 708 | 76.7% | 48,306 mi |
| 60-90k | 1,494 | 73.7% | 76,047 mi |
| 90-120k | 1,850 | 72.2% | 103,377 mi |
| 120k+ | 1,390 | 71.3% | 146,954 mi |
Source: 5,587 recorded tests on this vehicle-year. Every row above is recomputed from the same DVSA extract as the rest of the page — see the methodology.
2012 Nemo MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2012 Citroen Nemo?
73.1% of the 5,587 2012 Citroen Nemo tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 77.2% for cars first used in 2012. First-attempt pass rate: 64.6%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2012 Citroen Nemo?
The three most recorded items are windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (8.30%), coil spring fractured or broken (7.23%), registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (5.55%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2012 Citroen Nemo MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 81.6% of the time, falling to 71.3% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2012 Citroen Nemo in this dataset had covered 96,641 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2012 Citroen Nemo?
Diesel: 73.0% pass rate across 5,353 tests. Petrol: 76.0% pass rate across 217 tests. LPG: 70.6% pass rate across 17 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2012 Citroen Nemo MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 73.8% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 72.3%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.