Pass rate
70.5%
Below average — 2.1 pts behind the 72.6% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 396 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £64–£170
2003 Nissan Figaro MOT pass rate
- 2003
- typical 93,577 mi
Most common fault
Brakes
18.8% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Which year to buy
- Best 2011 78.3% pass
- Avoid 2016 67.2% pass
Across the 17 years on record, a spread of 11.1 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 63.2%
- Typical mileage
- 94k mi
The 2003 Nissan Figaro MOT pass rate is 70.5% of its MOT tests — 2.1 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 18.8% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Nissan Figaro does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Emissions & leaks: 2.2× the national share
Emissions & leaks make up 12.0% of everything recorded on the 2003 Nissan Figaro, against 5.5% nationally — 6.5 points above. Brakes are still the single largest share at 18.8%, but at 20.9% 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.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 7% of this model’s typical repairs come in under £30 in parts — the failures here tend to be the kind that need a garage rather than a bulb.
- Based on a small sample. 396 tests back this page. That is enough to publish and to index, not enough to treat the decimal places as precise — read the pattern, not the second digit.
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 Nissan Figaro? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2003 Nissan Figaro compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.6%, so this figure is 2.1 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 63.2%. The median 2003 Nissan Figaro in this dataset had covered 93,577 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 73.7% of the time, April–September 68.8%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated", noted on 8.33% of tests.
- 396 recorded tests behind this page.
- 70.5% overall pass rate, 63.2% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Nissan Figaro, the average is 72.7% — best year 2011 (78.3%), worst 2016 (67.2%).
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
- 396
- Typical mileage (median)
- 93,577 mi
- Make and model
- Nissan Figaro
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Ball Joint
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Figaro MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 58% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Figaro
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 110 | 70.9% |
| South West | 61 | 65.6% |
| East of England | 51 | 70.6% |
| East Midlands | 33 | 54.5% |
| West Midlands | 26 | 69.2% |
| Scotland | 24 | 75.0% |
| North West | 24 | 70.8% |
| London | 23 | 78.3% |
| North East | 16 | 87.5% |
| Wales | 15 | 73.3% |
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 2003 Figaro
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 2003 Figaro
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 suspension joints 8.3% of tests
“ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated”
With the car parked on level ground, rock the top of each front wheel in and out while someone watches the suspension arm. Clunks, or rubber boots split and greasy, are what testers record here.
-
Check corrosion 7.1% of tests
“component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength”
Look under the sills, around the jacking points and where the suspension mounts meet the body. Flaking, holed or crumbly metal fails; a brown stain on sound metal does not.
-
Check the windscreen 3.5% 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.
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 2003 Figaro through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £64–£170 — and 7% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £64–£170
- Cheapest common item: wipers does not clear the windscreen…
- £8–£22
- Dearest common item: component mounting prescribed areas…
- £180–£450
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 40%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 7%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 396 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 Figaro, side by side
17 model years on record, from 2001 to 2017. Across them the pass rate runs from 67.2% to 78.3% — a spread of 11.1 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2001 69.1% service brake imbalance across an…
- 2002 72.1% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2003 70.5%ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2004 70.5% component mounting prescribed…
- 2005 72.5% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2006 70.4% component mounting prescribed…
- 2007 75.3% component mounting prescribed…
- 2008 73.9% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2009 71.5% component mounting prescribed…
- 2010 73.4% component mounting prescribed…
- 2011 78.3% steering rack gaiter missing or…
- 2012 77.8% ball joint dust cover no longer…
- 2013 69.2% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2014 73.4% steering rack gaiter missing or…
- 2015 77.7% service brake imbalance across an…
- 2016 67.2% prescribed areas prescribed area…
- 2017 78.0% washers provides insufficient…
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 2003 Nissan Figaro 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 2003 cars with a similar record
- Suzuki Carry 70.5%
- Ford Focus 70.6%
- Vauxhall Vectra 70.4%
- Volvo XC90 70.7%
- MINI Mini 70.9%
- Skoda Fabia 70.1%
Closest pass rates among 2003 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 2003 Nissan Figaro 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 1,086 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brakes | 208 | 18.80% | 20.89% | −2.09 |
| Suspension | 199 | 18.00% | 20.98% | −2.98 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 132 | 12.00% | 5.52% | +6.48 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 130 | 11.80% | 5.57% | +6.23 |
| Tyres | 106 | 9.60% | 19.76% | −10.16 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 100 | 9.10% | 12.21% | −3.11 |
| Steering | 90 | 8.20% | 2.57% | +5.63 |
| Visibility | 56 | 5.10% | 4.97% | +0.13 |
| Non-component advisories | 38 | 3.40% | 4.18% | −0.78 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 27 | 2.40% | 0.82% | +1.58 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 8.3% | £18–45 |
| Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Suspension | Major | 7.1% | £180–450 |
| Track rod end ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated, but preventing the ingress of dirt Steering | Minor | 5.6% | £18–45 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 5.3% | £80–250 |
| Prescribed areas prescribed area strength or continuity significantly reduced Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Major | 4.8% | £40–120 |
| Service brake performance excessively binding Brakes | Major | 4.5% | £60–150 |
| Service brake imbalance across an axle Brakes | Major | 3.8% | £45–110 |
| Joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Body, chassis, structure | Major | 3.5% | £80–250 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 3.5% | £80–200 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 3.3% | £8–22 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 18.9% | £200–700 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 16.2% | £80–180 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 14.4% | £45–95 |
| Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 11.1% | £25–65 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 9.3% | £45–95 |
| Other components leaking Steering | Advisory | 8.8% | £60–200 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 1 | 100.0% | 14,109 mi |
| 30-60k | 33 | 72.7% | 50,121 mi |
| 60-90k | 141 | 69.5% | 78,088 mi |
| 90-120k | 124 | 74.2% | 102,823 mi |
| 120k+ | 96 | 66.7% | 142,766 mi |
Source: 396 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.
2003 Figaro MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2003 Nissan Figaro?
70.5% of the 396 2003 Nissan Figaro tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.6% for cars first used in 2003. First-attempt pass rate: 63.2%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2003 Nissan Figaro?
The three most recorded items are ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated (8.33%), component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength (7.07%), track rod end ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated, but preventing the ingress of dirt (5.56%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2003 Nissan Figaro MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 100.0% of the time, falling to 66.7% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2003 Nissan Figaro in this dataset had covered 93,577 mi.
Does the season affect the 2003 Nissan Figaro MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 73.7% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 68.8%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.