Pass rate
93.4%
Above average — 2.2 pts ahead of the 91.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 13,386 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £27–£72
2021 Nissan Micra MOT pass rate
- 2021
- 2 trims combined
- typical 17,868 mi
Most common fault
Tyres
43.1% of faults · 19.8% nationally
mostly tread below the limit, cuts and sidewall bulges.
Part only £55–£85 for Tread depth below 1.6 mm. What fitting it takes →
1.1 pts down across model years — 4.1% in 2000, 3.0% in 2022.
Which year to buy
- Best 2022 93.8% pass
- Avoid 2000 69.4% pass
Across the 24 years on record, a spread of 24.4 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 92.9%
- Typical mileage
- 18k mi
The 2021 Nissan Micra MOT pass rate is 93.4% of its MOT tests — 2.2 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Tyres is the biggest single reason it fails, at 43.1% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Nissan Micra does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Tyres: 2.2× the national share
Tyres make up 43.1% of everything recorded on the 2021 Nissan Micra, against 19.8% nationally — 23.3 points above. Check all four tyres yourself, including the inner shoulders, and look at the date stamp — a tyre can pass on tread and still be six years old.
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 Micra? Get an email when these numbers change .
Every Nissan Micra first registered in 2021 is combined here — 2 trim and body variants in total — so the sample is as large as the DVSA data allows.
How does the 2021 Nissan Micra compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 91.2%, so this figure is 2.2 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 92.9%. The median 2021 Nissan Micra in this dataset had covered 17,868 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 93.3% of the time, April–September 93.4%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Wipers blade defective", noted on 1.91% of tests.
- 13,386 recorded tests behind this page.
- 93.4% overall pass rate, 92.9% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Nissan Micra, the average is 77.9% — best year 2022 (93.8%), worst 2000 (69.4%).
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
- 13,386
- Typical mileage (median)
- 17,868 mi
- Make and model
- Nissan Micra
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Wiper Blade
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Micra MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 44% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Micra
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 2,370 | 94.2% |
| North West | 1,999 | 93.3% |
| Scotland | 1,631 | 91.2% |
| East of England | 1,257 | 93.1% |
| South West | 1,190 | 93.6% |
| North East | 1,041 | 93.5% |
| West Midlands | 1,019 | 92.9% |
| Yorkshire | 918 | 93.6% |
| East Midlands | 798 | 93.9% |
| London | 603 | 95.2% |
| Wales | 559 | 94.1% |
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 2021 Micra
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 2021 Micra
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 wipers and washers 1.9% of tests
“wipers blade defective”
Run the wipers with the screen wet: they should clear it in one sweep without smearing or juddering. Top the washer bottle up and check both jets hit the screen.
-
Check the suspension joints 1.1% of tests
“pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn”
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 the brakes 0.8% of tests
“brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick”
Look through the spokes of each wheel at the pad — less than 3mm of friction material, or a lip on the disc edge, is the usual failure. Check the handbrake holds on a slope with a few clicks, not at the top of its travel.
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 2021 Micra through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £27–£72 — and 41% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £27–£72
- Cheapest common item: wipers blade defective
- £8–£22
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 60%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 41%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 13,386 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 Micra, side by side
24 model years on record, from 2000 to 2023. Across them the pass rate runs from 69.4% to 93.8% — a spread of 24.4 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 69.4% component mounting prescribed…
- 2001 70.4% component mounting prescribed…
- 2002 71.1% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2003 71.6% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2004 72.2% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2005 72.1% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2006 74.2% headlamp aim projected beam image…
- 2007 74.6% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2008 76.0% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2009 76.6% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2010 76.8% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2011 77.9% service brake performance…
- 2012 78.0% pins and bushes pin or bush…
- 2013 79.2% service brake performance…
- 2014 81.5% service brake performance…
- 2015 83.7% service brake performance…
- 2016 84.7% service brake performance…
- 2017 79.6% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2018 82.6% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2019 88.2% pins and bushes pin or bush…
- 2020 90.8% pins and bushes pin or bush…
- 2021 93.4%wipers blade defective
- 2022 93.8% pins and bushes pin or bush…
- 2023 88.7% wipers blade defective
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 2021 Nissan Micra 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 2021 cars with a similar record
- Ford Fiesta 93.4%
- Mercedes-Benz Gla 93.4%
- SEAT Ateca Xperience 93.4%
- Audi S3 93.4%
- Renault Captur 93.5%
- Dacia Sandero Comfort 93.5%
Closest pass rates among 2021 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 2021 Nissan Micra 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 9,882 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyres | 4,285 | 43.10% | 19.76% | +23.34 |
| Suspension | 1,980 | 19.90% | 20.98% | −1.08 |
| Brakes | 1,265 | 12.70% | 20.89% | −8.19 |
| Visibility | 664 | 6.70% | 4.97% | +1.73 |
| Non-component advisories | 565 | 5.70% | 4.18% | +1.52 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 390 | 3.90% | 12.21% | −8.31 |
| Road Wheels | 372 | 3.70% | 0.75% | +2.95 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 247 | 2.50% | 5.52% | −3.02 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 61 | 0.60% | 1.76% | −1.16 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 53 | 0.50% | 5.57% | −5.07 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wipers blade defective Visibility | Minor | 1.9% | £8–22 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Major | 1.1% | £40–150 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Major | 0.91% | £45–95 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 0.90% | £8–22 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Major | 0.78% | £18–45 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Rectified | 0.73% | £8–22 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Major | 0.69% | £45–95 |
| Headlamp aim too high Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 0.60% | £30–80 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 0.56% | £80–200 |
| Headlamp aim too low Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 0.49% | £30–80 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 17.4% | £45–95 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 9.6% | £40–150 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 8.2% | £45–95 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 3.6% | £18–45 |
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Advisory | 3.1% | £30–75 |
| Badly distorted Road Wheels | Advisory | 2.6% | £20–55 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 11,032 | 94.4% | 15,833 mi |
| 30-60k | 2,178 | 89.3% | 38,903 mi |
| 60-90k | 141 | 81.6% | 71,349 mi |
| 90-120k | 17 | 64.7% | 101,504 mi |
| 120k+ | 17 | 52.9% | 148,385 mi |
Source: 13,386 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.
2021 Micra MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2021 Nissan Micra?
93.4% of the 13,386 2021 Nissan Micra tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 91.2% for cars first used in 2021. First-attempt pass rate: 92.9%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2021 Nissan Micra?
The three most recorded items are wipers blade defective (1.91%), pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn (1.06%), has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords (0.91%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2021 Nissan Micra MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 94.4% of the time, falling to 52.9% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2021 Nissan Micra in this dataset had covered 17,868 mi.
Does the season affect the 2021 Nissan Micra MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 93.3% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 93.4%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.