Pass rate
85.0%
Above average — 1.0 pts behind the 86.0% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 14,181 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £32–£77
2017 Nissan Pulsar MOT pass rate
- 2017
- typical 46,499 mi
Most common fault
Brakes
30.7% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Part only £25–£40 for Brake pads under 1.5 mm. What fitting it takes →
0.5 pts down across model years — 5.1% in 2014, 4.6% in 2018.
Which year to buy
- Best 2018 88.1% pass
- Avoid 2014 74.7% pass
Across the 5 years on record, a spread of 13.4 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 82.5%
- Typical mileage
- 46k mi
The 2017 Nissan Pulsar MOT pass rate is 85.0% of its MOT tests — 1.0 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 30.7% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Nissan Pulsar does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Brakes: 1.5× the national share
Brakes make up 30.7% of everything recorded on the 2017 Nissan Pulsar, against 20.9% nationally — 9.8 points above. Have the discs and pads measured rather than glanced at, and ask whether the handbrake holds on a slope.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 14% 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.
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 Pulsar? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2017 Nissan Pulsar compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 86.0%, so this figure is 1.0 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 82.5%. The median 2017 Nissan Pulsar in this dataset had covered 46,499 mi.
79% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Petrol, which passed 86.2% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 85.2% of the time, April–September 84.7%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Ball joint excessively worn", noted on 2.12% of tests.
- 14,181 recorded tests behind this page.
- 85.0% overall pass rate, 82.5% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Nissan Pulsar, the average is 80.7% — best year 2018 (88.1%), worst 2014 (74.7%).
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
- 14,181
- Typical mileage (median)
- 46,499 mi
- Make and model
- Nissan Pulsar
- 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 Pulsar MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 62% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (79% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the Pulsar
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 2,920 | 88.8% |
| North West | 1,905 | 84.9% |
| East of England | 1,401 | 87.6% |
| Scotland | 1,331 | 75.7% |
| South West | 1,292 | 87.0% |
| West Midlands | 1,246 | 85.4% |
| Yorkshire | 1,001 | 81.8% |
| London | 865 | 89.9% |
| North East | 850 | 78.5% |
| East Midlands | 749 | 86.2% |
| Wales | 621 | 81.3% |
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 2017 Pulsar
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 2017 Pulsar
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 2.1% of tests
“ball joint 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 coil springs 1.8% 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 brakes 1.7% 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 2017 Pulsar through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £32–£77 — and 14% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £32–£77
- Cheapest common item: malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or…
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 80%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 14%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 14,181 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 Pulsar, side by side
5 model years on record, from 2014 to 2018. Across them the pass rate runs from 74.7% to 88.1% — a spread of 13.4 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2014 74.7% ball joint excessively worn
- 2015 77.5% ball joint excessively worn
- 2016 81.3% ball joint excessively worn
- 2017 85.0%ball joint excessively worn
- 2018 88.1% tread depth below requirements of…
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 2017 Nissan Pulsar 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 2017 cars with a similar record
- Renault Twingo 85.0%
- Ford Fiesta 84.9%
- Renault Koleos 85.1%
- Citroen C3 Aircross 84.8%
- Skoda Fabia 84.7%
- Toyota Hilux 85.3%
Closest pass rates among 2017 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 2017 Nissan Pulsar 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 15,363 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 | 4,785 | 30.70% | 20.89% | +9.81 |
| Tyres | 4,539 | 29.10% | 19.76% | +9.34 |
| Suspension | 2,245 | 14.40% | 20.98% | −6.58 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 934 | 6.00% | 12.21% | −6.21 |
| Non-component advisories | 889 | 5.70% | 4.18% | +1.52 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 571 | 3.70% | 5.52% | −1.82 |
| Visibility | 556 | 3.60% | 4.97% | −1.37 |
| Steering | 454 | 2.90% | 2.57% | +0.33 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 206 | 1.30% | 5.57% | −4.27 |
| Road Wheels | 184 | 1.20% | 0.75% | +0.45 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 2.1% | £18–45 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 1.8% | £25–65 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Major | 1.7% | £18–45 |
| Track rod end ball joint has excessive play Steering | Major | 1.6% | £18–45 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Major | 1.6% | £45–95 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 1.6% | £80–200 |
| Position lamp with a multiple light source up to 1/2 not functioning Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 1.1% | £5–25 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Major | 0.94% | £45–95 |
| Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 0.73% | £3–12 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Major | 0.59% | £80–180 |
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 | 16.5% | £45–95 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 13.7% | £18–45 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 7.0% | £45–95 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 6.7% | £40–150 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 6.4% | £45–110 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 3.5% | £80–180 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 2,842 | 92.3% | 21,533 mi |
| 30-60k | 7,290 | 85.6% | 44,442 mi |
| 60-90k | 3,213 | 80.0% | 71,485 mi |
| 90-120k | 646 | 74.3% | 101,013 mi |
| 120k+ | 189 | 70.4% | 146,413 mi |
Source: 14,181 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.
2017 Pulsar MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2017 Nissan Pulsar?
85.0% of the 14,181 2017 Nissan Pulsar tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 86.0% for cars first used in 2017. First-attempt pass rate: 82.5%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2017 Nissan Pulsar?
The three most recorded items are ball joint excessively worn (2.12%), coil spring fractured or broken (1.81%), brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick (1.67%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2017 Nissan Pulsar MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 92.3% of the time, falling to 70.4% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2017 Nissan Pulsar in this dataset had covered 46,499 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2017 Nissan Pulsar?
Petrol: 86.2% pass rate across 11,152 tests. Diesel: 80.4% pass rate across 3,026 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2017 Nissan Pulsar MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 85.2% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 84.7%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.