Pass rate
88.3%
Above average — 15.0 pts ahead of the 73.3% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 111 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £50–£181
2001 Nissan Silvia MOT pass rate
- 2001
- typical 87,917 mi
Most common fault
Emissions & leaks
20.5% of faults · 5.5% nationally
Which year to buy
- Best 2017 96.7% pass
- Avoid 2002 87.4% pass
Across the 8 years on record, a spread of 9.3 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 87.4%
- Typical mileage
- 88k mi
The 2001 Nissan Silvia MOT pass rate is 88.3% of its MOT tests — 15.0 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Emissions & leaks is the biggest single reason it fails, at 20.5% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Nissan Silvia does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Emissions & leaks: 3.7× the national share
Emissions & leaks make up 20.5% of everything recorded on the 2001 Nissan Silvia, against 5.5% nationally — 15.0 points above. A smoky diesel or a leaking joint fails on emissions more often than on wear, so ask for a recent emissions printout.
- Beats its own age and mileage. Once you allow for how old and how far these cars have been driven, the expected pass rate is 73.3% and this one manages 88.3% — 15.0 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 23% 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 Silvia? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2001 Nissan Silvia compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 73.3%, so this figure is 15.0 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 87.4%. The median 2001 Nissan Silvia in this dataset had covered 87,917 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 87.1% of the time, April–September 88.8%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits", noted on 3.60% of tests.
- 111 recorded tests behind this page.
- 88.3% overall pass rate, 87.4% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Nissan Silvia, the average is 90.4% — best year 2017 (96.7%), worst 2002 (87.4%).
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
- 111
- Typical mileage (median)
- 87,917 mi
- Make and model
- Nissan Silvia
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Emissions Repair
Typically a garage job — get quotes before committing.
Does mileage affect the Silvia MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 72% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Silvia
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| East of England | 27 | 88.9% |
| South West | 18 | 94.4% |
| South East | 17 | 76.5% |
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 2001 Silvia
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 2001 Silvia
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 exhaust and emissions 3.6% of tests
“catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits”
Listen for a blow at idle and have someone rev it gently. Then look at the tailpipe smoke: blue is oil, white when warm is coolant, black is over-fuelling. Any of those and the emissions test is the least of it.
-
Check the lights 3.6% of tests
“direction indicator tell-tale inoperative”
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.
-
Check the steering 2.7% of tests
“steering rack gaiter damaged or deteriorated,”
With the wheels straight, rock the steering wheel gently with the engine off — more than about an inch of free play before the wheels move is worth investigating. Split rack gaiters are cheap to replace and commonly recorded.
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 2001 Silvia through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £50–£181 — and 23% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £50–£181
- Cheapest common item: direction indicator tell-tale inoperative
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: steering rack gaiter damaged or deteriorated,
- £120–£300
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 20%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 23%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 111 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 Silvia, side by side
8 model years on record, from 2000 to 2019. Across them the pass rate runs from 87.4% to 96.7% — a spread of 9.3 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 88.3% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2001 88.3%catalyst emissions lambda reading…
- 2002 87.4% headlamp aim projected beam image…
- 2015 93.2% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2016 88.5% battery(ies) insecure but not…
- 2017 96.7% washers provides insufficient…
- 2018 90.3% battery(ies) insecure but not…
- 2019 94.9% headlamp lens slightly 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 2001 Nissan Silvia 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 2001 cars with a similar record
- Porsche 911 86.3%
- Jaguar XK8 80.6%
- Porsche Boxster 80.5%
- Mercedes-Benz Slk 80.3%
- BMW Z3 79.5%
- Subaru Impreza 79.3%
Closest pass rates among 2001 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 2001 Nissan Silvia 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 115 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 24 | 20.50% | 5.52% | +14.98 |
| Tyres | 22 | 18.80% | 19.76% | −0.96 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 19 | 16.20% | 12.21% | +3.99 |
| Suspension | 12 | 10.30% | 20.98% | −10.68 |
| Steering | 9 | 7.70% | 2.57% | +5.13 |
| Brakes | 8 | 6.80% | 20.89% | −14.09 |
| Visibility | 7 | 6.00% | 4.97% | +1.03 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 5 | 4.30% | 5.57% | −1.27 |
| Non-component advisories | 5 | 4.30% | 4.18% | +0.12 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 4 | 3.40% | 0.82% | +2.58 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 3.6% | £60–250 |
| Direction indicator tell-tale inoperative Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 3.6% | £3–12 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 2.7% | £60–250 |
| Steering rack gaiter damaged or deteriorated, but preventing the ingress of dirt Steering | Minor | 2.7% | £120–300 |
| Attachment bracket and mounting attachment bracket/mounting insecure Suspension | Major | 1.8% | £40–150 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds default limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.8% | £60–250 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content at idle exceeds default limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.8% | £60–250 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content at idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.8% | £60–250 |
| Hazard warning tell-tale inoperative Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 1.8% | £5–25 |
| Headlamp aim too high Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 1.8% | £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 | 8.1% | £45–95 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 6.3% | £45–95 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 5.4% | £200–700 |
| Non-component advisories Play in steering rack inner joint(s) Non-component advisories | Advisory | 4.5% | £120–300 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 1.8% | £18–45 |
| Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 1.8% | £25–65 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 5 | 80.0% | 16,064 mi |
| 30-60k | 13 | 92.3% | 51,167 mi |
| 60-90k | 41 | 90.2% | 75,485 mi |
| 90-120k | 37 | 89.2% | 107,240 mi |
| 120k+ | 14 | 85.7% | 152,964 mi |
Source: 111 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.
2001 Silvia MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2001 Nissan Silvia?
88.3% of the 111 2001 Nissan Silvia tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 73.3% for cars first used in 2001. First-attempt pass rate: 87.4%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2001 Nissan Silvia?
The three most recorded items are catalyst emissions lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits (3.60%), direction indicator tell-tale inoperative (3.60%), catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits (2.70%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2001 Nissan Silvia MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 80.0% of the time, falling to 85.7% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2001 Nissan Silvia in this dataset had covered 87,917 mi.
Does the season affect the 2001 Nissan Silvia MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 87.1% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 88.8%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.