Pass rate
93.2%
Above average — 11.1 pts ahead of the 82.1% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 74 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £48–£175
2015 Nissan Silvia MOT pass rate
- 2015
- typical 96,150 mi
Only 74 tests of this exact model and year are in the DVSA data, below the 100 we ask for before a page goes in the index. The figures are still shown, because they are the only ones there are.
Most common fault
Lamps & electrics
20.0% of faults · 12.2% 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
- 93.0%
- Typical mileage
- 96k mi
The 2015 Nissan Silvia MOT pass rate is 93.2% of its MOT tests — 11.1 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Lamps & electrics is the biggest single reason it fails, at 20.0% 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: 3.4× the national share
Emissions & leaks make up 18.5% of everything recorded on the 2015 Nissan Silvia, against 5.5% nationally — 13.0 points above. Lamps & electrics are still the single largest share at 20.0%, but at 12.2% 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.
- 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 82.1% and this one manages 93.2% — 11.1 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 0% 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 2015 Nissan Silvia compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 82.1%, so this figure is 11.1 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 93.0%. The median 2015 Nissan Silvia in this dataset had covered 96,150 mi.
The single most recorded failure item is "Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated", noted on 2.70% of tests.
- 74 recorded tests behind this page.
- 93.2% overall pass rate, 93.0% 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
- 74
- Typical mileage (median)
- 96,150 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
Ball Joint
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Silvia MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 76% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Silvia
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 19 | 89.5% |
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 2015 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 2015 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 suspension joints 2.7% 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 the exhaust and emissions 2.7% of tests
“catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds default 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 2.7% of tests
“headlamp aim too low”
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 2015 Silvia through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £48–£175 — and 0% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £48–£175
- Cheapest common item: ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated
- £18–£45
- Dearest common item: catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content…
- £60–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 10%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 0%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 74 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 2015 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 2015 cars with a similar record
- Jaguar F-Type 92.9%
- Audi A8 92.7%
- Porsche Boxster 94.4%
- Porsche Cayman 94.7%
- Lexus Nx 91.6%
- Lexus Rx 91.6%
Closest pass rates among 2015 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 2015 Nissan Silvia 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 9 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 65 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 13 | 20.00% | 12.21% | +7.79 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 12 | 18.50% | 5.52% | +12.98 |
| Brakes | 11 | 16.90% | 20.89% | −3.99 |
| Suspension | 8 | 12.30% | 20.98% | −8.68 |
| Tyres | 8 | 12.30% | 19.76% | −7.46 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 7 | 10.80% | 5.57% | +5.23 |
| Steering | 3 | 4.60% | 2.57% | +2.03 |
| Visibility | 2 | 3.10% | 4.97% | −1.87 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 1 | 1.50% | 1.76% | −0.26 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 2.7% | £18–45 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds default limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 2.7% | £60–250 |
| Emissions not tested unable to be completed Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 2.7% | £60–250 |
| Headlamp aim too low Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 2.7% | £30–80 |
| Bumpers insecure Body, chassis, structure | Major | 1.4% | £80–250 |
| Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.4% | £60–250 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content at idle exceeds default limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.4% | £60–250 |
| Catalyst emissions hydrocarbon content after 2nd fast idle exceeds default limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.4% | £60–250 |
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Major | 1.4% | £45–120 |
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.4% | £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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 6.8% | £45–110 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 6.8% | £18–45 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 6.8% | £200–700 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 4.0% | £18–45 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 4.0% | £45–95 |
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Advisory | 2.7% | £45–120 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 1 | 100.0% | 7,504 mi |
| 30-60k | 11 | 100.0% | 52,073 mi |
| 60-90k | 20 | 100.0% | 79,247 mi |
| 90-120k | 16 | 93.8% | 103,705 mi |
| 120k+ | 26 | 84.6% | 149,070 mi |
Source: 74 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.
2015 Silvia MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2015 Nissan Silvia?
93.2% of the 74 2015 Nissan Silvia tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 82.1% for cars first used in 2015. First-attempt pass rate: 93.0%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2015 Nissan Silvia?
The three most recorded items are ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated (2.70%), catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds default limits (2.70%), emissions not tested unable to be completed (2.70%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2015 Nissan Silvia MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 100.0% of the time, falling to 84.6% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2015 Nissan Silvia in this dataset had covered 96,150 mi.