Pass rate
84.8%
Around average — 11.9 pts ahead of the 72.9% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 112 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £39–£130
2002 Nissan Skyline MOT pass rate
- 2002
- typical 65,353 mi
Most common fault
Emissions & leaks
17.2% of faults · 5.5% nationally
Which year to buy
- Best 2012 100.0% pass
- Avoid 2002 84.8% pass · this year
Across the 19 years on record, a spread of 15.2 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 84.2%
- Typical mileage
- 65k mi
The 2002 Nissan Skyline MOT pass rate is 84.8% of its MOT tests — 11.9 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Emissions & leaks is the biggest single reason it fails, at 17.2% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Nissan Skyline does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Emissions & leaks: 3.1× the national share
Emissions & leaks make up 17.2% of everything recorded on the 2002 Nissan Skyline, against 5.5% nationally — 11.7 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 72.9% and this one manages 84.8% — 11.9 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 19% 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 Skyline? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2002 Nissan Skyline compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.9%, so this figure is 11.9 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 84.2%. The median 2002 Nissan Skyline in this dataset had covered 65,353 mi.
The single most recorded failure item is "Battery(ies) insecure but not likely to fall from carrier", noted on 2.68% of tests.
- 112 recorded tests behind this page.
- 84.8% overall pass rate, 84.2% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Nissan Skyline, the average is 89.3% — best year 2012 (100.0%), worst 2002 (84.8%).
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
- 112
- Typical mileage (median)
- 65,353 mi
- Make and model
- Nissan Skyline
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Battery
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Skyline MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 64% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Skyline
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 28 | 89.3% |
| East of England | 19 | 89.5% |
| South West | 18 | 66.7% |
| West Midlands | 17 | 88.2% |
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 2002 Skyline
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 2002 Skyline
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 battery 2.7% of tests
“battery(ies) insecure”
Check the battery is secure and its terminals are clean and tight — a loose battery is a fail on its own, and a weak one shows up as slow cranking on a cold morning.
-
Check the exhaust and emissions 2.7% 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 suspension joints 1.8% 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.
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 2002 Skyline through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £39–£130 — and 19% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £39–£130
- Cheapest common item: washers not working
- £5–£15
- Dearest common item: catalyst emissions lambda reading after 2nd…
- £60–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 70%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 19%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 112 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 Skyline, side by side
19 model years on record, from 2000 to 2020. Across them the pass rate runs from 84.8% to 100.0% — a spread of 15.2 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 92.0% catalyst emissions lambda reading…
- 2001 90.8% catalyst emissions lambda reading…
- 2002 84.8%battery(ies) insecure but not…
- 2003 86.8% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2004 88.2% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2005 90.4% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2006 87.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2007 87.5% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2008 88.2% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2009 89.2% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2010 91.9% brake linings less than 1.5 mm…
- 2012 100.0% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2014 87.3% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2015 90.6% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2016 89.0% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2017 92.6% catalyst emissions lambda reading…
- 2018 91.5% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2019 89.1% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2020 87.3% all direction indicators flashing…
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 2002 Nissan Skyline 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 2002 cars with a similar record
- Honda S2000 84.6%
- Mercedes-Benz Sl 85.2%
- Porsche 911 85.5%
- BMW M3 86.7%
- Mercedes-Benz Slk 81.2%
- BMW Z3 80.7%
Closest pass rates among 2002 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 2002 Nissan Skyline 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 122 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 | 21 | 17.20% | 5.52% | +11.68 |
| Suspension | 19 | 15.60% | 20.98% | −5.38 |
| Tyres | 19 | 15.60% | 19.76% | −4.16 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 19 | 15.60% | 12.21% | +3.39 |
| Brakes | 12 | 9.80% | 20.89% | −11.09 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 9 | 7.40% | 5.57% | +1.83 |
| Steering | 9 | 7.40% | 2.57% | +4.83 |
| Non-component advisories | 6 | 4.90% | 4.18% | +0.72 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 5 | 4.10% | 1.76% | +2.34 |
| Visibility | 3 | 2.50% | 4.97% | −2.47 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Battery(ies) insecure but not likely to fall from carrier Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 2.7% | £60–140 |
| Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified 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 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 1.8% | £18–45 |
| Has ply or cords exposed Tyres | Major | 1.8% | £45–95 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.8% | £5–25 |
| Registration plates does not conform to the specified requirements Identification of the vehicle | Major | 1.8% | £20–80 |
| Washers not working Visibility | Major | 1.8% | £5–15 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Major | 0.89% | £18–45 |
| Bumpers damaged and likely to cause injury when grazed or contacted Body, chassis, structure | Major | 0.89% | £80–250 |
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 | 7.1% | £200–700 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 7.1% | £45–95 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 4.5% | £45–95 |
| Headlamp has a product on the lens so that the light output is severely reduced Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Advisory | 4.5% | £5–25 |
| Chassis condition corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is significantly reduced Body, chassis, structure | Advisory | 2.7% | £180–450 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 2.7% | £40–150 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 18 | 83.3% | 16,808 mi |
| 30-60k | 24 | 91.7% | 44,519 mi |
| 60-90k | 42 | 85.7% | 72,963 mi |
| 90-120k | 14 | 78.6% | 102,243 mi |
| 120k+ | 11 | 72.7% | 140,516 mi |
Source: 112 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.
2002 Skyline MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2002 Nissan Skyline?
84.8% of the 112 2002 Nissan Skyline tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.9% for cars first used in 2002. First-attempt pass rate: 84.2%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2002 Nissan Skyline?
The three most recorded items are battery(ies) insecure but not likely to fall from carrier (2.68%), catalyst emissions lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits (2.68%), emissions not tested unable to be completed (2.68%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2002 Nissan Skyline MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 83.3% of the time, falling to 72.7% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2002 Nissan Skyline in this dataset had covered 65,353 mi.