Pass rate
87.3%
Above average — 3.4 pts behind the 90.7% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 63 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £48–£171
2020 Nissan Skyline MOT pass rate
- 2020
- typical 77,911 mi
Only 63 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
Emissions & leaks
27.3% of faults · 5.5% nationally
Which year to buy
- Best 2012 100.0% pass
- Avoid 2002 84.8% pass
Across the 19 years on record, a spread of 15.2 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 86.2%
- Typical mileage
- 78k mi
The 2020 Nissan Skyline MOT pass rate is 87.3% of its MOT tests — 3.4 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Emissions & leaks is the biggest single reason it fails, at 27.3% 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: 4.9× the national share
Emissions & leaks make up 27.3% of everything recorded on the 2020 Nissan Skyline, against 5.5% nationally — 21.8 points above. A smoky diesel or a leaking joint fails on emissions more often than on wear, so ask for a recent emissions printout.
- Falls short of its own age and mileage. Like-for-like, cars this age and mileage expect about 90.7%; this one manages 87.3% — 3.4 points below. Age is a fair excuse; this is not age.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 27% 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 2020 Nissan Skyline compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 90.7%, so this figure is 3.4 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 86.2%. The median 2020 Nissan Skyline in this dataset had covered 77,911 mi.
The single most recorded failure item is "All direction indicators flashing more than 120 times a minute", noted on 3.17% of tests.
- 63 recorded tests behind this page.
- 87.3% overall pass rate, 86.2% 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
- 63
- Typical mileage (median)
- 77,911 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
Indicator Bulb
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Skyline MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 42% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Skyline
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 17 | 82.4% |
| South West | 15 | 80.0% |
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 2020 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 2020 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 lights 3.2% of tests
“all direction indicators flashing more than 120 times a minute”
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 exhaust and emissions 3.2% 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 windscreen 3.2% of tests
“windscreen damaged”
Check the driver’s side of the screen within the swept area for chips and cracks; anything larger than 10mm in the driver’s central view is a fail. Most chips can be resin-repaired for far less than a new screen.
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 2020 Skyline through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £48–£171 — and 27% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £48–£171
- Cheapest common item: all direction indicators flashing more than…
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: catalyst emissions lambda reading after 2nd…
- £60–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 30%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 27%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 63 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 2020 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 2020 cars with a similar record
- Ford Allied 87.3%
- DS DS3 87.2%
- Volvo V90 Momentum + 87.2%
- Audi A3 E-Tron 87.4%
- Peugeot 5008 87.1%
- Ford S-Max 87.1%
Closest pass rates among 2020 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 2020 Nissan Skyline 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 8 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 44 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 | 12 | 27.30% | 5.52% | +21.78 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 10 | 22.70% | 12.21% | +10.49 |
| Tyres | 9 | 20.50% | 19.76% | +0.74 |
| Suspension | 5 | 11.40% | 20.98% | −9.58 |
| Visibility | 4 | 9.10% | 4.97% | +4.13 |
| Brakes | 2 | 4.50% | 20.89% | −16.39 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 1 | 2.30% | 5.57% | −3.27 |
| Non-component advisories | 1 | 2.30% | 4.18% | −1.88 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| All direction indicators flashing more than 120 times a minute Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 3.2% | £3–12 |
| Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 3.2% | £60–250 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 3.2% | £60–250 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 3.2% | £5–25 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 3.2% | £80–200 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds default limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.6% | £60–250 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content at idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.6% | £60–250 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Major | 1.6% | £45–95 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 1.6% | £80–250 |
| Non catalyst emissions emissions carbon monoxide content excessive Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.6% | £60–250 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 9.5% | £45–95 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 7.9% | £200–700 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 3.2% | £18–45 |
| Linkage ball joints ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 3.2% | £18–45 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 3.2% | £40–150 |
| Tread depth tread pattern not visible over the whole tread area when minimum depth required is 1.0mm Tyres | Advisory | 3.2% | £45–95 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 4 | 75.0% | 14,695 mi |
| 30-60k | 17 | 88.2% | 48,721 mi |
| 60-90k | 21 | 100.0% | 76,263 mi |
| 90-120k | 11 | 100.0% | 105,778 mi |
| 120k+ | 10 | 50.0% | 144,215 mi |
Source: 63 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.
2020 Skyline MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2020 Nissan Skyline?
87.3% of the 63 2020 Nissan Skyline tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 90.7% for cars first used in 2020. First-attempt pass rate: 86.2%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2020 Nissan Skyline?
The three most recorded items are all direction indicators flashing more than 120 times a minute (3.17%), catalyst emissions lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits (3.17%), catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits (3.17%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2020 Nissan Skyline MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 75.0% of the time, falling to 50.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2020 Nissan Skyline in this dataset had covered 77,911 mi.