Pass rate
68.9%
Below average — 3.7 pts behind the 72.6% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 4,536 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £50–£141
2003 Nissan X-Trail MOT pass rate
- 2003
- typical 120,055 mi
Most common fault
Suspension
26.8% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2023 96.6% pass
- Avoid 2006 67.6% pass
Across the 23 years on record, a spread of 29 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 59.5%
- Typical mileage
- 120k mi
The 2003 Nissan X-Trail MOT pass rate is 68.9% of its MOT tests — 3.7 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 26.8% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Nissan X-Trail does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Body & chassis: 2.4× the national share
Body & chassis accounts for 13.3% of everything recorded on the 2003 Nissan X-Trail, against 5.6% nationally — 7.7 points above. Suspension is still the single largest share at 26.8%, but at 21.0% nationally that one is ordinary. Look underneath for corrosion near the jacking points and suspension mounts; surface rust is normal, flaking metal is not.
- Falls short of its own age and mileage. Like-for-like, cars this age and mileage expect about 72.6%; this one manages 68.9% — 3.7 points below. Age is a fair excuse; this is not age.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 30% 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 X-Trail? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2003 Nissan X-Trail compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.6%, so this figure is 3.7 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 59.5%. The median 2003 Nissan X-Trail in this dataset had covered 120,055 mi.
The most common fuel recorded here is Diesel — 50% of tests, with a 66.3% pass rate. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 68.3% of the time, April–September 69.6%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated", noted on 7.69% of tests.
- 4,536 recorded tests behind this page.
- 68.9% overall pass rate, 59.5% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Nissan X-Trail, the average is 78.8% — best year 2023 (96.6%), worst 2006 (67.6%).
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
- 4,536
- Typical mileage (median)
- 120,055 mi
- Make and model
- Nissan X-Trail
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Body Panel Repair
Typically a garage job — get quotes before committing.
Does mileage affect the X-Trail MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 56% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Diesel is the most common here (50% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the X-Trail
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 1,251 | 70.7% |
| South West | 860 | 63.5% |
| East of England | 644 | 71.4% |
| North West | 349 | 68.8% |
| West Midlands | 331 | 70.7% |
| Yorkshire | 253 | 66.4% |
| East Midlands | 239 | 66.5% |
| Wales | 213 | 67.1% |
| London | 206 | 83.5% |
| North East | 112 | 67.0% |
| Scotland | 78 | 57.7% |
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 2003 X-Trail
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 2003 X-Trail
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 6.5% 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 lights 6.2% of tests
“registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources”
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 corrosion 5.6% of tests
“component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength”
Look under the sills, around the jacking points and where the suspension mounts meet the body. Flaking, holed or crumbly metal fails; a brown stain on sound metal does not.
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 2003 X-Trail through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £50–£141 — and 30% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £50–£141
- Cheapest common item: registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the…
- £5–£20
- Dearest common item: component mounting prescribed areas…
- £180–£450
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 50%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 30%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 4,536 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 X-Trail, side by side
23 model years on record, from 2001 to 2023. Across them the pass rate runs from 67.6% to 96.6% — a spread of 29 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2001 71.1% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2002 70.0% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2003 68.9%joints constant velocity boot…
- 2004 68.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2005 68.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2006 67.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2007 68.5% ball joint excessively worn
- 2008 68.5% track rod end ball joint has…
- 2009 69.5% track rod end ball joint has…
- 2010 69.2% ball joint excessively worn
- 2011 70.5% ball joint excessively worn
- 2012 72.5% ball joint excessively worn
- 2013 74.6% ball joint excessively worn
- 2014 75.6% ball joint excessively worn
- 2015 77.3% ball joint excessively worn
- 2016 80.7% ball joint excessively worn
- 2017 84.0% ball joint excessively worn
- 2018 87.3% brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick
- 2019 88.6% brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick
- 2020 90.7% wipers blade defective
- 2021 90.6% brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick
- 2022 95.1% has ply or cords exposed
- 2023 96.6% joints constant velocity boot…
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 2003 Nissan X-Trail 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 2003 cars with a similar record
- Renault Clio 68.7%
- Peugeot 307 68.7%
- Fiat Punto 68.7%
- Vauxhall Corsa 68.4%
- Citroen Xsara 68.4%
- Honda Cr-V 69.5%
Closest pass rates among 2003 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 2003 Nissan X-Trail 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 16,528 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suspension | 4,478 | 26.80% | 20.98% | +5.82 |
| Brakes | 3,459 | 20.70% | 20.89% | −0.19 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 2,220 | 13.30% | 5.57% | +7.73 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 1,822 | 10.90% | 12.21% | −1.31 |
| Tyres | 1,478 | 8.90% | 19.76% | −10.86 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 1,255 | 7.50% | 5.52% | +1.98 |
| Steering | 662 | 4.00% | 2.57% | +1.43 |
| Visibility | 494 | 3.00% | 4.97% | −1.97 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 332 | 2.00% | 1.76% | +0.24 |
| Non-component advisories | 328 | 2.00% | 4.18% | −2.18 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 7.7% | £80–250 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 6.5% | £18–45 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 6.2% | £5–20 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 6.1% | £5–25 |
| Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Suspension | Major | 5.6% | £180–450 |
| Joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Body, chassis, structure | Major | 4.7% | £80–250 |
| Track rod end ball joint has excessive play Steering | Major | 4.0% | £18–45 |
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Major | 3.6% | £45–120 |
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.2% | £30–80 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.0% | £5–25 |
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 | 19.1% | £45–110 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 16.8% | £200–700 |
| Sub-frame corroded and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 16.6% | £180–450 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 16.5% | £45–95 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 16.4% | £80–180 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 13.0% | £40–150 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 22 | 81.8% | 25,089 mi |
| 30-60k | 214 | 82.2% | 50,131 mi |
| 60-90k | 757 | 74.4% | 77,257 mi |
| 90-120k | 1,265 | 70.5% | 105,249 mi |
| 120k+ | 2,265 | 64.9% | 152,382 mi |
Source: 4,536 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.
2003 X-Trail MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2003 Nissan X-Trail?
68.9% of the 4,536 2003 Nissan X-Trail tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.6% for cars first used in 2003. First-attempt pass rate: 59.5%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2003 Nissan X-Trail?
The three most recorded items are joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated (7.69%), ball joint excessively worn (6.53%), registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (6.24%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2003 Nissan X-Trail MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 81.8% of the time, falling to 64.9% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2003 Nissan X-Trail in this dataset had covered 120,055 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2003 Nissan X-Trail?
Diesel: 66.3% pass rate across 2,276 tests. Petrol: 71.5% pass rate across 2,256 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2003 Nissan X-Trail MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 68.3% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 69.6%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.