Pass rate
90.6%
Above average — 0.6 pts behind the 91.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 4,435 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £20–£50
2021 Nissan X-Trail MOT pass rate
- 2021
- 3 trims combined
- typical 28,355 mi
Most common fault
Brakes
44.0% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Part only £25–£40 for Brake pads under 1.5 mm. What fitting it takes →
0.7 pts up across model years — 6.6% in 2002, 7.3% in 2021.
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
- 89.7%
- Typical mileage
- 28k mi
The 2021 Nissan X-Trail MOT pass rate is 90.6% of its MOT tests — about what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 44.0% 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
Brakes: 2.1× the national share
Brakes make up 44.0% of everything recorded on the 2021 Nissan X-Trail, against 20.9% nationally — 23.1 points above. Have the discs and pads measured rather than glanced at, and ask whether the handbrake holds on a slope.
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 .
Every Nissan X-Trail first registered in 2021 is combined here — 3 trim and body variants in total — so the sample is as large as the DVSA data allows.
How does the 2021 Nissan X-Trail compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 91.2%, so this figure is 0.6 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 89.7%. The median 2021 Nissan X-Trail in this dataset had covered 28,355 mi.
The most common fuel recorded here is Petrol — 63% of tests, with a 90.9% pass rate. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 90.7% of the time, April–September 90.4%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick", noted on 3.79% of tests.
- 4,435 recorded tests behind this page.
- 90.6% overall pass rate, 89.7% 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
- 4,435
- Typical mileage (median)
- 28,355 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
Brake Pads Set
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the X-Trail MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 58% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (63% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the X-Trail
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 897 | 91.6% |
| Scotland | 657 | 89.3% |
| North West | 599 | 87.6% |
| East of England | 389 | 91.5% |
| West Midlands | 353 | 92.9% |
| London | 322 | 89.4% |
| South West | 300 | 93.0% |
| Yorkshire | 295 | 89.8% |
| North East | 262 | 92.7% |
| East Midlands | 222 | 90.1% |
| Wales | 138 | 89.9% |
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 2021 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 2021 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 brakes 3.8% of tests
“brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick”
Look through the spokes of each wheel at the pad — less than 3mm of friction material, or a lip on the disc edge, is the usual failure. Check the handbrake holds on a slope with a few clicks, not at the top of its travel.
-
Check the wipers and washers 2.9% of tests
“wipers blade defective”
Run the wipers with the screen wet: they should clear it in one sweep without smearing or juddering. Top the washer bottle up and check both jets hit the screen.
-
Check the lights 1.1% of tests
“malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction”
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 2021 X-Trail through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £20–£50 — and 46% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £20–£50
- Cheapest common item: malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or…
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 80%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 46%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 4,435 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 2021 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 2021 cars with a similar record
- Vauxhall Mokka 90.6%
- BMW 218I 90.6%
- BMW X3 XDRIVE20D 90.6%
- Kia Sorento 90.6%
- Abarth 595 90.6%
- Mitsubishi Shogun 90.6%
Closest pass rates among 2021 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 2021 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 3,668 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brakes | 1,621 | 44.00% | 20.89% | +23.11 |
| Tyres | 929 | 25.20% | 19.76% | +5.44 |
| Non-component advisories | 347 | 9.40% | 4.18% | +5.22 |
| Visibility | 268 | 7.30% | 4.97% | +2.33 |
| Suspension | 240 | 6.50% | 20.98% | −14.48 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 127 | 3.50% | 12.21% | −8.71 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 77 | 2.10% | 5.52% | −3.42 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 27 | 0.70% | 1.76% | −1.06 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 17 | 0.50% | 5.57% | −5.07 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 15 | 0.40% | 0.82% | −0.42 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Major | 3.8% | £18–45 |
| Wipers blade defective Visibility | Minor | 2.9% | £8–22 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 1.3% | £8–22 |
| Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.1% | £3–12 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Major | 0.86% | £45–95 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Major | 0.77% | £45–95 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Rectified | 0.61% | £8–22 |
| Headlamp aim too high Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 0.52% | £30–80 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 0.52% | £80–200 |
| Brake discs significantly and obviously worn Brakes | Major | 0.41% | £45–110 |
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 pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 17.9% | £18–45 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 10.7% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 10.3% | £45–110 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 4.1% | £40–150 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 4.0% | £45–95 |
| Non-component advisories Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt Non-component advisories | Advisory | 3.7% | £20–80 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 2,418 | 92.5% | 20,340 mi |
| 30-60k | 1,814 | 89.0% | 40,360 mi |
| 60-90k | 182 | 81.3% | 69,325 mi |
| 90-120k | 18 | 94.4% | 99,929 mi |
| 120k+ | 3 | 66.7% | 123,349 mi |
Source: 4,435 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.
2021 X-Trail MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2021 Nissan X-Trail?
90.6% of the 4,435 2021 Nissan X-Trail tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 91.2% for cars first used in 2021. First-attempt pass rate: 89.7%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2021 Nissan X-Trail?
The three most recorded items are brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick (3.79%), wipers blade defective (2.89%), wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively (1.33%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2021 Nissan X-Trail MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 92.5% of the time, falling to 66.7% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2021 Nissan X-Trail in this dataset had covered 28,355 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2021 Nissan X-Trail?
Petrol: 90.9% pass rate across 2,795 tests. Diesel: 90.1% pass rate across 1,640 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2021 Nissan X-Trail MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 90.7% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 90.4%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.