Pass rate
89.2%
Above average — 2.0 pts behind the 91.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 610 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £24–£60
2021 Nissan X-Trail N-Design MOT pass rate
- 2021
- typical 28,464 mi
Most common fault
Brakes
47.8% 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 →
Which year to buy
- Best 2021 89.2% pass · this year
- Avoid 2021 89.2% pass · this year
Across the 1 years on record, a spread of 0 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 88.1%
- Typical mileage
- 28k mi
The 2021 Nissan X-Trail N-Design MOT pass rate is 89.2% of its MOT tests — 2.0 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 47.8% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Nissan X-Trail N-Design does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Brakes: 2.3× the national share
Brakes make up 47.8% of everything recorded on the 2021 Nissan X-Trail N-Design, against 20.9% nationally — 26.9 points above. Have the discs and pads measured rather than glanced at, and ask whether the handbrake holds on a slope.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 31% 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 N-Design? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2021 Nissan X-Trail N-Design compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 91.2%, so this figure is 2.0 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 88.1%. The median 2021 Nissan X-Trail N-Design in this dataset had covered 28,464 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 89.7% of the time, April–September 89.0%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick", noted on 5.74% of tests.
- 610 recorded tests behind this page.
- 89.2% overall pass rate, 88.1% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Nissan X-Trail N-Design, the average is 89.2% — best year 2021 (89.2%), worst 2021 (89.2%).
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
- 610
- Typical mileage (median)
- 28,464 mi
- Make and model
- Nissan X-Trail N-Design
- 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 N-Design MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 76% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the X-Trail N-Design
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 179 | 87.2% |
| Scotland | 81 | 86.4% |
| South West | 76 | 86.8% |
| East of England | 53 | 90.6% |
| North West | 49 | 95.9% |
| London | 48 | 91.7% |
| West Midlands | 42 | 92.9% |
| Yorkshire | 27 | 92.6% |
| East Midlands | 25 | 96.0% |
| North East | 16 | 81.3% |
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 N-Design
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 N-Design
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 5.7% 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 2.5% 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 1.3% of tests
“headlamp aim too high”
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 N-Design through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £24–£60 — and 31% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £24–£60
- Cheapest common item: wipers blade defective
- £8–£22
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 70%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 31%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 610 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 →
Compare the 2021 Nissan X-Trail N-Design 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
- Peugeot 5008 89.2%
- MG Zs Excite Vti-Tech 89.2%
- BMW 320D 89.3%
- Skoda Superb 89.1%
- BMW 520D 89.1%
- Hyundai I10 89.4%
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 N-Design 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 536 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 | 256 | 47.80% | 20.89% | +26.91 |
| Tyres | 97 | 18.10% | 19.76% | −1.66 |
| Non-component advisories | 77 | 14.40% | 4.18% | +10.22 |
| Visibility | 38 | 7.10% | 4.97% | +2.13 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 26 | 4.90% | 12.21% | −7.31 |
| Suspension | 22 | 4.10% | 20.98% | −16.88 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 13 | 2.40% | 5.52% | −3.12 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 4 | 0.70% | 0.82% | −0.12 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 2 | 0.40% | 5.57% | −5.17 |
| Steering | 1 | 0.20% | 2.57% | −2.37 |
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 | 5.7% | £18–45 |
| Wipers blade defective Visibility | Minor | 2.5% | £8–22 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 1.6% | £8–22 |
| Headlamp aim too high Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 1.3% | £30–80 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 0.98% | £80–200 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Major | 0.82% | £45–95 |
| Headlamp aim too low Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 0.82% | £30–80 |
| Rear reflectors defective or damaged by up to 50% of the reflecting surface Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 0.82% | £5–25 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Major | 0.66% | £45–110 |
| Brake discs significantly and obviously worn Brakes | Major | 0.49% | £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 | 20.8% | £18–45 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 10.5% | £45–110 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 8.8% | £45–95 |
| Non-component advisories Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt Non-component advisories | Advisory | 7.5% | £20–80 |
| Non-component advisories Nail in tyre Non-component advisories | Advisory | 3.0% | £45–95 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Advisory | 2.5% | £45–95 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 337 | 90.8% | 20,924 mi |
| 30-60k | 259 | 87.3% | 39,789 mi |
| 60-90k | 13 | 84.6% | 67,806 mi |
| 90-120k | 1 | 100.0% | 105,033 mi |
Source: 610 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 N-Design MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2021 Nissan X-Trail N-Design?
89.2% of the 610 2021 Nissan X-Trail N-Design tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 91.2% for cars first used in 2021. First-attempt pass rate: 88.1%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2021 Nissan X-Trail N-Design?
The three most recorded items are brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick (5.74%), wipers blade defective (2.46%), wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively (1.64%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2021 Nissan X-Trail N-Design MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 90.8% of the time, falling to 100.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2021 Nissan X-Trail N-Design in this dataset had covered 28,464 mi.
Does the season affect the 2021 Nissan X-Trail N-Design MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 89.7% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 89.0%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.