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Nissan Leaf, Buying guide, MOT record, UK numbers and recalls

60,320 Nissan Leafs are licensed in the UK. In 2025 they passed 80.3% of initial MOT tests, 8 points above the 72.3% UK average.

Looking at a specific Leaf? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.

Nissan Leaf at the MOT

80.3% of 53,146 initial tests passed in 2025, ranking the Leaf 195th of 575 models. Nissan Leafs aged 3 to 5 years passed 87.2% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 59%.

First-time pass rate, 2025

Share of initial tests passed, retests excluded.

  • Nissan Leaf80.3%
  • All Nissan modelsThe Leaf is 12.5 pts ahead67.8%
  • All cars72.3%

Pass rate by age at test

Nissan Leaf tests in 2025.

  • 3 to 5 years21,453 tests87.2%
  • 6 to 10 years20,881 tests72.5%
  • 11 years and over3,298 tests59%

Where Leafs fail

Share of all failure items recorded on Nissan Leaf tests in 2025.

  • Suspension26.5%
  • Tyres24.6%
  • Brakes17.1%
  • Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment13%
  • Visibility12.6%

The items testers recorded most often were ball joint excessively worn (13.7%), wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively (8%) and tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (7.3%).

The MOT page lists every common Leaf MOT failure. For one car's own results and advisories, run a free MOT history check.

Full Nissan Leaf MOT record

What to look at on a viewing

The Leaf's most common failure areas, and what a tester checks in each.

  1. Suspension

    Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters.26.5% of Leaf failure items

  2. Tyres

    Check tread depth across the full width of every tyre (the legal minimum is 1.6mm), and look for cuts, bulges and uneven wear.24.6% of Leaf failure items

  3. Brakes

    Make sure the pedal feels firm, the car stops in a straight line, the handbrake holds on a slope and no brake warning light is showing.17.1% of Leaf failure items

Nissan Leafs in the UK

60,320 were licensed at the end of June 2026. The number licensed has grown 310% since the end of 2016.

Change since 2016
+310%from 14,718 licensed
Typical year of first use
2020half of those licensed at the end of 2025 were first used in 2020 or earlier
First registered in 2025
84against 9,207 in 2022
Declared off the road
1,9623.2% of those registered, under SORN

Licensed Nissan Leafs since 2014

Licensed at each year end and in the latest quarter.

Show the figures
DateLicensed
End of 20146,838
End of 201511,219
End of 201614,718
End of 201719,624
End of 201824,742
End of 201928,395
End of 202035,950
End of 202144,927
End of 202252,106
End of 202357,410
End of 202462,106
End of 202560,916
End of June 202660,320

How old they are

Licensed Nissan Leafs by year of first use.

  • Licensed at the end of 2025
  • First registered that year

A further 328 were first used before 2012.

Show the figures
First usedLicensed, end 2025First registered that year
20257884
20245,7685,933
20235,0095,299
20228,1979,207
20218,1439,069
20207,3068,233
20194,6345,283
20184,6095,416
20174,7245,667
20163,7264,666
20153,8775,241
20142,882
20131,160
2012381

3,877 Leafs first used in 2015 were still licensed at the end of 2025, roughly 74% of the 5,241 first registered that year.

Nissan Leaf recalls

6 DVSA safety recalls launched from 1992 to October 2026 name the Nissan Leaf. Each covers vehicles built in a set period, so a recall does not mean every Leaf is affected.

  1. Jun 2024 R/2024/234

    Juke (F16) Qashqai (J12) and Leaf (ZE1) VIN Scan

    Leafs built Oct 2019 to Jun 2023 · 4 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    On affected vehicles the VIN stored in the vehicle system may not match the actual VIN of the vehicle. This may lead to a situation where a vehicle user can see information related to a different vehicle resulting in a data security breach.
    Remedy
    Replace the navigation display / control unit and the telematics control unit.

  2. Jul 2023 R/2023/215

    A potential concern affecting the Vehicle Control Module (VCM) logic of some vehicles has been identified whereby in specific and rare circumstances after switching off the cruise control function there is a possibility of unintended acceleration

    Leafs built Dec 2017 to May 2023 · 37,574 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Remedy
    The software of the VCM will be updated.

  3. Nov 2020 R/2020/294

    The welded joint on the actuator plate within the reducer may be of poor quality and the park lock may not engage

    Leafs built Jul 2019 to Sep 2019 · 2,547 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    The welded joint on the park lock actuator plate may be of poor quality and has the potential to fail during usage.
    Remedy
    Replace the park lock actuator plate with a countermeasure part of all potentially affected vehicles

  4. Jul 2017 R/2017/173

    Headlamp auto aim function may not operate

    Leafs built Feb 2017 to Mar 2017 · 65 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    Due to a non confromity in production the headlamp auto aim function may not operate
    Remedy
    Reconfigure and then reinitialise the headlamp leveliser control unit on affected vehicles.

  5. Aug 2015 R/2015/133

    Engine push start switch may malfunction

    Leafs built Sep 2013 to Jan 2014 · 10,248 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    On affected models with a push start ignition switch the switch may remain in the pressed position and not return after switching the engine on. If the vehicle continues to be driven in this condition the emergency engine stop function may operate and cause the engine to unintentionally stop.
    Remedy
    Inspect and where necessary modify the push start switch housing.

  6. Jan 2015 R/2014/171

    Loss of steering control

    Leafs built Feb 2013 to Oct 2014 · 4,474 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    A fail safe clip on the steering column may have become dislodged during the assembly process. As a result the column may not have been correctly assembled. Over a period of time and under certain conditions the column may work loose and disconnect causing a loss of steering.
    Remedy
    On affected vehicles inspect column and where necessary replace the column shaft.
How to check a specific Leaf for recalls

Other Nissan models

The most-tested Nissan models in 2025, against the Leaf's 80.3% MOT pass rate.

All 25 Nissan models

Nissan Leaf FAQs

How many Nissan Leafs are there in the UK?

60,320 Nissan Leafs were licensed in the UK at the end of June 2026, with a further 1,962 declared off the road (SORN), according to DfT vehicle licensing statistics.

Is the Nissan Leaf reliable?

MOT data does not measure reliability. It records whether a car met the roadworthiness standard on the day of its test. What it does show is an 80.3% first-time pass rate for the Nissan Leaf across 53,146 tests in 2025, above the 72.3% average for all cars.

Has the Nissan Leaf had any recalls?

6 DVSA safety recalls launched from 1992 to October 2026 name the Nissan Leaf. The most recent was published in June 2024. A recall applies to vehicles built in a set period, so check a specific car on the GOV.UK vehicle recall checker.

What should I check before buying a used Nissan Leaf?

On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: suspension, tyres and brakes. Then check the individual car's own records. Outstanding finance, insurance write-offs and police stolen markers are not part of the MOT record, so they take a history check.

How do I check a Nissan Leaf's history?

Enter the registration of the specific car. A Carpeep car history check reports outstanding finance, write-off category, stolen markers, mileage history, previous keepers, MOT and tax status, import and export markers and scrapped status in one £15 report.

Already found a Leaf?

Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.

Across the 1,548 vehicles of every make Carpeep has checked since November 2025, 19% had outstanding finance recorded and 13% an insurance write-off. More on the Nissan history check. To confirm a car's identity, see the Nissan VIN check.

  • Outstanding finance
  • Write-off records
  • Stolen markers
  • Mileage history
  • Previous keepers

MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025 (class 4 initial tests, retests excluded). Licensed, SORN, fuel and registration figures are from the Department for Transport vehicle licensing statistics (VEH0120, VEH0124, VEH0160). Recalls are from the DVSA vehicle recalls data, with recalls launched up to October 2026. Government data is used under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability. History-check findings are anonymous counts from reports bought on Carpeep, each vehicle counted once, and are published only where at least 100 vehicles returned an answer.