55.7%
Nissan Pathfinder pass rate
Used Nissan Pathfinder buying guide
In 2025, Nissan Pathfinder cars passed 55.7% of 4,726 initial MOT tests, 16.6 points below the 72.3% UK average. Here is where it fails and what to check before you buy.
Looking at a specific Pathfinder? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.
Nissan Pathfinder MOT record in brief
Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded.
72.3%
UK average, all cars
−16.6
percentage points below average
Ranked on pass rate the Pathfinder sits 532nd of 575 models in the data. Nissan as a brand averaged 67.8%, so this model runs 12.1 points behind its own brand. Nissan Pathfinder cars aged 6 to 10 years passed 62.1% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 55.4%.
A pass rate is not a reliability score. The full Nissan Pathfinder MOT record has the pass rate by age, every common failure and how the Pathfinder compares with similar cars.
Pathfinder fuel types
Diesel made up 99.2% of Nissan Pathfinder MOT tests in 2025, against 39.3% across all models in this data. Almost every used example you look at will be a diesel.
Where the Pathfinder fails its MOT
Where Nissan Pathfinder cars that failed their 2025 MOT were marked down, as a share of all recorded failure items.
The specific items testers recorded most often were ball joint excessively worn (7.3%), position lamp not working (4.9%) and coil spring fractured or broken (4.4%). See every common Pathfinder MOT failure.
These are DVSA failure records across every Nissan Pathfinder that failed, not a claim that every Pathfinder has these problems.
What should you check when buying a used Pathfinder?
The areas above, most common first, and what an MOT tester looks at in each.
1
Suspension
Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters. 25.4% of Pathfinder failure items.
2
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment
Walk round with every light on: headlights, brake lights, indicators, fog lights and the number plate lamp. Check no warning lights stay on after starting. 23.4% of Pathfinder failure items.
3
Body, chassis, structure
Look underneath and along the sills for corrosion, and check for damaged or poorly repaired panels. 16.9% of Pathfinder failure items.
4
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. 10.5% of Pathfinder failure items.
5
Visibility
Check the windscreen for chips or cracks in the driver's view, and that the wipers and washers clear it properly. 5.7% of Pathfinder failure items.
None of this replaces the car's own record. Run a free MOT history check on the registration to see every test, advisory and recorded mileage for that car.
What the MOT record doesn't tell you
Knowing Nissan Pathfinder failures cluster around suspension and lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment tells you what to inspect. It tells you nothing about whether the car is safe to buy. An MOT does not show money still owed on the car, a write-off, a theft record or a clocked odometer.
Check the exact Pathfinder you are looking at. One £15 report, instant results, backed by a £30,000 data guarantee. More on the Nissan history check.
- Outstanding finance
- Write-off records
- Stolen markers
- Mileage history
- Previous keepers
Other used Nissan models
The most-tested Nissan models in 2025, with how their MOT pass rate compares with the Pathfinder.
Used Nissan Pathfinder FAQs
Is the Nissan Pathfinder 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 a 55.7% first-time pass rate for the Nissan Pathfinder across 4,726 tests in 2025, below the 72.3% average for all cars.
Do older Nissan Pathfinder cars fail their MOT more often?
Nissan Pathfinder cars aged 6 to 10 years passed 62.1% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 55.4%. On an older example, the car's own MOT history tells you more than the model average.
What should I check before buying a used Nissan Pathfinder?
On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: suspension, lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment and body, chassis, structure. Then check the individual car's history: outstanding finance, insurance write-off records, stolen markers, mileage and previous keepers. None of these appear in the MOT record or on the V5C.
How do I check a Nissan Pathfinder'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.
MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025 (class 4 initial tests, retests excluded), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability.