51%
Nissan Primastar pass rate
Used Nissan Primastar buying guide
In 2025, Nissan Primastar cars passed 51% of 8,383 initial MOT tests, 21.3 points below the 72.3% UK average. Here is where it fails and what to check before you buy.
Looking at a specific Primastar? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.
Nissan Primastar MOT record in brief
Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded.
72.3%
UK average, all cars
−21.3
percentage points below average
Ranked on pass rate the Primastar sits 565th of 575 models in the data. Nissan as a brand averaged 67.8%, so this model runs 16.8 points behind its own brand. Nissan Primastar cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 81% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 48.3%.
A pass rate is not a reliability score. The full Nissan Primastar MOT record has the pass rate by age, every common failure and how the Primastar compares with similar cars.
Primastar fuel types
Diesel made up 99.9% of Nissan Primastar 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 Primastar fails its MOT
Where Nissan Primastar 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 (6.2%), track rod end ball joint has excessive play (5.3%) and position lamp not working (5%). See every common Primastar MOT failure.
These are DVSA failure records across every Nissan Primastar that failed, not a claim that every Primastar has these problems.
What should you check when buying a used Primastar?
The areas above, most common first, and what an MOT tester looks at in each.
1
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. 26.5% of Primastar failure items.
2
Suspension
Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters. 22.3% of Primastar 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. 21% of Primastar failure items.
4
Steering
Feel for play, knocking or stiffness in the steering, and check there is no steering warning light. 7.2% of Primastar 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. 6.5% of Primastar 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 Primastar failures cluster around lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment and suspension 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 Primastar you are looking at. One £15 report, instant results, backed by a £30,000 data guarantee. More on the Nissan Primastar 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 Primastar.
Used Nissan Primastar FAQs
Is the Nissan Primastar 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 51% first-time pass rate for the Nissan Primastar across 8,383 tests in 2025, below the 72.3% average for all cars.
Do older Nissan Primastar cars fail their MOT more often?
Nissan Primastar cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 81% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 48.3%. 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 Primastar?
On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment, suspension and brakes. 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 Primastar'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.