74.4%
Nissan Serena pass rate
Used Nissan Serena buying guide
In 2025, Nissan Serena cars passed 74.4% of 3,036 initial MOT tests, 2.1 points above the 72.3% UK average. Here is where it fails and what to check before you buy.
Looking at a specific Serena? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.
Nissan Serena MOT record in brief
Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded.
72.3%
UK average, all cars
+2.1
percentage points above average
Ranked on pass rate the Serena sits 275th of 575 models in the data. Nissan as a brand averaged 67.8%, so this model runs 6.6 points ahead of its own brand. Nissan Serena cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 71.7% of MOT tests in 2025; examples aged 11 years and over held almost level at 71.6%.
A pass rate is not a reliability score. The full Nissan Serena MOT record has the pass rate by age, every common failure and how the Serena compares with similar cars.
Serena fuel types
Petrol was the most common fuel among Nissan Serena cars tested in 2025. Diesel made up just 1.3% of tests.
Where the Serena fails its MOT
Where Nissan Serena 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 position lamp not working (6.7%), wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively (4.8%) and rear fog lamp not working (4.6%). See every common Serena MOT failure.
These are DVSA failure records across every Nissan Serena that failed, not a claim that every Serena has these problems.
What should you check when buying a used Serena?
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. 40% of Serena failure items.
2
Suspension
Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters. 12.9% of Serena 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. 11.7% of Serena failure items.
4
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. 10.1% of Serena 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. 8.5% of Serena 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 Serena 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 Serena 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 Serena.
Used Nissan Serena FAQs
Is the Nissan Serena 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 74.4% first-time pass rate for the Nissan Serena across 3,036 tests in 2025, above the 72.3% average for all cars.
Do older Nissan Serena cars fail their MOT more often?
Nissan Serena cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 71.7% of MOT tests in 2025; examples aged 11 years and over held almost level at 71.6%. 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 Serena?
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 Serena'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.