74.4%
Nissan Serena
Nissan Serena MOT pass rate and common problems
The Nissan Serena passed 74.4% of its initial MOT tests in 2025, 2.1 percentage points above the 72.3% UK average. The item testers recorded most often was position lamp not working.
Checking a specific car? Its own results, advisories and recorded mileages are in a free MOT history check.
How the Serena compares
Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded. A car that failed and was repaired at the test station counts as a fail.
67.8%
Nissan average
72.3%
UK average, all cars
The Serena runs 6.6 points ahead of the Nissan average. It is 6th of the 25 Nissan models in the data. The average Serena arrived at its test 12.4 years old with 85,268 miles recorded.
A pass rate records whether cars met the roadworthiness standard on test day. It is not a reliability score, and part of any gap reflects how old the tested cars were.
Serena MOT pass rate by age
The same 2025 tests split by the car's age at test.
Nissan Serena cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 71.7% of MOT tests. Cars aged 11 years and over held almost level at 71.6%.
| Age at test | Tests | Pass rate | vs UK average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 to 5 years | 226 | 71.7% | 0.6 pts below |
| 6 to 10 years | 759 | 82.5% | 10.2 pts above |
| 11 years and over | 2,037 | 71.6% | 0.7 pts below |
Older examples test at least as well as newer ones here, which usually says more about how the surviving cars have been kept than about age itself. The UK average of 72.3% covers cars of every age, so compare like with like.
Where Serena failures cluster
Every failure item recorded on Nissan Serena cars in 2025, grouped into the DVSA's test areas.
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment and suspension together account for 52.9% of recorded failure items. These are recorded failures across the model, not faults every car has.
The 10 most common Serena MOT failures
Specific items recorded on Nissan Serena cars that failed their 2025 MOT, as a share of all recorded failure items.
Together these 10 items make up 38.8% of everything testers recorded against failed Nissan Serena cars. The rest is spread across many smaller items, and one failed test often records several at once.
What to look at on a Serena
The recorded failures above, grouped by area, biggest first.
1
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment
Recorded most often: position lamp not working, rear fog lamp not working, headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect and rear fog lamp does not emit a steady red light. 18.5% of failure items.
2
Tyres
Recorded most often: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm and condition has ply or cords exposed. 6% of failure items.
3
Visibility
Recorded most often: wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively. 4.8% of failure items.
4
Brakes
Recorded most often: brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick. 4.5% of failure items.
The car's own MOT history matters more than any model average. A free MOT history check shows whether a specific Serena has failed on these items before, or had them noted as advisories. Buying one? See the used Nissan Serena buying guide.
Already found one?
Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.
Nissan Serena MOT FAQs
What is the Nissan Serena MOT pass rate?
74.4% of Nissan Serena cars passed their initial MOT first time in 2025, from 3,036 tests. That is 2.1 percentage points above the 72.3% average for all cars, and ranks 275th of 575 models.
What does a Nissan Serena most commonly fail its MOT on?
The item testers recorded most often on Nissan Serena cars failing their 2025 MOT was position lamp not working, on 6.7% of failure items. Next were wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively (4.8%) and rear fog lamp not working (4.6%).
Which area causes the most Nissan Serena MOT failures?
Across every recorded failure item, the largest area was lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment at 40%, followed by suspension at 12.9%.
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, against 71.6% for cars aged 11 years and over.
Does this mean every Nissan Serena has these problems?
No. These are the items testers recorded across every Nissan Serena that failed in 2025. They show where the model most often needs attention, not the condition of any individual car.
How do I see a specific Nissan Serena's MOT history?
Enter its registration on the free Carpeep MOT history check to see that car's own test results, failures, advisories and recorded mileages.
MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025: class 4 initial tests, retests excluded, with failure items from failed tests (advisories and minor defects excluded), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability.