69.5%
Nissan X-Trail
Nissan X-Trail MOT pass rate and common problems
The Nissan X-Trail passed 69.5% of its initial MOT tests in 2025, 2.8 percentage points below the 72.3% UK average. The item testers recorded most often was ball joint excessively worn.
Checking a specific car? Its own results, advisories and recorded mileages are in a free MOT history check.
How the X-Trail 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 X-Trail runs 1.7 points ahead of the Nissan average. It is 10th of the 25 Nissan models in the data. The average X-Trail arrived at its test 10.2 years old with 82,732 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.
X-Trail MOT pass rate by age
The same 2025 tests split by the car's age at test.
Nissan X-Trail cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 85.3% of MOT tests. For cars aged 11 years and over that fell to 54.5%, a drop of 30.8 percentage points.
| Age at test | Tests | Pass rate | vs UK average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 to 5 years | 11,414 | 85.3% | 13 pts above |
| 6 to 10 years | 52,730 | 72.4% | In line |
| 11 years and over | 23,287 | 54.5% | 17.8 pts below |
That is a steep decline with age, so the headline rate flatters older examples. The UK average of 72.3% covers cars of every age, so compare like with like.
Where X-Trail failures cluster
Every failure item recorded on Nissan X-Trail cars in 2025, grouped into the DVSA's test areas.
Suspension and brakes together account for 47.7% of recorded failure items. These are recorded failures across the model, not faults every car has.
The 10 most common X-Trail MOT failures
Specific items recorded on Nissan X-Trail cars that failed their 2025 MOT, as a share of all recorded failure items.
Together these 10 items make up 48.5% of everything testers recorded against failed Nissan X-Trail cars. The rest is spread across many smaller items, and one failed test often records several at once.
What to look at on a X-Trail
The recorded failures above, grouped by area, biggest first.
1
Suspension
Recorded most often: ball joint excessively worn, pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn and linkage ball joints ball joint excessively worn. 19.6% of failure items.
2
Brakes
Recorded most often: brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick. 6.9% of failure items.
3
Steering
Recorded most often: track rod end ball joint has excessive play. 6.2% of failure items.
4
Tyres
Recorded most often: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm. 4.1% of failure items.
The car's own MOT history matters more than any model average. A free MOT history check shows whether a specific X-Trail has failed on these items before, or had them noted as advisories. Buying one? See the used Nissan X-Trail buying guide.
Already found one?
Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.
Nissan X-Trail MOT FAQs
What is the Nissan X-Trail MOT pass rate?
69.5% of Nissan X-Trail cars passed their initial MOT first time in 2025, from 88,193 tests. That is 2.8 percentage points below the 72.3% average for all cars, and ranks 356th of 575 models.
What does a Nissan X-Trail most commonly fail its MOT on?
The item testers recorded most often on Nissan X-Trail cars failing their 2025 MOT was ball joint excessively worn, on 12% of failure items. Next were brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick (6.9%) and track rod end ball joint has excessive play (6.2%).
Which area causes the most Nissan X-Trail MOT failures?
Across every recorded failure item, the largest area was suspension at 29.1%, followed by brakes at 18.6%.
Do older Nissan X-Trail cars fail their MOT more often?
Nissan X-Trail cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 85.3% of MOT tests in 2025, against 54.5% for cars aged 11 years and over.
Does this mean every Nissan X-Trail has these problems?
No. These are the items testers recorded across every Nissan X-Trail 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 X-Trail'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.