2,197 cars · 4,186 MOT tests · 2024 and 2025
Nissan Leaf (2011 to 2013) MOT statistics
What every MOT test on a Nissan Leaf (2011 to 2013) in Great Britain in 2024 and 2025 found: how often they fail, what testers flag, which faults owners leave, and how many never came back after failing.
The first-generation Leaf, imported or sold new in the UK.
39%
failed their first MOT test
10% higher than the UK average for their age
12 yrs
median age at the MOT
All cars: 9.7 years
63%
of tests had at least one advisory
All cars: 52%
16%
of tests mention corrosion
All cars: 12%
Most common advisories on a Nissan Leaf (2011 to 2013)
Things the tester noticed that weren’t bad enough to fail. Share of initial tests, against all UK cars.
- Tread depth: worn close to legal limit or worn on edge19%vs 16%
- Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened14%vs 8.9%
- Brake pads (brake linings and pads): wearing thin11%vs 7.6%
- Condition: slightly damaged or cracking or perishing10%vs 8.8%
- Pins and bushes (suspension arms): pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement10%vs 5.3%
- Track rod end (steering linkage components): ball joint has slight play9.0%
- Ball joint (suspension arms): ball joint has slight play6.9%
- Linkage ball joints: ball joint has slight play5.4%
- Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material4.4%vs 3.8%
- Coil spring: corroded4.0%vs 3.3%
Most common MOT failures on a Nissan Leaf (2011 to 2013)
Share of initial tests that failed on each item, including faults fixed during the test.
- Ball joint (suspension arms): ball joint excessively worn10%vs 1.5%
- Track rod end (steering linkage components): ball joint has excessive play9.5%
- Linkage ball joints: ball joint excessively worn4.5%
- Pins and bushes (suspension arms): pin or bush excessively worn3.6%vs 1.2%
- Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm3.3%vs 2.3%
- Position lamp: not working3.1%vs 2.5%
- Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively2.3%vs 2.0%
- Brake pads (brake linings and pads): less than 1.5 mm thick2.0%vs 1.8%
- Condition: has ply or cords exposed2.0%vs 1.3%
- Component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength1.9%
By part of the car
- Suspension22%vs 8.8%
- Steering11%vs 2.0%
- Brakes8.6%vs 6.5%
- Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment8.3%vs 11%
- Tyres7.6%vs 6.3%
- Visibility5.5%vs 4.5%
- Body, chassis, structure1.4%vs 3.4%
- Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems0.7%vs 1.0%
Advisories left unfixed
Of 2,164 advisories on a Nissan Leaf (2011 to 2013) that we could follow to the next annual MOT, 29% were flagged again and 9.7% had turned into a failure (all cars: 29% and 5.1%). The items most often still there:
- Registration plates40 advisories60%
- Rigid brake pipes59 advisories56%
- Ball joint (suspension arms)117 advisories51%
- Sub-frame38 advisories47%
- Track rod end (steering linkage components)170 advisories45%
- Coil spring63 advisories41%
- Pins and bushes (suspension arms)173 advisories40%
- Brake discs235 advisories40%
Cars that disappeared from the MOT record
Of the 1,728 cars tested before October 2024, 10.1% had no MOT for over a year after their last one (imports overall: 10.4%; all cars: 7.2%). 3 of them (0.2%) had failed that last test. MOT records don’t say why: most of these cars were scrapped, but some were exported, laid up or declared off the road.
- Nissan Leaf (2011 to 2013)1,728 cars10%
- Japanese imports72,369 cars10%
- All cars (sample)1,360,703 cars7.2%
Most popular colours
Share of cars, against all UK cars.
- White30%vs 19%
- Black21%vs 19%
- Blue19%vs 16%
- Silver12%vs 14%
- Red10.0%vs 10%
- Grey7.1%vs 17%
Checking a Nissan Leaf (2011 to 2013)?
Our free check reads its full MOT history and flags mileage that doesn’t add up, advisories that keep coming back, and recalls filed in Japan.
Buying guide: Nissan Leaf (ZE0)
Questions
- How often does a Nissan Leaf (2011 to 2013) fail its MOT?
- 39% of first MOT tests on a Nissan Leaf (2011 to 2013) failed in 2024 and 2025, from 4,186 tests. That’s 10% higher than the UK average for cars of the same age.
- What is the most common MOT advisory on a Nissan Leaf (2011 to 2013)?
- Tread depth: worn close to legal limit or worn on edge, on 19% of tests.
- What does a Nissan Leaf (2011 to 2013) most often fail its MOT on?
- Ball joint (suspension arms): ball joint excessively worn, on 10% of tests.
More MOT statistics
How we worked these out
- Every car MOT in Great Britain in 2024 and 2025, from DVSA’s anonymised MOT tests and results. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. The analysis and any errors are ours, not DVSA’s.
- MOT records give the make, model name and engine size, not the chassis code, so models are grouped by name. A model page says when that grouping is looser than its title.
- Failure rates count initial tests only, and include faults fixed during the test (DVSA’s definition). Advisories are counted once per test.
- Ages run from the first-use date on the MOT record. For many imports that’s the date the car was first registered in the UK, not in Japan, so imports can look younger than they are, and the age comparison flatters them less than it should.
- An advisory counts as unfixed if the same part of the car is flagged again, or fails, at the next annual MOT (300 to 500 days later).
- A car “disappeared” if it had no MOT between 31 October 2024 and 30 December 2025, over a year after its last test. It’s an estimate of cars scrapped or taken off the road: some were exported, laid up, or made exempt at 40 years old.
- The figures for all cars and all Japanese-brand cars come from a random one-in-20 sample of vehicles; the model figures use every car.