3,069 cars · 5,583 MOT tests · 2024 and 2025
Nissan Serena MOT statistics
What every MOT test on a Nissan Serena 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 Serena was sold new in the UK until 2001, so older cars may not be imports.
25%
failed their first MOT test
23% lower than the UK average for their age
12.2 yrs
median age at the MOT
All cars: 9.7 years
43%
of tests had at least one advisory
All cars: 52%
4.0%
of tests mention corrosion
All cars: 12%
Failure rate by age
Share of initial tests that failed, by the car’s age at the test, against all UK cars of the same age.
- 0–4 years323 tests27%vs 13%
- 5–9 years1,167 tests21%vs 22%
- 10–14 years2,704 tests22%vs 35%
- 15–19 years1,158 tests33%vs 43%
- 20–24 years123 tests41%vs 42%
- 25–29 years96 tests36%vs 35%
Most common advisories on a Nissan Serena
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 edge13%vs 16%
- Brake pads (brake linings and pads): wearing thin11%vs 7.6%
- Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened8.3%vs 8.9%
- Pins and bushes (suspension arms): pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement6.5%vs 5.3%
- Condition: slightly damaged or cracking or perishing5.9%vs 8.8%
- Non-component advisories: Play in steering rack inner joint(s)4.7%
- Track rod end (steering linkage components): ball joint has slight play3.9%
- Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive3.9%vs 4.9%
- Swivel pins and bushes: swivel pin and or or bush slightly worn3.3%
- Headlamp: has a product on the lens but not seriously reducing light output2.9%
Most common MOT failures on a Nissan Serena
Share of initial tests that failed on each item, including faults fixed during the test.
- Position lamp: not working3.6%vs 2.5%
- Rear fog lamp: not working3.1%
- Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively2.5%vs 2.0%
- Brake pads (brake linings and pads): less than 1.5 mm thick2.5%vs 1.8%
- Rear fog lamp: does not emit a steady red light1.8%
- Headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect1.7%vs 1.3%
- Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm1.7%vs 2.3%
- Rear fog lamp: missing1.6%
- Track rod end (steering linkage components): ball joint has excessive play1.5%
- Ball joint (suspension arms): ball joint excessively worn1.4%vs 1.5%
By part of the car
- Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment15%vs 11%
- Suspension5.7%vs 8.8%
- Brakes4.9%vs 6.5%
- Visibility4.8%vs 4.5%
- Tyres4.3%vs 6.3%
- Steering3.0%vs 2.0%
- Body, chassis, structure1.9%vs 3.4%
- Noise, emissions and leaks1.5%vs 3.1%
Advisories left unfixed
Of 1,720 advisories on a Nissan Serena that we could follow to the next annual MOT, 31% were flagged again and 5.1% had turned into a failure (all cars: 29% and 5.1%). The items most often still there:
- Rigid brake pipes27 advisories56%
- Engine oil leaks71 advisories48%
- Pins and bushes (suspension arms)123 advisories44%
- Swivel pins and bushes62 advisories44%
- Headlamp51 advisories43%
- Pins and bushes (sub-frames)26 advisories42%
- Brake discs199 advisories41%
- Track rod end (steering linkage components)75 advisories39%
Cars that disappeared from the MOT record
Of the 2,002 cars tested before October 2024, 9.6% had no MOT for over a year after their last one (imports overall: 10.4%; all cars: 7.2%). 8 of them (0.4%) 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 Serena2,002 cars9.6%
- Japanese imports72,369 cars10%
- All cars (sample)1,360,703 cars7.2%
Most popular colours
Share of cars, against all UK cars.
- White36%vs 19%
- Black23%vs 19%
- Silver18%vs 14%
- Purple6.2%
- Blue5.0%vs 16%
- Grey3.6%vs 17%
Checking a Nissan Serena?
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 Serena C26 (C26), Nissan Serena C27 (GC27)
Questions
- How often does a Nissan Serena fail its MOT?
- 25% of first MOT tests on a Nissan Serena failed in 2024 and 2025, from 5,583 tests. That’s 23% lower than the UK average for cars of the same age.
- What is the most common MOT advisory on a Nissan Serena?
- Tread depth: worn close to legal limit or worn on edge, on 13% of tests.
- What does a Nissan Serena most often fail its MOT on?
- Position lamp: not working, on 3.6% 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.