Nissan · fully electric · 2,903 inspections in 2024
Nissan NV200 what wears out, measured
fail their MOT first time. Ranks 79 of 83 electric cars tested; fleet average for electric cars is 12.0%.
At three years old the Nissan NV200 fails 8.7% of the time, over the 8.2% of a petrol car the same age. By 10 years that reaches 29.3%. Brakes cause 24.0% of its failures.
Data sheet
- Inspections analysed
- 2,903 first-time tests, retests excluded
- First-time failure rate
- 20.1% (electric average 12.0%, petrol 8.2%, diesel 14.5%)
- Best year
- 3 years old, 8.7% fail
- Worst year
- 10 years old, 29.3% fail
- Biggest cause of failure
- Brakes, 24.0% of all defects
- Most unusual for its class
- Visibility: 1.4× the share seen on petrol and diesel cars
Versions seen in the tests
Exactly as recorded on the certificate. Counts are inspections, not cars.
- NV2002,903
Failure rate by age
The line to watch is the red one. Dashed lines are petrol and diesel cars of the same age, tested the same year.
Points are hidden where fewer than 50 cars of that age were tested.
Where it holds up
- Steering fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (0.4% of defects vs 3.1%)
Where it fails
- Visibility take a bigger share of failures than on the wider fleet (17.1% vs 11.9%)
- At three years old it fails 8.7% of the time, above the 8.2% of petrol cars the same age
What fails, by system
Share of all defects that caused a failure. The dark mark is the same system on petrol and diesel cars of the same age.
| System | Share of failing defects | This car | vs fleet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tyres | 19.8% | in line | |
| Suspension | 15.2% | in line | |
| Brakes | 24.0% | 1.3× more | |
| Visibility | 17.1% | 1.4× more | |
| Lighting | 17.3% | in line | |
| Steering | 0.4% | 7.8× less | |
| Body | 3.1% | 1.3× less |
Top defects on the certificate
Wording from the DVSA inspection manual, so it matches what a tester writes.
- A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn177
- Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen132
- A tyre seriously damaged126
- Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements83
- A tyre cords visible or damaged75
- Windscreen washers not working or not providing sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen71
Check before you buy
- Have the suspension joints, bushes and springs checked on a lift. On this car it is a leading cause of failure and it is not visible from the outside.
- Trivial to fix, but a car advertised with worn wipers and a fresh failure certificate tells you how it was maintained.
- Check tyre age and tread across the full width, inner edge included. Electric cars wear tyres faster; a cheap mismatched set on a used car tells you how it was run.
- Check the washers reach the screen. It fails the test and it is a thirty-second check.
- Ask for the full MOT history by registration on the free DVSA service: advisories are next year's failures.
What owners say about the same faults
Summaries written by us, never quotes; every entry links to its source. Owner reports have no denominator and never feed the failure rate.
Similar cars in the data
Closest failure rate and age profile, different brand.
Other Nissan electric cars
Three things the data shows
- 2,903 inspections in 2024 make this one of the adequately-documented electric cars in the data.
- Visibility take 1.4× the share of failures they take on petrol and diesel cars of the same age.
- Failure rate rises from 8.7% at 3 years to 29.3% at 10: a steep ageing curve.
What the inspection does not tell you
No battery health, no motor, no charging performance. The test covers brakes, suspension, steering, tyres, lights, visibility and structure. A car with a badly degraded battery passes as long as it stops and steers. Read this page as evidence about the chassis, not the powertrain.
Cars are tested from their third year, so the newest model years are missing. Every figure carries its sample size for that reason. Full methodology.
Data: DVSA anonymised MOT tests, 2024 test year, OGL v3.0. Computed by What Wears Out editorial team. Last updated .