Performance by cohort

3 year bands · 501,036 tests

Pass rate climbs 16.9 points across the cohorts — newer Juke examples clear the test more reliably than the early cars.

Pre-2018 cohort 446,906

Pass

73.4%

Fail

22.1%

PRS

4.0%

Avg mileage at test

71,050 mi

2018–2020 cohort 53,706

Pass

85.8%

Fail

10.2%

PRS

3.7%

Avg mileage at test

36,349 mi

2021+ cohort 424

Pass

90.3%

Fail

5.2%

PRS

3.3%

Avg mileage at test

19,978 mi

Cohort = vehicle's first-registration year band. Same model, different generations of build.

Generations on file · 2

Nissan Juke · UK market

Photos: Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA / CC BY / public domain.

The picture

CVT woes lurk behind a decent pass rate

74.92% first-time pass from 345,484 tests is mid-table, and the Juke's average test mileage of 61,184 means it's still relatively fresh when most failures hit. Suspension pin and bush wear leads the list, with a steering ball joint free play and failed wiper blades rounding out the top three — all routine, all cheap if caught early. Where owners diverge from the tester's checklist is the CVT gearbox: multiple reports of transmission failure at 20,000 to 30,000 miles, with one 2013 owner pursuing Small Claims against the dealer and another facing a head gasket failure on the same unit at the same age. Nissan offered 75% of parts cost on one occasion but not labour. If you're buying a Juke with a CVT, the gearbox history matters more than the MOT certificate.

ABI Insurance Group

Group 10–22

Below the fleet average — generally reasonable to insure. Lower groups cost less to insure; UK fleet average is around Group 22.

Source: ABI Group Rating Panel · administered by Thatcham Research · groups cover standard variants; performance trims may sit higher. Browse all insurance groups →

10–22

out of 50

Compare quotes →

Top ten reasons for rejection.

Filter failures:

Hide wear items to see the model's real defects.

01

A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn

28,219 occurrences · 5.6% of tests
02

A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play

19,586 occurrences · 3.9% of tests
03

A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources

12,603 occurrences · 2.5% of tests
04

Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements

11,733 occurrences · 2.3% of tests
05

a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm

10,833 occurrences · 2.2% of tests
06

Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen

10,088 occurrences · 2.0% of tests
07

A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn

9,489 occurrences · 1.9% of tests
08

Wiper blade defective

8,468 occurrences · 1.7% of tests
09

Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded

7,948 occurrences · 1.6% of tests
10

Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view

6,502 occurrences · 1.3% of tests

Counts cover Major and Dangerous defects logged at test. Advisory items excluded so this shows why a car was rejected, not just what the tester flagged in passing.

Worst-case fix budget · top 5 failures

£308–£770

If every one of this Juke's most-logged Major fails hit at the same MOT, that's the real-world UK garage range. Reality is usually one or two items, not all of them. Open the estimator →

Try the calculator

Build your own retest budget.

Year-band analysis

Best year to buy. Worst to avoid.

First-time MOT pass rate split by registration band. A 16.9-point gap between bands means the year you buy Nissan Juke has a real effect on what turns up at the garage.

Best band to buy

90.3%

2021+ registration

the 2021-on band climbs to 90.3% — a 16.9-point improvement. Tests in this band average 19,978 miles — roughly 51K miles fewer on the clock than the older band. Failures here are mostly wear items: does not clear the windscreen effectively, tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm — the structural issues that drag down older examples don't appear in the top-10 for this band. Post-2020 examples are early in their MOT life and generally show the cleanest records.

Band to be cautious about

73.4%

Pre-2018 registration

On the older band (pre-2018), the data shows a 73.4% pass rate against a fleet average of 90.3% on the newer band. The main culprits logged at test: ball joint excessively worn, ball joint has excessive play, and inoperative in the case of multiple lamps…. Average mileage on test for this band is 71,050 miles — high-mileage wear items are a recurring theme. Honest John records: "Report of another CVT failure on a 2013 Nissan Juke, this one at 30,000 miles and at 4 years old. Owner threatening Small Claims against supplying dealer."

Best band to buy: 2021+ (90.3% first-time pass). Worst band to avoid: pre-2018 (73.4% pass). That's a 16.9-point spread across 446,906 older tests and 424 newer ones — year of build makes a material difference on this model.

Year-spread leaderboard →

Tools that pre-empt a retest.

Picked against this car's top failure patterns. Affiliate links to Amazon UK — we earn a small cut at no cost to you. Disclosed up-front, doesn't shape the data.

Item 01 · Amazon UK

H7 / W21W bulb pack

A spare-bulb kit lives in the boot. Test morning is not the time to find your stop-lamp's gone.

Search Amazon UK

Item 02 · Amazon UK

Digital tyre-tread depth gauge

Five quid for a gauge beats £150 for a retest. UK MOT minimum is 1.6mm — most testers fail anything below 2mm to be safe.

Search Amazon UK

Item 03 · Amazon UK

Brake pad measurement gauge

Testers fail pads under 1.5mm. A wear gauge tells you if you've got two months left or two weeks.

Search Amazon UK

My Motor World · affiliate

Parts & supplies for this fix

Affiliate links — small commission, no extra cost to you.

Summit

Summit ASRG-1005 Nissan Replacement Stick-On Wide Angle Mirror Glass RHS

£24.19

View at My Motor World →

Summit

Summit ASRG-1004BH Nissan Replacement Wide Angle Mirror Glass with Heated Backing Plate LHS

£32.99

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Summit

Summit ASRG-1005BH Nissan Replacement Wide Angle Mirror Glass with Heated Backing Plate RHS

£32.99

View at My Motor World →

Hycote

Hycote Touch Up Colour Paint Brush Nissan Intense Blue Metallic 12.5ml

£6.59

View at My Motor World →

Click Mechanic · affiliate

Book a mobile mechanic

Affiliate links — small commission, no extra cost to you.

Mobile mechanic · UK-wide

Book a mechanic at your door.

Fixed-price quotes upfront. No garage needed. Click Mechanic sends a vetted local mechanic to you — home, work, or roadside.

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Owner reports · Honest John

What owners actually report.

Verbatim faults logged by owners on honestjohn.co.uk over recent years. We didn't summarise — these are the words people typed in.

What's good

Poor practicality, lacklustre 1.6-litre engines, high number of automatic gearbox failures.

Where it falls short

The Nissan Juke is let down by poor boot space and cramped rear seats, but scores well for its raised driving position and value for money.

Recent owner-reported faults

22 Aug 2017
Report of another CVT failure on a 2013 Nissan Juke, this one at 30,000 miles and at 4 years old. Owner threatening Small Claims against supplying dealer.
3 Aug 2017
Report of cylinder head or head gasket failure in 2013 Nissan Juke 1.6i CVT at 30,000 miles. Had been Nissan dealer serviced on time since new. Nissan has offered 75% of parts cost, but not labour.
23 Jul 2017
Problem reported with CVT tranmission of 2012 Nissan Juke purchased used in August 2012 with 14,500 miles, now at 20,500 miles. Last week the gear box appeared to start going wrong, when owner put it in reverse it would judder and stop. If he tried once or twice it would eventually engage. The problem still exists but it is also happening when he puts it into drive.
14 Jul 2017
Report of CVT transmission of 2012 Nissan Juke failing at 28,000 miles and Nissan dealer quoting £7,000 to replace it.
25 May 2017
Report of clutch failing on another 2014 Nissan Juke at 15,000 miles. Nissan blamed driver.
24 May 2017
Report of clutch failing on 2014 Nissan Juke 1.2DIGT at 22,000 miles, 5,000 miles after used purchase in December 2016.
3 May 2017
Report of engine problems with used March 2015 Nissan Juke 1.2DIGT bought from a Nissan dealer in December 2016. Owner phoned in February 2017 to be told there was a manufacturer TSB because the wrong pistons had been fitted. When car was returned the engine was rattling and the radiator fan was on constantly. Dealer then booked it in again, took the engine apart and requested a new engine from Nissan. Nissan rejected this and told dealer to replace pistons again. Turned out that timing chain and crankshaft has also been replaced prior to purchase. Our recommendations is to reject the car outright.
29 Apr 2017
Report of noises from transmission of 12,500 mile October 2012 Nissan Juke CVT, diagnosed by dealer as transmission failure and quoted at £5,000 for a new transmission. Owner took this up with Nissan Customer Services and transmission was replaced FoC.
21 Apr 2017
Report of timing belt failure of 28,000 mile 2013 Nissan Juke 1.5DCI. Nissan paid 75% of the cost of a new engine.
21 Mar 2017
Report of CVT transmission of 2012/62 Nissan Juke bought 2nd hand failing at 20,000 miles, soon after private purchase. Engine kept shutting down when putting it into drive or reverse and made noises sometimes. Tried a change of fluid which improves it for a while but then the transmission became worse again.
25 Jan 2017
CVT failure reported on 2013 Nissan Juke at 49,000 miles. Independent specialist repairer is quoting £3,500. Owner reluctant to have Jule transported to a Nissan dealer.
8 Jul 2016
Report of CVT failure on Nissan Juke. Estimated repair: £7,000, but Nissan reduced the cost to just £640. Unfortunately, transmission oil radiator leak found when dismantling and charged £600 for that so total bill £1,240.

Source: honestjohn.co.uk · 30 reports indexed, top 12 shown

Buying or keeping a Juke?

Use the failure ranking as a pre-test checklist or a haggling lever. Treat the headline pass rate as a fleet-wide trend, not a guarantee on any individual car.

If you own a Juke and your last MOT looked nothing like the ranked failures above, that's normal — individual cars vary widely. The ranking shows the patterns testers flag most often across the country.