Performance by cohort

3 year bands · 77,122 tests

Pass rate climbs 14.9 points across the cohorts — newer Leaf examples clear the test more reliably than the early cars.

Pre-2018 cohort 35,826

Pass

77.0%

Fail

19.6%

PRS

2.9%

Avg mileage at test

58,148 mi

2018–2020 cohort 26,280

Pass

88.5%

Fail

8.7%

PRS

2.5%

Avg mileage at test

37,852 mi

2021+ cohort 15,016

Pass

91.9%

Fail

5.6%

PRS

2.1%

Avg mileage at test

23,698 mi

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

Generations on file · 2

Nissan Leaf · UK market

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

The picture

Nissan Leaf: solid MOT record across 41,664 tests

The Nissan Leaf is a battery electric car produced by Nissan since 2010. It was offered exclusively as a 5-door hatchback which since then has become a crossover SUV model.

MOT data from 41,664 tests puts this car on a 83.3% first-time pass rate, above the UK fleet average. Average mileage at test is 44,606 miles. The most common fail item is worn suspension pin or bush, followed by defective wiper blade.

Switch from hatchback to SUV should broaden appeal. Long range and motorway efficiency are promising. Bye-bye Chademo, hello CCS.

For used buyers, the Leaf's pass rate suggests it clears the MOT with fewer surprises than most — but the top failure items above are still worth a pre-purchase inspection, particularly on higher-mileage examples.

ABI Insurance Group

Group 15–24

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 →

15–24

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

2,094 occurrences · 2.7% of tests
02

Wiper blade defective

1,748 occurrences · 2.3% of tests
03

Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements

1,333 occurrences · 1.7% of tests
04

A tyre seriously damaged

1,086 occurrences · 1.4% of tests
05

Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen

944 occurrences · 1.2% of tests
06

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

785 occurrences · 1.0% of tests
07

A tyre cords visible or damaged

659 occurrences · 0.9% of tests
08

A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn

562 occurrences · 0.7% of tests
09

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

459 occurrences · 0.6% of tests
10

Parking brake inoperative on one side

451 occurrences · 0.6% 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 4 failures

£180–£425

If every one of this Leaf'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 14.9-point gap between bands means the year you buy Nissan Leaf has a real effect on what turns up at the garage.

Best band to buy

91.9%

2021+ registration

the 2021-on band climbs to 91.9% — a 14.9-point improvement. Tests in this band average 23,698 miles — roughly 34K miles fewer on the clock than the older band. Failures here are mostly wear items: blade defective, has a cut in excess of the… — 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

77.0%

Pre-2018 registration

On the older band (pre-2018), the data shows a 77.0% pass rate against a fleet average of 91.9% on the newer band. The main culprits logged at test: ball joint excessively worn, tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm, and blade defective. Average mileage on test for this band is 58,148 miles — high-mileage wear items are a recurring theme.

Best band to buy: 2021+ (91.9% first-time pass). Worst band to avoid: pre-2018 (77.0% pass). That's a 14.9-point spread across 35,826 older tests and 15,016 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

Bosch Aerotwin wiper blades

Cheap wipers fail the test on smear streaks. Bosch Aerotwins last a winter and clear a screen properly.

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

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

View at My Motor World →

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 →

EV King · affiliate

EV charging & accessories

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

EV Charging Cables

8M - 32amp (3 Phase)- Blaupunkt Type 2 Charging Cable 32amp - 3 Phase (22kW) 8M

£329.00

View at EV King →

EV Charging Cables

15M - 32amp -Type 2 to Type 2 Charging Cable Type 2 to Type 2 15M 32amp (7.4kW)

£315.00

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EV Charging Cables

3 Pin to Type 2 - 10M - Range Rover Evoque Charging Cable 3 Pin to Type 2 10M 6-12amp Adjustable (2.3kW)

£297.00

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EV Charging Cables

3 Pin to Type 2 - 10M - Range Rover Sport Charging Cable 3 Pin to Type 2 10M 6-12amp Adjustable (2.3kW)

£297.00

View at EV King →

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.

Where it falls short

Many key details remain unconfirmed for now.

Buying or keeping a Leaf?

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 Leaf 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.