Nissan
35,264 MOT tests analysed. lands in the middle of the pack — here's where Pulsars pass, fail, and end up on the retest sheet.
That's in line with the UK fleet average across our 1,984 tracked models.
Pass
78.0%
Pass-after-fix
2.8%
Fail
18.8%
Avg miles
60,176
Pass + Pass-after-fix + Fail = 100%
This model's production run straddles the January 2006 Euro 4 cutoff. Individual cars vary — check your registration plate on the government's ULEZ checker. Daily charges if driven in the zone: London £12.50 · Birmingham £8.00 .
Performance by cohort
2 year bands · 35,264 tests
Pass rate climbs 8.8 points across the cohorts — newer Pulsar examples clear the test more reliably than the early cars.
Pass
77.7%
Fail
19.1%
PRS
2.8%
Avg mileage at test
61,006 mi
Pass
86.5%
Fail
10.7%
PRS
2.6%
Avg mileage at test
38,531 mi
Cohort = vehicle's first-registration year band. Same model, different generations of build.
The picture
The Nissan Pulsar is a line of automobiles produced by the Japanese automaker Nissan from 1978 until 2000, when it was replaced by the Nissan Bluebird Sylphy in the Japanese market.
MOT data from 25,717 tests puts this car on a 79.6% first-time pass rate, roughly in line with the UK fleet average. Average mileage at test is 53,194 miles. The most common fail item is worn suspension pin or bush, followed by fractured or weakened suspension spring.
If space, practicality, comfort and efficiency are your priorities, the Nissan Pulsar is a worthy alternative to the Skoda Octavia.
Buyers weighing up a used Pulsar should treat the failure breakdown as a pre-purchase checklist. The pass rate is reasonable, but the gap between first attempt and a clean sheet narrows with age and mileage.
ABI Insurance Group
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 →
12–20
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A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn
1,412 occurrences · 4.0% of tests
A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened
930 occurrences · 2.6% of tests
A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play
900 occurrences · 2.6% of tests
Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements
822 occurrences · 2.3% of tests
a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm
780 occurrences · 2.2% of tests
A lamp with a multiple light source up to 1/2 not functioning
487 occurrences · 1.4% of tests
Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view
439 occurrences · 1.2% of tests
Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded
373 occurrences · 1.1% of tests
A tyre cords visible or damaged
339 occurrences · 1.0% of tests
A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning
313 occurrences · 0.9% 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
£380–£975
If every one of this Pulsar'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
First-time MOT pass rate split by registration band. A 8.8-point gap between bands means the year you buy Nissan Pulsar has a real effect on what turns up at the garage.
Best band to buy
86.5%
2018–2020 registration
the 2018–2020 band climbs to 86.5% — a 8.8-point improvement. Tests in this band average 38,531 miles — roughly 22K miles fewer on the clock than the older band. Failures here are mostly wear items: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm, less than 1.5 mm thick — the structural issues that drag down older examples don't appear in the top-10 for this band. The stricter post-2018 MOT test rules meant manufacturers had to tighten up emissions and electrical checks, but this band still shows far fewer major failures on suspension and bodywork than the older fleet.
Band to be cautious about
77.7%
Pre-2018 registration
On the older band (pre-2018), the data shows a 77.7% pass rate against a fleet average of 86.5% on the newer band. The main culprits logged at test: ball joint excessively worn, fractured or broken, and ball joint has excessive play. Average mileage on test for this band is 61,006 miles — high-mileage wear items are a recurring theme.
Best band to buy: 2018-2020 (86.5% first-time pass). Worst band to avoid: pre-2018 (77.7% pass). That's a 8.8-point spread across 33,964 older tests and 1,300 newer ones — year of build makes a material difference on this model.
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
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 02 · 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
Affiliate links — small commission, no extra cost to you.
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Summit ASRG-1005 Nissan Replacement Stick-On Wide Angle Mirror Glass RHS
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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
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Hycote
Hycote Touch Up Colour Paint Brush Nissan Intense Blue Metallic 12.5ml
£6.59
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Click Mechanic · affiliate
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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.
Owner reports · Honest John
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
If space, practicality, comfort and efficiency are your priorities, the Nissan Pulsar is a worthy alternative to the Skoda Octavia.
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 Pulsar 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.
