Nissan Primera
Registered from 1991 to 2006.
About this model
The Nissan Primera is a large family car produced by the Japanese carmaker Nissan. It was first produced from 1990 to 2008, for the markets in Japan and Europe. In Japan, it replaced the Auster/Stanza, and was exclusive to Nissan Prince Store locations. In North America, it was the entry level luxury sports sedan for the Infiniti brand, named the G20. The nameplate was revived in 2026 as a battery electric model based on the N7.
From the Wikipedia article Nissan Primera, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
What fails its inspection
Great Britain's MOT record for the 2006 1.8 petrol. 214 of 828 tests failed, 26%.
Better than 58% of 2006 cars. The typical one fails 27%, across 889 models with enough tests behind them to say.
| Where | Share of failures | Failed tests |
|---|---|---|
| Lights and electrics | 55% | 117 |
| Suspension | 36% | 76 |
| Brakes | 34% | 73 |
| Exhaust and emissions | 22% | 48 |
| Tyres and wheels | 20% | 42 |
| Body and structure | 17% | 37 |
The defects inspectors cite
- A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn
- The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements
- A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning
- Exhaust system leaking or insecure
- Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement
- An SRS malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) indicates a system malfunction
Before you buy one
Built from what this car fails on, not from general knowledge of the model.
- Suspension — 36% of its failures
- A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn
- Brakes — 34% of its failures
- Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement
- A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm
- Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake
- Exhaust and emissions — 22% of its failures
- Exhaust system leaking or insecure
- Tyres and wheels — 20% of its failures
- Lights and electrics — 55% of its failures
- A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning
- An SRS malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) indicates a system malfunction
- Body and structure — 17% of its failures
When it starts failing
At 140–160k miles this one fails 28% of its inspections, against the 31% an ordinary car of the same age fails.
| Odometer | Failure rate | Rate | Its age | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40–60k miles | 22% | 21% | 105 | |
| 60–80k miles | 22% | 25% | 180 | |
| 80–100k miles | 25% | 27% | 189 | |
| 100–120k miles | 31% | 29% | 150 | |
| 120–140k miles | 27% | 30% | 120 | |
| 140–160k miles | 28% | 31% | 36 |
780 British inspections, grouped by the odometer reading recorded at the test.
Half of these have more than 80k miles on them. That is how far people drive this car, not how long it lasts.