How reliable is the Nissan Pulsar compared with other cars?

We do not publish a comparison for the Nissan Pulsar, because the cars of this model that have been tested do not cover a wide enough range of ages and mileages. Its raw pass rate is 70.7% across 20,882 tests, but comparing a raw rate between models mostly ranks them by how new they are rather than how good they are. The failure and advisory patterns further down the page are still drawn from real tests and are worth reading.

What is the most common MOT failure on a Nissan Pulsar?

The item recorded most often is "A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn", which appears in 25.8% of failed Nissan Pulsar tests. Because one failed test can list several items, these shares do not add up to 100%.

What do testers most often warn about on a Nissan Pulsar?

The most common advisory is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", noted on 24.4% of all Nissan Pulsar tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.

What mileage does a Nissan Pulsar usually have at its MOT?

The average odometer reading recorded at test is 64,267 miles. This is the mileage across all tested examples of every age, not an annual figure, so treat it as a description of the fleet rather than a target for one car.

Are most Nissan Pulsar models petrol or diesel?

Of the Nissan Pulsar cars tested, 69% are petrol, 31% are diesel. Fuel type affects which items tend to fail, particularly emissions and exhaust components.

Model reliability file

Nissan Pulsar MOT pass rate & common failures

From 20,882 recorded MOT tests of the Nissan Pulsar, published by DVSA.

Data updated 29 July 2026

Quick answer

Across 20,882 MOT tests, 70.7% of Nissan Pulsar tests ended in a pass. This figure is not adjusted for age or mileage, so it is not a reliability ranking: the Nissan Pulsar fleet does not yet cover a wide enough spread of ages and distances to compare it fairly against other models. Its most commonly recorded failure is suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn, which appears in 25.8% of failed tests. Cars of this model average 64,267 miles on the odometer when tested.

At a glance

Recorded pass rate

70.7%unadjusted, not comparable20,882 tests

We are not publishing a ranking for the Pulsar. The examples tested do not cover a wide enough spread of ages and mileages to compare it fairly, and an unadjusted pass rate mostly sorts models by how recently they were bought rather than how well they were built. The failure and advisory patterns below come from the same 20,882 tests and are worth reading on their own terms.

DVSA recorded wording

Most common failure items

Share of failed Nissan Pulsar tests in which each item was recorded. One failed test often lists several items, so these do not sum to 100%.

1.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn25.8%
1,392 occurrencesSuspension arm bush worn explained
2.A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened24.6%
1,325 occurrencesRoad spring broken or fractured explained
3.A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play17.6%
952 occurrencesBall joint worn explained
4.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm15.9%
858 occurrencesBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained
5.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements13.3%
716 occurrencesTyre worn close to the legal limit explained
6.A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning6.4%
348 occurrencesLamp not working explained
7.Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded6.2%
332 occurrencesBrake pipe corroded explained
8.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn5.9%
318 occurrencesSuspension arm bush worn explained
9.A tyre cords visible or damaged5.0%
268 occurrencesTyre ply or cord exposed, or the casing separating explained
10.A tyre seriously damaged5.0%
268 occurrencesTyre damaged or deteriorated explained

Warnings without a failure

Most common advisories

Share of all Nissan Pulsar tests carrying each advisory. The denominator differs from the failure list above because an advisory can be issued on a car that passed.

1.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements24.4%
5,096 testsTyre worn close to the legal limit explained
2.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm17.6%
3,673 testsBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained
3.A tyre seriously damaged12.4%
2,599 testsTyre damaged or deteriorated explained
4.Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured12.0%
2,500 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained
5.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn11.8%
2,454 testsSuspension arm bush worn explained
6.Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded6.7%
1,394 testsBrake pipe corroded explained
7.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn4.0%
828 testsSuspension arm bush worn explained
8.Fluid leaking excessively and likely to harm the environment or to pose a safety risk to other road users3.9%
817 tests

What gets tested

The Pulsar fleet

Average mileage recorded at test: 64,267
Fuel mix of tested cars: Petrol69.4%
Diesel30.5%

Check a specific Nissan Pulsar

A model average tells you the pattern. Its own MOT record tells you the car.

Compare within the range

Other Nissan models

Nissan Qashqai — 67.4% adjusted
Nissan Juke — 66.5% adjusted
Nissan Micra — 63.8% adjusted
Nissan Note — 65.9% adjusted
Nissan X-Trail — 70.5% adjusted
Nissan Navara — 68.6% adjusted
All Nissan models

Common questions

How reliable is the Nissan Pulsar compared with other cars?: We do not publish a comparison for the Nissan Pulsar, because the cars of this model that have been tested do not cover a wide enough range of ages and mileages. Its raw pass rate is 70.7% across 20,882 tests, but comparing a raw rate between models mostly ranks them by how new they are rather than how good they are. The failure and advisory patterns further down the page are still drawn from real tests and are worth reading.
What is the most common MOT failure on a Nissan Pulsar?: The item recorded most often is "A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn", which appears in 25.8% of failed Nissan Pulsar tests. Because one failed test can list several items, these shares do not add up to 100%.
What do testers most often warn about on a Nissan Pulsar?: The most common advisory is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", noted on 24.4% of all Nissan Pulsar tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.
What mileage does a Nissan Pulsar usually have at its MOT?: The average odometer reading recorded at test is 64,267 miles. This is the mileage across all tested examples of every age, not an annual figure, so treat it as a description of the fleet rather than a target for one car.
Are most Nissan Pulsar models petrol or diesel?: Of the Nissan Pulsar cars tested, 69% are petrol, 31% are diesel. Fuel type affects which items tend to fail, particularly emissions and exhaust components.

How this was worked out

Method and limits

Figures come from the DVSA anonymised MOT testing dataset, published under the Open Government Licence. Only class 4 initial tests are counted: retests are excluded so a car appears once, and abandoned tests are excluded entirely. No adjusted rate is shown because this model's tested examples do not cover enough of the national age and mileage range for standardisation to mean anything.

An MOT measures whether a car met a legal standard on the day. It is not a breakdown record, a service history or a running-cost estimate, and a pass rate is a property of a fleet rather than a prediction about one car.