Nissan Primastar 2002: MOT failure rate for its age

57.4% of 310 MOT tests of the Nissan Primastar first registered in 2002 failed at the first attempt (2019–2024; retests excluded). Against this model's own normal rate at the same ages the index is 105.0 (95% CI 89.6–120.4; 100 = normal for this model at that age): the 2002 build year is no different from other years of the same model at the same age. This is a rough estimate from a smaller sample.

Nissan Primastar built in 2002 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	57.4	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	310
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 89.6–120.4)	105.0	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	310
Rank among this model's 13 build years	13	of 13	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	310
Tested in 2024	36	tests	median 148,768 miles	2024	36

Built 2002 against Nissan Primastar normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 17: 53.3% vs 59.1%; age 18: 55.6% vs 53.7%; age 19: 61% vs 53.4%; age 20: 62.7% vs 53.2%; age 21: 57.4% vs 50.8%; age 22: 55.6% vs n/a%. Axis from 0% to 70%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2002 Nissan Primastar by registration · All Nissan Primastar MOT statistics · Download the build-year table (CSV)

Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · full dataset (v5).

How does the 2002 Nissan Primastar fail at each age?

Cars built in 2002 were tested at ages 17 to 22 between 2019 and 2024. Each row compares their first-time failure share with what this model normally shows at that age, after allowing for the overall failure level of each test year.

Nissan Primastar built 2002: first-time MOT failure by age, against the model's normal rate at that age (2019–2024)
Age	Tests	Failed, %	95% interval	Normal for this model at that age, %	Index (100 = normal)
17	90 (rough estimate)	53.3	43.1–63.3	59.1	90.2
18	63 (rough estimate)	55.6	43.3–67.2	53.7	103.5
19	59 (rough estimate)	61	48.3–72.4	53.4	114.3
20	51 (rough estimate)	62.7	49–74.7	53.2	117.9
21	47 (rough estimate)	57.4	43.3–70.5	50.8	113.1
22	36 (rough estimate)	55.6	39.6–70.5	not available	not available

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 346 (initial tests) · Method: normal rate = this model's first-time failure share at that age across its build years (cells of 400+ tests), adjusted for each test year's overall level; cells of 30+ tests, under 500 marked rough · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

What fails most on the 2002 Nissan Primastar?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2002 is lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment: 60.1 items per 100 first tests, against 46.1 across all build years of the Nissan Primastar. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2002 were tested at ages 17 to 22.

Failure items per 100 first tests, Nissan Primastar built 2002 against the Nissan Primastar in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 2002, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	60.1	46.1	208
Brakes	57.8	43.7	200
Suspension	51.4	44.2	178
Visibility	33.5	24	116
Steering	17.1	16.7	59

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 346 (initial tests of this build year) · Method: failure items grouped by DVSA's top-level defect groups, per 100 initial tests; groups with 30+ items · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How does 2002 compare with the years around it?

Among the 13 published build years of the Nissan Primastar, 2002 ranks 13 (1 = fails least for its age). 2003: index 102.4.

Nissan Primastar build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build year	Index (100 = normal)	95% interval	Verdict	Tests
2002	105.0	89.6–120.4	no different (rough estimate)	310
2003	102.4	98.2–106.6	no different	4,135
2004	100.0	96.8–103.3	no different	6,702
2005	100.9	98.0–103.9	no different	8,166
2006	98.1	95.3–100.9	no different	8,731
2007	98.4	95.8–101.0	no different	10,164
2008	98.4	95.2–101.7	no different	6,716
2009	97.9	94.4–101.5	no different	5,509
2010	100.5	95.6–105.4	no different (rough estimate)	2,959
2011	101.6	98.2–105.0	no different	6,280
2012	100.0	95.2–104.8	no different (rough estimate)	3,183
2013	99.2	94.3–104.2	no different (rough estimate)	3,155
2014	97.4	92.1–102.8	no different (rough estimate)	2,723

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 68,733 (initial tests) · Method: observed failures against those expected for the same model at the same ages, test-year level adjusted; verdict follows the printed one-decimal bound · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How to cite this page

MOT Risk Index (2026). Nissan Primastar 2002 MOT statistics (data release dvsa-2024-v2; full dataset motriskindex-families-2024-v5, DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22975051), updated 30 September 2026. motriskindex.co.uk/cars/nissan-primastar/2002/

How every figure is calculated: methodology. Age, test year and build year are tied together (age = test year − build year), so the test-year level is taken as observed, not estimated.

Other pages for this model

Nissan Primastar 2003 · Nissan Primastar 2004 · Nissan Primastar 2005 · Nissan Primastar 2006 · Nissan Primastar 2007 · Nissan Primastar 2008 · Nissan Primastar 2009 · Nissan Primastar 2010 · Nissan Primastar 2011 · Nissan Primastar 2012 · Nissan Primastar 2013 · Nissan Primastar 2014 · Nissan Primastar by postcode area · Nissan Primastar body, chassis and structure failures · Nissan Primastar brakes failures · Nissan Primastar vehicle identification failures · Nissan Primastar lamps, reflectors and electrics failures · Nissan Primastar noise, emissions and leaks failures · Nissan Primastar road wheels failures · Nissan Primastar seat belts and airbags failures · Nissan Primastar steering failures · Nissan Primastar suspension failures · Nissan Primastar tyres failures · Nissan Primastar visibility failures