Nissan Primastar 2012: MOT failure rate for its age

51.6% of 3,183 MOT tests of the Nissan Primastar first registered in 2012 failed at the first attempt (2019–2024; retests excluded). Against this model's own normal rate at the same ages the index is 100.0 (95% CI 95.2–104.8; 100 = normal for this model at that age): the 2012 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 2012 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	51.6	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	3183
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 95.2–104.8)	100.0	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	3183
Rank among this model's 13 build years	8	of 13	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	3183
Tested in 2024	475	tests	median 132,387 miles	2024	475

Built 2012 against Nissan Primastar normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 7: 47.1% vs 50.6%; age 8: 50.6% vs 51.8%; age 9: 52.4% vs 52.7%; age 10: 50.8% vs 51.3%; age 11: 53.1% vs 51.7%; age 12: 57.1% vs 52%. Axis from 0% to 60%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2012 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 2012 Nissan Primastar fail at each age?

Cars built in 2012 were tested at ages 7 to 12 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 2012: 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)
7	594	47.1	43.2–51.2	50.6	93.2
8	536	50.6	46.3–54.8	51.8	97.6
9	534	52.4	48.2–56.6	52.7	99.5
10	528	50.8	46.5–55	51.3	98.9
11	516	53.1	48.8–57.4	51.7	102.7
12	475 (rough estimate)	57.1	52.6–61.4	52	109.7

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 3,183 (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 2012 Nissan Primastar?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2012 is lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment: 37 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 2012 were tested at ages 7 to 12.

Failure items per 100 first tests, Nissan Primastar built 2012 against the Nissan Primastar in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 2012, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	37	46.1	1,177
Brakes	35.3	43.7	1,125
Suspension	34.7	44.2	1,103
Visibility	19.5	24	621
Steering	16.9	16.7	539

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 3,183 (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 2012 compare with the years around it?

Among the 13 published build years of the Nissan Primastar, 2012 ranks 8 (1 = fails least for its age). 2011: index 101.6. 2013: index 99.2.

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 2012 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/2012/

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.

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