Nissan Primera 1998: MOT failure rate for its age

45.7% of 1,174 MOT tests of the Nissan Primera first registered in 1998 failed at the first attempt (2019–2024; retests excluded). Against this model's own normal rate at the same ages the index is 96.0 (95% CI 87.8–104.1; 100 = normal for this model at that age): the 1998 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 Primera built in 1998 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	45.7	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	1174
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 87.8–104.1)	96.0	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	1174
Rank among this model's 9 build years	4	of 9	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	1174
Tested in 2024	7	tests	median 106,716 miles	2024	7

Built 1998 against Nissan Primera normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 21: 45.5% vs 48.6%; age 22: 45.9% vs 46.1%. Axis from 0% to 50%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 1998 Nissan Primera by registration · All Nissan Primera 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 1998 Nissan Primera fail at each age?

Cars built in 1998 were tested at ages 21 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 Primera built 1998: 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)
21	697	45.5	41.8–49.2	48.6	93.6
22	477 (rough estimate)	45.9	41.5–50.4	46.1	99.6

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 1,174 (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 1998 Nissan Primera?

The most common failure group on cars built in 1998 is brakes: 30.6 items per 100 first tests, against 27.6 across all build years of the Nissan Primera. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 1998 were tested at ages 21 to 22.

Failure items per 100 first tests, Nissan Primera built 1998 against the Nissan Primera in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 1998, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Brakes	30.6	27.6	654
Body, chassis, structure	29.1	15.9	623
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	26.2	54.3	560
Suspension	26.1	23.6	559
Visibility	13	12.3	279

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 2,138 (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 1998 compare with the years around it?

Among the 9 published build years of the Nissan Primera, 1998 ranks 4 (1 = fails least for its age). 1999: index 94.4.

Nissan Primera build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build year	Index (100 = normal)	95% interval	Verdict	Tests
1998	96.0	87.8–104.1	no different (rough estimate)	1,174
1999	94.4	87.8–100.9	no different (rough estimate)	1,787
2000	99.9	91.4–108.4	no different (rough estimate)	1,136
2001	93.9	87.8–99.9	better (rough estimate)	2,071
2002	101.6	97.2–106.0	no different	4,284
2003	98.4	94.5–102.3	no different	5,170
2004	96.8	93.4–100.2	no different	6,676
2005	98.1	95.1–101.0	no different	8,875
2006	95.6	92.0–99.1	better	5,884

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 37,057 (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 Primera 1998 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-primera/1998/

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.

Nissan Primera 1998: MOT failure rate for its age

How does the 1998 Nissan Primera fail at each age?

What fails most on the 1998 Nissan Primera?

How does 1998 compare with the years around it?

How to cite this page

Related pages

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