Nissan Pulsar 2018: MOT failure rate for its age

12.1% of 8,134 MOT tests of the Nissan Pulsar first registered in 2018 failed at the first attempt (2019–2024; retests excluded). Against this model's own normal rate at the same ages the index is 89.7 (95% CI 84.1–95.4; 100 = normal for this model at that age): the 2018 Nissan Pulsar fails less often than other build years of the same model at the same age.

Nissan Pulsar built in 2018 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	12.1	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	8134
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 84.1–95.4)	89.7	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	8134
Rank among this model's 5 build years	1	of 5	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	8134
Tested in 2024	2006	tests	median 36,245 miles	2024	2006

Built 2018 against Nissan Pulsar normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 3: 9.2% vs 10%; age 4: 11.1% vs 11.6%; age 5: 12.5% vs 14.2%; age 6: 15.5% vs 18%. Axis from 0% to 20%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2018 Nissan Pulsar by registration · All Nissan Pulsar 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 2018 Nissan Pulsar fail at each age?

Cars built in 2018 were tested at ages 3 to 6 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 Pulsar built 2018: 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)
3	2,063	9.2	8–10.5	10	92.3
4	2,042	11.1	9.8–12.5	11.6	95.2
5	2,023	12.5	11.1–14	14.2	88
6	2,006	15.5	14–17.2	18	86

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 8,134 (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 2018 Nissan Pulsar?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2018 is tyres: 6.9 items per 100 first tests, against 7.5 across all build years of the Nissan Pulsar. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2018 were tested at ages 3 to 6.

Failure items per 100 first tests, Nissan Pulsar built 2018 against the Nissan Pulsar in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 2018, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Tyres	6.9	7.5	573
Visibility	2.8	3	229
Brakes	2.6	6.8	218
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	2.2	4.2	181
Suspension	1.4	7.4	118

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 8,255 (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 2018 compare with the years around it?

Among the 5 published build years of the Nissan Pulsar, 2018 ranks 1 (1 = fails least for its age). 2017: index 90.4.

Nissan Pulsar build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build year	Index (100 = normal)	95% interval	Verdict	Tests
2014	105.9	101.5–110.4	worse	8,031
2015	106.0	104.0–108.0	worse	45,915
2016	100.4	98.0–102.8	no different	37,640
2017	90.4	87.1–93.7	better	21,514
2018	89.7	84.1–95.4	better	8,134

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 121,234 (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 Pulsar 2018 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-pulsar/2018/

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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