All generations and engines together · 141,192 MOT tests in the 2025 data · typical mileage at age 7: 46k
One of the worst superminis to buy at this age, and worse than most per mile driven. Watch suspension and lights & electrics. A risky used buy. Check the MOT history for repeating suspension advisories before you go.
Split by first-registration year. Cars registered in a changeover year can belong to either generation.
Owner folklore from forums and the motoring press, with how well each report stands up. Most of it never shows up in an MOT, which is why this section exists at all.
On the 2010-2016 K13 Micra, clutches wear out fast, sometimes before 10,000 miles, and Nissan has admitted a higher than usual number of clutch complaints and said it was looking into it. The CVT automatic has a separate failure pattern, with owners reporting full gearbox replacement needed anywhere from 27,000 to 63,000 miles, costing roughly £2,000-£6,000. Ask for full service history on either version before buying.
Front suspension noise turns up on every Micra generation: factory misalignment causing a clonk on early K12s, worn bushes and lower arms on K13s from around 60,000 miles, and crunching or banging on some K14s that dealers struggled to fully cure even after replacing bushes, the steering rack and driveshafts. Suspension is also the fault that shows up most in this model's real MOT failure data, so the forum noise and the test-lane data are pointing the same way. Expect £150-£500 for bushes and links, more if an arm or steering rack needs replacing.
A batch of one-way valves in the turbo engine's air supply pipes was fitted the wrong way round, starving the engine of oxygen and causing it to stall at idle. Nissan issued a technical bulletin in 2019 and dealers fix it by reseating the valve, free of charge if caught under warranty. Only affects the higher-powered DIG-T 117 petrol in the 2016-2022 K14, not the standard IG-T 100.
The 1.5 dCi diesel fitted to K12 and K13 Micras is prone to a sticking EGR valve, and owners report that ignoring it can take the turbo down with it. Watch for rough running, smoke on start-up or a warning light. A cleaned or replaced EGR valve runs £150-£400; a new turbo is closer to £600-£1,000.
Earlier K12 Micras (2003-2010) have a reputation for pricey electrical failures: ABS/ESP control units dying at three to four years old for £2,600-£2,900, and the keyless intelligent key system failing in a way that has needed a full steering column replacement, around £1,500 in reported cases. Honest John also flags fusible link corrosion under the nearside headlamp and batteries going flat from a software fault. None of it is manufacturer-acknowledged, but it comes up repeatedly in owner reports.
Some 2014-onward K13 owners with the 1.2-litre three-cylinder report a fluttering rattle, described as sounding like castanets, at around 2,300-3,000rpm. Nissan dealers have generally called it normal for this engine, and plenty of other owners never hear it, so it splits opinion rather than being a clear-cut fault. Worth a test drive through that rev range before deciding it bothers you.
Ranked from this model’s own MOT record, then from what owners report.
Saveable checklistThe physical checks its own defect data says are worth your time, most telling first.
These judge the seller’s upkeep rather than the model, and they are where the haggling money is.
The physical checks its own defect data says are worth your time, most telling first.
These judge the seller’s upkeep rather than the model, and they are where the haggling money is.
The physical checks its own defect data says are worth your time, most telling first.
These judge the seller’s upkeep rather than the model, and they are where the haggling money is.
The physical checks its own defect data says are worth your time, most telling first.
These judge the seller’s upkeep rather than the model, and they are where the haggling money is.
Drawn from the reports above rather than the MOT data. These are the model-specific ones.
Computed from DVSA MOT results, all of Great Britain, 2025. Nothing here is opinion.
Share of tests where each item was recorded. The dark tick is the class average across all tracked models; bars are scaled within each group.
The rows that judge the model rather than its keeper. 43,975 tests in this band.
Tyres, pads and stone chips say more about how the car was driven and maintained than about how it was built.
Same segment (Superminis), best MOT record first. Compare before you shortlist.