2013 Nissan NV200 1.5L Diesel · SH13 VJY

Two overlapping DVSA campaigns cover the same defect: a steering wheel boss that may not have been produced to the correct specification, so that normal high loading - typically at low speeds, when drivers turn the wheel hard against the kerb - can let the boss fail and cost the driver steering. R/2012/103 covered 7,329 UK vans built between 27 February and 20 April 2012, and the follow-up R/2015/007 covered a much larger 27,252 vehicles built between 17 February and 30 July 2012. For a buyer of a cheap ex-courier van this is a safety defect with no second chance, and the repair history is rarely presented with the vehicle.

The DVSA notice is unusually physical for a small van: the paint coating on the back door gas stay does not meet the anti-corrosion requirement, so the outer tube can corrode, crack and lose its pressurised gas, leaving the stay unable to support the rear door - which then drops on whoever is loading. It covers NV200 vans built from 1 August 2009 to 27 November 2015 and e-NV200s built from 1 April 2014 to 4 March 2016, 4,377 UK vehicles between them. My MOT Checker's summary of the register repeats the same defect and the fix, which is replacement of the gas stay. Any used van kept outside will be showing the same corrosion around the door hinges and stays regardless of whether the campaign was done.

The rest of the NV200's recall cluster is worth checking in one go: R/2018/234 covers vans built between 30 March and 29 May 2017 where a surface defect on the internal ignition switch spring could stall the engine while driving and even affect airbag operation, and R/2020/294 covers 2,547 vans built between July and September 2019 where a poor weld on the park lock actuator plate inside the reducer could let the park lock fail. Alongside that, the RAC's ownership survey flags stuck sliding doors, evaporative emissions faults on 2013-2017 vans letting fumes into the cabin, and a starter, alternator and battery trio that gives up on delivery work.