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MOT fail rates

BMW 1 Series MOT fail rate by age

How often the BMW 1 Series fails its MOT at each age, compared with all cars of the same age, and what it fails on. From 1,589,384 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated

At 9 years, the most tested age

MOT fail rate at age 9 (n=134,096)23.0%
All cars at 9 years (n=9,949,012)27.1%
Median mileage at test75,683
All cars, median mileage68,033

124 of 315 model groups with enough tests fail less often at 9 years.

What stands out

  • At 3 years the BMW 1 Series fails 10.4% of MOTs (89,393 tests), 1.6 points below the 12.1% for all cars that age. At 21 years it fails 38.2% (1,135 tests), 3.9 points below the 42.1% average.
  • The gap is widest at 15 years: 7.5 points below all cars.
  • Its most common structural or mechanical fail item at 9 years: Shock absorber leaking, at 1.4 per 100 MOTs.

MOT fail rate by age

3 years 21 years 47.6%

Solid line: this model. Dashed line: all cars at the same age.

BMW 1 Series: share of MOT tests that failed, by age, against all cars. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
AgeMOT fail rateTests (n)All carsDifferenceMedian mileage
3 years10.4%89,39312.1%−1.6 pts22,858 miles
4 years11.2%101,48013.4%−2.2 pts30,668 miles
5 years13.3%114,61315.3%−2.0 pts38,832 miles
6 years15.5%122,01817.8%−2.3 pts47,845 miles
7 years17.4%125,81820.6%−3.2 pts57,210 miles
8 years20.1%129,64823.8%−3.6 pts66,769 miles
9 years23.0%134,09627.1%−4.2 pts75,683 miles
10 years25.8%131,19830.3%−4.6 pts83,466 miles
11 years28.6%122,00333.3%−4.6 pts90,225 miles
12 years31.0%114,95536.0%−5.0 pts96,425 miles
13 years32.8%98,29338.3%−5.4 pts101,408 miles
14 years33.1%84,87240.3%−7.2 pts106,204 miles
15 years34.1%71,79141.6%−7.5 pts110,254 miles
16 years35.2%56,96942.6%−7.4 pts114,470 miles
17 years36.4%43,12143.1%−6.7 pts119,435 miles
18 years37.0%27,08743.3%−6.3 pts123,592 miles
19 years38.1%14,80443.2%−5.1 pts126,051 miles
20 years37.9%6,09042.8%−4.9 pts126,745 miles
21 years38.2%1,13542.1%−3.9 pts118,373 miles

Most common fail items at 9 years

Split into structural or mechanical items and wear items. Wear items (tyres, brake pads, wipers, bulbs) say more about upkeep than about the design.

Structural and mechanical

Fail itemPer 100 MOTs
Shock absorber leaking Major1.4

Out of 134,096 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Wear and upkeep

Fail itemPer 100 MOTs
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm Dangerous4.6
Side/position light not working Major3.6
Brake pads under 1.5 mm Dangerous2.3
Dipped headlight not working Major1.9
Headlamp aim: too low Major1.9
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid Major1.8
Tyre condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Major1.5
Tyre with cords exposed Dangerous1.4
Tyre condition: has a bulge, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Dangerous1.3

Out of 134,096 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Other models at 9 years

ModelMOT fail rateTests (n)All cars
BMW 3 Series20.4%132,58527.1%
BMW 5 Series17.8%64,05027.1%
BMW 4 Series18.3%51,08527.1%

MOT fail rate by first-use year

Each year has its own page: the fail rate for cars first used that year at each MOT from 2022 to 2025 with at least 1,000 tests, the most common faults at that age, and the car tax and ULEZ rules for that year.

First-use year data updated .

Latest MOT age with at least 1,000 tests for each first-use year.
First usedAge at testMOT fail rateTests (n)All cars
200421 years in 202538.4%1,11742.1%
200520 years in 202537.9%4,52042.8%
200619 years in 202537.4%6,70443.2%
200718 years in 202535.0%8,06243.3%
200817 years in 202534.1%12,99543.1%
200916 years in 202534.5%17,15642.6%
201015 years in 202533.4%20,63841.6%
201114 years in 202532.3%20,64640.3%
201213 years in 202533.2%27,83138.3%
201312 years in 202529.7%35,61436.0%
201411 years in 202526.4%30,26133.3%
201510 years in 202522.0%31,58830.3%
20169 years in 202520.3%32,08227.1%
20178 years in 202517.9%33,20623.8%
20187 years in 202516.3%27,26920.6%
20196 years in 202514.4%28,42217.8%
20205 years in 202511.9%24,54015.3%
20214 years in 20259.4%19,25513.4%
20223 years in 20258.7%14,41012.1%

More on the BMW 1 Series

Read this with care. A fail rate is not a measure of build quality. How far cars are driven, how they are used and how well owners maintain them all change it, and wear items such as tyres and brake pads are common fails. Compare a model only with cars of the same age. Methodology and limits.

Looking at one BMW 1 Series?

These are figures for the model, not for one car. The VetTheCar Buying Report looks at a single car: its MOT tests, defects, advisories and mileage readings.

See an example report Browse the car tools

Source

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data, class 4 normal MOT tests, 2022 to 2025. MOT data updated 22 September 2026.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by DVSA. How we calculate these figures · Data sources