BMW 3 Series MOT pass rate & common failures

At a glance

Pass rate, adjusted for age and mileage

The 3 Series is 7.7 percentage points above the national pass rate once age and mileage are accounted for, which is well above average. The unadjusted figure is 76.0%; the difference is what the age and mileage of this model’s fleet was hiding.

DVSA recorded wording

Most common failure items

Share of failed BMW 3 Series tests in which each item was recorded. One failed test often lists several items, so these do not sum to 100%.

1. 1.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements16.1%

   15,167 occurrencesTyre worn close to the legal limit explained

2. 2.A shock absorber damaged to the extent that it does not function or showing signs of severe leakage14.6%

   13,708 occurrencesShock absorber defective explained

3. 3.A tyre cords visible or damaged11.0%

   10,317 occurrencesTyre ply or cord exposed, or the casing separating explained

4. 4.A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning9.7%

   9,178 occurrencesLamp not working explained

5. 5.A tyre seriously damaged9.3%

   8,783 occurrencesTyre damaged or deteriorated explained

6. 6.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn8.2%

   7,692 occurrencesSuspension arm bush worn explained

7. 7.Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement8.0%

   7,514 occurrencesParking brake efficiency too low explained

8. 8.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm7.4%

   6,956 occurrencesBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained

9. 9.A tyre seriously damaged5.0%

   4,738 occurrencesTyre damaged or deteriorated explained

10. 10.Windscreen washers not working or not providing sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen5.0%

    4,696 occurrencesWiper or washer not working properly explained

Warnings without a failure

Most common advisories

Share of all BMW 3 Series tests carrying each advisory. The denominator differs from the failure list above because an advisory can be issued on a car that passed.

1. 1.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements27.2%

   130,211 testsTyre worn close to the legal limit explained

2. 2.Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured9.8%

   47,005 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained

3. 3.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn8.9%

   42,614 testsSuspension arm bush worn explained

4. 4.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm8.7%

   41,630 testsBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained

5. 5.Fluid leaking excessively and likely to harm the environment or to pose a safety risk to other road users7.1%

   33,836 tests

6. 6.A shock absorber damaged to the extent that it does not function or showing signs of severe leakage7.0%

   33,625 testsShock absorber defective explained

7. 7.A tyre seriously damaged6.0%

   28,830 testsTyre damaged or deteriorated explained

8. 8.A flexible brake hose excessively damaged, deteriorated, chafed, twisted or stretched5.9%

   28,288 testsBrake hose deteriorated, damaged or chafing explained

How wear changes the picture

Pass rate by vehicle age

Bands holding too few tests to be meaningful are omitted rather than shown as a rate.

What gets tested

The 3 Series fleet

Average mileage recorded at test

98,594

Across examples of every age, so this is a description of the fleet rather than an annual figure.

Fuel mix of tested cars

Diesel54.9%

Petrol34.3%

Hybrid9.1%

Diesel hybrid1.7%

Compare within the range

Other BMW models

• BMW 1 Series — 77.6% adjusted
• BMW 5 Series — 82.0% adjusted
• BMW 2 Series — 82.9% adjusted
• BMW X1 — 79.5% adjusted
• BMW 4 Series — 83.2% adjusted
• BMW X3 — 79.5% adjusted
• All BMW models →

Similar test volumes

Compare against other makes

• Toyota Yaris — 72.3% adjusted, ranked 144
• Audi A3 — 77.8% adjusted, ranked 77
• Vauxhall Astra — 71.0% adjusted, ranked 160
• Mercedes-Benz A-Class — 73.3% adjusted, ranked 131

Common questions

Is the BMW 3 Series reliable?

On MOT evidence the BMW 3 Series is well above average. It passes 80.0% of tests once age and mileage are accounted for, against a national average of 72.3%, which ranks it 55 of 262 models with enough data for a fair comparison. This measures how often the car meets the MOT standard, not how often it breaks down or what a repair costs.

What is the most common MOT failure on a BMW 3 Series?

The item recorded most often is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", which appears in 16.1% of failed BMW 3 Series tests. Because one failed test can list several items, these shares do not add up to 100%.

What do testers most often warn about on a BMW 3 Series?

The most common advisory is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", noted on 27.2% of all BMW 3 Series tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.

What mileage does a BMW 3 Series usually have at its MOT?

The average odometer reading recorded at test is 98,594 miles. This is the mileage across all tested examples of every age, not an annual figure, so treat it as a description of the fleet rather than a target for one car.

Does a BMW 3 Series get harder to pass as it ages?

Yes. At 3 to 5 years old, 86.9% of BMW 3 Series tests pass. By fifteen years or more, that falls to 67.8%. Nearly every model follows this pattern, which is why comparing raw pass rates between models is misleading unless age is accounted for.

Are most BMW 3 Series models petrol or diesel?

Of the BMW 3 Series cars tested, 55% are diesel, 34% are petrol, 9% are hybrid. Fuel type affects which items tend to fail, particularly emissions and exhaust components.

How this was worked out

Method and limits

Figures come from the DVSA anonymised MOT testing dataset, published under the Open Government Licence. Only class 4 initial tests are counted: retests are excluded so a car appears once, and abandoned tests are excluded entirely. The adjusted rate is directly standardised across twenty-five age and mileage bands and reweighted onto the national distribution, so this model is compared against cars that have lived a similar life rather than against a younger or lighter-used fleet.

An MOT measures whether a car met a legal standard on the day. It is not a breakdown record, a service history or a running-cost estimate, and a pass rate is a property of a fleet rather than a prediction about one car.

Further reading

Make sense of the numbers

• How to judge reliability from evidence rather than reputation
• What counts as high or low mileage for a car’s age
• The most common MOT failures and how to avoid them
• What to check before buying a used BMW