BMW 3 Series MOT failures and reliability

In 2023 the BMW 3 Series took 497,043 MOT tests in Britain and passed 74% of them first time, close to the national average of 71% for all cars. The figures below come from the DVSA's record of every test, so they show what testers actually found on these cars rather than what owners report.

MOT tests in 2023: 497,043
First-time pass rate: 74%
All cars: 71%

What the 3 Series fails on

Share of tests with at least one failure in each area, against the figure for all cars.

Lights and electrics9.3% (all cars 11.3%)
Tyres7.5% (all cars 6.4%)
Suspension6.7% (all cars 9.0%)
Brakes6.6% (all cars 6.8%)
Visibility3.7% (all cars 4.8%)
Exhaust and emissions2.8% (all cars 3.1%)
Body and structure1.3% (all cars 3.5%)
Seat belts and airbags1.2% (all cars 1.0%)

Most common failure items

Share of tests on which each item was recorded.

Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm 2.8%
Shock absorbers: has a serious fluid leak 2.5%
Position lamp: not working 2.5%
Tyres, condition: has ply or cords exposed 1.9%
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid 1.7%
Rbt (sp): efficiency below requirements 1.7%
Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick 1.5%
Headlamp aim: too low 1.4%

Most common advisories

Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge 20.5%
Brake pads: wearing thin 7.8%
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened 6.8%
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive 6.5%
Shock absorbers: has light misting of oil 5.7%
Suspension arms, pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement 5.3%
Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material 4.6%
Flexible brake hoses: slightly deteriorated 4.4%

Pass rate by year of registration

Older cars fail more often whatever the model, so compare a car with others of the same age.

First registered	Tests	Pass rate
1987	376	77%
1988	614	75%
1989	1,010	78%
1990	1,329	77%
1991	788	77%
1992	526	76%
1993	536	70%
1994	536	66%
1995	864	69%
1996	1,284	65%
1997	1,816	67%
1998	2,410	68%
1999	3,163	64%
2000	3,456	64%
2001	6,140	63%
2002	9,321	64%
2003	12,199	64%
2004	11,712	64%
2005	14,728	65%
2006	22,590	66%
2007	30,094	67%
2008	25,676	67%
2009	25,335	67%
2010	28,345	68%
2011	30,351	70%
2012	34,444	71%
2013	35,426	76%
2014	32,782	78%
2015	32,133	82%
2016	31,983	85%
2017	30,732	86%
2018	24,927	88%
2019	24,998	87%
2020	13,718	85%

Typical mileage by age

Average odometer reading at the MOT, by the car's age in years at the test.

Age at test	Average mileage
3 years	32,270 miles
4 years	39,185 miles
5 years	50,264 miles
6 years	62,280 miles
7 years	71,392 miles
8 years	80,672 miles
9 years	91,846 miles
10 years	97,413 miles
11 years	105,304 miles
12 years	115,203 miles
13 years	118,082 miles
14 years	116,284 miles
15 years	121,057 miles
16 years	126,447 miles
17 years	132,528 miles
18 years	131,539 miles
19 years	120,063 miles
20 years	119,262 miles

Check a particular 3 Series

Model figures tell you what to look out for. To see one car's own MOT history, mileage and tax, enter its registration.

Other BMW models

Source: Department for Transport, Anonymised MOT tests and results, 2023, cars and light vans, normal tests only. Pass rates are first-time passes; a pass after repair at the test station counts as a fail. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.