BMW i3 MOT pass rate & common failures
106,399 MOT tests on the BMW i3 (2013–2022) give it a 91.2% pass rate. Small family cars of a similar age fail 11.5% of the time, so this is 2.7pp better than the group it competes with. Its most common failure areas are tyres, lighting & signalling and visibility.
Best and worst i3 years
Ranked across i3 years with at least 1,000 tests. Older cars fail more simply because they are older — compare years close together in age before drawing conclusions.
What the MOT record shows
Build year matters more than the headline suggests: 2022 cars pass 93.2% of the time while 2014 cars manage 87.8%, a 5.4-point spread.
No single area dominates — tyres (5.0%) and lighting & signalling (2.9%) are close, so failures are spread across several systems rather than one weak point.
At component level the recurring items are headlamp aim, tread depth and washers — headlamp aim alone was recorded 3,230 times.
A 150k+ example is materially riskier than a 0-30k one: 20.8% versus 6.6%.
The electric cars hold up better: 7.9% fail against 9.9% for hybrid, a 2.0-point gap across 106,396 tests.
Tyres is the most common advisory, noted on 24.9% of tests — work that passed today but is likely due soon.
How it compares
By model year
Every i3 model year with a usable sample. Years with their own detailed report are linked.
| Year | Tests | Pass rate | Fail rate | Most common failure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 688 | 87.5% | 12.5% | Tyres |
| 2014 | 6,756 | 87.8% | 12.2% | Tyres |
| 2015 | 10,732 | 89.0% | 11.0% | Tyres |
| 2016 | 11,938 | 89.5% | 10.5% | Tyres |
| 2017 | 17,331 | 90.8% | 9.2% | Tyres |
| 2018 | 16,712 | 92.1% | 7.9% | Tyres |
| 2019 | 17,895 | 92.4% | 7.6% | Tyres |
| 2020 | 13,473 | 92.7% | 7.3% | Tyres |
| 2021 | 7,619 | 93.1% | 6.9% | Tyres |
| 2022 | 3,255 | 93.2% | 6.8% | Tyres |
Most common failures (all years)
| # | Category | % of tests affected | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tyres | 5.0% | 5,319 |
| 2 | Lighting & signalling | 2.9% | 3,114 |
| 3 | Visibility | 2.1% | 2,289 |
| 4 | Suspension | 0.8% | 849 |
| 5 | Brakes | 0.8% | 807 |
| 6 | Seat belts & restraints | 0.5% | 486 |
| 7 | Road wheels | 0.4% | 459 |
| 8 | Emissions & environmental | 0.2% | 249 |
Most common specific failures
The exact components most often recorded as failures — more specific than the categories above.
| # | Failure item | Times recorded |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Headlamp aim | 3,230 |
| 2 | Tread depth | 2,600 |
| 3 | Washers | 1,571 |
| 4 | Wipers | 953 |
| 5 | Side repeaters | 609 |
| 6 | Coil spring | 453 |
| 7 | SRS malfunction indicator lamp | 366 |
| 8 | Service brake performance | 349 |
Top advisory categories
Advisories aren't failures, but they flag work likely needed soon — useful when budgeting.
| # | Category | % of tests with advisory | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tyres | 24.9% | 26,459 |
| 2 | Brakes | 8.5% | 9,006 |
| 3 | Other defects | 4.4% | 4,719 |
| 4 | Road wheels | 2.7% | 2,846 |
| 5 | Visibility | 2.5% | 2,718 |
| 6 | Suspension | 1.5% | 1,640 |
Failure rate by mileage
Higher-mileage cars tend to fail more — often the most useful guide to real condition.
| Mileage band | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 48,715 | 6.6% |
| 30-60k | 39,890 | 9.3% |
| 60-90k | 13,398 | 12.8% |
| 90-120k | 3,368 | 15.7% |
| 120-150k | 781 | 17.5% |
| 150k+ | 235 | 20.8% |
Failure rate by age
By fuel type
| Fuel | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| Electric | 60,237 | 7.9% |
| Hybrid | 46,159 | 9.9% |
Trend over time
| Dataset year | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 13,151 | 7.9% |
| 2022 | 17,445 | 8.2% |
| 2023 | 21,841 | 8.2% |
| 2024 | 25,444 | 9.4% |
| 2025 | 28,518 | 9.4% |
What to check before buying a BMW i3
- Tyres (5.0% of tests): Usually a quick, known-cost fix, but check tread, age and uneven wear (which can hint at alignment or suspension issues). Typical repair: £50–£120 per tyre.
- Lighting & signalling (2.9% of tests): Often a cheap bulb, but persistent issues can mean wiring or corrosion in the units. Typical repair: £10–£150.
- Visibility (2.1% of tests): Wipers, washers, mirrors and screen damage — usually inexpensive, but check for chips in the driver's line of sight. Typical repair: £15–£150.
Repair costs are rough UK ballpark ranges to set expectations, not quotes — actual prices vary widely by car, parts and garage.
Frequently asked questions
What is the MOT pass rate for the BMW i3?
91.2% of the 106,399 BMW i3 MOT tests in this dataset passed, an 8.8% fail rate, across model years 2013–2022.
What does the BMW i3 most often fail its MOT on?
Tyres, recorded in 5.0% of tests, then lighting & signalling (2.9%).
Which i3 years are best and worst for MOT results?
2022 has the best pass rate at 93.2% and 2014 the weakest at 87.8%, from 3,255 and 6,756 tests respectively.
How much does mileage affect i3 MOT results?
Fail rates run at 6.6% for cars in the 0-30k band and 20.8% for 150k+, a 14.3-point difference.
Is the electric or hybrid i3 more reliable at MOT time?
On MOT-testable defects the electric fails 7.9% of the time against 9.9% for the hybrid. This covers testable items only, not engine or gearbox reliability.
Methodology & source. Based on 106,399 MOT tests. Dataset: DVSA MOT testing data (2021,2022,2023,2024,2025). Data last updated 2026-07-27. Figures reflect MOT-testable defects only — read the methodology for how these are calculated and what they don't measure.