BMW 218D MOT reliability

BMW 218Ds passed their MOT first time 87% of the time across 2,734 tests in 2025.

First-time pass rate

87%

MOTs analysed

2,734

Still licensed (GB)

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Body type

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Pass rate by year of first registration

Older cars fail more often, so compare a car with others of the same age. Years with very few MOTs can show extreme pass rates, even 0% or 100%, so give more weight to years with more tests.

In detail:

First registered

2020 diesel

391 MOTs

Passed first time 87%. Typical mileage 41,772 (most between 30,148 and 58,861).

2021: 100% → 2022: 80% → 2023: 86% → 2024: 87% → 2025: 87%

Most common failures

Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction (3.6%)
Condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords (2.6%)
Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (1.5%)
Headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect (1.0%)
Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick (1.0%)

Where 2020 218Ds fail

Wheels & tyres

6.1%

Exhaust, emissions & leaks

3.6%

Lights & electrics

2.3%

Visibility & wipers

1.5%

Brakes

1.3%

Suspension & axles

1.0%

Seat belts & other equipment

0.3%

Looking at a particular car?

See its own MOT history, mileage and red flags, compared with these figures. Free.

Based on 2025 initial MOT tests in DVSA's anonymised MOT dataset (cars and light vans). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Model details: Vehicle data by VehiclesDB.