BMW 118 MOT reliability

BMW 118s passed their MOT first time 79% of the time across 152,078 tests in 2025.

First-time pass rate

79%

MOTs analysed

152,078

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

2022 petrol

9,458 MOTs

Passed first time 91%. Typical mileage 22,886 (most between 16,132 and 30,794).

2023: 82% → 2024: 95% → 2025: 91%

Most common failures

Condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords (2.8%)
Condition: has a bulge, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure (0.9%)
Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (0.8%)
Headlamp aim: too high (0.6%)
Condition: has ply or cords exposed (0.6%)

2022 diesel

488 MOTs

Passed first time 90%. Typical mileage 29,915 (most between 21,502 and 39,702).

2023: 0% → 2024: 100% → 2025: 90%

Most common failures

Condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords (4.3%)
Condition: has a bulge, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure (1.0%)
Condition: has ply or cords exposed (1.0%)
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction (0.6%)
Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick (0.4%)

Where 2022 118s fail

Wheels & tyres

5.7%

Lights & electrics

1.1%

Visibility & wipers

0.9%

Brakes

0.8%

Seat belts & other equipment

0.4%

Body, structure & corrosion

0.2%

Exhaust, emissions & leaks

0.1%

Suspension & axles

0.1%

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.