BMW 218 MOT reliability

BMW 218s passed their MOT first time 81% of the time across 46,504 tests in 2025.

First-time pass rate

81%

MOTs analysed

46,504

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 petrol

1,834 MOTs

Passed first time 87%. Typical mileage 32,388 (most between 23,008 and 42,804).

2021: 100% → 2022: 94% → 2023: 88% → 2024: 88% → 2025: 87%

Most common failures

Condition: has a bulge, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure (2.6%)
Condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords (1.3%)
Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick (1.2%)
Headlamp aim: too high (1.1%)
Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (0.9%)

2020 diesel

252 MOTs

Passed first time 90%. Typical mileage 35,982 (most between 25,375 and 47,830).

2021: 100% → 2022: 92% → 2023: 90% → 2024: 88% → 2025: 90%

Most common failures

Condition: has a bulge, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure (2.4%)
Attachment: fixing missing (0.8%)
Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick (0.8%)
Condition: has a lump, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure (0.8%)
Headlamp aim: too high (0.8%)

Where 2020 218s fail

Wheels & tyres

7.4%

Lights & electrics

2.5%

Brakes

1.8%

Visibility & wipers

1.5%

Suspension & axles

0.4%

Exhaust, emissions & leaks

0.3%

Seat belts & other equipment

0.2%

Body, structure & corrosion

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.