At a glance
How 4,303 first tests went in 2025.
- Passed first time
- 65 in every 100
- Did not pass first time
- 35 in every 1001,501 failed first-attempt tests
- The typical car
- 24 yearsabout 111,798 miles
- First tests counted
- 4,303
What failed most often
- Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)14 in every 100 failed tests
- Suspension arm ball joint (front)11 in every 100 failed tests
- Headlight aim10 in every 100 failed tests
How we count this. Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Only Class 4 cars on their first MOT of the year are counted. A car that fails and is fixed at the test station still counts as a fail in the first-attempt rate. These are raw results, not adjusted for age, mileage, or peer mix. The MOT does not test engine or gearbox internals.
These are patterns across 2001 BMW 3 Series vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. A wear pattern follows age and use more than the way the car was built. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.
Brakes
One fault: electronic stability control, 3.7 times as often as on similar cars.
Figures below are measured across the 1,496 of 1,501 failed first attempts (99.7%) that recorded an odometer reading in 2025. Mileage is needed to compare like with like.
We only list faults with at least 20 failures and a rate of about 2.0 times that of similar cars, which keeps one-off results out of the list.
Electronic stability control
What it means
An ESC warning lamp is failed only when the tester is certain it indicates an ESC malfunction, because the lamp takes various forms and the owner's handbook may need checking. The system is also called ESP, VDC or DSC, among many other names. Every failure row is Major, covering the lamp, wheel speed sensors, wiring, other components and the switch.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
Seat belts and restraints
One fault: airbag warning light, 3.6 times as often as on similar cars.
Airbag warning light
What it means
The airbag warning lamp (SRS MIL in DVSA's wording) is failed only if it indicates a system malfunction, which is Major. A lamp lit to show the passenger airbag is disabled is not to be regarded as a defect. Dashboard messages are not a defect in their own right, though they can help the tester confirm a malfunction.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
Suspension
Three faults. The strongest is the anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (front): 3.5 times as often as on similar cars.
Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (front)
What it means
A suspension joint dust cover that is severely deteriorated is Minor. It becomes Major once it is missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt, so what matters is whether it still keeps dirt out. DVSA words this for any suspension joint dust cover, and files it here under anti-roll bars.
Suspension arm ball joint (front)
What it means
A suspension arm ball joint is failed under the general suspension pin, bush or joint wording. Excessively worn is Major, and likely to become detached is graded Dangerous.
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 96 first tests, 2.1 times as often as on similar cars.
Shock absorbers (rear)
What it means
Slight seepage that leaves a film of fluid on a shock absorber does not fail it. Severe leakage, or damage so that it does not function, is Major. A shock absorber missing or likely to become detached is graded Dangerous, though a missing one is only rejected if shock absorbers were fitted as standard.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.
Lamps and electrical
One fault: individual direction indicators (rear), 2.8 times as often as on similar cars.
Individual direction indicators (rear)
What it means
Direction indicators must be amber, though vehicles first used before a set date may have white at the front and red at the rear when the indicators are combined with stop or position lamps, and sequential or dynamic ones are not a reason to fail. A lamp that is missing, inoperative or has more than half of a multiple light source not functioning is graded Major. A flashing rate outside the permitted range is graded Minor.
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 57 first tests, 3.3 times as often as on similar cars.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.
Tyres
One wear pattern: tyre tread depth (rear), 2.4 times as often as on similar cars.
Tyre tread depth (rear)
What it means
Only primary grooves count when tread depth is assessed: those holding the wear indicators, or cut as deep as those when new. Shallower secondary grooves are ignored. Tread depth below the minimum for the vehicle is Dangerous, and so is a pattern not visible over the whole tread, but that second row applies only to vehicles that need the lower minimum.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
Advisories
Other things testers noted as worn or close to failing, more often than on similar cars.
An advisory is a note from the tester about something that has not failed yet. It is an early warning, not a fail. Advisories for the faults above are shown with those faults.
Wheel condition (front)
Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (front)
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Counts cover advisories recorded on failed first tests only, compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
MOT pass rates
How first tests ended, and how the pass rates are counted.
- Passed first time
- 65in every 100
- Passed on the first test.
- Fixed at the station
- 7in every 100
- Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
- Failed
- 28in every 100
- Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.
First-attempt pass 65.1% of 4,303 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 71.9%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 7 fixed and the 28 not fixed make the 35 in every 100 that did not pass first time.
Same model, other years
Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.
Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 64 in every 100 passed first time.
| Year | Passed first time | First tests |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 81 in every 100 | 361 |
| 1988 | 80 in every 100 | 584 |
| 1989 | 81 in every 100 | 956 |
| 1990 | 79 in every 100 | 1,211 |
| 1991 | 80 in every 100 | 694 |
| 1992 | 75 in every 100 | 443 |
| 1993 | 72 in every 100 | 444 |
| 1994 | 71 in every 100 | 439 |
| 1995 | 67 in every 100 | 698 |
| 1996 | 68 in every 100 | 1,034 |
| 1997 | 70 in every 100 | 1,403 |
| 1998 | 68 in every 100 | 1,807 |
| 1999 | 69 in every 100 | 2,275 |
| 2000 | 66 in every 100 | 2,300 |
| 2001 This car | 65 in every 100 | 4,303 |
| 2002 | 66 in every 100 | 6,585 |
| 2003 | 67 in every 100 | 8,626 |
| 2004 | 66 in every 100 | 7,975 |
| 2005 | 66 in every 100 | 9,502 |
| 2006 | 67 in every 100 | 15,148 |
| 2007 | 68 in every 100 | 20,883 |
| 2008 | 68 in every 100 | 18,398 |
| 2009 | 67 in every 100 | 19,579 |
| 2010 | 68 in every 100 | 22,182 |
| 2011 | 69 in every 100 | 24,338 |
| 2012 | 68 in every 100 | 30,011 |
| 2013 | 73 in every 100 | 32,095 |
| 2014 | 76 in every 100 | 30,147 |
| 2015 | 79 in every 100 | 30,018 |
| 2016 | 83 in every 100 | 29,997 |
| 2017 | 84 in every 100 | 29,056 |
| 2018 | 86 in every 100 | 23,137 |
| 2019 | 87 in every 100 | 24,151 |
| 2020 | 87 in every 100 | 20,095 |
| 2021 | 87 in every 100 | 23,580 |
| 2022 | 85 in every 100 | 12,310 |
If you are buying one
What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.
Mileage matters most on a 2001 BMW 3 Series.
Of 2001 BMW 3 Series vehicles with under 79,000 miles, 74 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 149,000 miles or more, 59 in every 100 did.
What to check at your mileage
How often each fault turned up on a failed first test, by the car's mileage. Read it as: what is likely to need looking at on a car like the one in front of you.
| Under 79,000 | 102,000–122,000 | 149,000 and over | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test) | 1.9 | 4.9 | 7.3 |
| Suspension arm ball joint (front) | 2.3 | 4.4 | 4.7 |
| Headlight aim | 1.6 | 3.7 | 4.9 |
| Airbag warning light | 2.1 | 3.4 | 3.8 |
| Windscreen washers | 1.8 | 3.2 | 2.1 |
Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.
When a car fails
of failed cars had one item to fix.
of failed cars had three or more items to fix.
of all first tests had a defect the tester marked dangerous (unsafe to drive away).
Every figure here is a first-attempt MOT rate from DVSA open data for this model line, for cars of this model year tested in 2025. Each mileage band holds a fifth of the tests. MOTs do not test engine or gearbox internals, so this is a pre-purchase checklist, not a full reliability score.
FAQs
Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.
About this data
How this page is built and what it can (and can't) say.
These figures come from UK MOT open data for this model year. We surface common failure patterns against similar cars, not a full reliability score, and not a pass/fail verdict on any individual vehicle.
What we include
UK Class 4 cars only. Normal MOT tests (not retests); first test per vehicle per calendar year; results pass, PRS, or fail.
Same-day repairs
PRS means the car failed items that were fixed at the test station and then passed the same day. We count PRS as a first-attempt fail in headline rates so same-day repairs do not hide problems.
How we compare
We compare this model year with other Class 4 cars of similar age and mileage in the same test year. This model family is left out of the peer group so the car is not measured against itself.
What this does not cover
- MOTs do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronics; this is not a full reliability score.
- Common faults come from MOT defect stats, not manufacturer TSBs or recalls.
- Age and mileage matching reduces, but does not remove, differences in how cars were used and maintained.
- If the data for a car is too thin to say anything useful, we say so rather than guess.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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