Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

BMW X1 2015: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 78 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2015 BMW X1 were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Suspension arm pins and bushes (front).

Summary

The 2015 BMW X1 follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 4,432 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
78 in every 100
Did not pass first time
22 in every 100971 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
10 yearsabout 77,168 miles
First tests counted
4,432

What failed most often

  1. Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)16 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Tyre condition (rear)12 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Coil spring (rear)10 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.

Note:

These are patterns across 2015 BMW X1 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.

Suspension

One fault: suspension arm pins and bushes (front), 3.6 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 970 of 971 failed first attempts (99.9%) 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.

Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)

Failed on 153 first tests3.6 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Pins and bushes on suspension arms fail as Major when they are excessively worn. They are graded Dangerous when likely to become detached. DVSA uses the same wording for a suspension joint.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Lamps and electrical

One fault: side repeater indicators, 2.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Side repeater indicators

Failed on 28 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Sequential or dynamic direction indicators are not a reason to fail. Where a side repeater is required, it is allowed to be part of the front direction indicator if it has a marked wraparound lens, or an amber light coming through the front lens when viewed from a set distance to the side of the rear bumper. A lens defect with no effect on the emitted light is Minor, and one that adversely affects the light is Major.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Tyres

One wear pattern: tyre condition (rear), 2.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Tyre condition (rear)

Failed on 120 first tests2.0 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

Exposed or damaged ply or cords are graded Dangerous. A cut in excess of the requirements and deep enough to reach the ply or cords is Major, and testers may open the cut with a blunt instrument to check its depth. A tyre contacting the vehicle through flexing or suspension movement is not a defect; fouling fails only at the time of test.

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.

Rigid brake pipes (rear)

Noted on 40 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

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
78in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
3in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
19in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 78.1% of 4,432 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 81.4%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 3 fixed and the 19 not fixed make the 22 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.

406080100201020152020Older carsNewer cars
406080100201020152020Older carsNewer cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 80 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200965 in every 100383
201067 in every 1004,223
201169 in every 1005,457
201269 in every 1004,929
201372 in every 1006,717
201473 in every 1007,367
2015 This car78 in every 1004,432
201683 in every 10011,961
201784 in every 10013,376
201886 in every 10014,013
201989 in every 10013,113
202090 in every 1007,266
202191 in every 1007,161
202291 in every 1006,624

If you are buying one

What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.

Mileage matters most on a 2015 BMW X1.

Of 2015 BMW X1 vehicles with under 55,000 miles, 86 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 101,000 miles or more, 69 in every 100 did.

Under 55,000863 tests
86
55,000–70,000885 tests
81
70,000–84,000 Typical car910 tests
79
84,000–101,000884 tests
76
101,000 and over888 tests
69

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 55,00070,000–84,000101,000 and over
Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)2.43.64.6
Tyre condition (rear)2.22.14.1
Coil spring (rear)1.91.62.4
Windscreen washers1.31.22.0
Headlight aim0.70.92.3

Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.

When a car fails

49in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

21in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

6in every 100

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.

The 2015 BMW X1 follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Suspension arm pins and bushes (front), about 16 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 78.1% of 4,432 first MOTs on the 2015 BMW X1 passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 81.4%. Among 971 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Suspension arm pins and bushes (front) appears more often than on similar cars (15.8% of those tests; 153 observed failures; about 3.6× more often than similar cars). There is no single reliability score here; this is a pre-purchase checklist built from DVSA open data, not a guarantee for any individual car.
Ranked by how often they were actually recorded, the items that most often failed a 2015 BMW X1 at the first attempt were Suspension arm pins and bushes (front) (15.8%), Tyre condition (rear) (12.4%) and Coil spring (rear) (9.9%), each as a share of the year's failed first attempts. That is what goes wrong most often on the car. The common faults table shows a different measure: faults that are unusual compared with similar cars.
Among failed first-attempt tests we highlight patterns that appear more often than on similar cars. Top example: Suspension arm pins and bushes (front) (15.8% of those tests; 153 observed failures; about 3.6× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Suspension arm pins and bushes (front) shows up more often than on similar cars (15.8% of those tests; 153 observed failures; about 3.6× more often than similar cars). That does not prove a design fault. Age, mileage, and how the car was used still matter. Treat it as a pre-purchase checkpoint, not a manufacturer service bulletin.
Common MOT problem areas for the 2015 BMW X1 include Suspension arm pins and bushes (front), Side repeater indicators. These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
Advisories flag issues noted at the test and are not a fail rate. We show advisory patterns that appear more often than on similar cars among failed first-attempt tests, separate from common failure rows. Use them as early-warning checks, not as a pass/fail score.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2015 BMW X1 (registration year) using UK DVSA open data for the selected test year. Patterns are compared with cars of a similar age and mileage. It is a buyer checklist from MOT defect statistics, not a full service history or manufacturer service-bulletin list.
No. MOT tests do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronic modules. Patterns here come from MOT defect statistics only and should not be read as engine or gearbox reliability scores.

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.

2024 2025

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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