Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

BMW X1 2020: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 90 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2020 BMW X1 were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Tyre condition (rear).

Summary

The 2020 BMW X1 follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 7,266 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
90 in every 100
Did not pass first time
10 in every 100723 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
5 yearsabout 35,058 miles
First tests counted
7,266

What failed most often

  1. Tyre condition (rear)27 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 2020 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.

Noise, emissions and leaks

One fault: diesel engine warning light, 2.3 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 723 failed first attempts in 2025 that had a mileage recorded, which allows a like-for-like comparison.

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.

Diesel engine warning light

Failed on 34 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

An engine malfunction indicator lamp that is illuminated to show a malfunction is graded Major on a diesel, but only on the diesels the test covers, which depends on the vehicle type and when it was first used. DVSA lists it under exhaust emissions for compression ignition engines, and the detail line for the row also names an inoperative lamp.

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

Tyres

One wear pattern: tyre condition (rear), 2.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Tyre condition (rear)

Failed on 196 first tests2.1 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.

MOT pass rates

How first tests ended, and how the pass rates are counted.

Passed first time
90in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
2in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
8in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 90.0% of 7,266 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 91.6%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 2 fixed and the 8 not fixed make the 10 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

By fuel type

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as testedPassed first time, same mileage
Petrol4,69532,656 miles9090
Diesel1,82639,529 miles8990
Hybrid74539,529 miles9291

Figures are in every 100 first tests. Cars with more miles usually fail more often, so the same-mileage figure gives every fuel the mileage mix of all the cars in this year.

Same model, other years

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

406080100201020152020Older carsNewer cars
40608010020102020Older 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, 91 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
201578 in every 1004,432
201683 in every 10011,961
201784 in every 10013,376
201886 in every 10014,013
201989 in every 10013,113
2020 This car90 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 makes a modest difference on a 2020 BMW X1.

Of 2020 BMW X1 vehicles with under 23,000 miles, 93 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 50,000 miles or more, 87 in every 100 did.

Under 23,0001,454 tests
93
23,000–31,0001,468 tests
91
31,000–39,000 Typical car1,436 tests
91
39,000–50,0001,465 tests
88
50,000 and over1,442 tests
87

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 23,00031,000–39,00050,000 and over
Tyre condition (rear)1.93.13.5

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

When a car fails

70in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

7in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

3in 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 2020 BMW X1 follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Tyre condition (rear), about 27 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 90.0% of 7,266 first MOTs on the 2020 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 91.6%. Among 723 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Diesel engine warning light appears more often than on similar cars (4.7% of those tests; 34 observed failures; about 2.3× 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 2020 BMW X1 at the first attempt were Tyre condition (rear) (27.1%), 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: Diesel engine warning light (4.7% of those tests; 34 observed failures; about 2.3× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Diesel engine warning light shows up more often than on similar cars (4.7% of those tests; 34 observed failures; about 2.3× 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 2020 BMW X1 include Diesel engine warning light. These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2020 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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