Pass rate
80.8%
Around average — 4.9 pts ahead of the 75.9% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 8,769 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £32–£82
2011 BMW 1 Series MOT pass rate
- 2011
- 4 trims combined
- typical 97,309 mi
Most common fault
Brakes
21.2% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Part only £25–£40 for Brake pads under 1.5 mm. What fitting it takes →
Which year to buy
- Best 2020 91.2% pass
- Avoid 2004 74.3% pass
Across the 17 years on record, a spread of 16.9 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 76.8%
- Typical mileage
- 97k mi
The 2011 BMW 1 Series MOT pass rate is 80.8% of its MOT tests — 4.9 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 21.2% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how BMW 1 Series does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Beats its own age and mileage
Once you allow for how old and how far these cars have been driven, the expected pass rate is 75.9% and this one manages 80.8% — 4.9 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 34% of this model’s typical repairs come in under £30 in parts — the failures here tend to be the kind that need a garage rather than a bulb.
Written from this page's own figures: fault shares against the national composition, the like-for-like pass rate, and the priced repair list. How these are worked out
Watching a BMW 1 Series? Get an email when these numbers change .
Every BMW 1 Series first registered in 2011 is combined here — 4 trim and body variants in total — so the sample is as large as the DVSA data allows.
How does the 2011 BMW 1 Series compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 75.9%, so this figure is 4.9 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 76.8%. The median 2011 BMW 1 Series in this dataset had covered 97,309 mi.
64% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Diesel, which passed 79.0% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 80.7% of the time, April–September 80.9%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak", noted on 4.34% of tests.
- 8,769 recorded tests behind this page.
- 80.8% overall pass rate, 76.8% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the BMW 1 Series, the average is 84.7% — best year 2020 (91.2%), worst 2004 (74.3%).
Figures count every completed test on this vehicle-year in the dataset, including retests. See methodology for the exact definition.
This page's data
- Tests analysed
- 8,769
- Typical mileage (median)
- 97,309 mi
- Make and model
- BMW 1 Series
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Shock Absorber
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the 1 Series MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 69% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Diesel is the most common here (64% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the 1 Series
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 2,168 | 81.8% |
| South West | 1,308 | 77.9% |
| East of England | 1,200 | 82.6% |
| North West | 768 | 79.3% |
| West Midlands | 718 | 82.3% |
| Yorkshire | 658 | 80.5% |
| East Midlands | 656 | 80.5% |
| Wales | 435 | 77.2% |
| London | 413 | 86.2% |
| Scotland | 278 | 77.7% |
| North East | 167 | 81.4% |
Regions come from the postcode area recorded at the test station. Areas on region borders are assigned to the region with the majority of their population.
What fails a 2011 1 Series
Everything a tester recorded on this vehicle, grouped into the inspection sections that produced it. The notch on each bar is the national share, so you can see at a glance whether this car is unusual or just ordinary.
A test can record several items, so these percentages do not add up to 100%. The exact strings, with prices, are in the full DVSA record at the bottom of this page.
Before your test
Three checks worth doing on a 2011 1 Series
These are not generic tips — they are the faults recorded most often on this exact model, rewritten as things you can check yourself. All three take about ten minutes and cost nothing.
-
Check the shock absorbers 4.3% of tests
“shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak”
Press down hard on each corner of the car and let go. It should settle in one bounce; if it keeps rocking, or you can see oil weeping down a shock absorber, that is the fault a tester will find.
-
Check the windscreen 3.8% of tests
“windscreen damaged”
Check the driver’s side of the screen within the swept area for chips and cracks; anything larger than 10mm in the driver’s central view is a fail. Most chips can be resin-repaired for far less than a new screen.
-
Check the lights 2.5% of tests
“registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources”
Switch everything on and walk round the car: both headlamps on dip and main, every indicator, both brake lights, reverse, fog and the two number-plate lamps. A bulb is a few pounds and a five-minute job.
Shares are the proportion of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item, so they overlap: one test can record several.
What it costs to get a 2011 1 Series through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £32–£82 — and 34% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £32–£82
- Cheapest common item: malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or…
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 80%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 34%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 8,769 MOT tests on this vehicle. They exclude diagnostics, retest fees and garage labour where the part is a DIY fit, and they are not figures from the DVSA dataset. Older and higher-mileage examples cost more than the average. How these estimates are built → · All MOT repair costs → · Cheapest cars to put through a test →
Every year of the 1 Series, side by side
17 model years on record, from 2004 to 2020. Across them the pass rate runs from 74.3% to 91.2% — a spread of 16.9 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2004 74.3% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2005 76.1% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2006 77.3% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2007 76.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2008 77.9% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2009 77.3% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2010 78.7% shock absorbers has a serious…
- 2011 80.8%shock absorbers has a serious…
- 2012 79.4% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2013 81.2% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2014 87.2% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2015 89.6% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2016 90.3% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2017 89.9% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2018 90.2% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2019 89.8% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2020 91.2% windscreen damaged but not…
Colour is the pass rate on a fixed scale, so a block means the same thing on any model. Each year links to its own page with the full fault breakdown.
Compare the 2011 BMW 1 Series with another year
The raw pass rate mostly measures age. The year comparison adds the like-for-like figure, the mileage bands and the repair bill.
Other 2011 cars with a similar record
- Land Rover Freelander 80.8%
- Audi Q5 80.8%
- Mercedes-Benz Cls 80.8%
- Honda Accord 80.7%
- Toyota Rav-4 80.9%
- Toyota Verso 80.5%
Closest pass rates among 2011 cars with at least 2,000 tests, so a small sample cannot flatter itself into the list. See the full rankings: best and worst MOT pass rates.
The full DVSA record for the 2011 BMW 1 Series 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 10 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 14,374 individual items recorded on this vehicle, and the same share across all cars nationally. A single test can record several items, so a row is not a percentage of tests.
| Category | Items | This car | Nationally | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brakes | 3,101 | 21.20% | 20.89% | +0.31 |
| Tyres | 3,012 | 20.60% | 19.76% | +0.84 |
| Suspension | 2,847 | 19.50% | 20.98% | −1.48 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 1,887 | 12.90% | 12.21% | +0.69 |
| Visibility | 949 | 6.50% | 4.97% | +1.53 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 808 | 5.50% | 5.52% | −0.02 |
| Non-component advisories | 696 | 4.80% | 4.18% | +0.62 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 657 | 4.50% | 5.57% | −1.07 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 277 | 1.90% | 1.76% | +0.14 |
| Road Wheels | 140 | 1.00% | 0.75% | +0.25 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Major | 4.3% | £30–75 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 3.8% | £80–200 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 2.5% | £5–20 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Major | 1.6% | £45–95 |
| Washers provides insufficient washer liquid Visibility | Major | 1.5% | £5–15 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.4% | £5–25 |
| Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.2% | £3–12 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Major | 1.1% | £18–45 |
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.0% | £30–80 |
| Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 1.0% | £45–110 |
Severity is as recorded: Major and Dangerous fail the test outright; Minor and Advisory do not. Costs are estimates from typical UK parts prices — see how they are built.
What testers noted without failing the car
Advisories are the early warnings — the same parts a year or two before they fail. Reading them is how you tell a car that has been maintained from one that has been patched.
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 19.9% | £45–95 |
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Advisory | 10.0% | £30–75 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 9.9% | £45–110 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 9.6% | £18–45 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 5.1% | £40–150 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 4.9% | £45–95 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 281 | 96.1% | 18,991 mi |
| 30-60k | 1,003 | 87.4% | 47,267 mi |
| 60-90k | 2,391 | 82.0% | 76,195 mi |
| 90-120k | 2,665 | 78.8% | 104,221 mi |
| 120k+ | 2,426 | 77.3% | 145,353 mi |
Source: 8,769 recorded tests on this vehicle-year. Every row above is recomputed from the same DVSA extract as the rest of the page — see the methodology.
2011 1 Series MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2011 BMW 1 Series?
80.8% of the 8,769 2011 BMW 1 Series tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 75.9% for cars first used in 2011. First-attempt pass rate: 76.8%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2011 BMW 1 Series?
The three most recorded items are shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak (4.34%), windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (3.80%), registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (2.55%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2011 BMW 1 Series MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 96.1% of the time, falling to 77.3% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2011 BMW 1 Series in this dataset had covered 97,309 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2011 BMW 1 Series?
Diesel: 79.0% pass rate across 5,654 tests. Petrol: 84.0% pass rate across 3,115 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2011 BMW 1 Series MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 80.7% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 80.9%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.