Pass rate
79.1%
Around average — 1.9 pts ahead of the 77.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 24,203 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £22–£60
2012 BMW 116 MOT pass rate
- 2012
- typical 97,064 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Tyres
20.3% of faults · 19.8% nationally
mostly tread below the limit, cuts and sidewall bulges.
Part only £55–£85 for Tread depth below 1.6 mm. What fitting it takes →
7.0 pts down across model years — 11.5% in 2004, 4.5% in 2022.
Which year to buy
- Best 2021 90.3% pass
- Avoid 2004 75.3% pass
Across the 19 years on record, a spread of 15 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 74.3%
- Typical mileage
- 97k mi
The 2012 BMW 116 MOT pass rate is 79.1% of its MOT tests — 1.9 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Tyres is the biggest single reason it fails, at 20.3% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Advisories: 2.5× the national share
Advisories make up 10.3% of everything recorded on the 2012 BMW 116, against 4.2% nationally — 6.1 points above. Tyres are still the single largest share at 20.3%, but at 19.8% nationally that one is ordinary. Most of what testers record here is advisory — worth reading, not worth walking away from on its own.
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 116? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2012 BMW 116 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 77.2%, so this figure is 1.9 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 74.3%. The median 2012 BMW 116 in this dataset had covered 97,064 mi.
54% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Diesel, which passed 77.9% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 78.9% of the time, April–September 79.4%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Position lamp not working", noted on 3.76% of tests.
- 24,203 recorded tests behind this page.
- 79.1% overall pass rate, 74.3% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the BMW 116, the average is 82.5% — best year 2021 (90.3%), worst 2004 (75.3%).
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
- 24,203
- Typical mileage (median)
- 97,064 mi
- Make and model
- BMW 116
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Headlight Bulb
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the 116 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 68% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Diesel is the most common here (54% of tests).
Where the BMW 116 is most common
Across all 116 model years on record (2004–2022): 170,141 BMW 116 cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 371,127 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 6,954 cars tested there. Cars are counted by the postcode area of the MOT station, so this is where they were tested, not necessarily where their owners live.
| # | Postcode area | Cars | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Birmingham (B) | 6,954 | 86.8% |
| 2 | Manchester (M) | 4,190 | 84.4% |
| 3 | Sheffield (S) | 3,650 | 84.9% |
| 4 | Leicester (LE) | 3,558 | 85.7% |
| 5 | Nottingham (NG) | 3,110 | 81.2% |
| 6 | Peterborough (PE) | 3,071 | 83.6% |
| 7 | Cardiff (CF) | 2,957 | 78.9% |
| 8 | Coventry (CV) | 2,925 | 83.5% |
| 9 | Bristol (BS) | 2,794 | 77.5% |
| 10 | Reading (RG) | 2,522 | 82.2% |
| 11 | Doncaster (DN) | 2,393 | 83.5% |
| 12 | Derby (DE) | 2,372 | 83.4% |
| 13 | Glasgow (G) | 2,297 | 80.8% |
| 14 | Newcastle upon Tyne (NE) | 2,292 | 83.0% |
| 15 | Warrington (WA) | 2,167 | 81.7% |
| 16 | Liverpool (L) | 2,159 | 83.9% |
| 17 | Guildford (GU) | 2,156 | 82.1% |
| 18 | Northampton (NN) | 2,148 | 81.2% |
| 19 | London (SE) | 2,119 | 86.9% |
| 20 | London (E) | 2,111 | 89.2% |
The twenty areas with the most BMW 116 cars in the record, sorted by car count — sort the columns for a different question. Cars tested at a station whose postcode area could not be resolved are counted in the model's total but in no area, so the shares add up to slightly under 100% even across every area, and an area's cars are a subset of the model's. Pass rate is blank below 30 tests in an area, where a percentage is noise rather than a finding. How this model's pass rate varies by postcode →
Regional pass rates for the 116
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 5,514 | 80.0% |
| North West | 2,974 | 79.8% |
| South West | 2,838 | 74.2% |
| East of England | 2,518 | 79.1% |
| West Midlands | 2,418 | 81.3% |
| Yorkshire | 2,040 | 78.4% |
| East Midlands | 1,664 | 80.9% |
| London | 1,544 | 85.0% |
| Wales | 1,106 | 75.3% |
| Scotland | 837 | 74.7% |
| North East | 748 | 79.4% |
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 2012 116
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 2012 116
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 lights 3.8% of tests
“position lamp not working”
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.
-
Check the windscreen 3.2% 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 suspension joints 2.5% of tests
“linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt”
With the car parked on level ground, rock the top of each front wheel in and out while someone watches the suspension arm. Clunks, or rubber boots split and greasy, are what testers record here.
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 2012 116 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £22–£60 — and 54% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £22–£60
- Cheapest common item: registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the…
- £5–£20
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 90%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 54%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 24,203 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 116, side by side
19 model years on record, from 2004 to 2022. Across them the pass rate runs from 75.3% to 90.3% — a spread of 15 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2004 75.3% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2005 76.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2006 76.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2007 77.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2008 78.3% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2009 78.4% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2010 78.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2011 79.7% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2012 79.1%position lamp not working
- 2013 82.1% position lamp not working
- 2014 83.2% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2015 84.1% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2016 85.0% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2017 86.7% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2018 87.0% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2019 87.8% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2020 89.1% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2021 90.3% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2022 88.4% has a cut in excess of the…
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 2012 BMW 116 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 2012 cars with a similar record
- Volkswagen Sharan 79.0%
- Citroen C1 79.2%
- Toyota Aygo 79.3%
- Jaguar Xf 79.3%
- Skoda Roomster 79.3%
- Mitsubishi Colt 79.3%
Closest pass rates among 2012 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 2012 BMW 116 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 42,379 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyres | 8,759 | 20.30% | 19.76% | +0.54 |
| Brakes | 8,109 | 18.80% | 20.89% | −2.09 |
| Suspension | 7,336 | 17.00% | 20.98% | −3.98 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 6,565 | 15.20% | 12.21% | +2.99 |
| Non-component advisories | 4,440 | 10.30% | 4.18% | +6.12 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 3,000 | 7.00% | 5.52% | +1.48 |
| Visibility | 2,090 | 4.80% | 4.97% | −0.17 |
| Steering | 844 | 2.00% | 2.57% | −0.57 |
| Road Wheels | 632 | 1.50% | 0.75% | +0.75 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 604 | 1.40% | 5.57% | −4.17 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.8% | £5–25 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 3.5% | £5–20 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 3.2% | £80–200 |
| Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Suspension | Major | 2.5% | £18–45 |
| Side repeaters not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.5% | £5–25 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Major | 1.8% | £45–95 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 1.8% | £5–25 |
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Major | 1.8% | £30–75 |
| Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 1.8% | £18–45 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 1.7% | £5–25 |
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 | 20.1% | £45–95 |
| Non-component advisories Play in steering rack inner joint(s) Non-component advisories | Advisory | 12.9% | £120–300 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 12.3% | £45–110 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 8.5% | £18–45 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 6.8% | £40–150 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 6.8% | £200–700 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 284 | 90.5% | 22,548 mi |
| 30-60k | 2,533 | 85.6% | 48,820 mi |
| 60-90k | 7,130 | 80.6% | 76,410 mi |
| 90-120k | 8,009 | 77.9% | 103,968 mi |
| 120k+ | 6,234 | 76.0% | 145,808 mi |
Source: 24,203 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.
2012 116 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2012 BMW 116?
79.1% of the 24,203 2012 BMW 116 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 77.2% for cars first used in 2012. First-attempt pass rate: 74.3%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2012 BMW 116?
The three most recorded items are position lamp not working (3.76%), registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (3.46%), windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (3.18%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2012 BMW 116 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 90.5% of the time, falling to 76.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2012 BMW 116 in this dataset had covered 97,064 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2012 BMW 116?
Diesel: 77.9% pass rate across 13,157 tests. Petrol: 80.7% pass rate across 11,046 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2012 BMW 116 MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 78.9% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 79.4%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.