Pass rate
79.4%
Around average — 3.5 pts ahead of the 75.9% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 99,851 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £38–£94
2011 BMW 3 Series MOT pass rate
- 2011
- typical 117,774 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Suspension
22.7% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Part only £40–£65 for Shock absorber leaking. What fitting it takes →
1.5 pts down across model years — 2.2% in 2000, 0.7% in 2019.
Which year to buy
- Best 2021 91.0% pass
- Avoid 2004 76.5% pass
Across the 23 years on record, a spread of 14.5 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 74.8%
- Typical mileage
- 118k mi
The 2011 BMW 3 Series MOT pass rate is 79.4% of its MOT tests — 3.5 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 22.7% of what testers record.
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 79.4% — 3.5 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 29% 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 3 Series? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2011 BMW 3 Series compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 75.9%, so this figure is 3.5 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 74.8%. The median 2011 BMW 3 Series in this dataset had covered 117,774 mi.
76% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Diesel, which passed 79.1% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 79.6% of the time, April–September 79.2%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view", noted on 4.89% of tests.
- 99,851 recorded tests behind this page.
- 79.4% overall pass rate, 74.8% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the BMW 3 Series, the average is 81.2% — best year 2021 (91.0%), worst 2004 (76.5%).
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
- 99,851
- Typical mileage (median)
- 117,774 mi
- Make and model
- BMW 3 Series
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Windscreen
Typically a garage job — get quotes before committing.
Does mileage affect the 3 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 (76% of tests).
Where the BMW 3 Series is most common
Across all 3 Series model years on record (2000–2022): 580,729 BMW 3 Series cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 1,302,527 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 22,561 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) | 22,561 | 86.6% |
| 2 | Peterborough (PE) | 12,019 | 81.2% |
| 3 | Sheffield (S) | 11,991 | 84.0% |
| 4 | Leicester (LE) | 10,837 | 83.8% |
| 5 | Manchester (M) | 10,570 | 83.6% |
| 6 | Nottingham (NG) | 10,225 | 79.4% |
| 7 | Reading (RG) | 9,922 | 80.8% |
| 8 | Coventry (CV) | 9,777 | 83.2% |
| 9 | Bristol (BS) | 9,052 | 75.9% |
| 10 | Guildford (GU) | 8,804 | 79.5% |
| 11 | Newcastle upon Tyne (NE) | 8,212 | 82.9% |
| 12 | Doncaster (DN) | 7,927 | 81.7% |
| 13 | Derby (DE) | 7,840 | 82.3% |
| 14 | Portsmouth (PO) | 7,733 | 76.7% |
| 15 | Northampton (NN) | 7,463 | 79.7% |
| 16 | London (E) | 7,429 | 89.0% |
| 17 | Cardiff (CF) | 7,316 | 77.8% |
| 18 | Southampton (SO) | 7,199 | 78.4% |
| 19 | Glasgow (G) | 6,925 | 81.7% |
| 20 | Milton Keynes (MK) | 6,882 | 82.1% |
The twenty areas with the most BMW 3 Series 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 3 Series
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 21,079 | 79.8% |
| South West | 12,322 | 74.8% |
| East of England | 11,208 | 80.1% |
| North West | 10,910 | 80.3% |
| West Midlands | 10,179 | 82.8% |
| Yorkshire | 9,311 | 79.8% |
| East Midlands | 7,271 | 79.6% |
| Wales | 5,102 | 76.3% |
| Scotland | 4,897 | 75.3% |
| London | 3,865 | 86.8% |
| North East | 3,704 | 79.5% |
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 3 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 3 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 windscreen 4.9% 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 shock absorbers 4.8% 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 lights 3.2% 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.
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 3 Series through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £38–£94 — and 29% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £38–£94
- 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
- 90%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 29%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 99,851 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 3 Series, side by side
23 model years on record, from 2000 to 2022. Across them the pass rate runs from 76.5% to 91.0% — a spread of 14.5 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 76.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2001 76.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2002 77.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2003 76.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2004 76.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2005 77.1% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2006 78.2% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2007 78.5% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2008 78.1% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2009 77.7% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2010 78.4% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2011 79.4%windscreen damaged but not…
- 2012 79.4% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2013 82.5% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2014 84.6% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2015 87.0% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2016 88.2% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2017 88.5% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2018 89.0% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2019 89.2% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2020 89.3% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2021 91.0% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2022 87.7% has a bulge, caused by separation…
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 3 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
- Smart Mcc Fortwo 79.4%
- Volvo XC60 79.5%
- Land Rover Defender 79.6%
- Nissan Pixo 79.6%
- Audi A4 79.7%
- Suzuki Jimny 79.7%
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 3 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 170,951 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suspension | 39,194 | 22.70% | 20.98% | +1.72 |
| Tyres | 36,824 | 21.30% | 19.76% | +1.54 |
| Brakes | 35,446 | 20.50% | 20.89% | −0.39 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 17,319 | 10.00% | 12.21% | −2.21 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 12,115 | 7.00% | 5.52% | +1.48 |
| Visibility | 9,991 | 5.80% | 4.97% | +0.83 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 7,639 | 4.40% | 5.57% | −1.17 |
| Non-component advisories | 5,449 | 3.10% | 4.18% | −1.08 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 4,999 | 2.90% | 1.76% | +1.14 |
| Road Wheels | 1,975 | 1.10% | 0.75% | +0.35 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 4.9% | £80–200 |
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Major | 4.8% | £30–75 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.2% | £5–25 |
| Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 1.8% | £45–110 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Major | 1.6% | £45–95 |
| Has ply or cords exposed Tyres | Major | 1.4% | £45–95 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Major | 1.1% | £45–95 |
| Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.0% | £3–12 |
| Washers provides insufficient washer liquid Visibility | Major | 1.0% | £5–15 |
| Stop lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 0.97% | £3–12 |
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 | 20.8% | £45–95 |
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Advisory | 12.2% | £30–75 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 8.5% | £18–45 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 8.3% | £45–110 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 7.6% | £200–700 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 6.3% | £40–150 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 668 | 88.9% | 22,796 mi |
| 30-60k | 5,494 | 85.7% | 49,142 mi |
| 60-90k | 17,895 | 81.7% | 77,115 mi |
| 90-120k | 28,108 | 79.2% | 105,319 mi |
| 120k+ | 47,641 | 77.9% | 153,442 mi |
Source: 99,851 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 3 Series MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2011 BMW 3 Series?
79.4% of the 99,851 2011 BMW 3 Series tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 75.9% for cars first used in 2011. First-attempt pass rate: 74.8%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2011 BMW 3 Series?
The three most recorded items are windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (4.89%), shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak (4.81%), position lamp not working (3.20%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2011 BMW 3 Series MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 88.9% of the time, falling to 77.9% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2011 BMW 3 Series in this dataset had covered 117,774 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2011 BMW 3 Series?
Diesel: 79.1% pass rate across 76,073 tests. Petrol: 80.6% pass rate across 23,778 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2011 BMW 3 Series MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 79.6% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 79.2%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.