Transmission oil leaks leaking excessively from transmission on the BMW 3 Series
Transmission oil leaks leaking excessively from transmission on the BMW 3 Series is recorded on 18,596 tests — 1.4% of all its MOT tests, against 0.7% across every car in the data. That is 2.0× the national share.
Is this unusual for this model?
| Compared with | What it says |
|---|---|
| Every car in the data | 0.7% of tests record it — this model is 2.0× that share |
| The 289 models compared | 43 of 289, highest first |
| The model's own record | 1,302,681 tests · every year of the 3 Series → |
A share of tests is not a probability for your car: it counts every BMW 3 Series tested, whatever its mileage, service history and use. The like-for-like comparison on the model page is the fairer number.
Year by year
In 2000, 1.2% of this model's tests recorded it; in 2020, 0.3%. The share has fallen 0.9 points over that time. Worst year 2001 at 1.2%; best 2020 at 0.3%.
| Year | Failures recorded | Tests | Share of tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 228 | 18,674 | 1.2% |
| 2001 | 437 | 35,606 | 1.2% |
| 2002 | 582 | 55,136 | 1.1% |
| 2003 | 834 | 71,364 | 1.2% |
| 2004 | 588 | 67,548 | 0.9% |
| 2005 | 707 | 88,674 | 0.8% |
| 2006 | 1,086 | 207,462 | 0.5% |
| 2007 | 1,598 | 279,477 | 0.6% |
| 2008 | 1,079 | 162,338 | 0.7% |
| 2009 | 947 | 166,900 | 0.6% |
| 2010 | 1,413 | 185,804 | 0.8% |
| 2011 | 1,005 | 199,702 | 0.5% |
| 2012 | 1,155 | 235,226 | 0.5% |
| 2013 | 1,105 | 232,082 | 0.5% |
| 2014 | 975 | 313,905 | 0.3% |
| 2015 | 2,060 | 206,326 | 1.0% |
| 2016 | 2,069 | 246,489 | 0.8% |
| 2017 | 143 | 12,195 | 1.2% |
| 2018 | 314 | 56,790 | 0.6% |
| 2019 | 236 | 77,204 | 0.3% |
| 2020 | 32 | 10,751 | 0.3% |
Years with fewer than 0.2% of tests recording the item are left out: a year with two failures in 400 tests is noise, and this table is not here to make noise look like a trend.
What it costs
A typical UK repair for this item is £200–£700 fitted. It is a job for a garage, not a driveway. What the part is, and what to buy →
Prices are typical UK supply-and-fitting estimates, not quotes. What happens if it fails covers the retest rules.
Where this sits
- Transmission oil leaks leaking excessively from transmission: every model, every year → — the item's own page, with the part guide.
- BMW 3 Series MOT pass rate by year → — the model's whole record, and what else it fails on.
- Every BMW model →