Pass rate
92.6%
Above average — 3.1 pts ahead of the 89.5% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 135 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £27–£70
2019 BMW 316 MOT pass rate
- 2019
- typical 59,149 mi
Most common fault
Tyres
34.0% of faults · 19.8% nationally
mostly tread below the limit, cuts and sidewall bulges.
Which year to buy
- Best 2019 92.6% pass · this year
- Avoid 2004 73.1% pass
Across the 17 years on record, a spread of 19.5 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 92.1%
- Typical mileage
- 59k mi
The 2019 BMW 316 MOT pass rate is 92.6% of its MOT tests — 3.1 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Tyres is the biggest single reason it fails, at 34.0% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how BMW 316 does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Tyres: 1.7× the national share
Tyres make up 34.0% of everything recorded on the 2019 BMW 316, against 19.8% nationally — 14.2 points above. Check all four tyres yourself, including the inner shoulders, and look at the date stamp — a tyre can pass on tread and still be six years old.
- 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 89.5% and this one manages 92.6% — 3.1 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- Based on a small sample. 135 tests back this page. That is enough to publish and to index, not enough to treat the decimal places as precise — read the pattern, not the second digit.
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 316? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2019 BMW 316 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 89.5%, so this figure is 3.1 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 92.1%. The median 2019 BMW 316 in this dataset had covered 59,149 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 96.5% of the time, April–September 89.7%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick", noted on 1.48% of tests.
- 135 recorded tests behind this page.
- 92.6% overall pass rate, 92.1% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the BMW 316, the average is 81.5% — best year 2019 (92.6%), worst 2004 (73.1%).
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
- 135
- Typical mileage (median)
- 59,149 mi
- Make and model
- BMW 316
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Brake Pads Set
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the 316 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 72% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the 316
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| West Midlands | 30 | 90.0% |
| South East | 24 | 95.8% |
| North West | 17 | 88.2% |
| East of England | 16 | 93.8% |
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 2019 316
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 2019 316
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 brakes 1.5% of tests
“brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick”
Look through the spokes of each wheel at the pad — less than 3mm of friction material, or a lip on the disc edge, is the usual failure. Check the handbrake holds on a slope with a few clicks, not at the top of its travel.
-
Check the lights 1.5% of tests
“headlamp aim too low”
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 wipers and washers 1.5% of tests
“washers provides insufficient washer liquid”
Run the wipers with the screen wet: they should clear it in one sweep without smearing or juddering. Top the washer bottle up and check both jets hit the screen.
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 2019 316 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £27–£70 — and 37% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £27–£70
- 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
- 60%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 37%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 135 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 316, side by side
17 model years on record, from 2000 to 2019. Across them the pass rate runs from 73.1% to 92.6% — a spread of 19.5 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 77.6% component mounting prescribed…
- 2001 75.3% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2002 77.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2003 75.6% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2004 73.1% catalyst emissions carbon…
- 2005 75.4% catalyst emissions carbon…
- 2009 75.1% position lamp not working
- 2010 78.2% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2011 80.2% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2012 79.7% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2013 83.5% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2014 84.1% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2015 84.6% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2016 84.7% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2017 88.5% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2018 89.9% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2019 92.6%brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick
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 2019 BMW 316 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 2019 cars with a similar record
- Ford Ka 92.6%
- Toyota Aygo 92.5%
- Subaru Xv 92.5%
- Toyota YARIS 92.7%
- SEAT Mii 92.4%
- Mitsubishi Mirage 92.4%
Closest pass rates among 2019 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 2019 BMW 316 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 94 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 | 32 | 34.00% | 19.76% | +14.24 |
| Brakes | 26 | 27.70% | 20.89% | +6.81 |
| Suspension | 7 | 7.40% | 20.98% | −13.58 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 7 | 7.40% | 5.52% | +1.88 |
| Visibility | 7 | 7.40% | 4.97% | +2.43 |
| Non-component advisories | 6 | 6.40% | 4.18% | +2.22 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 4 | 4.30% | 1.76% | +2.54 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 3 | 3.20% | 12.21% | −9.01 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 1 | 1.10% | 0.82% | +0.28 |
| Road Wheels | 1 | 1.10% | 0.75% | +0.35 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Major | 1.5% | £18–45 |
| Headlamp aim too low Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 1.5% | £30–80 |
| Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.5% | £3–12 |
| Washers provides insufficient washer liquid Visibility | Rectified | 1.5% | £5–15 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 1.5% | £80–200 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 1.5% | £8–22 |
| Has ply or cords exposed Tyres | Major | 0.74% | £45–95 |
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 0.74% | £30–80 |
| Not functioning as intended Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Major | 0.74% | £40–120 |
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Major | 0.74% | £30–75 |
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 | 14.1% | £45–95 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 10.4% | £18–45 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 5.9% | £45–110 |
| Non-component advisories Nail in tyre Non-component advisories | Advisory | 3.0% | £45–95 |
| Registration plates inscription illegible Identification of the vehicle | Advisory | 3.0% | £20–80 |
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Advisory | 3.0% | £30–75 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 19 | 94.7% | 24,147 mi |
| 30-60k | 50 | 92.0% | 46,993 mi |
| 60-90k | 39 | 94.9% | 73,348 mi |
| 90-120k | 17 | 94.1% | 103,087 mi |
| 120k+ | 10 | 80.0% | 140,502 mi |
Source: 135 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.
2019 316 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2019 BMW 316?
92.6% of the 135 2019 BMW 316 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 89.5% for cars first used in 2019. First-attempt pass rate: 92.1%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2019 BMW 316?
The three most recorded items are brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick (1.48%), headlamp aim too low (1.48%), malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction (1.48%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2019 BMW 316 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 94.7% of the time, falling to 80.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2019 BMW 316 in this dataset had covered 59,149 mi.
Does the season affect the 2019 BMW 316 MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 96.5% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 89.7%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.