Pass rate
85.1%
Above average — 12.6 pts ahead of the 72.5% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 67 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £31–£77
2006 BMW 318 MOT pass rate
- 2006
- typical 92,913 mi
Only 67 tests of this exact model and year are in the DVSA data, below the 100 we ask for before a page goes in the index. The figures are still shown, because they are the only ones there are.
Most common fault
Brakes
24.9% 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 2019 89.4% pass
- Avoid 2004 74.0% pass
Across the 17 years on record, a spread of 15.4 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 85.0%
- Typical mileage
- 93k mi
The 2006 BMW 318 MOT pass rate is 85.1% of its MOT tests — 12.6 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 24.9% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how BMW 318 does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Emissions & leaks: 4.0× the national share
Emissions & leaks make up 22.3% of everything recorded on the 2006 BMW 318, against 5.5% nationally — 16.8 points above. Brakes are still the single largest share at 24.9%, but at 20.9% nationally that one is ordinary. A smoky diesel or a leaking joint fails on emissions more often than on wear, so ask for a recent emissions printout.
- 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 72.5% and this one manages 85.1% — 12.6 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- Based on a small sample. 67 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 318? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2006 BMW 318 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.5%, so this figure is 12.6 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 85.0%. The median 2006 BMW 318 in this dataset had covered 92,913 mi.
The single most recorded failure item is "Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view", noted on 8.96% of tests.
- 67 recorded tests behind this page.
- 85.1% overall pass rate, 85.0% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the BMW 318, the average is 87.9% — best year 2019 (89.4%), worst 2004 (74.0%).
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
- 67
- Typical mileage (median)
- 92,913 mi
- Make and model
- BMW 318
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
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 318 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 70% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the 318
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 21 | 85.7% |
| South West | 17 | 88.2% |
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 2006 318
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 2006 318
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 9.0% 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 4.5% of tests
“linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated”
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.
-
Check the wipers and washers 4.5% of tests
“washers not working”
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 2006 318 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £31–£77 — and 42% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £31–£77
- Cheapest common item: srs malfunction indicator lamp warning lamp…
- £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
- 42%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 67 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 318, side by side
17 model years on record, from 2004 to 2021. Across them the pass rate runs from 74.0% to 89.4% — a spread of 15.4 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2004 74.0% malfunction indicator lamp…
- 2006 85.1%windscreen damaged but not…
- 2007 80.4% ball joint dust cover no longer…
- 2008 77.4% pins and bushes pin or bush…
- 2009 74.6% position lamp not working
- 2010 77.9% shock absorbers has a serious…
- 2011 82.4% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2012 81.0% shock absorbers has a serious…
- 2013 82.4% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2014 83.5% headlamp not working on dipped…
- 2015 83.3% brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick
- 2016 86.5% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2017 87.3% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2018 89.1% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2019 89.4% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2020 88.2% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2021 86.8% 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 2006 BMW 318 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 2006 cars with a similar record
- Mercedes-Benz Sl 85.4%
- Porsche Boxster 85.8%
- Porsche Cayman 83.8%
- Mercedes-Benz S-Class 83.6%
- Porsche Cayenne 83.0%
- Toyota Estima 82.9%
Closest pass rates among 2006 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 2006 BMW 318 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 196 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 | 49 | 24.90% | 20.89% | +4.01 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 44 | 22.30% | 5.52% | +16.78 |
| Tyres | 31 | 15.70% | 19.76% | −4.06 |
| Suspension | 22 | 11.20% | 20.98% | −9.78 |
| Visibility | 14 | 7.10% | 4.97% | +2.13 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 12 | 6.10% | 12.21% | −6.11 |
| Non-component advisories | 11 | 5.60% | 4.18% | +1.42 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 7 | 3.60% | 1.76% | +1.84 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 4 | 2.00% | 0.82% | +1.18 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 2 | 1.00% | 5.57% | −4.57 |
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 | 9.0% | £80–200 |
| Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 4.5% | £18–45 |
| Washers not working Visibility | Major | 4.5% | £5–15 |
| Brake discs significantly and obviously worn Brakes | Major | 3.0% | £45–110 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Major | 3.0% | £18–45 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Major | 3.0% | £45–95 |
| Position lamp with a multiple light source up to 1/2 not functioning Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 3.0% | £5–25 |
| Srs malfunction indicator lamp warning lamp indicates a fault Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Major | 3.0% | £3–12 |
| Washers provides insufficient washer liquid Visibility | Major | 3.0% | £5–15 |
| Washers provides insufficient washer liquid Visibility | Rectified | 3.0% | £5–15 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 46.3% | £200–700 |
| Flexible brake hoses excessively deteriorated Brakes | Advisory | 29.9% | £25–70 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 16.4% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 13.4% | £45–110 |
| Sub-frame corroded and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 13.4% | £180–450 |
| Catalyst emissions emits excessive dense blue smoke during acceleration Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 11.9% | £60–250 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 2 | 100.0% | 25,672 mi |
| 30-60k | 8 | 100.0% | 48,102 mi |
| 60-90k | 19 | 78.9% | 76,511 mi |
| 90-120k | 19 | 78.9% | 103,864 mi |
| 120k+ | 19 | 89.5% | 160,399 mi |
Source: 67 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.
2006 318 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2006 BMW 318?
85.1% of the 67 2006 BMW 318 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.5% for cars first used in 2006. First-attempt pass rate: 85.0%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2006 BMW 318?
The three most recorded items are windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (8.96%), linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated (4.48%), washers not working (4.48%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2006 BMW 318 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 100.0% of the time, falling to 89.5% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2006 BMW 318 in this dataset had covered 92,913 mi.