Pass rate
86.3%
Above average — 2.3 pts ahead of the 84.0% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 73 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £22–£54
2016 BMW 425 MOT pass rate
- 2016
- typical 66,570 mi
Only 73 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.
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Tyres
34.2% 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 →
Which year to buy
- Best 2016 86.3% pass · this year
- Avoid 2014 84.7% pass
Across the 3 years on record, a spread of 1.6 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 84.6%
- Typical mileage
- 67k mi
The 2016 BMW 425 MOT pass rate is 86.3% of its MOT tests — 2.3 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Tyres is the biggest single reason it fails, at 34.2% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Tyres: 1.7× the national share
Tyres make up 34.2% of everything recorded on the 2016 BMW 425, against 19.8% nationally — 14.4 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.
- Based on a small sample. 73 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 425? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2016 BMW 425 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 84.0%, so this figure is 2.3 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 84.6%. The median 2016 BMW 425 in this dataset had covered 66,570 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 85.7% of the time, April–September 87.1%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick", noted on 2.74% of tests.
- 73 recorded tests behind this page.
- 86.3% overall pass rate, 84.6% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the BMW 425, the average is 84.9% — best year 2016 (86.3%), worst 2014 (84.7%).
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
- 73
- Typical mileage (median)
- 66,570 mi
- Make and model
- BMW 425
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
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 425 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 58% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the 425
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 21 | 81.0% |
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 2016 425
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 2016 425
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 2.7% 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 tyre tread 2.7% of tests
“tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm”
Check all four tyres cold, including the inner shoulder where wear hides — 1.6mm across the central three-quarters is the legal limit, and most testers fail at 1.6mm without argument.
-
Check the lights 1.4% of tests
“anti-lock braking system warning lamp indicates an ABS fault”
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 2016 425 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £22–£54 — and 42% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £22–£54
- Cheapest common item: anti-lock braking system warning lamp…
- £3–£15
- Dearest common item: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm
- £45–£95
- 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 73 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 425, side by side
3 model years on record, from 2014 to 2016. Across them the pass rate runs from 84.7% to 86.3% — a spread of 1.6 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2014 84.7% shock absorbers has a serious…
- 2015 84.8% has ply or cords exposed
- 2016 86.3%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 2016 BMW 425 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 2016 cars with a similar record
- Vauxhall Viva 86.3%
- Mercedes-Benz B-Class 86.3%
- Land Rover Discovery 86.2%
- Ford Galaxy 86.2%
- SEAT Leon 86.4%
- Kia Optima 86.4%
Closest pass rates among 2016 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 2016 BMW 425 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 73 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 | 25 | 34.20% | 19.76% | +14.44 |
| Brakes | 21 | 28.80% | 20.89% | +7.91 |
| Suspension | 7 | 9.60% | 20.98% | −11.38 |
| Non-component advisories | 7 | 9.60% | 4.18% | +5.42 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 3 | 4.10% | 12.21% | −8.11 |
| Visibility | 3 | 4.10% | 4.97% | −0.87 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 2 | 2.70% | 5.52% | −2.82 |
| Steering | 2 | 2.70% | 2.57% | +0.13 |
| Road Wheels | 2 | 2.70% | 0.75% | +1.95 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 1 | 1.40% | 1.76% | −0.36 |
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 | 2.7% | £18–45 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Major | 2.7% | £45–95 |
| Anti-lock braking system warning lamp indicates an ABS fault Brakes | Major | 1.4% | £3–15 |
| Brake fluid warning lamp functioning incorrectly Brakes | Minor | 1.4% | £3–15 |
| Electronic stability control warning lamp indicates a fault Brakes | Major | 1.4% | £3–15 |
| Has a lump, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Major | 1.4% | £45–95 |
| Has ply or cords exposed Tyres | Major | 1.4% | £45–95 |
| Headlamp aim not tested unable to be tested Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.4% | £30–80 |
| Headlamp not working on dipped beam Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.4% | £5–25 |
| Headlamp not working on main beam Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.4% | £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 | 23.3% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 8.2% | £45–110 |
| Non-component advisories Play in steering rack inner joint(s) Non-component advisories | Advisory | 8.2% | £120–300 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 6.8% | £18–45 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 5.5% | £40–150 |
| Badly distorted Road Wheels | Advisory | 2.7% | £20–55 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 3 | 100.0% | 24,625 mi |
| 30-60k | 24 | 83.3% | 48,090 mi |
| 60-90k | 26 | 88.5% | 70,718 mi |
| 90-120k | 17 | 88.2% | 104,717 mi |
| 120k+ | 3 | 66.7% | 134,802 mi |
Source: 73 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.
2016 425 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2016 BMW 425?
86.3% of the 73 2016 BMW 425 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 84.0% for cars first used in 2016. First-attempt pass rate: 84.6%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2016 BMW 425?
The three most recorded items are brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick (2.74%), tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (2.74%), anti-lock braking system warning lamp indicates an abs fault (1.37%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2016 BMW 425 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 100.0% of the time, falling to 66.7% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2016 BMW 425 in this dataset had covered 66,570 mi.
Does the season affect the 2016 BMW 425 MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 85.7% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 87.1%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.