Pass rate
77.0%
Around average — 1.1 pts ahead of the 75.9% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 87 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £30–£85
2011 BMW 645 MOT pass rate
- 2011
- typical 69,155 mi
Only 87 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
23.9% of faults · 19.8% nationally
mostly tread below the limit, cuts and sidewall bulges.
Which year to buy
- Best 2003 80.7% pass
- Avoid 2011 77.0% pass · this year
Across the 4 years on record, a spread of 3.7 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 71.0%
- Typical mileage
- 69k mi
The 2011 BMW 645 MOT pass rate is 77.0% of its MOT tests — 1.1 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Tyres is the biggest single reason it fails, at 23.9% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Emissions & leaks: 3.8× the national share
Emissions & leaks make up 21.1% of everything recorded on the 2011 BMW 645, against 5.5% nationally — 15.6 points above. Tyres are still the single largest share at 23.9%, but at 19.8% 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.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 24% 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.
- Based on a small sample. 87 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 645? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2011 BMW 645 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 75.9%, so this figure is 1.1 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 71.0%. The median 2011 BMW 645 in this dataset had covered 69,155 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 78.6% of the time, April–September 75.6%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Coil spring fractured or broken", noted on 4.60% of tests.
- 87 recorded tests behind this page.
- 77.0% overall pass rate, 71.0% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the BMW 645, the average is 79.2% — best year 2003 (80.7%), worst 2011 (77.0%).
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
- 87
- Typical mileage (median)
- 69,155 mi
- Make and model
- BMW 645
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Coil Spring
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the 645 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 58% so small gaps stay visible.
Where the BMW 645 is most common
Across all 645 model years on record (2003–2011): 2,663 BMW 645 cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 5,644 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 80 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) | 80 | 84.4% |
| 2 | Peterborough (PE) | 68 | 81.5% |
| 3 | London (N) | 56 | 87.6% |
| 4 | Guildford (GU) | 52 | 75.7% |
| 5 | High Wycombe (HP) | 50 | 83.7% |
| 6 | Reading (RG) | 49 | 80.5% |
| 7 | Hayes (UB) | 46 | 87.1% |
| 8 | Nottingham (NG) | 45 | 78.6% |
| 9 | Sheffield (S) | 45 | 81.8% |
| 10 | Basildon (SS) | 44 | 86.3% |
| 11 | Chelmsford (CM) | 42 | 73.6% |
| 12 | London (E) | 42 | 92.9% |
| 13 | Poole (BH) | 41 | 73.9% |
| 14 | Portsmouth (PO) | 41 | 73.5% |
| 15 | Coventry (CV) | 40 | 81.4% |
| 16 | Kingston upon Thames (KT) | 39 | 78.2% |
| 17 | Crawley (RH) | 39 | 76.3% |
| 18 | Norwich (NR) | 38 | 75.0% |
| 19 | Ashford (TN) | 38 | 75.5% |
| 20 | Croydon (CR) | 35 | 88.7% |
The twenty areas with the most BMW 645 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 645
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 44 | 79.5% |
| East of England | 16 | 75.0% |
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 2011 645
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 645
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 coil springs 4.6% of tests
“coil spring fractured or broken”
Look up inside each wheel arch with a torch, all the way round the spring. A snapped spring usually breaks at the very bottom coil, where a quick glance will not reach.
-
Check the number plates 3.5% of tests
“registration plates does not conform to the specified requirements”
Check both plates are present, legible and correctly spaced, with the postcode of the supplier and the BS AU 145e mark. A private plate in the wrong style is a fail before the car is even looked at.
-
Check the exhaust and emissions 2.3% of tests
“emissions not tested unable to be completed”
Listen for a blow at idle and have someone rev it gently. Then look at the tailpipe smoke: blue is oil, white when warm is coolant, black is over-fuelling. Any of those and the emissions test is the least of it.
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 645 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £30–£85 — and 24% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £30–£85
- Cheapest common item: malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or…
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: emissions not tested unable to be completed
- £60–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 70%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 24%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 87 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 645, side by side
4 model years on record, from 2003 to 2011. Across them the pass rate runs from 77.0% to 80.7% — a spread of 3.7 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2003 80.7% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2004 78.8% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2005 80.1% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2011 77.0%coil spring fractured or broken
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 645 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
- Citroen C1 76.9%
- Audi A3 76.8%
- Volkswagen Passat 76.8%
- Volkswagen Golf 76.7%
- Vauxhall Insignia 76.7%
- Skoda Octavia 76.7%
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 645 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 107 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 | 26 | 23.90% | 19.76% | +4.14 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 23 | 21.10% | 5.52% | +15.58 |
| Suspension | 17 | 15.60% | 20.98% | −5.38 |
| Brakes | 15 | 13.80% | 20.89% | −7.09 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 6 | 5.50% | 12.21% | −6.71 |
| Visibility | 5 | 4.60% | 4.97% | −0.37 |
| Non-component advisories | 5 | 4.60% | 4.18% | +0.42 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 4 | 3.70% | 5.57% | −1.87 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 4 | 3.70% | 1.76% | +1.94 |
| Steering | 2 | 1.80% | 2.57% | −0.77 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 4.6% | £25–65 |
| Has a bulge, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Major | 4.6% | £45–95 |
| Registration plates does not conform to the specified requirements Identification of the vehicle | Major | 3.5% | £20–80 |
| Emissions not tested unable to be completed Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 2.3% | £60–250 |
| Headlamp aim too high Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 2.3% | £30–80 |
| Headlamp cleaning device inoperative Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 2.3% | £5–25 |
| Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 2.3% | £3–12 |
| Srs malfunction indicator lamp warning lamp indicates a fault Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Major | 2.3% | £3–12 |
| Track rod end ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated, but preventing the ingress of dirt Steering | Minor | 2.3% | £18–45 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 2.3% | £80–200 |
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 | 17.2% | £200–700 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 8.1% | £40–150 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 8.1% | £45–95 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 6.9% | £18–45 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 6.9% | £18–45 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 6.9% | £45–95 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 5 | 100.0% | 21,203 mi |
| 30-60k | 26 | 73.1% | 48,493 mi |
| 60-90k | 34 | 79.4% | 71,922 mi |
| 90-120k | 18 | 66.7% | 105,769 mi |
| 120k+ | 4 | 100.0% | 139,251 mi |
Source: 87 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 645 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2011 BMW 645?
77.0% of the 87 2011 BMW 645 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 75.9% for cars first used in 2011. First-attempt pass rate: 71.0%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2011 BMW 645?
The three most recorded items are coil spring fractured or broken (4.60%), has a bulge, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure (4.60%), registration plates does not conform to the specified requirements (3.45%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2011 BMW 645 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 100.0% of the time, falling to 100.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2011 BMW 645 in this dataset had covered 69,155 mi.
Does the season affect the 2011 BMW 645 MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 78.6% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 75.6%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.