BMW 8 Series MOT Pass Rate & Official DVSA Failure Statistics

BMW 8 Series MOT History and Failure Rates vs UK National Average

The BMW 8 Series passed on its first attempt in 86.4%, and its overall record sits +6.9 percentage points above the national average for all cars. These figures come from every recorded DVSA MOT test for the BMW 8 Series in the 2023–2025 data: 5,535 tests across 5 model years (2018–2022). A test still carries exactly one pass or fail verdict.

Figures are computed from every recorded DVSA test for this model in the 2023–2025 data.

Most Common BMW 8 Series MOT Problems by Failure Category

Every MOT failure a tester records belongs to one inspection section of the DVSA manual. For the BMW 8 Series, the Tyres section leads the record — the breakdown below shows where the recorded failures cluster, then the exact strings behind the three biggest sections.

Shares are over the BMW 8 Series's recorded defect strings, merged across its year pages.

Top Recorded BMW 8 Series DVSA MOT Test Statistics & Defect Descriptions

The descriptions below are the exact DVSA failure strings testers recorded most often for the BMW 8 Series, each with how many of the model's 5,535 tests it was noted on.

• "Has ply or cords exposed" (Major) — noted on about 137 BMW 8 Series tests, 2.5% of the model's MOT record.
• "Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords" (Major) — noted on about 136 BMW 8 Series tests, 2.5% of the model's MOT record.
• "Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view" (Minor) — noted on about 80 BMW 8 Series tests, 1.4% of the model's MOT record.
• "Has a bulge, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure" (Major) — noted on about 79 BMW 8 Series tests, 1.4% of the model's MOT record.
• "Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction" (Major) — noted on about 41 BMW 8 Series tests, 0.7% of the model's MOT record.
• "Registration plates does not conform to the specified requirements" (Major) — noted on about 31 BMW 8 Series tests, 0.6% of the model's MOT record.

Best and Worst BMW 8 Series Model Years by Pass Rate

The strongest BMW 8 Series model year on record is 2020 (88.6% across 1,214 tests), and the weakest is 2019 (87.6%). The gap between them is 1.0 points. Years with fewer than 50 recorded tests are excluded, so these are the years with enough MOT history to mean something.

Newest model year first. Only years with at least 50 recorded tests are listed.

Pre-MOT Inspection Checklist for BMW 8 Series Owners

These checks follow this BMW 8 Series's own most-recorded failure strings, starting with what a tester is most likely to flag on a BMW 8 Series.

• the windscreen — “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.

• the lights — “malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction”

  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.

• the number plates — “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.

Derived from the DVSA failure strings testers recorded for the BMW 8 Series. A check that finds nothing means the item is likely fine, not that the test is guaranteed.

Where the BMW 8 Series is most common

Across every 8 Series model year on record (2018–2022): 3,193 BMW 8 Series cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 5,534 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 135 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.

The twenty areas with the most BMW 8 Series 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 →

Frequently Asked Questions: BMW 8 Series MOT & Reliability