Pass rate
92.1%
Above average — 6.1 pts ahead of the 86.0% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 722 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £35–£89
2017 BMW I8 MOT pass rate
- 2017
- typical 36,756 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Tyres
54.0% 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 2019 93.4% pass
- Avoid 2014 91.0% pass
Across the 7 years on record, a spread of 2.4 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 91.5%
- Typical mileage
- 37k mi
The 2017 BMW I8 MOT pass rate is 92.1% of its MOT tests — 6.1 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Tyres is the biggest single reason it fails, at 54.0% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Tyres: 2.7× the national share
Tyres make up 54.0% of everything recorded on the 2017 BMW I8, against 19.8% nationally — 34.2 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 86.0% and this one manages 92.1% — 6.1 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 28% 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.
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 I8? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2017 BMW I8 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 86.0%, so this figure is 6.1 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 91.5%. The median 2017 BMW I8 in this dataset had covered 36,756 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 91.1% of the time, April–September 93.4%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm", noted on 1.80% of tests.
- 722 recorded tests behind this page.
- 92.1% overall pass rate, 91.5% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the BMW I8, the average is 91.7% — best year 2019 (93.4%), worst 2014 (91.0%).
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
- 722
- Typical mileage (median)
- 36,756 mi
- Make and model
- BMW I8
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Tyres
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the I8 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 67% so small gaps stay visible.
Where the BMW I8 is most common
Across all I8 model years on record (2014–2020): 3,792 BMW I8 cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 6,911 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 108 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) | 108 | 90.5% |
| 2 | London (NW) | 100 | 92.8% |
| 3 | Guildford (GU) | 85 | 91.8% |
| 4 | High Wycombe (HP) | 78 | 93.2% |
| 5 | Chelmsford (CM) | 77 | 92.5% |
| 6 | Reading (RG) | 72 | 87.8% |
| 7 | Leicester (LE) | 68 | 93.0% |
| 8 | Slough (SL) | 68 | 90.5% |
| 9 | Nottingham (NG) | 67 | 94.3% |
| 10 | Glasgow (G) | 61 | 92.0% |
| 11 | Peterborough (PE) | 60 | 92.4% |
| 12 | Milton Keynes (MK) | 60 | 92.6% |
| 13 | Coventry (CV) | 58 | 95.0% |
| 14 | Manchester (M) | 57 | 91.8% |
| 15 | Derby (DE) | 56 | 90.9% |
| 16 | Maidstone (ME) | 55 | 91.7% |
| 17 | Southampton (SO) | 55 | 90.7% |
| 18 | Crawley (RH) | 53 | 89.5% |
| 19 | Kingston upon Thames (KT) | 53 | 95.7% |
| 20 | Warrington (WA) | 53 | 91.0% |
The twenty areas with the most BMW I8 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 I8
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 216 | 91.7% |
| East of England | 83 | 92.8% |
| North West | 71 | 90.1% |
| West Midlands | 65 | 96.9% |
| London | 59 | 84.7% |
| South West | 52 | 92.3% |
| East Midlands | 52 | 94.2% |
| Yorkshire | 43 | 95.3% |
| Scotland | 39 | 92.3% |
| North East | 28 | 96.4% |
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 2017 I8
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 2017 I8
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 tyre tread 1.8% 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 wipers and washers 0.7% of tests
“wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively”
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.
-
Check the brakes 0.6% 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.
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 2017 I8 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £35–£89 — and 28% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £35–£89
- Cheapest common item: wipers does not clear the windscreen…
- £8–£22
- Dearest common item: joints constant velocity boot severely…
- £80–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 70%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 28%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 722 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 I8, side by side
7 model years on record, from 2014 to 2020. Across them the pass rate runs from 91.0% to 93.4% — a spread of 2.4 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2014 91.0% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2015 91.2% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2016 91.2% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2017 92.1%tread depth below requirements of…
- 2018 92.0% tread depth below requirements of…
- 2019 93.4% tread depth below requirements of…
- 2020 92.3% tread depth below requirements of…
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 2017 BMW I8 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 2017 cars with a similar record
- Porsche Panamera 92.0%
- Mercedes-Benz Sl 92.2%
- Suzuki Celerio 91.7%
- Lexus Ct 92.5%
- Honda Jazz 92.6%
- Honda Cr-V 91.4%
Closest pass rates among 2017 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 2017 BMW I8 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 381 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 | 208 | 54.00% | 19.76% | +34.24 |
| Brakes | 89 | 23.10% | 20.89% | +2.21 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 19 | 4.90% | 12.21% | −7.31 |
| Visibility | 17 | 4.40% | 4.97% | −0.57 |
| Non-component advisories | 16 | 4.20% | 4.18% | +0.02 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 11 | 2.90% | 1.76% | +1.14 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 7 | 1.80% | 5.57% | −3.77 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 5 | 1.30% | 5.52% | −4.22 |
| Road Wheels | 5 | 1.30% | 0.75% | +0.55 |
| Suspension | 4 | 1.00% | 20.98% | −19.98 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Major | 1.8% | £45–95 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Major | 0.97% | £45–95 |
| Side repeaters not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 0.83% | £5–25 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 0.69% | £8–22 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Major | 0.55% | £18–45 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 0.55% | £80–250 |
| Registration plates does not conform to the specified requirements Identification of the vehicle | Major | 0.55% | £20–80 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 0.55% | £80–200 |
| Wipers blade defective Visibility | Minor | 0.55% | £8–22 |
| Headlamp aim too high Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 0.42% | £30–80 |
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 | 18.7% | £45–95 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 6.7% | £18–45 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 3.6% | £45–110 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 3.2% | £45–95 |
| Tread depth tread pattern not visible over the whole tread area when minimum depth required is 1.0mm Tyres | Advisory | 1.5% | £45–95 |
| Non-component advisories Nail in tyre Non-component advisories | Advisory | 1.4% | £45–95 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 254 | 93.7% | 21,264 mi |
| 30-60k | 357 | 91.6% | 43,071 mi |
| 60-90k | 90 | 92.2% | 70,892 mi |
| 90-120k | 16 | 87.5% | 99,191 mi |
| 120k+ | 4 | 75.0% | 164,676 mi |
Source: 722 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.
2017 I8 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2017 BMW I8?
92.1% of the 722 2017 BMW I8 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 86.0% for cars first used in 2017. First-attempt pass rate: 91.5%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2017 BMW I8?
The three most recorded items are tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (1.80%), has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords (0.97%), side repeaters not working (0.83%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2017 BMW I8 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 93.7% of the time, falling to 75.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2017 BMW I8 in this dataset had covered 36,756 mi.
Does the season affect the 2017 BMW I8 MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 91.1% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 93.4%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.