Pass rate
78.0%
Around average — 4.0 pts ahead of the 74.0% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 1,535 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £47–£132
2009 BMW X1 MOT pass rate
- 2009
- typical 116,709 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Suspension
27.5% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Part only £35–£75 for Suspension pin or bush excessively worn. What fitting it takes →
9.9 pts down across model years — 10.6% in 2009, 0.7% in 2019.
Which year to buy
- Best 2022 93.4% pass
- Avoid 2009 78.0% pass · this year
Across the 15 years on record, a spread of 15.4 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 72.6%
- Typical mileage
- 117k mi
The 2009 BMW X1 MOT pass rate is 78.0% of its MOT tests — 4.0 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 27.5% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Suspension: 1.3× the national share
Suspension accounts for 27.5% of everything recorded on the 2009 BMW X1, against 21.0% nationally — 6.5 points above. Ask for the front and rear suspension to be checked on a ramp before you buy — worn bushes and broken springs are cheap to look at and expensive to discover at test time.
- 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 74.0% and this one manages 78.0% — 4.0 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 16% 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 X1? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2009 BMW X1 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 74.0%, so this figure is 4.0 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 72.6%. The median 2009 BMW X1 in this dataset had covered 116,709 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 77.8% of the time, April–September 78.4%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view", noted on 5.60% of tests.
- 1,535 recorded tests behind this page.
- 78.0% overall pass rate, 72.6% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the BMW X1, the average is 87.2% — best year 2022 (93.4%), worst 2009 (78.0%).
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
- 1,535
- Typical mileage (median)
- 116,709 mi
- Make and model
- BMW X1
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
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 X1 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 66% so small gaps stay visible.
Where the BMW X1 is most common
Across all X1 model years on record (2009–2023): 162,885 BMW X1 cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 339,537 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 4,840 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) | 4,840 | 88.6% |
| 2 | Sheffield (S) | 3,410 | 87.9% |
| 3 | Peterborough (PE) | 3,397 | 88.5% |
| 4 | Glasgow (G) | 2,947 | 85.4% |
| 5 | Guildford (GU) | 2,915 | 86.0% |
| 6 | Reading (RG) | 2,784 | 86.7% |
| 7 | Nottingham (NG) | 2,759 | 84.9% |
| 8 | Leicester (LE) | 2,656 | 88.4% |
| 9 | Manchester (M) | 2,643 | 86.2% |
| 10 | Newcastle upon Tyne (NE) | 2,591 | 87.7% |
| 11 | Coventry (CV) | 2,364 | 88.6% |
| 12 | Edinburgh (EH) | 2,246 | 84.3% |
| 13 | Derby (DE) | 2,206 | 89.0% |
| 14 | Cardiff (CF) | 2,183 | 85.4% |
| 15 | Bristol (BS) | 2,166 | 85.2% |
| 16 | High Wycombe (HP) | 2,078 | 88.9% |
| 17 | Northampton (NN) | 2,060 | 84.7% |
| 18 | Stockport (SK) | 2,027 | 86.8% |
| 19 | Liverpool (L) | 2,017 | 88.8% |
| 20 | Doncaster (DN) | 1,993 | 87.3% |
The twenty areas with the most BMW X1 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 X1
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 316 | 77.8% |
| South West | 268 | 70.1% |
| North West | 172 | 80.2% |
| East of England | 141 | 81.6% |
| West Midlands | 141 | 87.9% |
| Yorkshire | 137 | 75.9% |
| East Midlands | 127 | 80.3% |
| Scotland | 126 | 77.0% |
| Wales | 58 | 77.6% |
| North East | 32 | 78.1% |
| London | 17 | 82.4% |
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 2009 X1
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 2009 X1
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 5.6% 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 5.2% of tests
“pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn”
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 shock absorbers 2.9% of tests
“shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak”
Press down hard on each corner of the car and let go. It should settle in one bounce; if it keeps rocking, or you can see oil weeping down a shock absorber, that is the fault a tester will find.
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 2009 X1 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £47–£132 — and 16% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £47–£132
- Cheapest common item: malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or…
- £3–£12
- 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
- 16%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 1,535 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 X1, side by side
15 model years on record, from 2009 to 2023. Across them the pass rate runs from 78.0% to 93.4% — a spread of 15.4 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2009 78.0%windscreen damaged but not…
- 2010 79.2% pins and bushes pin or bush…
- 2011 79.6% pins and bushes pin or bush…
- 2012 79.4% pins and bushes pin or bush…
- 2013 81.4% pins and bushes pin or bush…
- 2014 81.7% pins and bushes pin or bush…
- 2015 85.3% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2016 88.8% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2017 90.0% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2018 90.7% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2019 92.2% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2020 92.5% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2021 93.1% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2022 93.4% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2023 93.2% 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 2009 BMW X1 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 2009 cars with a similar record
- Audi Q5 78.0%
- Nissan Pixo 78.0%
- Land Rover Defender 77.9%
- Toyota Rav-4 77.9%
- Saab 9-5 77.9%
- Honda Accord 77.8%
Closest pass rates among 2009 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 2009 BMW X1 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 2,916 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suspension | 814 | 27.50% | 20.98% | +6.52 |
| Brakes | 625 | 21.10% | 20.89% | +0.21 |
| Tyres | 542 | 18.30% | 19.76% | −1.46 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 231 | 7.80% | 12.21% | −4.41 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 193 | 6.50% | 5.57% | +0.93 |
| Visibility | 174 | 5.90% | 4.97% | +0.93 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 134 | 4.50% | 5.52% | −1.02 |
| Non-component advisories | 128 | 4.30% | 4.18% | +0.12 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 44 | 1.50% | 1.76% | −0.26 |
| Steering | 31 | 1.00% | 2.57% | −1.57 |
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 | 5.6% | £80–200 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Major | 5.2% | £40–150 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 3.2% | £80–250 |
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Major | 2.9% | £30–75 |
| Has ply or cords exposed Tyres | Major | 1.8% | £45–95 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Major | 1.6% | £45–95 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.5% | £5–25 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 1.3% | £25–65 |
| Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.3% | £3–12 |
| Washers provides insufficient washer liquid Visibility | Major | 1.3% | £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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 21.9% | £45–95 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 16.0% | £40–150 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 8.8% | £45–110 |
| Sub-frame corroded and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 8.1% | £180–450 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 7.6% | £18–45 |
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Advisory | 5.1% | £30–75 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 7 | 85.7% | 26,093 mi |
| 30-60k | 41 | 85.4% | 51,299 mi |
| 60-90k | 244 | 82.4% | 78,307 mi |
| 90-120k | 548 | 79.6% | 105,944 mi |
| 120k+ | 695 | 74.8% | 144,623 mi |
Source: 1,535 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.
2009 X1 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2009 BMW X1?
78.0% of the 1,535 2009 BMW X1 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 74.0% for cars first used in 2009. First-attempt pass rate: 72.6%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2009 BMW X1?
The three most recorded items are windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (5.60%), pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn (5.15%), joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated (3.19%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2009 BMW X1 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 85.7% of the time, falling to 74.8% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2009 BMW X1 in this dataset had covered 116,709 mi.
Does the season affect the 2009 BMW X1 MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 77.8% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 78.4%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.