Pass rate
85.3%
Above average — 3.2 pts ahead of the 82.1% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 15,504 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £42–£111
2015 BMW X1 MOT pass rate
- 2015
- typical 70,561 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Tyres
31.2% 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 →
5.0 pts down across model years — 7.9% in 2009, 2.9% in 2022.
Which year to buy
- Best 2022 93.4% pass
- Avoid 2009 78.0% pass
Across the 15 years on record, a spread of 15.4 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 83.0%
- Typical mileage
- 71k mi
The 2015 BMW X1 MOT pass rate is 85.3% of its MOT tests — 3.2 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Tyres is the biggest single reason it fails, at 31.2% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Tyres: 1.6× the national share
Tyres make up 31.2% of everything recorded on the 2015 BMW X1, against 19.8% nationally — 11.4 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.
- 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 82.1% and this one manages 85.3% — 3.2 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 2015 BMW X1 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 82.1%, so this figure is 3.2 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 83.0%. The median 2015 BMW X1 in this dataset had covered 70,561 mi.
95% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Diesel, which passed 85.1% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 86.2% of the time, April–September 83.9%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view", noted on 2.99% of tests.
- 15,504 recorded tests behind this page.
- 85.3% overall pass rate, 83.0% 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
- 15,504
- Typical mileage (median)
- 70,561 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 71% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Diesel is the most common here (95% of tests).
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 | 3,201 | 86.1% |
| North West | 1,817 | 84.9% |
| East of England | 1,677 | 86.8% |
| West Midlands | 1,612 | 84.7% |
| South West | 1,545 | 84.4% |
| Yorkshire | 1,449 | 84.3% |
| Scotland | 1,298 | 81.0% |
| East Midlands | 1,029 | 85.4% |
| Wales | 666 | 86.5% |
| North East | 615 | 86.7% |
| London | 593 | 90.4% |
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 2015 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 2015 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 3.0% 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 2.7% 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 coil springs 1.4% 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.
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 2015 X1 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £42–£111 — and 16% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £42–£111
- Cheapest common item: washers provides insufficient washer liquid
- £5–£15
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 80%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 16%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 15,504 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 2015 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 2015 cars with a similar record
- Hyundai I10 85.3%
- SEAT Leon 85.3%
- Jaguar Xe 85.2%
- Mercedes-Benz Slk 85.4%
- Maserati Ghibli 85.4%
- Peugeot 108 85.1%
Closest pass rates among 2015 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 2015 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 15,826 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 | 4,989 | 31.20% | 19.76% | +11.44 |
| Brakes | 3,815 | 23.90% | 20.89% | +3.01 |
| Suspension | 2,773 | 17.40% | 20.98% | −3.58 |
| Non-component advisories | 1,150 | 7.20% | 4.18% | +3.02 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 1,086 | 6.80% | 12.21% | −5.41 |
| Visibility | 992 | 6.20% | 4.97% | +1.23 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 341 | 2.10% | 5.52% | −3.42 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 310 | 1.90% | 5.57% | −3.67 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 254 | 1.60% | 1.76% | −0.16 |
| Road Wheels | 116 | 0.70% | 0.75% | −0.05 |
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 | 3.0% | £80–200 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Major | 2.7% | £40–150 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Major | 1.6% | £45–95 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 1.4% | £25–65 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Major | 1.0% | £45–95 |
| Has ply or cords exposed Tyres | Major | 0.91% | £45–95 |
| Washers provides insufficient washer liquid Visibility | Major | 0.83% | £5–15 |
| Position lamp with a multiple light source up to 1/2 not functioning Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 0.83% | £5–25 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Major | 0.76% | £18–45 |
| Wipers blade defective Visibility | Minor | 0.59% | £8–22 |
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 | 16.8% | £45–95 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 8.1% | £18–45 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 8.0% | £40–150 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 6.0% | £45–110 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 5.3% | £45–95 |
| Non-component advisories Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt Non-component advisories | Advisory | 3.8% | £20–80 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 582 | 91.9% | 22,490 mi |
| 30-60k | 4,612 | 88.1% | 47,917 mi |
| 60-90k | 6,555 | 84.9% | 74,033 mi |
| 90-120k | 2,711 | 82.3% | 102,122 mi |
| 120k+ | 1,039 | 79.8% | 138,572 mi |
Source: 15,504 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.
2015 X1 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2015 BMW X1?
85.3% of the 15,504 2015 BMW X1 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 82.1% for cars first used in 2015. First-attempt pass rate: 83.0%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2015 BMW X1?
The three most recorded items are windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (2.99%), pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn (2.73%), has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords (1.58%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2015 BMW X1 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 91.9% of the time, falling to 79.8% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2015 BMW X1 in this dataset had covered 70,561 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2015 BMW X1?
Diesel: 85.1% pass rate across 14,797 tests. Petrol: 89.4% pass rate across 707 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2015 BMW X1 MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 86.2% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 83.9%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.