Pass rate
92.6%
Above average — 1.4 pts ahead of the 91.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 5,051 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £39–£91
2021 BMW X3 MOT pass rate
- 2021
- 3 trims combined
- typical 26,658 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Tyres
56.6% 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 →
3.2 pts down across model years — 6.7% in 2004, 3.5% in 2021.
Which year to buy
- Best 2022 96.1% pass
- Avoid 2005 75.1% pass
Across the 19 years on record, a spread of 21 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 92.1%
- Typical mileage
- 27k mi
The 2021 BMW X3 MOT pass rate is 92.6% of its MOT tests — 1.4 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Tyres is the biggest single reason it fails, at 56.6% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Tyres: 2.9× the national share
Tyres make up 56.6% of everything recorded on the 2021 BMW X3, against 19.8% nationally — 36.8 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.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 25% 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 X3? Get an email when these numbers change .
Every BMW X3 first registered in 2021 is combined here — 3 trim and body variants in total — so the sample is as large as the DVSA data allows.
How does the 2021 BMW X3 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 91.2%, so this figure is 1.4 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 92.1%. The median 2021 BMW X3 in this dataset had covered 26,658 mi.
The most common fuel recorded here is Petrol — 98% of tests, with a 92.6% pass rate. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 93.2% of the time, April–September 92.1%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords", noted on 2.77% of tests.
- 5,051 recorded tests behind this page.
- 92.6% overall pass rate, 92.1% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the BMW X3, the average is 85.3% — best year 2022 (96.1%), worst 2005 (75.1%).
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
- 5,051
- Typical mileage (median)
- 26,658 mi
- Make and model
- BMW X3
- 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 X3 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 81% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (98% of tests).
Where the BMW X3 is most common
Across all X3 model years on record (2004–2022): 143,421 BMW X3 cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 317,965 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 4,089 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) | 4,089 | 88.0% |
| 2 | Guildford (GU) | 3,211 | 84.3% |
| 3 | Reading (RG) | 3,008 | 85.0% |
| 4 | Peterborough (PE) | 2,786 | 85.9% |
| 5 | Sheffield (S) | 2,590 | 87.3% |
| 6 | Leicester (LE) | 2,467 | 86.8% |
| 7 | Nottingham (NG) | 2,377 | 85.1% |
| 8 | Ashford (TN) | 2,175 | 84.2% |
| 9 | Glasgow (G) | 2,173 | 85.2% |
| 10 | Coventry (CV) | 2,141 | 88.1% |
| 11 | High Wycombe (HP) | 2,122 | 86.5% |
| 12 | Newcastle upon Tyne (NE) | 2,111 | 86.6% |
| 13 | Kingston upon Thames (KT) | 2,065 | 87.0% |
| 14 | Manchester (M) | 1,966 | 85.8% |
| 15 | Crawley (RH) | 1,914 | 84.7% |
| 16 | Chelmsford (CM) | 1,907 | 85.9% |
| 17 | Bristol (BS) | 1,853 | 82.4% |
| 18 | Slough (SL) | 1,819 | 88.8% |
| 19 | Brighton (BN) | 1,800 | 82.8% |
| 20 | Gloucester (GL) | 1,769 | 83.1% |
The twenty areas with the most BMW X3 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 X3
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 1,570 | 92.9% |
| East of England | 570 | 91.9% |
| North West | 528 | 93.2% |
| Scotland | 435 | 90.8% |
| South West | 403 | 90.8% |
| West Midlands | 395 | 91.1% |
| London | 353 | 94.1% |
| Yorkshire | 321 | 94.1% |
| East Midlands | 233 | 93.1% |
| North East | 141 | 95.0% |
| Wales | 102 | 94.1% |
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 2021 X3
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 2021 X3
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 1.3% 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 wipers and washers 0.7% of tests
“wipers blade defective”
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 tyre tread 0.6% 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.
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 2021 X3 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £39–£91 — and 25% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £39–£91
- Cheapest common item: wipers blade defective
- £8–£22
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 80%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 25%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 5,051 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 X3, side by side
19 model years on record, from 2004 to 2022. Across them the pass rate runs from 75.1% to 96.1% — a spread of 21 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2004 76.6% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2005 75.1% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2006 76.8% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2007 77.3% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2008 79.5% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2009 79.8% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2010 81.9% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2011 82.3% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2012 80.8% side repeaters not working
- 2013 81.6% side repeaters not working
- 2014 82.8% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2015 85.4% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2016 85.9% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2017 87.9% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2018 90.9% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2019 91.5% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2020 91.4% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2021 92.6%has a cut in excess of the…
- 2022 96.1% windscreen damaged but not…
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 2021 BMW X3 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 2021 cars with a similar record
- Kia Niro 92.6%
- Volkswagen Golf 92.6%
- Audi Q5 92.6%
- Kia Picanto 92.6%
- Volkswagen T-Cross 92.6%
- Citroen C3 Aircross 92.6%
Closest pass rates among 2021 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 2021 BMW X3 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 2,113 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 | 1,203 | 56.60% | 19.76% | +36.84 |
| Non-component advisories | 299 | 14.10% | 4.18% | +9.92 |
| Brakes | 181 | 8.50% | 20.89% | −12.39 |
| Visibility | 171 | 8.00% | 4.97% | +3.03 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 119 | 5.60% | 12.21% | −6.61 |
| Suspension | 48 | 2.30% | 20.98% | −18.68 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 33 | 1.60% | 1.76% | −0.16 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 23 | 1.10% | 5.57% | −4.47 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 18 | 0.80% | 5.52% | −4.72 |
| Road Wheels | 18 | 0.80% | 0.75% | +0.05 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Major | 2.8% | £45–95 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 1.3% | £80–200 |
| Has ply or cords exposed Tyres | Major | 0.99% | £45–95 |
| Wipers blade defective Visibility | Minor | 0.65% | £8–22 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Major | 0.61% | £45–95 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 0.61% | £8–22 |
| Headlamp aim too high Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 0.59% | £30–80 |
| Side repeaters not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 0.59% | £5–25 |
| Has a bulge, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Major | 0.57% | £45–95 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Rectified | 0.40% | £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 | 9.8% | £45–95 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 3.8% | £45–95 |
| Non-component advisories Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt Non-component advisories | Advisory | 2.9% | £20–80 |
| Non-component advisories Nail in tyre Non-component advisories | Advisory | 2.5% | £45–95 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Advisory | 2.3% | £45–95 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 2.0% | £18–45 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 3,050 | 93.5% | 20,280 mi |
| 30-60k | 1,861 | 91.2% | 39,294 mi |
| 60-90k | 128 | 89.1% | 69,669 mi |
| 90-120k | 9 | 100.0% | 101,092 mi |
| 120k+ | 1 | 100.0% | 265,001 mi |
Source: 5,051 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.
2021 X3 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2021 BMW X3?
92.6% of the 5,051 2021 BMW X3 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 91.2% for cars first used in 2021. First-attempt pass rate: 92.1%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2021 BMW X3?
The three most recorded items are has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords (2.77%), windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (1.25%), has ply or cords exposed (0.99%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2021 BMW X3 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 93.5% of the time, falling to 100.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2021 BMW X3 in this dataset had covered 26,658 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2021 BMW X3?
Petrol: 92.6% pass rate across 4,973 tests. Diesel: 94.7% pass rate across 57 tests. Other: 84.6% pass rate across 13 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2021 BMW X3 MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 93.2% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 92.1%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.