2009 BMW 3 Series MOT pass rate and common faults
MOT tests in 2025, published 22 Jun 2026. DVSA publishes a new year each summer.
21,064 BMW 3 Series cars first used in 2009 had an MOT in 2025, at about 16 years old, and 67.5% passed first time. That is above the 58.3% for all cars first used in 2009.
The year is when the car was first used, as on its V5C log book, not the model year.
Common failures
The share of 2009 BMW 3 Series cars tested that failed on, or had fixed at the station, each item. Worth checking before the MOT or before you buy.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Shock absorbers: has a serious fluid leak | 5.0% |
| Position lamp: not working | 4.6% |
| Service brake (roller test): efficiency below requirements | 3.1% |
| Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction | 3.0% |
| Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm | 2.9% |
| Pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn | 2.6% |
Source: DVSA, tests in 2025, published 22 June 2026.
Common advisories
Things the tester noticed that were not bad enough to fail. They often turn into failures later. What advisories mean for the next MOT.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge | 23.4% |
| Pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement | 11.4% |
| Shock absorbers: has light misting of oil | 11.3% |
| Sub-frame: corroded but not seriously weakened | 9.7% |
| Flexible brake hoses: slightly deteriorated | 8.6% |
| Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive | 8.6% |
Source: DVSA, tests in 2025, published 22 June 2026.
Where the faults are
The share of cars tested with at least one failure or fix in each part of the car.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 12.9% |
| Suspension | 11.4% |
| Brakes | 9.3% |
| Tyres | 8.1% |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 4.8% |
| Visibility | 4.6% |
Source: DVSA, tests in 2025, published 22 June 2026.
Typical mileage
Recorded mileage at the MOT. A car well above this range has done more work than most; one far below is worth a closer look at its MOT history.
| Cars | Low | Typical | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21,051 | 91,700 | 120,100 miles | 149,700 |
The middle half of cars fall between the low and high figures. Source: DVSA, tests in 2025, published 22 June 2026.
Other BMW 3 Series years
| Year | Tests | Passed first time | All cars that year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 14,195 | 86.1% | 88.5% |
| 2021 | 26,059 | 87.4% | 87.2% |
| 2020 | 21,301 | 87.3% | 86.0% |
| 2019 | 25,431 | 87.0% | 83.5% |
| 2018 | 25,163 | 85.8% | 80.9% |
| 2017 | 31,340 | 84.6% | 78.2% |
| 2016 | 31,989 | 83.3% | 74.9% |
| 2015 | 31,730 | 79.9% | 71.9% |
| 2014 | 31,523 | 75.8% | 68.6% |
| 2013 | 33,690 | 73.3% | 65.8% |
| 2012 | 31,681 | 68.5% | 63.5% |
| 2011 | 25,882 | 69.8% | 61.2% |
| 2010 | 23,669 | 68.4% | 59.3% |
| 2009 | 21,064 | 67.5% | 58.3% |
| 2008 | 20,220 | 68.7% | 57.2% |
| 2007 | 22,188 | 68.4% | 57.4% |
| 2006 | 16,143 | 67.8% | 57.0% |
| 2005 | 10,901 | 67.9% | 57.6% |
- BMW 3 Series MOT results for all years and its reliability score.
- Years with fewer than 1,000 tests have no page of their own. How these figures are worked out.
Checking one car?
These figures describe groups of cars. A vehicle history report shows the full MOT history, mileage, outstanding finance, write-offs and stolen records for one registration.
Figures from the DVSA anonymised MOT testing data for MOT tests in 2025, published by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency. Analysis by Motoring Insider. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. How we work out these figures.
Every dataset we use is listed on our data sources page, with the credit lines on our attribution page.