Performance by cohort

3 year bands · 200,425 tests

Pass rate climbs 8.1 points across the cohorts — newer X1 examples clear the test more reliably than the early cars.

Pre-2018 cohort 132,340

Pass

83.4%

Fail

13.3%

PRS

2.9%

Avg mileage at test

77,599 mi

2018–2020 cohort 55,221

Pass

90.8%

Fail

7.0%

PRS

1.9%

Avg mileage at test

37,311 mi

2021+ cohort 12,864

Pass

91.5%

Fail

6.3%

PRS

1.8%

Avg mileage at test

24,043 mi

Cohort = vehicle's first-registration year band. Same model, different generations of build.

Generations on file · 3

BMW X1 · UK market

Photos: Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA / CC BY / public domain.

The picture

BMW X1: solid MOT record across 113,461 tests

The BMW X1 is a line of cars produced by German marque BMW since 2009. It is in the subcompact luxury crossover class, and the first-generation X1 was based on the E90 3 Series and offered rear-wheel drive layout as standard.

MOT data from 113,461 tests puts this car on a 84.5% first-time pass rate, above the UK fleet average. Average mileage at test is 59,320 miles. The most common fail item is worn suspension pin or bush, followed by cracked or discoloured windscreen.

reviews/bmw/x1-0). _Top Gear_. 14 February 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2021.

For used buyers, the X1's pass rate suggests it clears the MOT with fewer surprises than most — but the top failure items above are still worth a pre-purchase inspection, particularly on higher-mileage examples.

ABI Insurance Group

Group 22–36

Above average — worth comparing quotes before buying. Lower groups cost less to insure; UK fleet average is around Group 22.

Source: ABI Group Rating Panel · administered by Thatcham Research · groups cover standard variants; performance trims may sit higher. Browse all insurance groups →

22–36

out of 50

Compare quotes →

Top ten reasons for rejection.

Filter failures:

Hide wear items to see the model's real defects.

01

Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view

3,848 occurrences · 1.9% of tests
02

A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn

3,808 occurrences · 1.9% of tests
03

A tyre seriously damaged

3,032 occurrences · 1.5% of tests
04

Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements

2,995 occurrences · 1.5% of tests
05

A tyre cords visible or damaged

2,069 occurrences · 1.0% of tests
06

a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm

1,598 occurrences · 0.8% of tests
07

Wiper blade defective

1,452 occurrences · 0.7% of tests
08

Windscreen washers not working or not providing sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen

1,068 occurrences · 0.5% of tests
09

A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened

967 occurrences · 0.5% of tests
10

Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen

905 occurrences · 0.5% of tests

Counts cover Major and Dangerous defects logged at test. Advisory items excluded so this shows why a car was rejected, not just what the tester flagged in passing.

Worst-case fix budget · top 3 failures

£200–£430

If every one of this X1's most-logged Major fails hit at the same MOT, that's the real-world UK garage range. Reality is usually one or two items, not all of them. Open the estimator →

Try the calculator

Build your own retest budget.

Year-band analysis

Best year to buy. Worst to avoid.

First-time MOT pass rate split by registration band. A 8.1-point gap between bands means the year you buy BMW X1 has a real effect on what turns up at the garage.

Best band to buy

91.5%

2021+ registration

the 2021-on band climbs to 91.5% — a 8.1-point improvement. Tests in this band average 24,043 miles — roughly 54K miles fewer on the clock than the older band. Failures here are mostly wear items: has a cut in excess of the…, damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view — the structural issues that drag down older examples don't appear in the top-10 for this band. Post-2020 examples are early in their MOT life and generally show the cleanest records.

Band to be cautious about

83.4%

Pre-2018 registration

On the older band (pre-2018), the data shows a 83.4% pass rate against a fleet average of 91.5% on the newer band. The main culprits logged at test: pin or bush excessively worn, damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view, and tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm. Average mileage on test for this band is 77,599 miles — high-mileage wear items are a recurring theme.

Best band to buy: 2021+ (91.5% first-time pass). Worst band to avoid: pre-2018 (83.4% pass). That's a 8.1-point spread across 132,340 older tests and 12,864 newer ones — year of build makes a material difference on this model.

Year-spread leaderboard →

Tools that pre-empt a retest.

Picked against this car's top failure patterns. Affiliate links to Amazon UK — we earn a small cut at no cost to you. Disclosed up-front, doesn't shape the data.

Item 01 · Amazon UK

Digital tyre-tread depth gauge

Five quid for a gauge beats £150 for a retest. UK MOT minimum is 1.6mm — most testers fail anything below 2mm to be safe.

Search Amazon UK

My Motor World · affiliate

Parts & supplies for this fix

Affiliate links — small commission, no extra cost to you.

Summit

Summit ADRG-640 BMW Replacement Stick-On Tinted Mirror Glass LHS

£10.99

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Summit

Summit ADRG-904 BMW Replacement Stick-On Tinted Mirror Glass RHS

£10.99

View at My Motor World →

Summit

Summit ADRG-905 BMW Replacement Stick-On Tinted Mirror Glass LHS

£10.99

View at My Motor World →

Draper Expert

Draper Expert Oil Filter Socket for Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and VW

£18.69

View at My Motor World →

Click Mechanic · affiliate

Book a mobile mechanic

Affiliate links — small commission, no extra cost to you.

Mobile mechanic · UK-wide

Book a mechanic at your door.

Fixed-price quotes upfront. No garage needed. Click Mechanic sends a vetted local mechanic to you — home, work, or roadside.

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Recall history

42 UK recalls on record.

The X1 has 42 official UK vehicle recalls covering defect details, remedies, and affected build dates.

See all recalls

Buying or keeping an X1?

Use the failure ranking as a pre-test checklist or a haggling lever. Treat the headline pass rate as a fleet-wide trend, not a guarantee on any individual car.

If you own an X1 and your last MOT looked nothing like the ranked failures above, that's normal — individual cars vary widely. The ranking shows the patterns testers flag most often across the country.