Performance by cohort

3 year bands · 197,089 tests

Pass rate climbs 12.5 points across the cohorts — newer X3 examples clear the test more reliably than the early cars.

Pre-2018 cohort 132,526

Pass

80.3%

Fail

15.1%

PRS

4.2%

Avg mileage at test

94,327 mi

2018–2020 cohort 59,123

Pass

90.7%

Fail

7.3%

PRS

1.6%

Avg mileage at test

41,765 mi

2021+ cohort 5,440

Pass

92.8%

Fail

6.2%

PRS

0.8%

Avg mileage at test

24,761 mi

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

Generations on file · 3

BMW X3 · UK market

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

The picture

BMW X3: solid MOT record across 109,562 tests

The BMW X3 is a compact luxury crossover SUV manufactured by BMW since 2003, based on the BMW 3 Series platform. BMW markets the car as a Sports Activity Vehicle, the company's proprietary descriptor for its X-line luxury vehicles.

MOT data from 109,562 tests puts this car on a 81.5% first-time pass rate, above the UK fleet average. Average mileage at test is 74,923 miles. The most common fail item is cracked or discoloured windscreen, followed by fractured or weakened suspension spring.

reviews/?revid=57086). Cars.com. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015. 11. ^"PWRC: Al-Attiyah wins Baja Espana". Crash.Net. 25 July 2008. Retrieved 2 April 2010. 12. ^"The BMW Knowledge Base – Three X-raid BMW X3 CC for the Dakar 2006". BMW.

Buyers weighing up a used X3 should treat the failure breakdown as a pre-purchase checklist. The pass rate is reasonable, but the gap between first attempt and a clean sheet narrows with age and mileage.

ABI Insurance Group

Group 32–44

A high-group car — insurance costs will be significantly above average. 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 →

32–44

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

4,357 occurrences · 2.2% of tests
02

Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements

3,162 occurrences · 1.6% of tests
03

A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened

2,985 occurrences · 1.5% of tests
04

A tyre seriously damaged

2,747 occurrences · 1.4% of tests
05

A tyre cords visible or damaged

2,032 occurrences · 1.0% of tests
06

Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen

1,981 occurrences · 1.0% of tests
07

A direction indicator lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning

1,922 occurrences · 1.0% of tests
08

Wiper blade defective

1,718 occurrences · 0.9% of tests
09

a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm

1,627 occurrences · 0.8% of tests
10

A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot severely deteriorated

1,526 occurrences · 0.8% 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 X3'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 12.5-point gap between bands means the year you buy BMW X3 has a real effect on what turns up at the garage.

Best band to buy

92.8%

2021+ registration

the 2021-on band climbs to 92.8% — a 12.5-point improvement. Tests in this band average 24,761 miles — roughly 70K miles fewer on the clock than the older band. Failures here are mostly wear items: has a cut in excess of the…, has ply or cords exposed — 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

80.3%

Pre-2018 registration

On the older band (pre-2018), the data shows a 80.3% pass rate against a fleet average of 92.8% on the newer band. The main culprits logged at test: damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view, fractured or broken, and tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm. Average mileage on test for this band is 94,327 miles — high-mileage wear items are a recurring theme.

Best band to buy: 2021+ (92.8% first-time pass). Worst band to avoid: pre-2018 (80.3% pass). That's a 12.5-point spread across 132,526 older tests and 5,440 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 ADRG-904 BMW Replacement Stick-On Tinted Mirror Glass RHS

£10.99

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

£10.99

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Draper Expert

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

£18.69

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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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Owner reports · Honest John

What owners actually report.

Verbatim faults logged by owners on honestjohn.co.uk over recent years. We didn't summarise — these are the words people typed in.

What's good

reviews/?revid=57086). Cars.com. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015. 11. **^**"PWRC: Al-Attiyah wins Baja Espana". Crash.Net. 25 July 2008. Retrieved 2 April 2010. 12. **^**"The BMW Knowledge Base – Three X-raid BMW X3 CC for the Dakar 2006". BMW Heaven. 3 November 2005. Archived from the original on 23 October 2020. Retrieved 18 April 2011. 13. **^**"Home". _X-raid Team_. Archived from the original on 21 April 2007. 14. **^**"ANCAP results for BMW X3 all variants". _Ancap.com.au_. 2008. 15. **^**"Ergebnisse des BMW E83 beim Euro NCAP-Crashtest" [Results of the BMW E83 in the Euro NCAP crash test] (in German). Retrieved 15 July 2009. 16. **^**"2004 BMW X3 4-door SUV". _IIHS-HLDI crash testing and highway safety_. Retrieved 8 June 2025. 17. **^**"BMW launches new X3 at Rs 41.2 lakh". Bsmotoring.com. 25 August 2011. Archived from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2012. 18. **^**"BMW Group Manufacturing Thailand announces 1.1 billion baht Rayong plant expansion". pattayamail.com. 9 September 2015. Archived from the original on 3 January 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2017. 19. **^**Gerard Lye (15 April 2016). "BMW Thailand aims to export 10,000 cars this year". Driven Communications. Archived from the original on 3 January 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2017. 20. **^**"BMW Celebrates 50.000 Units Assembled in Indonesia". _indonesien.ahk.de_ (in German). Archived from the original on 10 September 2017. Retrieved 10 September 2017. 21. ^ _**a**__**b**_""بى إم دبليو" تطرح سيارتى x4 وx6 تصنيع محلى بسعر يقل 30% عن المستورد – جريدة البورصة". _جريدة البورصة_ (in Arabic). 18 May 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2018. 22. **^**Oagana, Alex (9 October 2010). "Exclusive Interview with BMW X3 (F25) Designer Erik Goplen". _autoevolution_. Retrieved 10 February 2019. 23. **^**"Supplying the BMW Group"(PDF). _ihsmarkit.com_. Retrieved 16 February 2024. 24. **^**"Paris Preview: 2011 BMW X3 to feature start-stop tech, 8-speed auto". _Autoblog_. 21 September 2010. 25. **^**"New BMW X3 revealed". _Autocar_. 14 July 2010. Archived from the original on 16 July 2010. Retrieved 20 July 2010. 26. **^**"Paris 2010: BMW X3 is new yet familiar". _Autoblog_. 30 September 2010. 27. **^**"Next X3 to be Built in the USA plus Ongoing Plans for Magna and BMW". Automobile.com. Retrieved 2 April 2010. 28. **^**"The new BMW X3: New generation replaces the previous". _press.bmwgroup.com_. 29. **^**"Model selection – X3 F25 (2009–2017) – SUV – X3 20i – EUR". _realoem.com_. Retrieved 12 June 2020. 30. **^**Bettencourt, Michael (29 October 2010). "BMW's refreshed X3 is smooth and sleek". _The Globe and Mail_. Toronto. 31. **^**"BMW unveils facelift X3". _Honest John_. 32. **^**"2WD BMW X3 revealed". _What Car?_. 20 August 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2013. 33. **^**"The new BMW X3". _press.bmwgroup.com_. 34. **^**"BMW X3 April 2011 Pricelist". _press.bmwgroup.com_. 35. **^**"BMW X September Pricelist". _press.bmwgroup.com_. 36. **^**"The new BMW X3 sDrive18d". _press.bmwgroup.com_. 37. **^**"BMW model introductions and updates, Spring 2013". _press.bmwgroup.com_. 38. **^**"BMW announces pricing for 2011 X3". _Autoblog_. 13 October 2010. 39. **^**"BMW adds four-cylinder twin-scroll turbo power to X3". _Autoblog_. 17 February 2012. 40. **^**"Technical Training. Product Information. N20 Engine"(PDF). 41. **^**"BMW at the 84th Geneva International Motor Show 2014". _press.bmwgroup.com_. 42. **^**"BMW at the 114th New York International Auto Show 2014". _press.bmwgroup.com_. 43. **^**"Yahoo!". _green.autoblog.com_. 44. **^**"BMW Drops on Report That X3 Diesel's Emission Exceeded EU Limit (archived)". Bloomberg L.P. 24 September 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2017.(subscription required) 45. **^**"BMW drops on report of diesel cars exceeding emissions limits". _The Hindu_. 24 September 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2017. 46. **^**Matt Clinch (24 September 2015). "Europe's carmakers caught up in VW storm". CNBC. Retrieved 22 July 2017. 47. **^**"BMW disputes report its diesel X3 also failed emissions test". CBC News. 24 September 2015. Retrieved 24 September 2015. 48. **^**"Specifications BMW X3, 11/2010". _press.bmwgroup.com_. 49. **^**"Specifications of the new BMW X3, 04/2014". _press.bmwgroup.com_. 50. **^**"Next generation BMW 'B code' engines are here". 7 February 2014. 51. **^**Hans Koberstein und Markus Steinhausen: _Der saubere Diesel – Wie Nachrüstung doch funktioniert_Archived 4 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine, ZDF – „Frontal21", 11 Dezember 2018 (YouTube) 52. **^**"ANCAP results for BMW X3 4 cylinder engine variants". _Ancap.com.au_. 2011. 53. **^**BMW X3 2011 Results 54. **^**"2011 BMW X3 4-door SUV". _IIHS-HLDI crash testing and highway safety_. Retrieved 8 June 2025. 55. **^**"BMW Manufacturing remains leading U.S. Auto exporter despite 2017 production declines". 56. **^**"BMW Group South Africa ends production of the third generation BMW X3 as over 400,000 vehicles roll off assembly line". 57. **^**"BMW Group South Africa starts production of the new BMW X3 at its Rosslyn plant". 58. **^**"Novo BMW X3 começa a ser fabricado no Brasil". 26 March 2018. 59. **^**"BMW Group Plant Chennai starts production of the all-new BMW X3". BMW Group. 27 March 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2019. 60. **^**Boeriu, Horatieu (10 November 2017). "Exclusive interview with BMW X3 and Concept Z4 Designer, Calvin Luk". _bmwblog.com_. Retrieved 2 September 2022. 61. **^**Taylor, Michael

Recall history

56 UK recalls on record.

The X3 has 56 official UK vehicle recalls covering defect details, remedies, and affected build dates.

See all recalls

Buying or keeping an X3?

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 X3 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.