BMW 1 Series 2004: MOT failure rate for its age

39.7% of 18,094 MOT tests of the BMW 1 Series first registered in 2004 failed at the first attempt (2019–2024; retests excluded). Against this model's own normal rate at the same ages the index is 105.0 (95% CI 102.6–107.5; 100 = normal for this model at that age): the 2004 BMW 1 Series fails more often than other build years of the same model at the same age.

BMW 1 Series built in 2004 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	39.7	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	18094
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 102.6–107.5)	105.0	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	18094
Rank among this model's 17 build years	16	of 17	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	18094
Tested in 2024	1519	tests	median 123,724 miles	2024	1519

Built 2004 against BMW 1 Series normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 15: 39.8% vs 38.9%; age 16: 39.3% vs 37.1%; age 17: 39.9% vs 37.9%; age 18: 41.2% vs 37%; age 19: 39.2% vs 38.1%; age 20: 38.1% vs 36.8%. Axis from 0% to 50%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2004 BMW 1 Series by registration · All BMW 1 Series MOT statistics · Download the build-year table (CSV)

Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · full dataset (v5).

How does the 2004 BMW 1 Series fail at each age?

Cars built in 2004 were tested at ages 15 to 20 between 2019 and 2024. Each row compares their first-time failure share with what this model normally shows at that age, after allowing for the overall failure level of each test year.

BMW 1 Series built 2004: first-time MOT failure by age, against the model's normal rate at that age (2019–2024)
Age	Tests	Failed, %	95% interval	Normal for this model at that age, %	Index (100 = normal)
15	4,801	39.8	38.4–41.2	38.9	102.2
16	3,787	39.3	37.8–40.9	37.1	105.9
17	3,271	39.9	38.2–41.6	37.9	105.2
18	2,624	41.2	39.4–43.1	37	111.4
19	2,092	39.2	37.1–41.3	38.1	103
20	1,519	38.1	35.6–40.5	36.8	103.5

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 18,094 (initial tests) · Method: normal rate = this model's first-time failure share at that age across its build years (cells of 400+ tests), adjusted for each test year's overall level; cells of 30+ tests, under 500 marked rough · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

What fails most on the 2004 BMW 1 Series?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2004 is brakes: 29.7 items per 100 first tests, against 8.8 across all build years of the BMW 1 Series. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2004 were tested at ages 15 to 20.

Failure items per 100 first tests, BMW 1 Series built 2004 against the BMW 1 Series in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 2004, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Brakes	29.7	8.8	5,381
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	27.8	10.2	5,038
Suspension	18.5	6.4	3,345
Visibility	14.7	7.4	2,658
Tyres	11.8	10.4	2,136

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 18,094 (initial tests of this build year) · Method: failure items grouped by DVSA's top-level defect groups, per 100 initial tests; groups with 30+ items · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How does 2004 compare with the years around it?

Among the 17 published build years of the BMW 1 Series, 2004 ranks 16 (1 = fails least for its age). 2005: index 104.1.

BMW 1 Series build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build year	Index (100 = normal)	95% interval	Verdict	Tests
2004	105.0	102.6–107.5	worse	18,094
2005	104.1	102.8–105.4	worse	62,234
2006	101.8	100.6–103.0	worse	76,682
2007	98.3	97.2–99.4	better	85,385
2008	98.5	97.6–99.5	better	120,367
2009	99.3	98.4–100.2	no different	138,466
2010	101.6	100.7–102.5	worse	156,219
2011	100.1	99.2–101.1	no different	146,564
2012	107.6	106.6–108.5	worse	183,349
2013	103.1	102.2–103.9	worse	228,790
2014	104.0	103.0–105.0	worse	189,877
2015	97.0	96.0–98.0	better	194,489
2016	97.5	96.4–98.6	better	196,915
2017	89.7	88.6–90.9	better	177,556
2018	98.7	97.2–100.3	no different	111,149
2019	99.2	97.4–101.1	no different	86,860
2020	90.5	88.0–92.9	better	50,212

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 2,223,208 (initial tests) · Method: observed failures against those expected for the same model at the same ages, test-year level adjusted; verdict follows the printed one-decimal bound · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How to cite this page

MOT Risk Index (2026). BMW 1 Series 2004 MOT statistics (data release dvsa-2024-v2; full dataset motriskindex-families-2024-v5, DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22975051), updated 30 September 2026. motriskindex.co.uk/cars/bmw-1-series/2004/

How every figure is calculated: methodology. Age, test year and build year are tied together (age = test year − build year), so the test-year level is taken as observed, not estimated.

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