BMW 1 Series 2018: MOT failure rate for its age

13.6% of 111,149 MOT tests of the BMW 1 Series first registered in 2018 failed at the first attempt (2019–2024; retests excluded). Against this model's own normal rate at the same ages the index is 98.7 (95% CI 97.2–100.3; 100 = normal for this model at that age): the 2018 build year is no different from other years of the same model at the same age.

BMW 1 Series built in 2018 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	13.6	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	111149
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 97.2–100.3)	98.7	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	111149
Rank among this model's 17 build years	7	of 17	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	111149
Tested in 2024	27061	tests	median 46,823 miles	2024	27061

Built 2018 against BMW 1 Series normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 3: 12.6% vs 11.4%; age 4: 12.1% vs 12.1%; age 5: 14.3% vs 14.7%; age 6: 15.6% vs 17.1%. Axis from 0% to 20%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2018 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 2018 BMW 1 Series fail at each age?

Cars built in 2018 were tested at ages 3 to 6 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 2018: 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)
3	28,655	12.6	12.2–13	11.4	110.2
4	27,997	12.1	11.7–12.4	12.1	99.3
5	27,436	14.3	13.9–14.8	14.7	97.8
6	27,061	15.6	15.2–16	17.1	91

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 111,149 (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 2018 BMW 1 Series?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2018 is tyres: 8.2 items per 100 first tests, against 10.4 across all build years of the BMW 1 Series. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2018 were tested at ages 3 to 6.

Failure items per 100 first tests, BMW 1 Series built 2018 against the BMW 1 Series in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 2018, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Tyres	8.2	10.4	9,192
Visibility	4	7.4	4,508
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	3.1	10.2	3,457
Brakes	2.4	8.8	2,704
Noise, emissions and leaks	0.9	2.1	1,011

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 112,341 (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 2018 compare with the years around it?

Among the 17 published build years of the BMW 1 Series, 2018 ranks 7 (1 = fails least for its age). 2017: index 89.7. 2019: index 99.2.

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 2018 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/2018/

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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