Does the BMW 3 Series fail the MOT on tyres more than it should?
The BMW 3 Series records 10.77 tyres failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 9.05 expected for a car of the same age mix: more than expected for its class and age (+1.72, 95% interval +1.68 to +1.76). It ranks 140 of 751 models on tyres (1 = most failures above expected).
Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · all models on tyres · check a BMW 3 Series by registration
What exactly fails on tyres?
The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the BMW 3 Series is “Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements”, recorded 133,417 times in 2019–2024.
| DVSA defect wording | Items | Per 100 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements | 133,417 | 4.29 |
| A tyre seriously damaged | 98,270 | 3.16 |
| A tyre cords visible or damaged | 73,050 | 2.35 |
| A tyre has a lump, bulge or tear caused by separation or partial failure of its structure. This includes any lifting of the tread rubber | 7,556 | 0.24 |
| Tyre obviously under inflated | 5,449 | 0.18 |
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 3,110,401 (initial tests) · Method: failure items (major and minor) grouped by DVSA's defect tree; wordings with 30+ items · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV
If a BMW 3 Series gets a tyres advisory, how often does it fail next time?
10.5% of BMW 3 Series MOTs with a tyres advisory were followed by a fail in the same group at the next MOT, typically 12.1 months and 6,501 miles later (555,494 advisories followed).
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 555,494 (advisories followed) · Method: the same vehicles followed to their next ordinary MOT · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV
Other pages for this model
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