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BMW 4 Series 2020: MOT failure rate for its age

11.8% of 9,576 MOT tests of the BMW 4 Series first registered in 2020 failed at the first attempt (2019–2024; retests excluded). Against this model's own normal rate at the same ages the index is 102.1 (95% CI 96.2–108.1; 100 = normal for this model at that age): the 2020 build year is no different from other years of the same model at the same age.

BMW 4 Series built in 2020 at a glance
MeasureValueUnitCompared withYearsTests
Failed first time11.8%all ages tested2019–20249576
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 96.2–108.1)102.1index100 = normal for this model at that age2019–20249576
Rank among this model's 8 build years6of 81 = fails least for its age2019–20249576
Tested in 20244701testsmedian 29,417 miles20244701
line · BMW 4 Series built 2020 · first-time MOT failure share by age · built 2020 11.4% vs model normal 11.2% at age 3 · 2019–2024
Built 2020 against BMW 4 Series normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 3: 11.4% vs 11.2%; age 4: 12.1% vs 11.9%. Axis from 0% to 20%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

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

How does the 2020 BMW 4 Series fail at each age?

Cars built in 2020 were tested at ages 3 to 4 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 4 Series built 2020: first-time MOT failure by age, against the model's normal rate at that age (2019–2024)
AgeTestsFailed, %95% intervalNormal for this model at that age, %Index (100 = normal)
34,87511.410.6–12.411.2102.3
44,70112.111.2–13.111.9102

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 9,576 (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 2020 BMW 4 Series?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2020 is tyres: 10.7 items per 100 first tests, against 10.9 across all build years of the BMW 4 Series. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2020 were tested at ages 3 to 4.

Failure items per 100 first tests, BMW 4 Series built 2020 against the BMW 4 Series in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure groupBuilt 2020, per 100All build years, per 100Items
Tyres10.710.91,082
Visibility2.94296
Brakes1.32.7131
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment0.82.283
Identification of the vehicle0.40.736

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 10,104 (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 2020 compare with the years around it?

Among the 8 published build years of the BMW 4 Series, 2020 ranks 6 (1 = fails least for its age). 2019: index 110.7.

BMW 4 Series build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build yearIndex (100 = normal)95% intervalVerdictTests
2013100.896.1–105.5no different9,750
2014106.5104.7–108.2worse77,602
2015102.0100.5–103.5worse111,935
201699.397.8–100.9no different114,125
201794.192.4–95.9better94,393
201898.996.7–101.0no different64,988
2019110.7107.4–114.0worse32,125
2020102.196.2–108.1no different9,576

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 514,494 (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 4 Series 2020 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-4-series/2020/

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.

Other pages for this model

BMW 4 Series 2013 · BMW 4 Series 2014 · BMW 4 Series 2015 · BMW 4 Series 2016 · BMW 4 Series 2017 · BMW 4 Series 2018 · BMW 4 Series 2019 · BMW 4 Series by postcode area · BMW 4 Series body, chassis and structure failures · BMW 4 Series brakes failures · BMW 4 Series vehicle identification failures · BMW 4 Series lamps, reflectors and electrics failures · BMW 4 Series noise, emissions and leaks failures · BMW 4 Series road wheels failures · BMW 4 Series seat belts and airbags failures · BMW 4 Series steering failures · BMW 4 Series suspension failures · BMW 4 Series tyres failures · BMW 4 Series visibility failures