2015 BMW I3: MOT pass rate and reliability

85.3% of 2015 BMW I3s pass the MOT first time, measured across 1,915 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 59,903 miles.

How the 2015 compares

  • Against all BMW I3s (89.7%, 23,645 tests): -4.4 points
  • Against all 2015 cars (78.3%): +7 points
  • National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%

Every BMW I3 model year

Pass rates fall as cars age, so the only fair comparison for a 2015 car is other cars of the same age. The full run for the BMW I3:

Year Pass rate Tests Avg mileage
2014 85% 1,181 63,360
2015 85.3% 1,915 59,903
2016 86.6% 2,157 56,070
2017 88.2% 3,182 52,373
2018 90.2% 3,094 40,810
2019 91.8% 4,096 32,540
2020 92.2% 4,178 25,640
2021 91.6% 3,565 20,137

What this means if you are buying a 2015 I3

The 2015 is a weaker year for this model, passing 4.4 points less often than the BMW I3 average. Some of that is simply age, so compare it against the 2015 figure for all cars above rather than against newer examples. Check the exact car with the free MOT history checker before you buy, and run its VIN and mileage through our free VIN decoder and clocking check.

What an 11-year-old car fails on

A 2015 car is 11 years old now, and age drives the failure mix more than the badge does. Across all cars tested, these are the categories that actually cause failures:

  • Lights and electrical: 10.36% of all cars tested
  • Suspension: 8.65% of all cars tested
  • Tyres: 6.23% of all cars tested
  • Brakes: 6.1% of all cars tested
  • Visibility: wipers, washers, glass: 4.65% of all cars tested
  • Body, chassis and structure: 3.18% of all cars tested

That is around average, so condition and service history will tell you more than the odometer does. On a 2015 BMW I3 the average at test was 59,903 miles, so treat anything far above that as a car that has worked harder than its peers, and anything far below as one worth checking for the faults that come from standing still.

The strongest year for this model is 2020 at 92.2%, and the weakest in our data is 2014 at 85%. That 7.2 point spread across the model's life is why comparing a 2015 car against a newer one tells you very little.

Nearby model years

All BMW I3 MOT data · Every model