2018 BMW I3: MOT pass rate and reliability
90.2% of 2018 BMW I3s pass the MOT first time, measured across 3,094 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 40,810 miles.
How the 2018 compares
- Against all BMW I3s (89.7%, 23,645 tests): +0.5 points
- Against all 2018 cars (85.9%): +4.3 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 2018 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 2018 I3
The 2018 sits close to the BMW I3 average, so there is no strong model-year signal either way. Judge the individual car on its own history. 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 8-year-old car fails on
A 2018 car is 8 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 below average for a car this age, worth a mileage-consistency check since an unusually low reading is sometimes clocking rather than luck. On a 2018 BMW I3 the average at test was 40,810 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 2018 car against a newer one tells you very little.
Nearby model years
- 2015 BMW I3 - 85.3%
- 2016 BMW I3 - 86.6%
- 2017 BMW I3 - 88.2%
- 2019 BMW I3 - 91.8%
- 2020 BMW I3 - 92.2%
- 2021 BMW I3 - 91.6%