BMW 4 Series MOT pass rates & common failures

Every completed first-attempt MOT on a BMW 4 Series in Great Britain in 2025 — 111,945 tests. Figures cover every 4 Series first-tested in 2025, all trims grouped. How the 4 Series ages, what it fails on, and what mileage is normal, computed directly from the official DVSA record of every test.

Pass rate 2025
83.5%
11.2 points above the class-4 average (72.3%); unadjusted for age — the age-matched comparison is below
Tests analysed
111,945
first tests, 2025
Arrived with a dangerous fault
7.6%
of 4 Series first tests; national 7.3%
Typical mileage at 10 years
83,750
middle half: 66,250–106,250 miles (2,500-mile-band midpoints)

How many BMW 4 Series cars are still on the road?

At the end of 2025, DVLA's register held 116,703 BMW 4 Series cars that were taxed or on SORN: 113,913 taxed and 2,790 on SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification — kept, but declared off the road by the keeper). The MOT figures above count tests; these count cars, across the whole United Kingdom, cars only. BMW 4 Series vans, where they exist, are counted by DVLA as goods vehicles and are not in these figures.

Still taxed, end of 2025
113,913
97.6% of the 116,703 4 Series cars taxed or on SORN; 161 model variants grouped
On SORN, end of 2025
2,790
declared off the road by their keepers — 2.4% of that total

How the numbers are moving

The number of taxed 4 Series cars is still rising: 113,913 at the end of 2025, up 915 (0.8%) on the end of 2024, and the highest in the years shown. Cars on SORN went from 615 at the end of 2014 to 2,790 at the end of 2025, up 353.7%. A car leaves the taxed count when it is scrapped, exported or declared off the road; the year-end counts do not say which.

Taxed 4 Series cars, year by year

Cars of this model taxed and on the road at the end of each year, 2014–2025.

050k100k150k2014201620182020202220242025Year (count at the end of the year)Taxed 4 Series cars, year 2014: 16kTaxed 4 Series cars, year 2015: 36kTaxed 4 Series cars, year 2016: 56kTaxed 4 Series cars, year 2017: 73kTaxed 4 Series cars, year 2018: 88kTaxed 4 Series cars, year 2019: 96kTaxed 4 Series cars, year 2020: 100kTaxed 4 Series cars, year 2021: 104kTaxed 4 Series cars, year 2022: 110kTaxed 4 Series cars, year 2023: 112kTaxed 4 Series cars, year 2024: 113kTaxed 4 Series cars, year 2025: 114k114k
View this chart as a table
YearTaxed 4 Series cars
201415,597
201536,189
201655,890
201773,394
201888,011
201996,436
202099,631
2021104,405
2022110,037
2023112,051
2024112,998
2025113,913

4 Series cars on SORN, year by year

Cars of this model declared off the road at the end of each year, 2014–2025. Its own scale — SORN counts are a fraction of the taxed count.

01k2k3k2014201620182020202220242025Year (count at the end of the year)4 Series cars on SORN, year 2014: 6154 Series cars on SORN, year 2015: 6054 Series cars on SORN, year 2016: 9354 Series cars on SORN, year 2017: 1k4 Series cars on SORN, year 2018: 1k4 Series cars on SORN, year 2019: 1k4 Series cars on SORN, year 2020: 1k4 Series cars on SORN, year 2021: 1k4 Series cars on SORN, year 2022: 1k4 Series cars on SORN, year 2023: 2k4 Series cars on SORN, year 2024: 2k4 Series cars on SORN, year 2025: 3k3k
View this chart as a table
Year4 Series cars on SORN
2014615
2015605
2016935
20171,111
20181,194
20191,413
20201,274
20211,123
20221,498
20231,837
20242,311
20252,790

Which model years survive

Taxed 4 Series cars at the end of 2025 by year of manufacture, and each year's share of the 113,913 taxed in all. Every build year holding at least 1% has its own row; the rest share one. A build year's count depends on how many were sold that year as well as how many have lasted.

Year of manufacture Taxed, end of 2025Share of taxed 4 Series cars
20251,8961.7%
20242,7092.4%
20233,3883.0%
20225,2584.6%
20215,4624.8%
20204,2233.7%
20199,9408.7%
201814,96313.1%
201716,91314.8%
201618,08415.9%
201517,60215.5%
201411,98910.5%
20131,4851.3%
All other build years (one year, each under 1%)10.0%

Population source: Department for Transport / DVLA vehicle licensing statistics, table VEH0124, updated 15 July 2026; counts of the cars on DVLA's register that were taxed or on SORN at the end of each year shown, United Kingdom, cars only, excluding cars recorded with no model name. SortedCars groups DVLA's model name 4 SERIES under this model. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. SortedCars is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, DVLA or the Department for Transport.

How the 4 Series ages

First-time pass rate by vehicle age, 4 Series vs all cars, 2025.

BMW 4 SeriesAll cars
50%60%70%80%90%100%3579111315171920Vehicle age (years)BMW 4 Series, vehicle age 3: 88.7%BMW 4 Series, vehicle age 4: 88.2%BMW 4 Series, vehicle age 5: 86.8%BMW 4 Series, vehicle age 6: 85%BMW 4 Series, vehicle age 7: 85.2%BMW 4 Series, vehicle age 8: 84.4%BMW 4 Series, vehicle age 9: 83.3%BMW 4 Series, vehicle age 10: 80.3%BMW 4 Series, vehicle age 11: 77.6%BMW 4 Series, vehicle age 12: 77%All cars, vehicle age 3: 88.5%All cars, vehicle age 4: 87.2%All cars, vehicle age 5: 86%All cars, vehicle age 6: 83.5%All cars, vehicle age 7: 80.9%All cars, vehicle age 8: 78.2%All cars, vehicle age 9: 74.9%All cars, vehicle age 10: 71.9%All cars, vehicle age 11: 68.6%All cars, vehicle age 12: 65.8%All cars, vehicle age 13: 63.5%All cars, vehicle age 14: 61.2%All cars, vehicle age 15: 59.3%All cars, vehicle age 16: 58.3%All cars, vehicle age 17: 57.2%All cars, vehicle age 18: 57.4%All cars, vehicle age 19: 57%All cars, vehicle age 20: 57.6%BMW 4 Series 77%All cars 57.6%
View this chart as a table
Age (years)4 Series tests4 Series pass rateAll cars
37,48888.7%88.5%
46,91188.2%87.2%
54,56686.8%86.0%
610,20485.0%83.5%
715,50485.2%80.9%
817,08784.4%78.2%
918,14583.3%74.9%
1017,90080.3%71.9%
1112,27777.6%68.6%
121,51577.0%65.8%

Better or worse than the average car?

The 4 Series's pass rate minus the all-cars pass rate at each age, in percentage points. Bars above zero: the 4 Series beats the average car of that age. Below zero: it trails.

4 Series ahead
-12-6+0+6+12Age 3: +0.2 points vs the average car3Age 4: +1.0 points vs the average carAge 5: +0.8 points vs the average car5Age 6: +1.5 points vs the average carAge 7: +4.3 points vs the average car7Age 8: +6.2 points vs the average carAge 9: +8.4 points vs the average car9Age 10: +8.4 points vs the average carAge 11: +9.0 points vs the average car11Age 12: +11.2 points vs the average carVehicle age (years)
View this chart as a table
Age (years)Gap (points)
3+0.2
4+1.0
5+0.8
6+1.5
7+4.3
8+6.2
9+8.4
10+8.4
11+9.0
12+11.2

The 4 Series fleet on the road, by age

How many took a first MOT in 2025 at each age — the shape of the 4 Series fleet still in use.

05k10k15k20kAge 3: 7k3Age 4: 6kAge 5: 4k5Age 6: 10kAge 7: 15k7Age 8: 17kAge 9: 18k9Age 10: 17kAge 11: 12k11Age 12: 1k12Vehicle age (years)
View this chart as a table
Age (years)First tests
37,488
46,911
54,566
610,204
715,504
817,087
918,145
1017,900
1112,277
121,515

What a 4 Series fails on

Where the failure items land when a 4 Series fails or needs a fix at test, 2025. Use it as a pre-purchase checklist: these are the areas to look at first.

Tyres40.1%
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment15.9%
Suspension12.3%
Brakes11.5%
Visibility7.9%
Road Wheels4.3%
Noise, emissions and leaks3.0%
Identification of the vehicle2.5%

Share of all failure items, 2025 — the 8 biggest categories shown (97.4% of the items); smaller categories are not listed.

The advisories to watch

Where testers most often write "keep an eye on this" for a 4 Series, 2025 — the faults in the post.

Tyres: 43.6% of advisories43.6%Brakes: 27.2% of advisories27.2%Suspension: 12.4% of advisories12.4%Non-component advisories: 9.6% of advisories9.6%Noise, emissions and leaks: 3.1% of advisoriesIdentification of the vehicle: 1.3% of advisories
TyresBrakesSuspensionNon-component advisoriesNoise, emissions and leaksIdentification of the vehicle
View this chart as a table
CategoryShare of advisories
Tyres43.6%
Brakes27.2%
Suspension12.4%
Non-component advisories9.6%
Noise, emissions and leaks3.1%
Identification of the vehicle1.3%

Petrol, diesel or hybrid 4 Series?

First-time pass rate for the four most-tested 4 Series fuel types, 2025, against the all-cars average. Fleet ages differ by fuel — newer fleets help the electrified bars.

50%60%70%80%90%100%all cars 72.3%Diesel: 81.6% of 62,485 tests81.6%Diesel62,485 testsPetrol: 85.6% of 42,960 tests85.6%Petrol42,960 testsElectric diesel: 87.8% of 3,944 tests87.8%Electric diesel3,944 testsHybrid electric: 89.6% of 2,552 tests89.6%Hybrid2,552 tests
View this chart as a table
FuelTestsPass rate
Diesel62,48581.6%
Petrol42,96085.6%
Electric diesel3,94487.8%
Hybrid electric2,55289.6%

What mileage is normal for a 4 Series?

Mileage recorded at test by vehicle age, 2025. The line is the typical (median) 4 Series; the shaded band holds the middle half. A car far outside the band, in either direction, is worth questions the recorded history can answer.

Typical 4 Series (median)
0k25k50k75k100k125k35791112Vehicle age (years)Age 3: typical 23,750 miles (middle half 16,250–33,750)Age 4: typical 31,250 miles (middle half 21,250–41,250)Age 5: typical 36,250 miles (middle half 28,750–48,750)Age 6: typical 46,250 miles (middle half 33,750–61,250)Age 7: typical 56,250 miles (middle half 41,250–71,250)Age 8: typical 66,250 miles (middle half 51,250–86,250)Age 9: typical 78,750 miles (middle half 58,750–98,750)Age 10: typical 83,750 miles (middle half 66,250–106,250)Age 11: typical 88,750 miles (middle half 68,750–111,250)Age 12: typical 96,250 miles (middle half 73,750–121,250)96k mi

Mileage values are midpoints of 2,500-mile bands.

View this chart as a table
Age (years)Lower quarterTypical (median)Upper quarter
316,25023,75033,750
421,25031,25041,250
528,75036,25048,750
633,75046,25061,250
741,25056,25071,250
851,25066,25086,250
958,75078,75098,750
1066,25083,750106,250
1168,75088,750111,250
1273,75096,250121,250

What fails at each age

The 4 Series's failure mix by age band, 2025 — each band's top categories at their true share of that band's failure items; the pale remainder is everything else. How the mix shifts with age is the point of the chart.

TyresBrakesVisibilityLamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentIdentification of the vehicleSuspensionEverything else
View this chart as a table
Age bandCategoryShare of the band's failure items
3-5 yrsTyres70.7%
3-5 yrsBrakes6.1%
3-5 yrsVisibility6.0%
3-5 yrsLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment5.1%
3-5 yrsIdentification of the vehicle3.8%
3-5 yrsEverything else8.3%
6-9 yrsTyres46.2%
6-9 yrsBrakes13.3%
6-9 yrsSuspension11.5%
6-9 yrsLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment10.2%
6-9 yrsVisibility6.6%
6-9 yrsEverything else12.2%
10-13 yrsTyres33.6%
10-13 yrsSuspension19.0%
10-13 yrsLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment14.8%
10-13 yrsBrakes13.5%
10-13 yrsVisibility6.6%
10-13 yrsEverything else12.5%

More vehicles we've checked

How these figures are computed. Every number on this page is calculated by SortedCars from the DVSA anonymised MOT results dataset (every MOT test in Great Britain — 2025 for single-year figures; trend figures state their span, currently 2023–2025). Where a figure comes from a sample or uses banded values (mileage is banded to 2,500 miles), the page says so beside the figure. Test class 4 only, first tests only — retests are excluded. Class 4 is the car MOT class and also covers car-derived vans, pickups and motorhomes tested to the same standard; where this page says "cars" it means class 4. Pass rate = passes ÷ (passes + failures + pass-after-rectification): a vehicle that failed and was fixed during the visit counts as a fail. Pass rates describe fleets, not individual machines: they reflect how cars were driven, maintained and used as well as how they were built, and beyond recorded mileage none of that is in the data. A well-kept example of a model with a weak average can still pass; a neglected example of a strong one can still fail. No figure is shown for any group with fewer than 500 tests. Alias spellings of a make in the DVSA file are counted under one make name, and all trims and variants of a model are grouped under one model name, using SortedCars' grouping tables. The taxed and SORN counts on this page are the one exception: they are not computed from MOT records but taken from the Department for Transport's vehicle licensing statistics (DfT/DVLA table VEH0124, updated 15 July 2026, Open Government Licence v3.0), which count the cars on DVLA's register that were taxed or on SORN at the end of each year shown, UK-wide, cars only. They describe a model as a whole, grouped under SortedCars' model names, and say nothing about any one car. “Dangerous” is DVSA's statutory defect category (in force since May 2018): a defect posing an immediate risk to road safety — driving the vehicle before repair is an offence. What these figures are for. These statistics are general information about groups of vehicles. They are not advice, a valuation or a recommendation to buy, avoid or price any particular vehicle, and no decision about one car should rest on them alone — check the car itself and its own records. We take care over the calculations, but we cannot guarantee they are complete, current or free of error, and we accept no liability for loss arising from reliance on them. This does not limit any liability that cannot lawfully be limited — see our Terms & Conditions. If you believe any figure on this page is inaccurate, contact us. SortedCars is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the DVSA or DVLA. DVSA publishes the raw test records; the statistics on this page are SortedCars' own calculations from them. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.