Used car guide · 2019–2023

BMW M135I common problems and MOT failures

What goes wrong on a used BMW M135I, year by year: known faults from UK buying guides, the parts flagged at MOT more than on other cars (from 22,693 MOTs done during 2023–2025), and what to check before you buy one.

22,693MOTs done in 2023–2025, all years of this model
2021best year at its MOT

Pick the year

Most years have their own guide. The year is when the car was first registered (it’s on the logbook, or check the reg below).

20232022202120202019

What usually goes wrong with a BMW M135I?

We haven’t found widely reported faults for the BMW M135I in the UK buying guides we use yet. That doesn’t mean it has none, so check the car carefully and look at the MOT weak spots below.

BMW M135I MOT pass rate by year

Of the years since 2005 with plenty of MOT tests, the 2021 BMW M135I did best (91% passed first time, 4 points above all 2021 cars) and the 2022 did worst (92%, 3 points above all 2022 cars). Older cars fail more, so compare each year with all cars registered the same year.

YearPass first timeAll cars that yearMOT tests
202395%92% +3174 (small sample)
202292%89% +32,491
202191%87% +46,959
202090%87% +310,306
201989%85% +42,763

Looking at a BMW M135I?

Check the actual car: its own MOT history and what to ask the seller. Free, no sign-up.

Where this comes from: MOT figures are the DVSA’s anonymised results for every MOT test done in Great Britain during 2023–2025, grouped by the year each car was first registered. How many are on the road is from the Department for Transport’s vehicle licensing statistics. Known faults are from UK buying guides, in our own words, with links. How we score