All generations and engines together · 106,770 MOT tests in the 2025 data · typical mileage at age 7: 60k
Split by first-registration year. Cars registered in a changeover year can belong to either generation.
Computed from DVSA MOT results, all of Great Britain, 2025. Nothing here is opinion.
Share of tests where each item was recorded. The dark tick is the class average across all tracked models; bars are scaled within each group.
The rows that judge the model rather than its keeper. 48,764 tests in this band.
Tyres, pads and stone chips say more about how the car was driven and maintained than about how it was built.
Owner folklore from forums and the motoring press. Most of it never shows up in an MOT, which is why this section exists at all.
Owners of the 2015-2022 X1 (F48) report iDrive rebooting itself, Connected Drive cutting out, and the system hanging on the splash screen in cold weather, with voice control and the rain sensor also named as unreliable. One dealer told Honest John 'we've had a lot of iDrive problems recently.' A smaller number of owners also report the autonomous emergency braking triggering for no reason at speed, which a dealer software update is said to fix. None of this is the subject of a public recall, so treat it as a repeated owner complaint rather than a proven pattern.
Separate from the electronics complaints, 2015-2022 X1 owners have reported turbo failure as early as 40,000 miles on a 2016 car, and number 4 fuel injector failure at comparatively low mileage on other examples. Some dealers have treated the injector as a wear item rather than a warranty claim, leaving the owner with the bill. Costs run from a few hundred pounds for an injector to well over a thousand for a turbo.
On the original 2009-2015 X1, the N47 diesel's turbo bearing oil seals have been reported to fail, letting the turbo spin unchecked past 7,000rpm until the engine itself is destroyed. It's a diesel-specific report to Honest John rather than a confirmed widespread pattern, but the failure mode is catastrophic when it happens, and repair means a new turbo and possibly engine work, likely running into four figures.
A reported case on a 2012 X1 automatic saw friction plate and starter ring gear failure at around 80,000 miles, which took the torque converter and starter motor with it, with a repair quote over £2,000. It's a single documented case rather than a widespread pattern, but worth checking for on a test drive with a full-throttle kickdown, feeling for hesitation or a clunk.
A 2009-2015 xDrive X1 was reported to have suffered premature front differential failure at around 48,000 miles, put down to the sealed diff oil degrading with age since it isn't on the routine service schedule. Front-wheel-drive sDrive cars aren't affected. On an xDrive car with no record of the diff oil ever being changed, budget for it or ask the seller to do it before you buy.
The current (2022-on) X1 has been the subject of several official safety recalls, including a wide-ranging one covering an electrical fault in the integrated braking system. Separately, reviewers describe the infotainment software as glitchy on early cars. Check the car's recall status with BMW or the DVSA recall checker before buying, since not every affected car will have had the work done.
Built from the two sections above.
Same segment (Small SUVs), best MOT record first. Compare before you shortlist.