How often does the BMW i4 fail its MOT?

6.4% of 266 first-time tests in 2024 were failures, against 12.0% for all electric cars.

What does the BMW i4 most often fail on?

Tyres, 95.7% of failing defects. The single most common defect was: A tyre seriously damaged.

BMW · Fully electric · 266 inspections in 2024 · Rank 14 of 81DVSA MOT analysis

Tyres are 96% of everything that fails a BMW i4

266 inspections in a single year make the I4 a modestly documented electric car in the data. Tyres cause 95.7% of its failures; tyres take 4.0× the share they take on petrol and diesel cars of the same age.

FIGURE 1 // WHERE IT WEARSBMW i4

Top three failure systems, annotated from 17 failed first-time tests. Arrows point to where the defect is found on the car.

First-time test findings

The three-year picture

AT THREE YEARS OLD10.2%

I4 failure rate. Petrol cars of the same age fail 8.2%.

ALL ELECTRIC CARS12.0%

All electric cars in the data.

At three years old the BMW i4 fails 10.2% of the time, over the 8.2% of a petrol car the same age. Tyres cause 95.7% of its failures.

FIGURE 2 // TYRE SECTION14 certificates in 2024

The tyre that wears from the inside

Tyres take 95.7% of the defects that fail this car, 4.0× the share seen on petrol and diesel cars of the same age. The most common item in that group is "A tyre seriously damaged", recorded 14 times in 2024.

SECTION // TYRES CONCENTRATIONYear 3 crossover

Where the curve bends

The crossover with petrol happens around year 3. From there the I4's failure rate climbs faster than the petrol fleet, and the defect list explains why.

DEFECT CONCENTRATION IN FAILED TESTS:

I4 tyres share95.7%

Petrol and diesel average23.7%

The single most common item on a I4 certificate is "A tyre seriously damaged", recorded 14 times.

Source: DVSA MOT defect items, 2024 test year.

Buyer's protocolPre-purchase checklist

What to check

Check tyre age and tread across the full width, inner edge included. Electric cars wear tyres faster; a cheap mismatched set on a used car tells you how it was run. Ask for the full MOT history by registration on the free DVSA service: advisories are next year's failures.

3 inspection points:

✓ Tyre inner-edge wear and age

✓ Free DVSA MOT history check

FIGURE 3 // FAILURE RATE BY AGEvs petrol, diesel and all electric cars

Points hidden where fewer than 50 cars of that age were tested. Dashed lines are the same-age petrol and diesel fleets.

Data sheet

Inspections: 266
Passed: 247
Failed: 17
Passed after repair: 2
Failure rate: 6.4% (all EV 12.0%)
Average age: 3.0 years
Best year: 3 yrs · 10.2%
Worst year: 3 yrs · 10.2%
Top cause: Tyres 95.7%

TABLE 1 // WHAT FAILS, BY SYSTEMshare of failing defects

System	Share	vs petrol/diesel
Tyres	95.7%	4.0× more
Suspension	0.0%	in line
Brakes	0.0%	in line
Visibility	0.0%	in line
Lighting	4.3%	3.8× less
Steering	0.0%	in line
Body	0.0%	in line

TABLE 2 // TOP DEFECTS ON THE CERTIFICATE

A tyre seriously damaged14
Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements4
A tyre cords visible or damaged2
Tyres on the same axle or on twin wheels are different sizes1
A direction indicator lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning1
A recut tyre fitted to a vehicle not permitted to be fitted with recut tyres1

Wording as printed by the tester, from the DVSA inspection manual.

Where it holds up

Suspension fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (0.0% of defects vs 13.6%)
Brakes fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (0.0% of defects vs 18.7%)
Visibility fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (0.0% of defects vs 11.9%)
Lighting fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (4.3% of defects vs 16.5%)

Where it fails

Tyres take a bigger share of failures than on petrol and diesel cars of the same age (95.7% vs 23.7%)
At three years old it fails 10.2% of the time, above the 8.2% of petrol cars the same age

VERSIONS SEEN IN THE TESTSas recorded

I4 EDRIVE40 M SPORT135
I4 M5092
I4 EDRIVE40 SPORT33
I43
I4 EDRIVE35 SPORT2
I4 EDRIVE35 M SPORT1

OWNER REPORTS // MATCHED TO RECORDED DEFECTS0 read · 0 matched

No owner discussion has been matched to this car's recorded defects yet. Reports are re-collected every quarter; the figures on this page do not depend on them.

Summaries written by us, never quotes; every entry links to its source. Owner reports have no denominator and never feed the failure rate.

SIMILAR CARS IN THE DATAclosest rate and age, other brands

Mazda MX-306.4% fail · 2,026 tests Vauxhall Combo-e6.7% fail · 163 tests Citroen E-Dispatch6.6% fail · 151 tests Volkswagen e-Up6.4% fail · 1,540 tests

OTHER BMW ELECTRIC CARS

BMW i38.8% fail first time BMW iX11.6% fail first time BMW iX311.4% fail first time

Three things the data shows

266 inspections in 2024 make this one of the adequately-documented electric cars in the data.
Tyres take 4.0× the share of failures they take on petrol and diesel cars of the same age.
It ranks 14 of 81 electric cars by first-time failure rate.

LIMITS // WHAT THE INSPECTION DOES NOT TELL YOU

No battery health, no motor, no charging performance. The test covers brakes, suspension, steering, tyres, lights, visibility and structure. A car with a badly degraded battery passes as long as it stops and steers. Read this page as evidence about the chassis, not the powertrain. Cars are tested from their third year, so the newest model years are missing; every figure carries its sample size for that reason. Full methodology.