Common BMW MOT failures
Based on 34 BMW tests on MOTindex carrying an official DVSA defect code, so every category below is counted from real failures rather than estimated.
Real DVSA defect codes
Every category comes from the official MOT Inspection Manual section code DVSA attaches to each defect, not guessed from keywords.
Choose a make or model
Filter the chart below to one make or one specific model, and it updates without leaving the page.
Grows more accurate over time
Built from tests recorded on MOTindex, so the picture firms up as more vehicles are checked here.
See the breakdown for one make or model
Defaults to every make checked on MOTindex.
Where MOT tests find problems: BMW
A test can find problems in more than one category, so the figures above do not sum to 100%. Each percentage is the share of classifiable tests that found at least one defect in that category. Based on 34 classifiable tests for BMW.
What BMW failures look like
34 BMW tests recorded on MOTindex carry the manual reference DVSA attaches to each defect. The most frequent problems were with axles, wheels, tyres and suspension on 12 tests (35.3%), with brakes on 4 tests (11.8%) and with lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment on 2 tests (5.9%). A test can fail on more than one thing, and an MOT can be failed on one defect while another is only advised, so these counts do not add up to the number of tests.
Narrowed down from the categories to the individual defects themselves, three come up on more than one test:
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Tyre worn close to legal limit/worn on edge
MOT inspection manual reference 5.2.3, in axles, wheels, tyres and suspension
Recorded on 10 of the 34 tests: 3 failures and 7 advisories or minors.
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Suspension arm ball joint has slight play
MOT inspection manual reference 5.3.4, in axles, wheels, tyres and suspension
Recorded on 4 of the 34 tests: all of them advisories or minors, so none of them failed a test on its own.
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Brake disc worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened
MOT inspection manual reference 1.1.14, in brakes
Recorded on 3 of the 34 tests: all of them advisories or minors, so none of them failed a test on its own.
The same breakdown for individual BMW models: BMW X5 (20 tests), BMW 330 (8 tests), BMW 5 Series (6 tests).
Clauses are read from the manual reference at the end of every defect on the cached test records, and a defect shown here has to appear on at least two of them before it is named. The site-wide breakdown explains how that works and compares every make.