BMW 7 Series MOT failures and reliability

In 2023 the BMW 7 Series took 19,412 MOT tests in Britain and passed 82% of them first time, above the national average of 71% for all cars. The figures below come from the DVSA's record of every test, so they show what testers actually found on these cars rather than what owners report.

MOT tests in 2023: 19,412
First-time pass rate: 82%
All cars: 71%

What the 7 Series fails on

Share of tests with at least one failure in each area, against the figure for all cars.

Suspension5.5% (all cars 9.0%)
Tyres5.5% (all cars 6.4%)
Lights and electrics4.6% (all cars 11.3%)
Brakes3.5% (all cars 6.8%)
Visibility2.8% (all cars 4.8%)
Exhaust and emissions1.8% (all cars 3.1%)
Seat belts and airbags1.5% (all cars 1.0%)
Wheels1.1% (all cars 0.4%)

Most common failure items

Share of tests on which each item was recorded.

Coil spring: fractured or broken 1.6%
Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm 1.5%
Suspension arms, pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn 1.5%
Suspension arms, ball joint: ball joint excessively worn 1.4%
Tyres, condition: has ply or cords exposed 1.3%
Tyres, condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords 1.2%
SRS malfunction indicator lamp: warning lamp indicates a fault 1.2%
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid 1.1%

Most common advisories

Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge 16.1%
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive 8.6%
Suspension arms, pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement 5.5%
Brake pads: wearing thin 4.5%
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened 4.0%
Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material 3.8%
Suspension arms, ball joint: ball joint has slight play 2.9%
Tyres, condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing 2.8%

Pass rate by year of registration

Older cars fail more often whatever the model, so compare a car with others of the same age.

First registered	Tests	Pass rate
2000	333	69%
2001	345	71%
2003	330	70%
2004	357	71%
2005	563	69%
2006	955	70%
2007	646	74%
2008	696	72%
2009	562	78%
2010	745	79%
2011	910	79%
2012	903	81%
2013	774	82%
2014	940	83%
2015	752	84%
2016	1,554	89%
2017	1,757	89%
2018	1,664	91%
2019	1,745	92%
2020	909	92%

Typical mileage by age

Average odometer reading at the MOT, by the car's age in years at the test.

Age at test	Average mileage
3 years	31,277 miles
4 years	41,737 miles
5 years	54,383 miles
6 years	63,824 miles
7 years	71,077 miles
8 years	80,786 miles
9 years	93,032 miles
10 years	101,124 miles
11 years	109,412 miles
12 years	117,134 miles
13 years	122,734 miles
14 years	122,959 miles
15 years	134,655 miles
16 years	137,453 miles
17 years	140,501 miles
18 years	134,814 miles
19 years	130,145 miles
20 years	132,102 miles

Check a particular 7 Series

Model figures tell you what to look out for. To see one car's own MOT history, mileage and tax, enter its registration.

Other BMW models

Source: Department for Transport, Anonymised MOT tests and results, 2023, cars and light vans, normal tests only. Pass rates are first-time passes; a pass after repair at the test station counts as a fail. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.