BMW X5 MOT pass rate & common failures

At a glance

Pass rate, adjusted for age and mileage

The X5 is 9.5 percentage points above the national pass rate once age and mileage are accounted for, which is well above average. The unadjusted figure is 80.2%; the difference is what the age and mileage of this model’s fleet was hiding.

DVSA recorded wording

Most common failure items

Share of failed BMW X5 tests in which each item was recorded. One failed test often lists several items, so these do not sum to 100%.

1. 1.A tyre seriously damaged21.5%

   3,330 occurrencesTyre damaged or deteriorated explained

2. 2.A tyre cords visible or damaged21.2%

   3,295 occurrencesTyre ply or cord exposed, or the casing separating explained

3. 3.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn12.6%

   1,958 occurrencesSuspension arm bush worn explained

4. 4.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements11.1%

   1,717 occurrencesTyre worn close to the legal limit explained

5. 5.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn9.0%

   1,397 occurrencesSuspension arm bush worn explained

6. 6.A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc9.0%

   1,394 occurrencesDriveshaft CV joint gaiter split or missing explained

7. 7.A direction indicator lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning5.7%

   881 occurrencesDirection indicator not working explained

8. 8.A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened5.5%

   850 occurrencesRoad spring broken or fractured explained

9. 9.A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning5.3%

   827 occurrencesLamp not working explained

10. 10.A suspension joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc4.8%

    741 occurrencesSuspension joint dust cover missing or split explained

Warnings without a failure

Most common advisories

Share of all BMW X5 tests carrying each advisory. The denominator differs from the failure list above because an advisory can be issued on a car that passed.

1. 1.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements26.8%

   24,695 testsTyre worn close to the legal limit explained

2. 2.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn8.5%

   7,784 testsSuspension arm bush worn explained

3. 3.Fluid leaking excessively and likely to harm the environment or to pose a safety risk to other road users6.8%

   6,233 tests

4. 4.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm6.4%

   5,857 testsBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained

5. 5.Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured6.2%

   5,665 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained

6. 6.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn4.7%

   4,282 testsSuspension arm bush worn explained

7. 7.Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded4.3%

   3,976 testsBrake pipe corroded explained

8. 8.A tyre seriously damaged4.3%

   3,950 testsTyre damaged or deteriorated explained

How wear changes the picture

Pass rate by vehicle age

Bands holding too few tests to be meaningful are omitted rather than shown as a rate.

What gets tested

The X5 fleet

Average mileage recorded at test

90,509

Across examples of every age, so this is a description of the fleet rather than an annual figure.

Fuel mix of tested cars

Diesel74.7%

Hybrid10.8%

Diesel hybrid7.6%

Petrol6.9%

Compare within the range

Other BMW models

• BMW 3 Series — 80.0% adjusted
• BMW 1 Series — 77.6% adjusted
• BMW 5 Series — 82.0% adjusted
• BMW 2 Series — 82.9% adjusted
• BMW X1 — 79.5% adjusted
• BMW 4 Series — 83.2% adjusted
• All BMW models →

Similar test volumes

Compare against other makes

• Mercedes-Benz GLA — 82.3% adjusted, ranked 35
• Renault Megane — 63.3% adjusted, ranked 238
• Mazda MX-5 — 77.2% adjusted, ranked 85
• Jaguar XF — 77.9% adjusted, ranked 74

Common questions

Is the BMW X5 reliable?

On MOT evidence the BMW X5 is well above average. It passes 81.8% of tests once age and mileage are accounted for, against a national average of 72.3%, which ranks it 41 of 262 models with enough data for a fair comparison. This measures how often the car meets the MOT standard, not how often it breaks down or what a repair costs.

What is the most common MOT failure on a BMW X5?

The item recorded most often is "A tyre seriously damaged", which appears in 21.5% of failed BMW X5 tests. Because one failed test can list several items, these shares do not add up to 100%.

What do testers most often warn about on a BMW X5?

The most common advisory is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", noted on 26.8% of all BMW X5 tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.

What mileage does a BMW X5 usually have at its MOT?

The average odometer reading recorded at test is 90,509 miles. This is the mileage across all tested examples of every age, not an annual figure, so treat it as a description of the fleet rather than a target for one car.

Does a BMW X5 get harder to pass as it ages?

Yes. At 3 to 5 years old, 86.0% of BMW X5 tests pass. By fifteen years or more, that falls to 67.7%. Nearly every model follows this pattern, which is why comparing raw pass rates between models is misleading unless age is accounted for.

Are most BMW X5 models petrol or diesel?

Of the BMW X5 cars tested, 75% are diesel, 11% are hybrid, 8% are diesel hybrid. Fuel type affects which items tend to fail, particularly emissions and exhaust components.

How this was worked out

Method and limits

Figures come from the DVSA anonymised MOT testing dataset, published under the Open Government Licence. Only class 4 initial tests are counted: retests are excluded so a car appears once, and abandoned tests are excluded entirely. The adjusted rate is directly standardised across twenty-five age and mileage bands and reweighted onto the national distribution, so this model is compared against cars that have lived a similar life rather than against a younger or lighter-used fleet.

An MOT measures whether a car met a legal standard on the day. It is not a breakdown record, a service history or a running-cost estimate, and a pass rate is a property of a fleet rather than a prediction about one car.

Further reading

Make sense of the numbers

• How to judge reliability from evidence rather than reputation
• What counts as high or low mileage for a car’s age
• The most common MOT failures and how to avoid them
• What to check before buying a used BMW