MOT fail rates

BMW 7 Series MOT fail rate by age

How often the BMW 7 Series fails its MOT at each age, compared with all cars of the same age, and what it fails on. From 72,995 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 22 September 2026

At 6 years, the most tested age

MOT fail rate at age 6 (n=6,699)9.8%

All cars at 6 years (n=10,382,720)17.8%

Median mileage at test57,714

All cars, median mileage44,951

20 of 340 model groups with enough tests fail less often at 6 years.

What stands out

At 3 years the BMW 7 Series fails 9.0% of MOTs (4,708 tests), 3.1 points below the 12.1% for all cars that age. At 25 years it fails 28.1% (1,121 tests), 8.2 points below the 36.3% average.
The gap is widest at 13 years: 19.1 points below all cars.
Its most common structural or mechanical fail item at 6 years: Driveshaft CV boot split, at 0.9 per 100 MOTs.

MOT fail rate by age

Solid line: this model. Dashed line: all cars at the same age.

BMW 7 Series: share of MOT tests that failed, by age, against all cars. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	MOT fail rate	Tests (n)	All cars	Difference	Median mileage
3 years	9.0%	4,708	12.1%	−3.1 pts	29,111 miles
4 years	7.7%	5,559	13.4%	−5.7 pts	38,097 miles
5 years	8.9%	6,191	15.3%	−6.4 pts	47,875 miles
6 years	9.8%	6,699	17.8%	−8.0 pts	57,714 miles
7 years	11.4%	5,579	20.6%	−9.3 pts	65,886 miles
8 years	13.2%	4,890	23.8%	−10.5 pts	74,876 miles
9 years	14.7%	3,959	27.1%	−12.5 pts	84,670 miles
10 years	17.6%	3,384	30.3%	−12.7 pts	95,597 miles
11 years	18.5%	3,522	33.3%	−14.8 pts	104,192 miles
12 years	18.5%	3,290	36.0%	−17.5 pts	111,514 miles
13 years	19.2%	3,019	38.3%	−19.1 pts	117,998 miles
14 years	22.0%	2,765	40.3%	−18.3 pts	123,857 miles
15 years	23.5%	2,474	41.6%	−18.1 pts	128,462 miles
16 years	25.9%	2,795	42.6%	−16.7 pts	132,751 miles
17 years	27.8%	2,796	43.1%	−15.3 pts	136,360 miles
18 years	28.5%	2,313	43.3%	−14.8 pts	135,345 miles
19 years	28.4%	2,014	43.2%	−14.8 pts	133,481 miles
20 years	29.1%	1,280	42.8%	−13.6 pts	125,515 miles
21 years	26.3%	1,116	42.1%	−15.7 pts	123,317 miles
22 years	28.9%	1,133	41.0%	−12.1 pts	123,653 miles
23 years	27.1%	1,124	39.6%	−12.6 pts	123,824 miles
24 years	28.2%	1,264	37.8%	−9.6 pts	123,637 miles
25 years	28.1%	1,121	36.3%	−8.2 pts	123,489 miles

Most common fail items at 6 years

Split into structural or mechanical items and wear items. Wear items (tyres, brake pads, wipers, bulbs) say more about upkeep than about the design.

Structural and mechanical

Fail item	Per 100 MOTs
Driveshaft CV boot split Major	0.9
Road wheel condition: fractured Dangerous	0.6
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction Major	0.5
Road wheel attachment: fixing missing Major	0.4

Out of 6,699 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Wear and upkeep

Fail item	Per 100 MOTs
Tyre condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Major	1.7
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm Dangerous	1.7
Tyre condition: has a bulge, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Dangerous	1.2
Tyre with cords exposed Dangerous	1.1
Registration plates: does not conform to the specified requirements Major	0.7
Brake pads under 1.5 mm Dangerous	0.4

Out of 6,699 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Other models at 6 years

Model	MOT fail rate	Tests (n)	All cars
BMW 1 Series	15.5%	122,018	17.8%
BMW 3 Series	13.4%	114,167	17.8%
BMW 2 Series	14.7%	79,099	17.8%

MOT fail rate by first-use year

Each year has its own page: the fail rate for cars first used that year at each MOT from 2022 to 2025 with at least 1,000 tests, the most common faults at that age, and the car tax and ULEZ rules for that year.

First-use year data updated 28 September 2026.

Latest MOT age with at least 1,000 tests for each first-use year.
First used	Age at test	MOT fail rate	Tests (n)	All cars
2016	9 years in 2025	10.5%	1,485	27.1%
2017	8 years in 2025	11.5%	1,651	23.8%
2018	7 years in 2025	9.9%	1,563	20.6%
2019	6 years in 2025	8.7%	1,661	17.8%
2020	4 years in 2024	6.7%	1,010	13.4%
2021	4 years in 2025	8.6%	1,061	13.4%

More on the BMW 7 Series

Read this with care. A fail rate is not a measure of build quality. How far cars are driven, how they are used and how well owners maintain them all change it, and wear items such as tyres and brake pads are common fails. Compare a model only with cars of the same age. Methodology and limits.

Looking at one BMW 7 Series?

These are figures for the model, not for one car. The VetTheCar Buying Report looks at a single car: its MOT tests, defects, advisories and mileage readings.

See an example report Browse the car tools

Source

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data, class 4 normal MOT tests, 2022 to 2025. MOT data updated 22 September 2026.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by DVSA. How we calculate these figures · Data sources