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MOT fail rates

BMW Z4 MOT fail rate by age

How often the BMW Z4 fails its MOT at each age, compared with all cars of the same age, and what it fails on. From 141,225 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated

At 18 years, the most tested age

MOT fail rate at age 18 (n=11,911)30.9%
All cars at 18 years (n=3,261,622)43.3%
Median mileage at test88,696
All cars, median mileage105,218

29 of 238 model groups with enough tests fail less often at 18 years.

What stands out

  • At 3 years the BMW Z4 fails 8.8% of MOTs (5,735 tests), 3.2 points below the 12.1% for all cars that age. At 22 years it fails 30.8% (2,376 tests), 10.2 points below the 41.0% average.
  • The gap is widest at 14 years: 18.7 points below all cars.
  • Its most common structural or mechanical fail item at 18 years: Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded, at 6.6 per 100 MOTs.

MOT fail rate by age

3 years 22 years 47.6%

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

BMW Z4: share of MOT tests that failed, by age, against all cars. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
AgeMOT fail rateTests (n)All carsDifferenceMedian mileage
3 years8.8%5,73512.1%−3.2 pts14,953 miles
4 years9.8%4,70113.4%−3.6 pts19,909 miles
5 years10.7%3,71715.3%−4.6 pts24,629 miles
6 years12.7%3,41017.8%−5.1 pts28,781 miles
7 years15.2%3,02320.6%−5.4 pts34,432 miles
8 years15.6%4,96323.8%−8.1 pts39,901 miles
9 years16.0%6,45027.1%−11.1 pts45,307 miles
10 years18.1%7,09330.3%−12.2 pts51,227 miles
11 years18.6%7,43833.3%−14.7 pts55,735 miles
12 years18.8%7,52736.0%−17.2 pts60,368 miles
13 years19.8%8,46938.3%−18.5 pts64,772 miles
14 years21.6%8,49440.3%−18.7 pts69,183 miles
15 years24.1%9,82941.6%−17.5 pts75,601 miles
16 years27.1%10,96642.6%−15.4 pts79,995 miles
17 years30.2%10,61143.1%−12.9 pts85,341 miles
18 years30.9%11,91143.3%−12.4 pts88,696 miles
19 years31.2%11,21543.2%−11.9 pts91,873 miles
20 years33.1%7,82842.8%−9.7 pts94,323 miles
21 years31.0%5,46942.1%−11.0 pts95,583 miles
22 years30.8%2,37641.0%−10.2 pts97,088 miles

Most common fail items at 18 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 itemPer 100 MOTs
Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded Major6.6
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction Major3.6
Suspension arm bush worn Major3.2
Suspension ball joint worn Major3
Airbag (SRS) warning light on Major2.9
Coil spring broken Major2.2
Linkage ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Major1.9

Out of 11,911 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Wear and upkeep

Fail itemPer 100 MOTs
Wipers not clearing screen Major3.2
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm Dangerous2.9
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid Major1.8

Out of 11,911 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Other models at 18 years

ModelMOT fail rateTests (n)All cars
BMW 3 Series33.9%70,07143.3%
BMW 1 Series37.0%27,08743.3%
BMW 5 Series33.0%23,78343.3%

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 .

Latest MOT age with at least 1,000 tests for each first-use year.
First usedAge at testMOT fail rateTests (n)All cars
200322 years in 202530.8%2,37541.0%
200421 years in 202530.1%2,91742.1%
200520 years in 202534.9%1,97642.8%
200619 years in 202528.6%2,89443.2%
200718 years in 202526.8%3,11643.3%
200817 years in 202530.1%1,75943.1%
200916 years in 202520.4%2,43442.6%
201015 years in 202519.8%1,96741.6%
201114 years in 202518.7%1,97140.3%
201213 years in 202519.9%1,85038.3%
201312 years in 202519.7%1,58236.0%
201411 years in 202518.0%1,92233.3%
201510 years in 202518.0%1,59330.3%
20169 years in 202517.4%1,23727.1%
20196 years in 202511.2%2,01717.8%
20205 years in 20259.5%1,53215.3%
20214 years in 20258.8%1,07413.4%

More on the BMW Z4

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 Z4?

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