Common problems

BMW 4 Series common problems

What MOT testers find on the BMW 4 Series: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 417,430 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 7 years, the most tested age

Tyres fails per 100 MOTs (n=70,637)8.3

All cars at 7 years (n=10,537,318)6.0

Tyres advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=70,637)22.3

All cars, same age (n=10,537,318)24.8

What stands out

Tyres fails show up on 8.3 of every 100 MOTs of a BMW 4 Series at 7 years old (n=70,637), against 6.0 for all cars of that age (n=10,537,318).
Lights and electrics fails are less common: 2.6 per 100 MOTs against 5.8 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 7 years: tyre with cords exposed, on 2.3 per 100 MOTs (all cars 1.1).
The most common advisory or minor defect: tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge, on 17.0 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 7 years

How many of every 100 MOTs found a fail, or an advisory or minor defect, in each area. A test with faults in two areas counts in both.

BMW 4 Series at 7 years (n=70,637) against all cars at 7 years (n=10,537,318). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Tyres	8.3	6.0	22.3	24.8
Lights and electrics	2.6	5.8	0.4	2.5
Brakes	2.4	4.1	14.5	17.9
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	1.8	3.4	2.7	3.3
Suspension	1.3	4.4	4.5	8.7
Road wheels	1.0	0.3	0.7	0.6
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	0.5	1.7	1.9	1.7
Number plates and VIN	0.5	0.2	0.8	1.2
Body and structure	0.3	1.3	0.3	1.6
Seat belts and airbags	0.2	0.4	under 0.1	0.3
Steering	0.1	0.8	0.8	1.1

What testers fail most on the 4 Series at 7 years

Fail items on the BMW 4 Series at 7 years (n=70,637), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=10,537,318).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Tyre with cords exposed	Tyres	2.3	1.1	£88 to £145 per tyre
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm	Tyres	2.0	2.2	£88 to £145 per tyre
Tyre condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords	Tyres	1.9	1.3	£88 to £145 per tyre
Tyre condition: has a bulge, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure	Tyres	1.8	0.5	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake pads under 1.5 mm	Brakes	1.3	2.0	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	0.9	1.0	£2 to £14 per car (rough guide)
Shock absorber leaking	Suspension	0.6	0.5	£122 to £484 per axle (pair) (rough guide)
Headlight aimed too high	Lights and electrics	0.5	0.6	£16 to £39 per car (rough guide)
Road wheel attachment: fixing missing	Road wheels	0.5	0.2	£10 to £59 per wheel (rough guide)
Wipers not clearing screen	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	0.5	1.7	£15 to £30 per blade

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 7 years

Advisories and minor defects are recorded, but the car still passes. Across all cars, a part with an advisory or minor defect failed at the next MOT 5.5 times in 100 (n=88,666,940 pairs of consecutive MOTs), against 0.3 times in 100 when the same part had none (n=12,936,860,350).

Advisories and minor defects on the BMW 4 Series at 7 years (n=70,637), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=10,537,318).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	17.0	15.0	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	8.3	9.0	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	5.8	8.0	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Play in steering rack inner joint(s)	Other	3.0	0.4
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	2.5	2.0	£88 to £145 per tyre
Nail in tyre	Other	2.1	2.0
Brake discs: worn, but not excessively	Brakes	2.0	2.6	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	2.0	8.9	£88 to £145 per tyre
Windscreen: damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	2.0	1.9
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	2.0	3.0	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)

Repair estimates are a guide for an independent garage: labour at the national median local garage rate (median £78 an hour from 65 garages, ONS price quotes) times estimated labour hours, plus a parts band. Labour hours and most parts bands are estimates, not quotes, and prices vary by model, engine and region. A warning light fault shows the cost of the diagnosis only.

How problems change with age

Fails per 100 MOTs in the three most common areas at 7 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Tyres	Lights and electrics	Brakes
3 years	30,556	8.6	1.7	0.6
4 years	38,917	7.6	1.7	1.2
5 years	48,863	7.7	1.9	1.6
6 years	62,517	8.2	2.0	2.0
7 years	70,637	8.3	2.6	2.4
8 years	67,165	8.2	3.2	2.6
9 years	51,085	8.4	4.1	2.8
10 years	32,238	8.7	4.6	3.4
11 years	13,926	8.7	5.8	3.7
12 years	1,526	7.4	5.0	4.6

Mileage

At 7 years, BMW 4 Series cars showing under 30,000 miles failed 9.0% of MOTs (n=5,359); the band that failed most, 120,000 to 150,000 miles, failed 20.2% (n=1,728). For pass and fail rates by age, see BMW 4 Series MOT fail rates.

What to check on a viewing

On the BMW 4 Series, testers most often record tyre with cords exposed; tyre tread below 1.6 mm; tyre condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords. Look at these first, then the areas below.

Tyres

Check the tread across the full width of all four tyres, and the spare if there is one.
Look for cuts, bulges and cracking in the sidewalls.
Wear on one edge only can point to worn suspension or the tracking being out.

Lights and electrics

With someone outside, try every light: dipped and main beam, indicators, brake lights, fog lights and number plate lamps.
Check that the warning lights come on with the ignition and go out once the engine runs.
Look for misted, cracked or yellowed headlamp lenses.

Brakes

On the test drive the car should stop in a straight line without pulling, juddering or grinding.
Look at the discs through the wheels for a deep lip, heavy rust or scoring.
Check that the handbrake or electronic parking brake holds the car on a slope.
Ask when the pads, discs and brake fluid were last changed, and for the receipts.

Ask for the car's MOT history and service record: advisories that repeat from one year to the next show what has been left. GOV.UK MOT history.

Questions

What are the most common problems on the BMW 4 Series?

At 7 years, the age with the most MOT tests (70,637), the fail items testers record most often on the BMW 4 Series are tyre with cords exposed (2.3 per 100 MOTs), tyre tread below 1.6 mm (2.0 per 100 MOTs), tyre condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords (1.9 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (17.0) and brake pads: wearing thin (8.3).

Which parts of the BMW 4 Series fail more often than on other cars?

At 7 years: tyres (8.3 per 100 MOTs against 6.0 for all cars). Compared with 10,537,318 MOTs of all cars the same age.

BMW 4 Series problems by area

Other BMW models

All BMW models · Common problems by make

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.

The all cars figures cover all class 4 vehicles (cars and light vans) tested at the same age.

Looking at a BMW 4 Series?

These figures describe the model, not the car in front of you. Found one you might buy? See what the VetTheCar Buying Report covers, or use the tools that work without a registration.

See a sample report Car tools · MOT fail rates by model · Compare models by MOT record

Repair estimates: ONS consumer price quotes for local garage labour (09/2025 to 08/2026), the MOT inspection manual for defect wording, and estimated labour hours and parts bands. Not affiliated with or endorsed by ONS.

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 28 September 2026.

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