Common problems

BMW Z4 common problems

What MOT testers find on the BMW Z4: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 141,225 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 18 years, the most tested age

Suspension fails per 100 MOTs (n=11,911)11.2

All cars at 18 years (n=3,261,622)17.2

Brakes advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=11,911)34.0

All cars, same age (n=3,261,622)32.3

What stands out

No part area of the BMW Z4 fails more than 1 point per 100 MOTs above all cars at 18 years old (n=11,911; all cars n=3,261,622).
Lights and electrics fails are less common: 9.5 per 100 MOTs against 21.4 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 18 years: rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded, on 3.7 per 100 MOTs (all cars 2.2).
The most common advisory or minor defect: rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material, on 19.6 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 18 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 Z4 at 18 years (n=11,911) against all cars at 18 years (n=3,261,622). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Suspension	11.2	17.2	24.6	35.3
Brakes	10.0	12.9	34.0	32.3
Lights and electrics	9.5	21.4	11.0	17.8
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	6.1	6.8	13.6	14.1
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	5.3	7.3	4.0	6.2
Tyres	4.9	7.0	21.3	27.6
Seat belts and airbags	3.0	2.7	0.4	1.3
Body and structure	1.9	8.7	4.1	14.7
Road wheels	0.8	0.5	1.2	1.3
Steering	0.5	3.9	0.8	5.6
Number plates and VIN	0.4	0.6	1.4	5.5

What testers fail most on the Z4 at 18 years

Fail items on the BMW Z4 at 18 years (n=11,911), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=3,261,622).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded	Brakes	3.7	2.2	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	3.6	2.5	diagnosis from £39 (rough guide)
Airbag (SRS) warning light on	Seat belts and airbags	2.9	1.3	diagnosis from £39 (rough guide)
Wipers not clearing screen	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	2.5	3.0	£15 to £30 per blade
Suspension ball joint worn	Suspension	2.4	2.4	£75 to £237 per side (rough guide)
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm	Tyres	2.1	2.9	£88 to £145 per tyre
Suspension arm bush worn	Suspension	2.1	2.2	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Coil spring broken	Suspension	2.0	3.1	£64 to £236 per spring (rough guide)
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	1.7	2.3	£2 to £14 per car (rough guide)
Side/position light not working	Lights and electrics	1.7	5.6	£10 to £47 per lamp

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 18 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 Z4 at 18 years (n=11,911), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=3,261,622).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material	Brakes	19.6	12.3	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	13.4	17.4	£88 to £145 per tyre
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	12.1	12.6
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	9.7	11.1	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	6.7	9.8	£88 to £145 per tyre
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	6.4	8.5	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Coil spring: corroded	Suspension	4.7	7.7
Flexible brake hoses: slightly deteriorated	Brakes	4.6	1.9
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	4.5	6.4	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Suspension arm ball joint: ball joint has slight play	Suspension	4.4	2.6	£75 to £237 per side (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 18 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Suspension	Brakes	Lights and electrics
3 years	5,735	0.3	0.1	1.4
4 years	4,701	0.5	0.1	1.3
5 years	3,717	0.5	0.4	1.7
6 years	3,410	1.0	0.5	1.4
7 years	3,023	1.9	1.4	2.1
8 years	4,963	2.1	1.1	2.1
9 years	6,450	2.2	1.6	2.5
10 years	7,093	2.6	2.0	2.9
11 years	7,438	2.5	1.9	3.8
12 years	7,527	3.7	2.2	4.4
13 years	8,469	4.5	2.5	5.1
14 years	8,494	5.9	3.1	5.4
15 years	9,829	7.6	5.6	6.8
16 years	10,966	9.1	7.5	8.1
17 years	10,611	10.5	9.2	9.5
18 years	11,911	11.2	10.0	9.5
19 years	11,215	10.9	10.8	10.8
20 years	7,828	11.3	10.8	10.2
21 years	5,469	11.6	10.6	10.4
22 years	2,376	9.3	9.7	9.6

Mileage

At 18 years, BMW Z4 cars showing 30,000 to 60,000 miles failed 20.7% of MOTs (n=1,890); the band that failed most, 120,000 to 150,000 miles, failed 38.9% (n=1,574). For pass and fail rates by age, see BMW Z4 MOT fail rates.

What to check on a viewing

On the BMW Z4, testers most often record rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded; malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction; airbag (SRS) warning light on. Look at these first, then the areas below.

Suspension

Listen for knocks or clonks over speed bumps and rough roads on the test drive.
Push down hard on each corner: the car should settle at once rather than keep bouncing.
Look behind the wheels for broken or heavily rusted coil springs and split rubber bushes.
Check that the car sits level and that no tyre is worn on one edge only.

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.

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.

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 Z4?

At 18 years, the age with the most MOT tests (11,911), the fail items testers record most often on the BMW Z4 are rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded (3.7 per 100 MOTs), malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction (3.6 per 100 MOTs), airbag (SRS) warning light on (2.9 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material (19.6) and tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (13.4).

Which parts of the BMW Z4 fail more often than on other cars?

None by more than 1 point per 100 MOTs at 18 years, compared with 3,261,622 MOTs of all cars the same age.

BMW Z4 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 Z4?

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