BMW 5 Series MOT pass rates & common failures

Every completed first-attempt MOT on a BMW 5 Series in Great Britain in 2025 — 205,798 tests. Figures cover every 5 Series first-tested in 2025, all trims grouped. How the 5 Series ages, what it fails on, and what mileage is normal, computed directly from the official DVSA record of every test.

Pass rate 2025
79.7%
7.4 points above the class-4 average (72.3%); unadjusted for age — the age-matched comparison is below
Tests analysed
205,798
first tests, 2025
Arrived with a dangerous fault
7.0%
of 5 Series first tests; national 7.3%
Typical mileage at 10 years
101,250
middle half: 78,750–128,750 miles (2,500-mile-band midpoints)

How many BMW 5 Series cars are still on the road?

At the end of 2025, DVLA's register held 241,136 BMW 5 Series cars that were taxed or on SORN: 199,288 taxed and 41,848 on SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification — kept, but declared off the road by the keeper). The MOT figures above count tests; these count cars, across the whole United Kingdom, cars only. BMW 5 Series vans, where they exist, are counted by DVLA as goods vehicles and are not in these figures.

Still taxed, end of 2025
199,288
82.6% of the 241,136 5 Series cars taxed or on SORN; 443 model variants grouped
On SORN, end of 2025
41,848
declared off the road by their keepers — 17.4% of that total

How the numbers are moving

The number of taxed 5 Series cars peaked at 246,099 at the end of 2018 and has since fallen by 46,811 (19.0%) to 199,288 at the end of 2025. Cars on SORN went from 12,656 at the end of 2014 to 41,848 at the end of 2025, up 230.7%. A car leaves the taxed count when it is scrapped, exported or declared off the road; the year-end counts do not say which.

Taxed 5 Series cars, year by year

Cars of this model taxed and on the road at the end of each year, 2014–2025.

050k100k150k200k250k2014201620182020202220242025Year (count at the end of the year)Taxed 5 Series cars, year 2014: 224kTaxed 5 Series cars, year 2015: 232kTaxed 5 Series cars, year 2016: 239kTaxed 5 Series cars, year 2017: 241kTaxed 5 Series cars, year 2018: 246kTaxed 5 Series cars, year 2019: 246kTaxed 5 Series cars, year 2020: 240kTaxed 5 Series cars, year 2021: 234kTaxed 5 Series cars, year 2022: 229kTaxed 5 Series cars, year 2023: 218kTaxed 5 Series cars, year 2024: 208kTaxed 5 Series cars, year 2025: 199k199k
View this chart as a table
YearTaxed 5 Series cars
2014224,154
2015232,180
2016238,693
2017240,749
2018246,099
2019245,954
2020239,513
2021233,980
2022229,328
2023218,320
2024207,972
2025199,288

5 Series cars on SORN, year by year

Cars of this model declared off the road at the end of each year, 2014–2025. Its own scale — SORN counts are a fraction of the taxed count.

010k20k30k40k50k2014201620182020202220242025Year (count at the end of the year)5 Series cars on SORN, year 2014: 13k5 Series cars on SORN, year 2015: 15k5 Series cars on SORN, year 2016: 17k5 Series cars on SORN, year 2017: 20k5 Series cars on SORN, year 2018: 24k5 Series cars on SORN, year 2019: 27k5 Series cars on SORN, year 2020: 30k5 Series cars on SORN, year 2021: 32k5 Series cars on SORN, year 2022: 34k5 Series cars on SORN, year 2023: 37k5 Series cars on SORN, year 2024: 39k5 Series cars on SORN, year 2025: 42k42k
View this chart as a table
Year5 Series cars on SORN
201412,656
201514,530
201617,195
201720,462
201823,906
201927,465
202030,082
202131,565
202233,759
202337,038
202439,166
202541,848

Which model years survive

Taxed 5 Series cars at the end of 2025 by year of manufacture, and each year's share of the 199,288 taxed in all. Every build year holding at least 1% has its own row; the rest share one. 5 taxed 5 Series cars have no recorded year of manufacture and are not in the table, so the rows add up to 199,283. A build year's count depends on how many were sold that year as well as how many have lasted.

Year of manufacture Taxed, end of 2025Share of taxed 5 Series cars
20253,1911.6%
20243,2051.6%
20233,3981.7%
20225,7102.9%
20214,8572.4%
20207,7203.9%
201913,6376.8%
201817,1428.6%
201714,3277.2%
201615,1517.6%
201516,3978.2%
201415,4107.7%
201313,4596.8%
201212,6556.4%
201110,1645.1%
20106,9763.5%
20096,0163.0%
20085,4322.7%
20076,2253.1%
20064,8432.4%
20053,2101.6%
All other build years (32 years, each under 1%)10,1585.1%

Population source: Department for Transport / DVLA vehicle licensing statistics, table VEH0124, updated 15 July 2026; counts of the cars on DVLA's register that were taxed or on SORN at the end of each year shown, United Kingdom, cars only, excluding cars recorded with no model name. SortedCars groups DVLA's model name 5 SERIES under this model. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. SortedCars is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, DVLA or the Department for Transport.

How the 5 Series ages

First-time pass rate by vehicle age, 5 Series vs all cars, 2025.

BMW 5 SeriesAll cars
50%60%70%80%90%100%3579111315171920Vehicle age (years)BMW 5 Series, vehicle age 3: 86.7%BMW 5 Series, vehicle age 4: 87.8%BMW 5 Series, vehicle age 5: 87.8%BMW 5 Series, vehicle age 6: 87.5%BMW 5 Series, vehicle age 7: 86.5%BMW 5 Series, vehicle age 8: 84.5%BMW 5 Series, vehicle age 9: 84.8%BMW 5 Series, vehicle age 10: 83.5%BMW 5 Series, vehicle age 11: 81%BMW 5 Series, vehicle age 12: 76%BMW 5 Series, vehicle age 13: 73.3%BMW 5 Series, vehicle age 14: 74.6%BMW 5 Series, vehicle age 15: 73.5%BMW 5 Series, vehicle age 16: 71.1%BMW 5 Series, vehicle age 17: 72.2%BMW 5 Series, vehicle age 18: 69.4%BMW 5 Series, vehicle age 19: 68.5%BMW 5 Series, vehicle age 20: 68.5%All cars, vehicle age 3: 88.5%All cars, vehicle age 4: 87.2%All cars, vehicle age 5: 86%All cars, vehicle age 6: 83.5%All cars, vehicle age 7: 80.9%All cars, vehicle age 8: 78.2%All cars, vehicle age 9: 74.9%All cars, vehicle age 10: 71.9%All cars, vehicle age 11: 68.6%All cars, vehicle age 12: 65.8%All cars, vehicle age 13: 63.5%All cars, vehicle age 14: 61.2%All cars, vehicle age 15: 59.3%All cars, vehicle age 16: 58.3%All cars, vehicle age 17: 57.2%All cars, vehicle age 18: 57.4%All cars, vehicle age 19: 57%All cars, vehicle age 20: 57.6%BMW 5 Series 68.5%All cars 57.6%
View this chart as a table
Age (years)5 Series tests5 Series pass rateAll cars
37,07786.7%88.5%
46,02587.8%87.2%
58,66287.8%86.0%
615,96787.5%83.5%
718,76586.5%80.9%
814,96184.5%78.2%
915,34284.8%74.9%
1016,56383.5%71.9%
1115,62781.0%68.6%
1213,87176.0%65.8%
1313,20173.3%63.5%
1410,81574.6%61.2%
157,62673.5%59.3%
166,40371.1%58.3%
175,87672.2%57.2%
186,76769.4%57.4%
195,41168.5%57.0%
203,73868.5%57.6%

Better or worse than the average car?

The 5 Series's pass rate minus the all-cars pass rate at each age, in percentage points. Bars above zero: the 5 Series beats the average car of that age. Below zero: it trails.

5 Series ahead5 Series behind
-16-8+0+8+16Age 3: -1.8 points vs the average car3Age 4: +0.6 points vs the average carAge 5: +1.8 points vs the average car5Age 6: +4.0 points vs the average carAge 7: +5.6 points vs the average car7Age 8: +6.3 points vs the average carAge 9: +9.9 points vs the average car9Age 10: +11.6 points vs the average carAge 11: +12.4 points vs the average car11Age 12: +10.2 points vs the average carAge 13: +9.8 points vs the average car13Age 14: +13.4 points vs the average carAge 15: +14.2 points vs the average car15Age 16: +12.8 points vs the average carAge 17: +15.0 points vs the average car17Age 18: +12.0 points vs the average carAge 19: +11.5 points vs the average car19Age 20: +10.9 points vs the average car20Vehicle age (years)
View this chart as a table
Age (years)Gap (points)
3-1.8
4+0.6
5+1.8
6+4.0
7+5.6
8+6.3
9+9.9
10+11.6
11+12.4
12+10.2
13+9.8
14+13.4
15+14.2
16+12.8
17+15.0
18+12.0
19+11.5
20+10.9

The 5 Series fleet on the road, by age

How many took a first MOT in 2025 at each age — the shape of the 5 Series fleet still in use.

05k10k15k20kAge 3: 7k3Age 4: 6kAge 5: 8k5Age 6: 15kAge 7: 18k7Age 8: 14kAge 9: 15k9Age 10: 16kAge 11: 15k11Age 12: 13kAge 13: 13k13Age 14: 10kAge 15: 7k15Age 16: 6kAge 17: 5k17Age 18: 6kAge 19: 5k19Age 20: 3k20Vehicle age (years)
View this chart as a table
Age (years)First tests
37,077
46,025
58,662
615,967
718,765
814,961
915,342
1016,563
1115,627
1213,871
1313,201
1410,815
157,626
166,403
175,876
186,767
195,411
203,738

What a 5 Series fails on

Where the failure items land when a 5 Series fails or needs a fix at test, 2025. Use it as a pre-purchase checklist: these are the areas to look at first.

Tyres22.0%
Suspension20.8%
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment20.0%
Brakes11.8%
Visibility7.1%
Noise, emissions and leaks4.7%
Road Wheels3.7%
Steering3.4%

Share of all failure items, 2025 — the 8 biggest categories shown (93.5% of the items); smaller categories are not listed.

The advisories to watch

Where testers most often write "keep an eye on this" for a 5 Series, 2025 — the faults in the post.

Tyres: 33.6% of advisories33.6%Brakes: 23.9% of advisories23.9%Suspension: 20.9% of advisories20.9%Noise, emissions and leaks: 6.8% of advisories6.8%Non-component advisories: 5.5% of advisoriesBody, chassis, structure: 2.8% of advisories
TyresBrakesSuspensionNoise, emissions and leaksNon-component advisoriesBody, chassis, structure
View this chart as a table
CategoryShare of advisories
Tyres33.6%
Brakes23.9%
Suspension20.9%
Noise, emissions and leaks6.8%
Non-component advisories5.5%
Body, chassis, structure2.8%

Petrol, diesel or hybrid 5 Series?

First-time pass rate for the four most-tested 5 Series fuel types, 2025, against the all-cars average. Fleet ages differ by fuel — newer fleets help the electrified bars.

50%60%70%80%90%100%all cars 72.3%Diesel: 78.3% of 147,824 tests78.3%Diesel147,824 testsPetrol: 79.7% of 29,140 tests79.7%Petrol29,140 testsHybrid electric: 87.2% of 17,557 tests87.2%Hybrid17,557 testsElectric diesel: 86.5% of 11,230 tests86.5%Electric diesel11,230 tests
View this chart as a table
FuelTestsPass rate
Diesel147,82478.3%
Petrol29,14079.7%
Hybrid electric17,55787.2%
Electric diesel11,23086.5%

What mileage is normal for a 5 Series?

Mileage recorded at test by vehicle age, 2025. The line is the typical (median) 5 Series; the shaded band holds the middle half. A car far outside the band, in either direction, is worth questions the recorded history can answer.

Typical 5 Series (median)
0k25k50k75k100k125k150k175k200k3579111315171920Vehicle age (years)Age 3: typical 31,250 miles (middle half 23,750–43,750)Age 4: typical 41,250 miles (middle half 28,750–56,250)Age 5: typical 48,750 miles (middle half 36,250–63,750)Age 6: typical 58,750 miles (middle half 43,750–78,750)Age 7: typical 68,750 miles (middle half 53,750–88,750)Age 8: typical 78,750 miles (middle half 58,750–101,250)Age 9: typical 88,750 miles (middle half 68,750–113,750)Age 10: typical 101,250 miles (middle half 78,750–128,750)Age 11: typical 113,750 miles (middle half 88,750–141,250)Age 12: typical 121,250 miles (middle half 96,250–148,750)Age 13: typical 126,250 miles (middle half 101,250–156,250)Age 14: typical 136,250 miles (middle half 108,750–163,750)Age 15: typical 133,750 miles (middle half 106,250–163,750)Age 16: typical 146,250 miles (middle half 116,250–173,750)Age 17: typical 151,250 miles (middle half 121,250–181,250)Age 18: typical 158,750 miles (middle half 128,750–188,750)Age 19: typical 161,250 miles (middle half 128,750–191,250)Age 20: typical 158,750 miles (middle half 126,250–188,750)158k mi

Mileage values are midpoints of 2,500-mile bands.

View this chart as a table
Age (years)Lower quarterTypical (median)Upper quarter
323,75031,25043,750
428,75041,25056,250
536,25048,75063,750
643,75058,75078,750
753,75068,75088,750
858,75078,750101,250
968,75088,750113,750
1078,750101,250128,750
1188,750113,750141,250
1296,250121,250148,750
13101,250126,250156,250
14108,750136,250163,750
15106,250133,750163,750
16116,250146,250173,750
17121,250151,250181,250
18128,750158,750188,750
19128,750161,250191,250
20126,250158,750188,750

What fails at each age

The 5 Series's failure mix by age band, 2025 — each band's top categories at their true share of that band's failure items; the pale remainder is everything else. How the mix shifts with age is the point of the chart.

TyresRoad WheelsNoise, emissions and leaksVisibilityLamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentSuspensionBrakesSteeringEverything else
View this chart as a table
Age bandCategoryShare of the band's failure items
3-5 yrsTyres60.4%
3-5 yrsRoad Wheels12.4%
3-5 yrsNoise, emissions and leaks5.9%
3-5 yrsVisibility5.1%
3-5 yrsLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment3.9%
3-5 yrsEverything else12.3%
6-9 yrsTyres43.1%
6-9 yrsSuspension15.3%
6-9 yrsBrakes8.7%
6-9 yrsRoad Wheels6.5%
6-9 yrsVisibility6.4%
6-9 yrsEverything else20.0%
10-13 yrsTyres25.9%
10-13 yrsSuspension24.3%
10-13 yrsLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment19.5%
10-13 yrsBrakes10.5%
10-13 yrsVisibility6.2%
10-13 yrsEverything else13.6%
14+ yrsSuspension26.8%
14+ yrsLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment19.1%
14+ yrsBrakes16.4%
14+ yrsTyres13.2%
14+ yrsSteering5.4%
14+ yrsEverything else19.1%

More vehicles we've checked

How these figures are computed. Every number on this page is calculated by SortedCars from the DVSA anonymised MOT results dataset (every MOT test in Great Britain — 2025 for single-year figures; trend figures state their span, currently 2023–2025). Where a figure comes from a sample or uses banded values (mileage is banded to 2,500 miles), the page says so beside the figure. Test class 4 only, first tests only — retests are excluded. Class 4 is the car MOT class and also covers car-derived vans, pickups and motorhomes tested to the same standard; where this page says "cars" it means class 4. Pass rate = passes ÷ (passes + failures + pass-after-rectification): a vehicle that failed and was fixed during the visit counts as a fail. Pass rates describe fleets, not individual machines: they reflect how cars were driven, maintained and used as well as how they were built, and beyond recorded mileage none of that is in the data. A well-kept example of a model with a weak average can still pass; a neglected example of a strong one can still fail. No figure is shown for any group with fewer than 500 tests. Alias spellings of a make in the DVSA file are counted under one make name, and all trims and variants of a model are grouped under one model name, using SortedCars' grouping tables. The taxed and SORN counts on this page are the one exception: they are not computed from MOT records but taken from the Department for Transport's vehicle licensing statistics (DfT/DVLA table VEH0124, updated 15 July 2026, Open Government Licence v3.0), which count the cars on DVLA's register that were taxed or on SORN at the end of each year shown, UK-wide, cars only. They describe a model as a whole, grouped under SortedCars' model names, and say nothing about any one car. “Dangerous” is DVSA's statutory defect category (in force since May 2018): a defect posing an immediate risk to road safety — driving the vehicle before repair is an offence. What these figures are for. These statistics are general information about groups of vehicles. They are not advice, a valuation or a recommendation to buy, avoid or price any particular vehicle, and no decision about one car should rest on them alone — check the car itself and its own records. We take care over the calculations, but we cannot guarantee they are complete, current or free of error, and we accept no liability for loss arising from reliance on them. This does not limit any liability that cannot lawfully be limited — see our Terms & Conditions. If you believe any figure on this page is inaccurate, contact us. SortedCars is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the DVSA or DVLA. DVSA publishes the raw test records; the statistics on this page are SortedCars' own calculations from them. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.