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MOT History from tests of petrol BMW 3-SERIESs year 2004

Review the list of common BMW 3-SERIES failures below or to perform a specific mot history check on your BMW then use our popular KnowYourCar service

mot history
Pass percent:68.48%
(The average a petrol BMW 3-SERIES year 2004 passes without issue)
Based on:366,402 MOT Tests
Most common failuresNo# failures
Headlamp aim out of alignment16447
Brake pipe excessively corroded16198
Windscreen wiper does not clear the windscreen effectively12463
Parking brake: efficiency below requirements |3.7.B.7|10396
Registration plate lamp issues10295
Rear parking brake recording little or no effort6686
Brake hose excessively deteriorated5159
Registration plate issues4197
Exhaust emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits |7.3.D.3|3266
Exhaust emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle excessive |7.3.D.3|3100
Supplementary Restraint System warning lamp indicates a fault |5.4.2|2864
Brakes imbalanced across an axle2772
Parking brake efficiency below requirements (1.4.2 (a) (i))2751
Offside Rear coil spring fractured |2.4.C.1a|2661
Nearside Front Suspension arm rubber bush deteriorated resulting in excessive movement |2.4.G.2|2494
Offside Front Suspension arm rubber bush deteriorated resulting in excessive movement |2.4.G.2|2473
Offside Rear coil spring incomplete |2.4.C.1a|2327
Engine MIL inoperative or indicates a malfunction (8.2.1.2 (h))2155
Offside Rear coil spring broken |2.4.C.1a|2124
Nearside Rear coil spring fractured |2.4.C.1a|1989
Front Exhaust system not adequately supported |7.1.1|1888
Exhaust emissions carbon monoxide content at idle excessive |7.3.D.4|1874
Offside Rear Shock absorber has a serious fluid leak |2.7.3|1844
Nearside Rear coil spring incomplete |2.4.C.1a|1819
Nearside Rear coil spring broken |2.4.C.1a|1724
Offside Front Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover excessively damaged so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt |2.4.G.2|1469
Offside Front Suspension arm has excessive play in a pin/bush |2.4.G.2|1388
Nearside Front Suspension arm has excessive play in a pin/bush |2.4.G.2|1345
Anti-lock braking system warning lamp indicates an ABS fault1318
Exhaust Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits (8.2.1.2 (c))1253
Offside Front Lower Suspension arm rubber bush deteriorated resulting in excessive movement |2.4.G.2|1249
Electronic stability system warning lamp indicates a fault |3.4.1c|1228
Parking brake efficiency below requirements |1.4.2 |a| |i||1226
Nearside Front Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover excessively damaged so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt |2.4.G.2|1226
Nearside Front Lower Suspension arm rubber bush deteriorated resulting in excessive movement |2.4.G.2|1195
Parking brake lever has no reserve travel |3.1.6b|1110
Supplementary restraint system warning lamp indicates a fault (7.1.6 (a))1106
Offside Front Suspension arm has excessive play in a ball joint |2.4.G.2|1094
Exhaust emissions hydrocarbon content after 2nd fast idle excessive |7.3.D.3|1090
Front brake disc in such a condition that it is seriously weakened1066
Windscreen washer not working 1050
Nearside Front Suspension arm has excessive play in a ball joint |2.4.G.2|1028
Offside Rear Direction indicator incorrect colour |1.4.A.2f|1004
Offside Front Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover excessively deteriorated so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt |2.4.G.2|987
Exhaust system not adequately supported |7.1.1|952
Offside Front Anti-roll bar linkage has excessive play in a ball joint |2.4.G.2|909
Rear Exhaust has a major leak of exhaust gases |7.1.2|904
Nearside Rear Shock absorber has a serious fluid leak |2.7.3|868
Nearside Front Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover excessively deteriorated so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt |2.4.G.2|815
Nearside Front position lamp|s| not working |1.1.A.3b|812
Nearside Rear Direction indicator incorrect colour |1.4.A.2f|782
Nearside Front Anti-roll bar linkage has excessive play in a ball joint |2.4.G.2|772
Offside Headlamp aim beam image obviously incorrect |1.8.A.1b|748
Windscreen has damage745
Engine MIL inoperative or indicates a malfunction |8.2.1.2 |h||744
Exhaust carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds default limits (8.2.1.2 (b))736
Offside Front Lower Suspension arm has excessive play in a ball joint |2.4.G.2|709
Offside Front Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (5.3.4 (b) (ii))701
Nearside Front Lower Suspension arm has excessive play in a ball joint |2.4.G.2|688
Front brake application uneven683
Offside Front position lamp|s| not working |1.1.A.3b|676
Offside Side repeater not working |1.4.A.2c|649
Offside Rear Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak646
Rear Exhaust system not adequately supported |7.1.1|633
Rear brake disc in such a condition that it is seriously weakened633
Nearside Stop lamp not working |1.2.1b|631
Nearside Headlamp aim beam image obviously incorrect |1.8.A.1b|631
Nearside Front Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (5.3.4 (b) (ii))616
Exhaust carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturers specified limits (8.2.1.2 (a))580
Parking brake efficiency less than 50% of the required value (1.4.2 (a) (ii))577
Electronic stability control warning lamp indicates a fault (7.12 (e))567
Offside Stop lamp not working |1.2.1b|559
Offside Front Lower Suspension arm has excessive play in a pin/bush |2.4.G.2|554
Offside Rear Coil spring fractured or broken (5.3.1 (b) (i))552
Hazard warning switch faulty |1.4.B.1d|550
Nearside Front Lower Suspension arm has excessive play in a pin/bush |2.4.G.2|546
Windscreen has a sticker or other obstruction encroaching into the swept area by more than 40mm outside zone `A` |8.3.1e|540
Centre Exhaust system not adequately supported |7.1.1|500
Offside Front suspension has excessive play in a lower suspension ball joint |2.5.B.1a|497
Nearside Side repeater not working |1.4.A.2c|494
Exhaust Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits |8.2.1.2 |c||492
Offside Headlamp not working on dipped beam |1.7.5a|481
Oil leaking excessively from engine (8.4.1 (a) (i))480
Nearside Rear Coil spring fractured or broken (5.3.1 (b) (i))464
Nearside Front suspension has excessive play in a lower suspension ball joint |2.5.B.1a|461
Nearside Headlamp not working on dipped beam |1.7.5a|459
Service brake: efficiency below requirements |3.7.B.7|455
Horn not working |1.6.2a|450
Supplementary restraint system warning lamp indicates a fault |7.1.6 |a||444
Rear brake binding434
Fuel cap/sealing device sealing washer deteriorated |7.2.4c|427
Exhaust emits excessive dense blue smoke during acceleration |7.3.A.2c|416
Exhaust has a major leak of exhaust gases |7.1.2|406
Offside Front Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt |5.3.4 |b| |ii||396
Nearside Rear Wheel bolt|s| missing |4.2.A.1e|392
Exhaust carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds default limits |8.2.1.2 |b||391
Nearside Front Shock absorber has a serious fluid leak |2.7.3|382
Offside Front suspension has excessive movement at a wishbone pin or bush |2.5.A.1c|381
Nearside Front Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt |5.3.4 |b| |ii||370
Nearside Front suspension has excessive movement at a wishbone pin or bush |2.5.A.1c|369
Offside Rear coil spring cracked |2.4.C.1a|365
Nearside Front Position lamp not working (4.2.1 (a) (ii))365
Nearside Rear Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak362
Brake hose damaged358
Exhaust carbon monoxide content at idle exceeds default limits (8.2.1.2 (b))352

We get to these numbers by trawling through over 1 billion MOT test results since 2004 and crunched the numbers. We remove anything to do with Tyres, as they are model independent and group together common non-model specific issues. We are trying to get to a picture of what models have what issues.

Please note: We take the data from the DVSA. This data is raw and can contain typos and spelling mistakes that garages may have entered while recording a MOT result. Specifically miss-match on names of models and makes. We are constantly cleaning the data so bear with the odd issue.

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