MOT History from tests of petrol BMW 5-SERIESs year 2003

Review the list of common BMW 5-SERIES failures below or to perform a specific mot history check on your BMW then use our popular KnowYourCar service

mot history

Pass percent:70.24%

(The average a petrol BMW 5-SERIES year 2003 passes without issue)

Based on:76,875 MOT Tests

Most common failures	No# failures
Headlamp aim out of alignment	3465
Parking brake: efficiency below requirements \|3.7.B.7\|	3065
Brake pipe excessively corroded	2632
Windscreen wiper does not clear the windscreen effectively	1305
Rear parking brake recording little or no effort	1303
Registration plate lamp issues	1166
Registration plate issues	1060
Supplementary Restraint System warning lamp indicates a fault \|5.4.2\|	662
Anti-lock braking system warning lamp indicates an ABS fault	606
Nearside Rear Anti-roll bar linkage has excessive play in a ball joint \|2.4.G.2\|	572
Offside Rear Anti-roll bar linkage has excessive play in a ball joint \|2.4.G.2\|	530
Brake hose excessively deteriorated	525
Parking brake efficiency below requirements (1.4.2 (a) (i))	518
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\|	383
Exhaust emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits \|7.3.D.3\|	371
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\|	367
Supplementary restraint system warning lamp indicates a fault (7.1.6 (a))	356
Offside Rear coil spring broken \|2.4.C.1a\|	336
Offside Stop lamp not working \|1.2.1b\|	331
Front brake disc in such a condition that it is seriously weakened	308
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\|	306
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\|	305
Offside Rear Direction indicator incorrect colour \|1.4.A.2f\|	300
Rear Exhaust system not adequately supported \|7.1.1\|	285
Engine MIL inoperative or indicates a malfunction (8.2.1.2 (h))	279
Windscreen washer not working	269
Nearside Stop lamp not working \|1.2.1b\|	264
Nearside Rear Direction indicator incorrect colour \|1.4.A.2f\|	259
Nearside Front position lamp\|s\| not working \|1.1.A.3b\|	238
Brakes imbalanced across an axle	233
Offside Front Track rod end ball joint has excessive play \|2.2.B.1f\|	223
Offside Headlamp not working on dipped beam \|1.7.5a\|	223
Windscreen has damage	222
Nearside Rear coil spring broken \|2.4.C.1a\|	221
Offside Front position lamp\|s\| not working \|1.1.A.3b\|	212
Nearside Headlamp not working on dipped beam \|1.7.5a\|	202
Nearside Front Track rod end ball joint has excessive play \|2.2.B.1f\|	197
Centre Stop lamp not working \|1.2.1b\|	196
Parking brake efficiency below requirements \|1.4.2 \|a\| \|i\|\|	194
Parking brake lever has no reserve travel \|3.1.6b\|	166
Offside Track rod end ball joint has excessive play \|2.2.B.1f\|	144
Offside Rear Coil spring fractured or broken (5.3.1 (b) (i))	140
Offside Front Upper Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover excessively damaged so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt \|2.4.G.2\|	137
Offside Front Anti-roll bar ball joint dust cover excessively damaged so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt \|2.4.G.2\|	135
Offside Front Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (5.3.4 (b) (ii))	134
Offside Rear fog lamp not working \|1.3.2b\|	132
Nearside Front Upper Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover excessively damaged so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt \|2.4.G.2\|	131
Parking brake efficiency less than 50% of the required value (1.4.2 (a) (ii))	130
Electronic stability system warning lamp indicates a fault \|3.4.1c\|	129
Nearside Rear Anti-roll bar has excessive play in a ball joint \|2.4.G.2\|	129
Nearside Front Anti-roll bar linkage has excessive play in a ball joint \|2.4.G.2\|	129
Offside Rear Upper Suspension arm has excessive play in a ball joint \|2.4.G.2\|	128
Nearside Rear Upper Suspension arm has excessive play in a ball joint \|2.4.G.2\|	124
Nearside Front Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (5.3.4 (b) (ii))	123
Offside Front Anti-roll bar linkage has excessive play in a ball joint \|2.4.G.2\|	122
Windscreen has a sticker or other obstruction encroaching into the swept area by more than 40mm outside zone `A` \|8.3.1e\|	118
Nearside Front Anti-roll bar ball joint dust cover excessively damaged so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt \|2.4.G.2\|	113
Offside Rear Anti-roll bar has excessive play in a ball joint \|2.4.G.2\|	113
Exhaust emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle excessive \|7.3.D.3\|	111
Nearside Rear Lower Suspension arm has excessive play in a pin/bush \|2.4.G.2\|	111
Offside Rear Stop lamp not working \|1.2.1b\|	109
Rear brake disc in such a condition that it is seriously weakened	108
Offside Rear Lower Suspension arm has excessive play in a pin/bush \|2.4.G.2\|	107
Nearside Track rod end ball joint has excessive play \|2.2.B.1f\|	106
Supplementary restraint system warning lamp indicates a fault \|7.1.6 \|a\|\|	105
Nearside Rear Anti-roll bar linkage has excessive play in a pin/bush \|2.4.G.2\|	103
Nearside Steering rack gaiter split \|2.2.D.2d\|	102
Nearside Front Position lamp not working (4.2.1 (a) (ii))	102
Offside Rear Anti-roll bar linkage has excessive play in a pin/bush \|2.4.G.2\|	102
Engine MIL inoperative or indicates a malfunction \|8.2.1.2 \|h\|\|	102
Nearside Rear Stop lamp not working \|1.2.1b\|	102
Nearside Front Front position lamp\|s\| not working \|1.1.A.3b\|	101
Nearside Rear Coil spring fractured or broken (5.3.1 (b) (i))	101
Offside Rear coil spring incomplete \|2.4.C.1a\|	99
Fuel cap/sealing device sealing washer deteriorated \|7.2.4c\|	98
Offside Headlamp aim beam image obviously incorrect \|1.8.A.1b\|	97
Exhaust Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits (8.2.1.2 (c))	97
Offside Rear coil spring fractured \|2.4.C.1a\|	96
Nearside Headlamp aim beam image obviously incorrect \|1.8.A.1b\|	95
Nearside Front Upper Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover excessively deteriorated so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt \|2.4.G.2\|	95
Offside Front Upper Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover excessively deteriorated so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt \|2.4.G.2\|	93
Offside Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect (4.1.2 (c))	91
Nearside Front Lower Suspension arm has excessive play in a ball joint \|2.4.G.2\|	90
Nearside Front Headlamp not working on dipped beam \|1.7.5a\|	90
Offside Front Headlamp not working on dipped beam \|1.7.5a\|	90
Offside Rear Direction indicators incorrect colour \|1.4.A.2f\|	88
Nearside Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect (4.1.2 (c))	87
Offside Front Front position lamp\|s\| not working \|1.1.A.3b\|	87
Oil leaking excessively from engine (8.4.1 (a) (i))	87
Exhaust emissions carbon monoxide content at idle excessive \|7.3.D.4\|	86
Offside Front Position lamp not working (4.2.1 (a) (ii))	81
Brake fluid warning lamp illuminated \|3.6.G.2\|	80
Nearside Front Anti-roll bar ball joint dust cover excessively deteriorated so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt \|2.4.G.2\|	80
Anti-lock braking system warning lamp does not illuminate \|3.4.1b\|	79
Nearside Rear Direction indicators incorrect colour \|1.4.A.2f\|	78
Nearside Rear Wheel bolt\|s\| missing \|4.2.A.1e\|	78
Nearside Rear Suspension arm has excessive play in a ball joint \|2.4.G.2\|	77
Nearside Front Steering rack gaiter missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (2.1.3 (g) (ii))	77
Offside Front Suspension arm has excessive play in a ball joint \|2.4.G.2\|	76
Offside Front Anti-roll bar ball joint dust cover excessively deteriorated so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt \|2.4.G.2\|	76
Offside Front Lower Suspension arm has excessive play in a ball joint \|2.4.G.2\|	75
Nearside Front Suspension arm has excessive play in a ball joint \|2.4.G.2\|	75
Nearside Front Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt \|5.3.4 \|b\| \|ii\|\|	74
Electronic stability control warning lamp indicates a fault (7.12 (e))	73
Rear brake binding	71
Offside Rear Suspension arm has excessive play in a ball joint \|2.4.G.2\|	70
Service brake: efficiency below requirements \|3.7.B.7\|	69
Nearside Front Shock absorber has a serious fluid leak \|2.7.3\|	69

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.

Got suggestions? We’re improving this section all the time. If you have any suggestions, please let us know.

MOT History from tests of petrol BMW 5-SERIESs year 2003

Find us on Facebook