MOT History from tests of diesel BMW 5-SERIESs year 2004

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:70.73%

(The average a diesel BMW 5-SERIES year 2004 passes without issue)

Based on:109,867 MOT Tests

Most common failures	No# failures
Brake pipe excessively corroded	4135
Headlamp aim out of alignment	4115
Parking brake: efficiency below requirements \|3.7.B.7\|	2408
Supplementary Restraint System warning lamp indicates a fault \|5.4.2\|	1843
Registration plate issues	1733
Windscreen wiper does not clear the windscreen effectively	1256
Registration plate lamp issues	1140
Rear parking brake recording little or no effort	1027
Brake hose excessively deteriorated	949
Offside Front Track rod end ball joint has excessive play \|2.2.B.1f\|	789
Supplementary restraint system warning lamp indicates a fault (7.1.6 (a))	766
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\|	679
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\|	660
Parking brake lever has no reserve travel \|3.1.6b\|	591
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\|	547
Nearside Front Track rod end ball joint has excessive play \|2.2.B.1f\|	538
Offside Track rod end ball joint has excessive play \|2.2.B.1f\|	534
Offside Rear coil spring broken \|2.4.C.1a\|	533
Front brake disc in such a condition that it is seriously weakened	508
Windscreen has damage	501
Nearside Rear Upper Suspension arm has excessive play in a ball joint \|2.4.G.2\|	492
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\|	491
Offside Rear Upper Suspension arm has excessive play in a ball joint \|2.4.G.2\|	473
Nearside Side repeater not working \|1.4.A.2c\|	440
Parking brake efficiency below requirements (1.4.2 (a) (i))	408
Nearside Rear Lower Suspension arm has excessive play in a pin/bush \|2.4.G.2\|	408
Nearside Front position lamp\|s\| not working \|1.1.A.3b\|	406
Nearside Rear coil spring broken \|2.4.C.1a\|	403
Offside Front position lamp\|s\| not working \|1.1.A.3b\|	394
Offside Front Lower Suspension arm has excessive play in a ball joint \|2.4.G.2\|	393
Nearside Track rod end ball joint has excessive play \|2.2.B.1f\|	387
Offside Side repeater not working \|1.4.A.2c\|	379
Supplementary restraint system warning lamp indicates a fault \|7.1.6 \|a\|\|	365
Offside Rear Lower Suspension arm has excessive play in a pin/bush \|2.4.G.2\|	362
Nearside Front Lower Suspension arm has excessive play in a ball joint \|2.4.G.2\|	358
Offside Front Suspension arm has excessive play in a ball joint \|2.4.G.2\|	326
Nearside Front Suspension arm has excessive play in a ball joint \|2.4.G.2\|	292
Brakes imbalanced across an axle	283
Parking brake efficiency below requirements \|1.4.2 \|a\| \|i\|\|	260
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\|	255
Offside Headlamp aim beam image obviously incorrect \|1.8.A.1b\|	254
Nearside Headlamp not working on dipped beam \|1.7.5a\|	247
Nearside Rear Suspension arm has excessive play in a ball joint \|2.4.G.2\|	226
Nearside Rear Suspension arm has excessive play in a pin/bush \|2.4.G.2\|	224
Offside Headlamp not working on dipped beam \|1.7.5a\|	216
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\|	215
Offside Front coil spring broken \|2.4.C.1a\|	214
Offside Rear Suspension arm has excessive play in a ball joint \|2.4.G.2\|	213
Brake fluid warning lamp illuminated \|3.6.G.2\|	211
Nearside Front coil spring broken \|2.4.C.1a\|	207
Offside Rear Suspension arm has excessive play in a pin/bush \|2.4.G.2\|	200
Nearside Stop lamp not working \|1.2.1b\|	198
Nearside Front Front position lamp\|s\| not working \|1.1.A.3b\|	197
Offside Stop lamp not working \|1.2.1b\|	193
Nearside Headlamp aim beam image obviously incorrect \|1.8.A.1b\|	193
Offside Rear Coil spring fractured or broken (5.3.1 (b) (i))	191
Front Exhaust has a major leak of exhaust gases \|7.1.2\|	191
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\|	185
Offside Front Front position lamp\|s\| not working \|1.1.A.3b\|	184
Nearside Front Shock absorber has a serious fluid leak \|2.7.3\|	178
Offside Front Shock absorber has a serious fluid leak \|2.7.3\|	172
Nearside Front Anti-roll bar linkage has excessive play in a ball joint \|2.4.G.2\|	167
Nearside Rear Coil spring fractured or broken (5.3.1 (b) (i))	163
Windscreen has a sticker or other obstruction encroaching into the swept area by more than 40mm outside zone `A` \|8.3.1e\|	162
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\|	161
Windscreen washer not working	157
Anti-lock braking system warning lamp indicates an ABS fault	154
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\|	153
Nearside Front Wheel bolt\|s\| missing \|4.2.A.1e\|	148
Offside Rear fog lamp not working \|1.3.2b\|	148
Nearside Rear Wheel bolt\|s\| missing \|4.2.A.1e\|	147
Driver`s airbag obviously defective \|5.4.1\|	146
Offside Front suspension has excessive play in a lower suspension ball joint \|2.5.B.1a\|	143
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\|	143
Exhaust has a major leak of exhaust gases \|7.1.2\|	142
Horn not working \|1.6.2a\|	141
Nearside Front Side repeater not working \|1.4.A.2c\|	138
Nearside Front suspension has excessive play in a lower suspension ball joint \|2.5.B.1a\|	132
Nearside Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect (4.1.2 (c))	132
Offside Rear Coil spring fractured or broken \|5.3.1 \|b\| \|i\|\|	130
Rear brake disc in such a condition that it is seriously weakened	125
Offside Front Headlamp not working on dipped beam \|1.7.5a\|	124
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\|	123
Offside Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect (4.1.2 (c))	122
Parking brake efficiency less than 50% of the required value (1.4.2 (a) (ii))	121
Nearside Rear Stop lamp not working \|1.2.1b\|	119
Engine MIL inoperative or indicates a malfunction (8.2.2.2 (g))	117
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\|	115
Offside Front Side repeater not working \|1.4.A.2c\|	114
Parking brake lever ratchet mechanism is excessively worn \|3.1.5\|	111
Offside Front Anti-roll bar linkage has excessive play in a ball joint \|2.4.G.2\|	111
Nearside Rear Seat belt locking mechanism does not secure or release \|5.2.5a\|	110
Offside Rear Lower Suspension arm has excessive play in a ball joint \|2.4.G.2\|	110
Offside Front Headlamp aim beam image obviously incorrect \|1.8.A.1b\|	110
Nearside Front Headlamp not working on dipped beam \|1.7.5a\|	108
Nearside Rear Lower Suspension arm has excessive play in a ball joint \|2.4.G.2\|	107
Offside Rear Direction indicator not working \|1.4.A.2c\|	106
Nearside Rear Coil spring fractured or broken \|5.3.1 \|b\| \|i\|\|	105
Nearside Front Position lamp not working (4.2.1 (a) (ii))	105
Offside Rear position lamp\|s\| not working \|1.1.A.3b\|	104
Offside Front Position lamp not working (4.2.1 (a) (ii))	103
Nearside Front Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (5.3.4 (b) (ii))	103
Nearside Front Track rod end ball joint has excessive play (2.1.3 (b) (i))	102
Nearside Rear Road wheel cracked \|4.2.A.1a\|	102
Offside Front Track rod end ball joint has excessive play (2.1.3 (b) (i))	98
Offside Front Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (5.3.4 (b) (ii))	97

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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MOT History from tests of diesel BMW 5-SERIESs year 2004

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