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MOT History from tests of petrol BMW 5-SERIESs year 2008

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:79.79%
(The average a petrol BMW 5-SERIES year 2008 passes without issue)
Based on:13,665 MOT Tests
Most common failuresNo# failures
Headlamp aim out of alignment501
Windscreen wiper does not clear the windscreen effectively112
Registration plate issues99
Registration plate lamp issues96
Engine MIL inoperative or indicates a malfunction (8.2.1.2 (h))92
Nearside Front Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (5.3.4 (b) (ii))88
Offside Front Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (5.3.4 (b) (ii))82
Exhaust emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits |7.3.D.3|62
Parking brake efficiency below requirements (1.4.2 (a) (i))59
Exhaust Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits (8.2.1.2 (c))53
Brake pipe excessively corroded52
Parking brake: efficiency below requirements |3.7.B.7|50
Nearside Front Upper Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (5.3.4 (b) (ii))50
Windscreen washer not working 48
Offside Front position lamp|s| not working |1.1.A.3b|46
Nearside Front position lamp|s| not working |1.1.A.3b|45
Offside Rear Coil spring fractured or broken (5.3.1 (b) (i))43
Offside Side repeater not working |1.4.A.2c|42
Offside Front Upper Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (5.3.4 (b) (ii))40
Offside Front Position lamp not working (4.2.1 (a) (ii))39
Nearside Front Position lamp not working (4.2.1 (a) (ii))39
Supplementary restraint system warning lamp indicates a fault (7.1.6 (a))37
Supplementary Restraint System warning lamp indicates a fault |5.4.2|35
Nearside Side repeater not working |1.4.A.2c|34
Offside Headlamp not working on dipped beam |1.7.5a|32
Offside Front Track rod end ball joint has excessive play |2.2.B.1f|32
Nearside Front Front position lamp|s| not working |1.1.A.3b|31
Exhaust emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle excessive |7.3.D.3|30
Engine MIL inoperative or indicates a malfunction |8.2.1.2 |h||29
Nearside Headlamp not working on dipped beam |1.7.5a|28
Rear parking brake recording little or no effort28
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|25
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|25
Nearside Side repeater not working (4.4.1 (a) (ii))25
Parking brake lever has no reserve travel |3.1.6b|25
Exhaust carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturers specified limits (8.2.1.2 (a))24
Offside Front Anti-roll bar ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (5.3.4 (b) (ii))23
Nearside Front Anti-roll bar ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (5.3.4 (b) (ii))23
Anti-lock braking system warning lamp indicates an ABS fault23
Offside Side repeater not working (4.4.1 (a) (ii))23
Offside Front Front position lamp|s| not working |1.1.A.3b|22
Brake hose excessively deteriorated22
Nearside Rear Coil spring fractured or broken (5.3.1 (b) (i))22
Brakes imbalanced across an axle22
Offside Front Track rod end ball joint has excessive play (2.1.3 (b) (i))21
Nearside Front Headlamp not working on dipped beam (4.1.1 (a) (ii))20
Offside Stop lamp not working |1.2.1b|19
Offside Front Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt |5.3.4 |b| |ii||19
Windscreen has damage19
Nearside Front Track rod end ball joint has excessive play (2.1.3 (b) (i))19
Offside Front Coil spring fractured or broken (5.3.1 (b) (i))19
Nearside Headlamp not working on dipped beam (4.1.1 (a) (ii))18
Nearside Front Track rod end ball joint has excessive play |2.2.B.1f|18
Offside Front Headlamp not working on dipped beam (4.1.1 (a) (ii))18
Exhaust carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds default limits (8.2.1.2 (b))18
Nearside Front Headlamp not working on dipped beam |1.7.5a|17
Nearside Front Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt |5.3.4 |b| |ii||16
Offside Front Upper Anti-roll bar ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (5.3.4 (b) (ii))16
Offside Track rod end ball joint has excessive play |2.2.B.1f|15
Nearside Front Upper Anti-roll bar ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (5.3.4 (b) (ii))15
Nearside Track rod end ball joint has excessive play |2.2.B.1f|15
Nearside Front Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak14
Offside Rear fog lamp not working |1.3.2b|14
Nearside Front Position lamp not working |4.2.1 |a||14
Offside Front Position lamp not working |4.2.1 |a||13
Nearside Headlamp cleaning device inoperative |1.7.2|13
Offside Front Wheel bolt|s| missing |4.2.A.1e|13
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|12
Nearside Front Upper Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt |5.3.4 |b| |ii||12
Parking brake efficiency below requirements |1.4.2 |a| |i||12
Offside Headlamp cleaning device inoperative |1.7.2|12
Nearside Front Wheel bolt|s| missing |4.2.A.1e|12
Nearside Front Side repeater not working |1.4.A.2c|12
Offside Front Headlamp not working on dipped beam |1.7.5a|12
Exhaust emissions carbon monoxide content at idle excessive |7.3.D.4|12
Nearside Rear Road wheel cracked |4.2.A.1a|11
Nearside Side repeater not working |4.4.1 |a| |ii||11
Exhaust Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits |8.2.1.2 |c||11
Offside Headlamp not working on dipped beam (4.1.1 (a) (ii))11
Offside Rear position lamp|s| not working |1.1.A.3b|11
Offside Front Upper Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt |5.3.4 |b| |ii||11
Front brake disc in such a condition that it is seriously weakened11
Nearside Front Road wheel fixing missing (5.2.1 (a) (i))11
Parking brake lever ratchet mechanism is excessively worn |3.1.5|11
Parking brake efficiency less than 50% of the required value (1.4.2 (a) (ii))11
Nearside Front Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint excessively worn (5.3.4 (a) (i))10
Offside Front Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak10
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|10
Parking brake lever has excessive movement indicating incorrect adjustment (1.1.6 (c))10
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|9
Offside Front Anti-roll bar ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt |5.3.4 |b| |ii||9
Nearside Front Track rod end ball joint has excessive play |2.1.3 |b| |i||9
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|9
Offside Front Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint excessively worn (5.3.4 (a) (i))9
Headlamp cleaning device inoperative |1.7.2|9
Exhaust emissions hydrocarbon content after 2nd fast idle excessive |7.3.D.3|9
Nearside Front Shock absorber has a serious fluid leak |2.7.3|9

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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