Model Reports 5 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

BMW 5 Series 2012: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 73 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2012 BMW 5 Series were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Individual sidelight or tail light (front).

Summary

A 2012 BMW 5 Series passed first time about 2 in every 100 less often than the average of the 2011 and 2013 model years.

At a glance

How 12,639 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
73 in every 100
Did not pass first time
27 in every 1003,402 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
13 yearsabout 127,110 miles
First tests counted
12,639

What failed most often

  1. Individual sidelight or tail light (front)14 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Coil spring (front)13 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Tyre condition (rear)11 in every 100 failed tests

How we count this. Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Only Class 4 cars on their first MOT of the year are counted. A car that fails and is fixed at the test station still counts as a fail in the first-attempt rate. These are raw results, not adjusted for age, mileage, or peer mix. The MOT does not test engine or gearbox internals.

Note:

These are patterns across 2012 BMW 5 Series vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. A wear pattern follows age and use more than the way the car was built. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Lamps and electrical

Three faults. The strongest is the headlight levelling device: 7.9 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 3,400 of 3,402 failed first attempts (99.9%) that recorded an odometer reading in 2025. Mileage is needed to compare like with like.

We only list faults with at least 20 failures and a rate of about 2.0 times that of similar cars, which keeps one-off results out of the list.

Headlight levelling device

Failed on 98 first tests7.9 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A headlamp levelling device that is inoperative is graded Major, and so is a manual levelling device that cannot be operated from the driver's seat. Vehicles with high intensity discharge or LED dipped beam headlamps may have a self-levelling system, and if fitted it must work. Where it is not easy to tell, testers give the benefit of the doubt, and motor caravans are not checked.

Side repeater indicators

Failed on 151 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Sequential or dynamic direction indicators are not a reason to fail. Where a side repeater is required, it is allowed to be part of the front direction indicator if it has a marked wraparound lens, or an amber light coming through the front lens when viewed from a set distance to the side of the rear bumper. A lens defect with no effect on the emitted light is Minor, and one that adversely affects the light is Major.

Individual direction indicators (front)

Failed on 87 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Direction indicators must be amber, though vehicles first used before a set date may have white at the front and red at the rear when the indicators are combined with stop or position lamps, and sequential or dynamic ones are not a reason to fail. A lamp that is missing, inoperative or has more than half of a multiple light source not functioning is graded Major. A flashing rate outside the permitted range is graded Minor.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Suspension

One fault: coil spring (rear), 2.5 times as often as on similar cars.

Coil spring (rear)

Failed on 392 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A missing bump stop rubber is not a reason to fail a coil spring. When the vehicle is jacked and lowered, a spring that does not correctly locate as the suspension returns to its normal running position is rejected as insecurely attached. A missing spring is Major, and graded Dangerous where directional control is affected.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Tyres

One wear pattern: tyre tread depth (rear), 2.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Tyre tread depth (rear)

Failed on 299 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

Only primary grooves count when tread depth is assessed: those holding the wear indicators, or cut as deep as those when new. Shallower secondary grooves are ignored. Tread depth below the minimum for the vehicle is Dangerous, and so is a pattern not visible over the whole tread, but that second row applies only to vehicles that need the lower minimum.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Advisories

Other things testers noted as worn or close to failing, more often than on similar cars.

An advisory is a note from the tester about something that has not failed yet. It is an early warning, not a fail.

Propeller shaft flexible couplings (rear)

Noted on 37 first tests12 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Anti-roll bar (front)

Noted on 24 first tests7.0 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Anti-roll bar (rear)

Noted on 27 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Counts cover advisories recorded on failed first tests only, compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

MOT pass rates

How first tests ended, and how the pass rates are counted.

Passed first time
73in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
4in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
23in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 73.1% of 12,639 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 77.5%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 4 fixed and the 23 not fixed make the 27 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as tested
Diesel12,159128,659 miles73
Petrol45180,800 miles85

Figures are in every 100 first tests.

Same model, other years

Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.

40608010020002005201220152020Older carsNewer cars
406080100200020122020Older carsNewer cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
199765 in every 100342
199865 in every 100644
199964 in every 100773
200067 in every 100909
200167 in every 1001,344
200267 in every 1001,907
200365 in every 1001,975
200468 in every 1002,213
200569 in every 1003,566
200668 in every 1005,221
200769 in every 1006,531
200872 in every 1005,692
200971 in every 1006,190
201073 in every 1007,321
201175 in every 10010,398
2012 This car73 in every 10012,639
201376 in every 10013,282
201481 in every 10014,992
201583 in every 10015,867
201685 in every 10014,582
201784 in every 10014,034
201886 in every 10017,248
201987 in every 10014,339
202088 in every 1007,890
202187 in every 1005,362
202286 in every 1006,182

If you are buying one

What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.

Mileage makes a modest difference on a 2012 BMW 5 Series.

Of 2012 BMW 5 Series vehicles with under 95,000 miles, 76 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 162,000 miles or more, 72 in every 100 did.

Under 95,0002,501 tests
76
95,000–117,0002,498 tests
74
117,000–137,000 Typical car2,508 tests
72
137,000–162,0002,568 tests
72
162,000 and over2,562 tests
72

What to check at your mileage

How often each fault turned up on a failed first test, by the car's mileage. Read it as: what is likely to need looking at on a car like the one in front of you.

Under 95,000117,000–137,000162,000 and over
Individual sidelight or tail light (front)2.63.84.4
Coil spring (front)2.44.04.4
Tyre condition (rear)3.23.43.0
Tyre tread depth (rear)2.02.52.5
Headlight aim1.82.42.1

Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.

When a car fails

42in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

29in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

8in every 100

of all first tests had a defect the tester marked dangerous (unsafe to drive away).

Every figure here is a first-attempt MOT rate from DVSA open data for this model line, for cars of this model year tested in 2025. Each mileage band holds a fifth of the tests. MOTs do not test engine or gearbox internals, so this is a pre-purchase checklist, not a full reliability score.

FAQs

Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.

A 2012 BMW 5 Series passed first time about 2 in every 100 less often than the average of the 2011 and 2013 model years. In 2025, 73.1% of 12,639 first MOTs on the 2012 BMW 5 Series passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 77.5%. Among 3,402 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Headlight levelling device appears more often than on similar cars (2.9% of those tests; 98 observed failures; about 7.9× more often than similar cars). There is no single reliability score here; this is a pre-purchase checklist built from DVSA open data, not a guarantee for any individual car.
Ranked by how often they were actually recorded, the items that most often failed a 2012 BMW 5 Series at the first attempt were Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (14.0%), Coil spring (front) (13.0%) and Tyre condition (rear) (11.3%), each as a share of the year's failed first attempts. That is what goes wrong most often on the car. The common faults table shows a different measure: faults that are unusual compared with similar cars.
Among failed first-attempt tests we highlight patterns that appear more often than on similar cars. Top example: Headlight levelling device (2.9% of those tests; 98 observed failures; about 7.9× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Headlight levelling device shows up more often than on similar cars (2.9% of those tests; 98 observed failures; about 7.9× more often than similar cars). That does not prove a design fault. Age, mileage, and how the car was used still matter. Treat it as a pre-purchase checkpoint, not a manufacturer service bulletin.
Common MOT problem areas for the 2012 BMW 5 Series include Headlight levelling device, Coil spring (rear), Side repeater indicators. These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
Advisories flag issues noted at the test and are not a fail rate. We show advisory patterns that appear more often than on similar cars among failed first-attempt tests, separate from common failure rows. Use them as early-warning checks, not as a pass/fail score.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2012 BMW 5 Series (registration year) using UK DVSA open data for the selected test year. Patterns are compared with cars of a similar age and mileage. It is a buyer checklist from MOT defect statistics, not a full service history or manufacturer service-bulletin list.
No. MOT tests do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronic modules. Patterns here come from MOT defect statistics only and should not be read as engine or gearbox reliability scores.

About this data

How this page is built and what it can (and can't) say.

These figures come from UK MOT open data for this model year. We surface common failure patterns against similar cars, not a full reliability score, and not a pass/fail verdict on any individual vehicle.

2024 2025

What we include

UK Class 4 cars only. Normal MOT tests (not retests); first test per vehicle per calendar year; results pass, PRS, or fail.

Same-day repairs

PRS means the car failed items that were fixed at the test station and then passed the same day. We count PRS as a first-attempt fail in headline rates so same-day repairs do not hide problems.

How we compare

We compare this model year with other Class 4 cars of similar age and mileage in the same test year. This model family is left out of the peer group so the car is not measured against itself.

What this does not cover

  • MOTs do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronics; this is not a full reliability score.
  • Common faults come from MOT defect stats, not manufacturer TSBs or recalls.
  • Age and mileage matching reduces, but does not remove, differences in how cars were used and maintained.
  • If the data for a car is too thin to say anything useful, we say so rather than guess.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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