Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

BMW 5 Series 2016: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 85 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2016 BMW 5 Series were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Tyre condition (rear).

Summary

The 2016 BMW 5 Series follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 14,582 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
85 in every 100
Did not pass first time
15 in every 1002,226 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
9 yearsabout 88,261 miles
First tests counted
14,582

What failed most often

  1. Tyre condition (rear)17 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Tyre tread depth (rear)12 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Windscreen wipers (front)7 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 2016 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.

Road wheels

Three faults. The strongest is the wheel condition (rear): 16 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 2,226 failed first attempts in 2025 that had a mileage recorded, which allows a like-for-like comparison.

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.

Wheel condition (rear)

Failed on 55 first tests16 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A wheel with any fracture or welding defect is graded Dangerous. So is a tyre retaining ring likely to come off, or a wheel distorted or worn to the extent that the wheel or tyre is likely to become detached. A wheel that is badly distorted, or has an excessively worn spigot mounting, is graded Major.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 23 first tests, 2.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Wheel fixings (rear)

Failed on 46 first tests3.9 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Wheel nuts, bolts and studs are the fixings that attach the road wheel. A wheel with a loose or missing wheel nut, bolt or stud is Major. If more than one is loose or missing, it is graded Dangerous.

Wheel fixings (front)

Failed on 49 first tests2.7 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Wheel nuts, bolts and studs are the fixings that attach the road wheel. A wheel with a loose or missing wheel nut, bolt or stud is Major. If more than one is loose or missing, it is graded Dangerous.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.

Tyres

Two wear patterns. The strongest is the tyre tread depth (rear): 3.5 times as often as on similar cars.

Tyre tread depth (rear)

Failed on 274 first tests3.5 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.

Tyre condition (rear)

Failed on 371 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

Exposed or damaged ply or cords are graded Dangerous. A cut in excess of the requirements and deep enough to reach the ply or cords is Major, and testers may open the cut with a blunt instrument to check its depth. A tyre contacting the vehicle through flexing or suspension movement is not a defect; fouling fails only at the time of test.

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

Suspension

One fault: shock absorbers (rear), 2.9 times as often as on similar cars.

Shock absorbers (rear)

Failed on 129 first tests2.9 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Slight seepage that leaves a film of fluid on a shock absorber does not fail it. Severe leakage, or damage so that it does not function, is Major. A shock absorber missing or likely to become detached is graded Dangerous, though a missing one is only rejected if shock absorbers were fitted as standard.

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

Visibility

One fault: windscreen wipers (front), 2.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Windscreen wipers (front)

Failed on 145 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Only a clearly damaged or worn windscreen wiper needs to be rejected. A wiper that is missing or not working is graded Major, and so is a blade that is missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen. A defective blade is graded Minor.

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. Advisories for the faults above are shown with those faults.

Transmission oil leaks (rear)

Noted on 29 first tests11 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
85in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
2in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
13in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 84.7% of 14,582 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 87.0%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 2 fixed and the 13 not fixed make the 15 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as tested
Diesel14,20789,007 miles85
Petrol37156,502 miles84

Figures are in every 100 first tests.

Same model, other years

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

40608010020002005201020162020Older carsNewer cars
4060801002000201020162020Older 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
201273 in every 10012,639
201376 in every 10013,282
201481 in every 10014,992
201583 in every 10015,867
2016 This car85 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 2016 BMW 5 Series.

Of 2016 BMW 5 Series vehicles with under 63,000 miles, 87 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 121,000 miles or more, 83 in every 100 did.

Under 63,0002,908 tests
87
63,000–80,0002,915 tests
85
80,000–97,000 Typical car2,982 tests
85
97,000–121,0002,881 tests
83
121,000 and over2,895 tests
83

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 63,00080,000–97,000121,000 and over
Tyre condition (rear)2.22.52.3
Tyre tread depth (rear)0.71.92.4
Windscreen wipers (front)1.41.10.4
Coil spring (rear)1.00.90.9
Brake pads (rear)0.80.81.1

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

When a car fails

58in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

14in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

6in 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.

The 2016 BMW 5 Series follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Tyre condition (rear), about 17 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 84.7% of 14,582 first MOTs on the 2016 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 87.0%. Among 2,226 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Wheel condition (rear) appears more often than on similar cars (2.5% of those tests; 55 observed failures; about 16× 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 2016 BMW 5 Series at the first attempt were Tyre condition (rear) (16.7%), Tyre tread depth (rear) (12.3%) and Windscreen wipers (front) (6.5%), 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: Wheel condition (rear) (2.5% of those tests; 55 observed failures; about 16× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Wheel condition (rear) shows up more often than on similar cars (2.5% of those tests; 55 observed failures; about 16× 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 2016 BMW 5 Series include Wheel condition (rear), Wheel fixings (rear), Shock absorbers (rear). 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 2016 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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