Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

BMW X5 2008: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 72 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2008 BMW X5 were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Tyre condition (rear).

Summary

The 2008 BMW X5 follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 2,738 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
72 in every 100
Did not pass first time
28 in every 100772 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
17 yearsabout 137,804 miles
First tests counted
2,738

What failed most often

  1. Tyre condition (rear)11 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Suspension arm ball joint (front)11 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Coil spring (front)10 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 2008 BMW X5 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.

Suspension

One fault: anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (rear), 31 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 771 of 772 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.

Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (rear)

Failed on 25 first tests31 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A suspension joint dust cover that is severely deteriorated is Minor. It becomes Major once it is missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt, so what matters is whether it still keeps dirt out. DVSA words this for any suspension joint dust cover, and files it here under anti-roll bars.

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

Brakes

One fault: electronic parking brake, 29 times as often as on similar cars.

Electronic parking brake

Failed on 32 first tests29 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

An electronic parking brake is applied electronically but must still be maintained in operation by direct mechanical means. It may apply automatically in certain conditions, such as when the ignition is switched off or when the driver's door is opened. A control that is missing, defective or inoperative is Major, and so is a malfunction warning.

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

Lamps and electrical

One fault: rear fog light, 5.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Rear fog light

Failed on 56 first tests5.1 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A missing obligatory rear fog lamp, one that is not working, or one that does not emit a steady red light is graded Major. A rear fog lamp adversely affected by the operation of any other lamp is Major too. The manual allows it to go out when main beam is switched on or when dipped beam headlamps are switched off.

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

Visibility

One fault: windscreen washers (front), 2.3 times as often as on similar cars.

Windscreen washers (front)

Failed on 53 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Windscreen washers that are not working, or do not provide sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen, are graded Major. They must provide enough fluid for the wipers to clear the windscreen effectively. Vehicles with an opening windscreen, or some other adequate view to the front, left and right, are not inspected for washers.

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

Tyres

One wear pattern: tyre condition (rear), 2.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Tyre condition (rear)

Failed on 85 first tests2.1 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.

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.

Flexible brake hoses (rear)

Noted on 62 first tests3.4 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (rear)

Noted on 20 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension arm ball joint (front)

Noted on 49 first tests2.3 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
72in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
5in 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 71.8% of 2,738 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 77.0%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 5 fixed and the 23 not fixed make the 28 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

4060801002005200820152020Older carsNewer cars
40608010020082020Older carsNewer cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 71 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200164 in every 100379
200260 in every 100737
200362 in every 1001,326
200463 in every 1002,090
200562 in every 1003,827
200661 in every 1002,310
200769 in every 1002,666
2008 This car72 in every 1002,738
200971 in every 1003,386
201076 in every 1003,202
201176 in every 1003,423
201276 in every 1003,583
201378 in every 1003,113
201484 in every 1004,982
201585 in every 1006,460
201687 in every 1005,995
201786 in every 1005,716
201885 in every 1006,560
201987 in every 1007,936
202088 in every 1004,592
202185 in every 1005,891
202284 in every 1007,199

If you are buying one

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

Mileage makes little difference on a 2008 BMW X5.

Of 2008 BMW X5 vehicles with under 111,000 miles, 71 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 165,000 miles or more, 76 in every 100 did.

Under 111,000540 tests
71
111,000–130,000547 tests
72
130,000–145,000 Typical car540 tests
69
145,000–165,000562 tests
71
165,000 and over547 tests
76

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 111,000130,000–145,000165,000 and over
Tyre condition (rear)3.02.82.6
Suspension arm ball joint (front)2.43.72.4
Coil spring (front)4.63.01.8
Windscreen washers2.03.32.6
Individual sidelight or tail light (front)2.03.02.6

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

When a car fails

29in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

45in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

7in 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 2008 BMW X5 follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Tyre condition (rear), about 11 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 71.8% of 2,738 first MOTs on the 2008 BMW X5 passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 77.0%. Among 772 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (rear) appears more often than on similar cars (3.2% of those tests; 25 observed failures; about 31× 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 2008 BMW X5 at the first attempt were Tyre condition (rear) (11.0%), Suspension arm ball joint (front) (10.8%) and Coil spring (front) (10.2%), 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: Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (rear) (3.2% of those tests; 25 observed failures; about 31× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (rear) shows up more often than on similar cars (3.2% of those tests; 25 observed failures; about 31× 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 2008 BMW X5 include Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (rear), Electronic parking brake, Rear fog light. 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 2008 BMW X5 (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.

Check any vehicle’s MOT history

Full MOT history, mileage records, and reliability insights for any UK vehicle.

Run a free check