At a glance
How 6,560 first tests went in 2025.
- Passed first time
- 85 in every 100
- Did not pass first time
- 15 in every 100960 failed first-attempt tests
- The typical car
- 7 yearsabout 63,668 miles
- First tests counted
- 6,560
What failed most often
- Tyre condition (rear)29 in every 100 failed tests
- Diesel engine warning light10 in every 100 failed tests
- Suspension arm ball joint (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.
These are patterns across 2018 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.
Number plates and VIN
Two faults. The strongest is the number plates (front): 5.0 times as often as on similar cars.
Figures below are measured across the 960 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.
Number plates (front)
What it means
A number plate that is missing, illegible, showing an incorrect registration or so insecure that it is likely to fall off is Major. Testers do not measure the characters or their spacing and reject them only if they are obviously incorrect. Delamination and the position of fixing screws or bolts get particular attention, as they can prevent number plate recognition cameras identifying the vehicle.
Number plates (rear)
What it means
A number plate that is missing, illegible, showing an incorrect registration or so insecure that it is likely to fall off is Major. Testers do not measure the characters or their spacing and reject them only if they are obviously incorrect. Delamination and the position of fixing screws or bolts get particular attention, as they can prevent number plate recognition cameras identifying the vehicle.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
Tyres
One wear pattern: tyre condition (rear), 3.3 times as often as on similar cars.
Tyre condition (rear)
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.
Noise, emissions and leaks
One fault: diesel engine warning light, 2.9 times as often as on similar cars.
Diesel engine warning light
What it means
An engine malfunction indicator lamp that is illuminated to show a malfunction is graded Major on a diesel, but only on the diesels the test covers, which depends on the vehicle type and when it was first used. DVSA lists it under exhaust emissions for compression ignition engines, and the detail line for the row also names an inoperative lamp.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
Suspension
One fault: suspension arm ball joint (front), 2.6 times as often as on similar cars.
Suspension arm ball joint (front)
What it means
A suspension arm ball joint is failed under the general suspension pin, bush or joint wording. Excessively worn is Major, and likely to become detached is graded Dangerous.
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 55 first tests, 5.3 times as often as on similar cars.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.
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.
Tyre tread depth (rear)
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
- 3in every 100
- Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
- Failed
- 12in every 100
- Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.
First-attempt pass 85.4% of 6,560 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 87.6%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 3 fixed and the 12 not fixed make the 15 in every 100 that did not pass first time.
By fuel type
Figures are in every 100 first tests. Cars with more miles usually fail more often, so the same-mileage figure gives every fuel the mileage mix of all the cars in this year.
Same model, other years
Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.
Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb.
| Year | Passed first time | First tests |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 64 in every 100 | 379 |
| 2002 | 60 in every 100 | 737 |
| 2003 | 62 in every 100 | 1,326 |
| 2004 | 63 in every 100 | 2,090 |
| 2005 | 62 in every 100 | 3,827 |
| 2006 | 61 in every 100 | 2,310 |
| 2007 | 69 in every 100 | 2,666 |
| 2008 | 72 in every 100 | 2,738 |
| 2009 | 71 in every 100 | 3,386 |
| 2010 | 76 in every 100 | 3,202 |
| 2011 | 76 in every 100 | 3,423 |
| 2012 | 76 in every 100 | 3,583 |
| 2013 | 78 in every 100 | 3,113 |
| 2014 | 84 in every 100 | 4,982 |
| 2015 | 85 in every 100 | 6,460 |
| 2016 | 87 in every 100 | 5,995 |
| 2017 | 86 in every 100 | 5,716 |
| 2018 This car | 85 in every 100 | 6,560 |
| 2019 | 87 in every 100 | 7,936 |
| 2020 | 88 in every 100 | 4,592 |
| 2021 | 85 in every 100 | 5,891 |
| 2022 | 84 in every 100 | 7,199 |
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 2018 BMW X5.
Of 2018 BMW X5 vehicles with under 47,000 miles, 89 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 84,000 miles or more, 82 in every 100 did.
Which fuel?
| Typical mileage | Passed first time, as tested | Passed first time, same mileage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diesel | 64,457 miles | 85 | 86 |
| Hybrid | 62,385 miles | 83 | 82 |
Figures are in every 100 first tests. At the same mileage there is no clear difference between the two.
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 47,000 | 58,000–69,000 | 84,000 and over | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tyre condition (rear) | 3.1 | 3.4 | 4.2 |
| Diesel engine warning light | 0.7 | 1.3 | 2.8 |
| Suspension arm ball joint (front) | 0.1 | 1.0 | 2.1 |
| Tyre tread depth (rear) | 0.3 | 1.1 | 1.0 |
Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.
When a car fails
of failed cars had one item to fix.
of failed cars had three or more items to fix.
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.
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.
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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