BMW 520D MOT reliability

BMW 520Ds passed their MOT first time 87% of the time across 9,084 tests in 2025.

First-time pass rate

87%

MOTs analysed

9,084

Still licensed (GB)

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Body type

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Pass rate by year of first registration

Older cars fail more often, so compare a car with others of the same age. Years with very few MOTs can show extreme pass rates, even 0% or 100%, so give more weight to years with more tests.

In detail:

First registered

2021 ed

2,082 MOTs

Passed first time 87%. Typical mileage 41,428 (most between 30,919 and 54,163).

2022: 100% → 2023: 94% → 2024: 85% → 2025: 87%

Most common failures

Condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords (2.8%)
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction (2.4%)
Condition: has ply or cords exposed (2.2%)
Condition: has a bulge, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure (1.7%)
Condition: fractured (1.3%)

2021 diesel

13 MOTs

These figures come from only 13 MOT tests. With so few cars, a single pass or fail changes the percentages a lot, so treat them as a rough guide rather than a true average.

Passed first time 85%. Typical mileage 34,008 (most between 25,808 and 43,754).

2023: 100% → 2024: 87% → 2025: 85%

Most common failures

Steering rack: gaiter missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (7.7%)
Condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords (7.7%)

2021 hybrid

1 MOT

These figures come from only 1 MOT test. With so few cars, a single pass or fail changes the percentages a lot, so treat them as a rough guide rather than a true average.

Passed first time 100%. Typical mileage 13,110 (most between 13,110 and 13,110).

2024: 100% → 2025: 100%

Most common failures

Where 2021 520Ds fail

Wheels & tyres

8.5%

Exhaust, emissions & leaks

2.4%

Lights & electrics

1.2%

Visibility & wipers

1.1%

Body, structure & corrosion

0.4%

Brakes

0.2%

Seat belts & other equipment

0.1%

Steering

0.0%

Looking at a particular car?

See its own MOT history, mileage and red flags, compared with these figures. Free.

Based on 2025 initial MOT tests in DVSA's anonymised MOT dataset (cars and light vans). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Model details: Vehicle data by VehiclesDB.