BMW 523 MOT reliability

BMW 523s passed their MOT first time 69% of the time across 2,115 tests in 2025.

First-time pass rate

69%

MOTs analysed

2,115

Still licensed (GB)

–

Body type

–

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

2018 diesel

7 MOTs

These figures come from only 7 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 86%. Typical mileage 74,742 (most between 65,117 and 80,053).

2023: 100% → 2024: 100% → 2025: 86%

Most common failures

Condition: has ply or cords exposed (14.3%)

2018 petrol

4 MOTs

These figures come from only 4 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 75%. Typical mileage 61,702 (most between 53,751 and 62,833).

2021: 80% → 2025: 75%

Most common failures

Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick (25.0%)

Where 2018 523s fail

Wheels & tyres

14.3%

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.