BMW 535 MOT reliability

BMW 535s passed their MOT first time 81% of the time across 7,706 tests in 2025.

First-time pass rate

81%

MOTs analysed

7,706

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

2015 diesel

1,108 MOTs

Passed first time 86%. Typical mileage 92,191 (most between 73,816 and 113,983).

2016: 100% → 2017: 98% → 2018: 86% → 2019: 88% → 2020: 90% → 2021: 88% → 2022: 86% → 2023: 86% → 2024: 85% → 2025: 86%

Most common failures

Condition: has ply or cords exposed (2.3%)
Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (2.0%)
Coil spring: fractured or broken (1.9%)
Shock absorbers: has a serious fluid leak (1.2%)
Condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords (1.1%)

2015 petrol

144 MOTs

Passed first time 92%. Typical mileage 61,363 (most between 45,049 and 82,300).

2017: 100% → 2018: 92% → 2019: 94% → 2020: 91% → 2021: 86% → 2022: 90% → 2023: 89% → 2024: 86% → 2025: 92%

Most common failures

Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively (2.1%)
Condition: has ply or cords exposed (1.4%)
Bumpers: damaged and likely to cause injury when grazed or contacted (0.7%)
Pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn (0.7%)
Side repeaters: not working (0.7%)

Where 2015 535s fail

Wheels & tyres

7.8%

Suspension & axles

4.0%

Visibility & wipers

2.1%

Lights & electrics

1.7%

Brakes

0.8%

Exhaust, emissions & leaks

0.3%

Body, structure & corrosion

0.1%

Looking at a particular car?

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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.