BMW 525D MOT reliability

BMW 525Ds passed their MOT first time 80% of the time across 5 tests in 2025.

These figures come from only 5 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.

First-time pass rate

80%

MOTs analysed

5

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

2004 diesel

1 MOT

Passed first time 0%. Typical mileage 161,326 (most between 161,326 and 161,326).

2006: 89% → 2007: 75% → 2008: 79% → 2009: 75% → 2010: 72% → 2011: 71% → 2012: 72% → 2013: 64% → 2014: 68% → 2015: 66% → 2016: 62% → 2017: 59% → 2018: 0% → 2019: 50% → 2020: 0% → 2021: 33% → 2023: 100% → 2024: 100% → 2025: 0%

Most common failures

Flexible brake hoses: excessively deteriorated (100.0%)
Linkage: insecurely attached (100.0%)
Side repeaters: not working (100.0%)
Steering linkage: insecure to the extent there is excessive movement at the mountings (100.0%)

Where 2004 525Ds fail

Brakes

100.0%

Lights & electrics

100.0%

Steering

100.0%

Suspension & axles

100.0%

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.