BMW M5 MOT reliability

BMW M5s passed their MOT first time 88% of the time across 4,104 tests in 2025. 7,130 are still licensed in Great Britain.

Example photo of a BMW M5 — Photo: Alexander-93 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

First-time pass rate

88%

MOTs analysed

4,104

Still licensed (GB)

7,130

Body type

Sedan

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 petrol

151 MOTs

Passed first time 91%. Typical mileage 25,766 (most between 17,604 and 37,326).

2021: 100% → 2023: 90% → 2024: 87% → 2025: 91%

Most common failures

Condition: has a bulge, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure (2.0%)
Condition: fractured (1.3%)
Condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords (1.3%)
Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (1.3%)
Catalyst emissions: Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits (0.7%)

Where 2021 M5s fail

Wheels & tyres

6.0%

Body, structure & corrosion

1.3%

Lights & electrics

0.7%

Exhaust, emissions & leaks

0.7%

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.