BMW 5 Series 2004: MOT failure rate for its age

37.4% of 29,664 MOT tests of the BMW 5 Series first registered in 2004 failed at the first attempt (2019–2024; retests excluded). Against this model's own normal rate at the same ages the index is 105.0 (95% CI 103.0–106.9; 100 = normal for this model at that age): the 2004 BMW 5 Series fails more often than other build years of the same model at the same age.

BMW 5 Series built in 2004 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	37.4	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	29664
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 103.0–106.9)	105.0	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	29664
Rank among this model's 23 build years	17	of 23	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	29664
Tested in 2024	2954	tests	median 144,916 miles	2024	2954

Built 2004 against BMW 5 Series normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 15: 39.1% vs 36.2%; age 16: 37.3% vs 34.3%; age 17: 38.5% vs 35.5%; age 18: 35.9% vs 35.3%; age 19: 36.1% vs 36.3%; age 20: 35% vs 36.6%. Axis from 0% to 40%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2004 BMW 5 Series by registration · All BMW 5 Series MOT statistics · Download the build-year table (CSV)

Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · full dataset (v5).

How does the 2004 BMW 5 Series fail at each age?

Cars built in 2004 were tested at ages 15 to 20 between 2019 and 2024. Each row compares their first-time failure share with what this model normally shows at that age, after allowing for the overall failure level of each test year.

BMW 5 Series built 2004: first-time MOT failure by age, against the model's normal rate at that age (2019–2024)
Age	Tests	Failed, %	95% interval	Normal for this model at that age, %	Index (100 = normal)
15	7,470	39.1	38–40.2	36.2	108
16	5,762	37.3	36.1–38.6	34.3	108.8
17	5,276	38.5	37.2–39.9	35.5	108.5
18	4,492	35.9	34.5–37.3	35.3	101.8
19	3,710	36.1	34.6–37.7	36.3	99.4
20	2,954	35	33.3–36.7	36.6	95.7

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 29,664 (initial tests) · Method: normal rate = this model's first-time failure share at that age across its build years (cells of 400+ tests), adjusted for each test year's overall level; cells of 30+ tests, under 500 marked rough · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

What fails most on the 2004 BMW 5 Series?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2004 is suspension: 34.9 items per 100 first tests, against 12.4 across all build years of the BMW 5 Series. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2004 were tested at ages 15 to 20.

Failure items per 100 first tests, BMW 5 Series built 2004 against the BMW 5 Series in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 2004, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Suspension	34.9	12.4	10,365
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	30.3	10.2	8,999
Brakes	22.8	7.6	6,759
Tyres	12	10.3	3,572
Visibility	10	7.1	2,968

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 29,664 (initial tests of this build year) · Method: failure items grouped by DVSA's top-level defect groups, per 100 initial tests; groups with 30+ items · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How does 2004 compare with the years around it?

Among the 23 published build years of the BMW 5 Series, 2004 ranks 17 (1 = fails least for its age). 2003: index 102.7. 2005: index 102.6.

BMW 5 Series build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build year	Index (100 = normal)	95% interval	Verdict	Tests
1998	106.0	100.5–111.5	worse (rough estimate)	3,354
1999	107.3	103.2–111.5	worse	6,076
2000	105.9	102.4–109.5	worse	8,430
2001	102.4	99.6–105.2	no different	13,222
2002	102.1	99.8–104.4	no different	20,391
2003	102.7	100.6–104.9	worse	22,459
2004	105.0	103.0–106.9	worse	29,664
2005	102.6	101.0–104.3	worse	42,672
2006	102.9	101.5–104.4	worse	54,740
2007	99.5	98.1–100.9	no different	62,849
2008	96.6	95.1–98.1	better	54,219
2009	97.2	95.7–98.8	better	52,268
2010	100.9	99.3–102.4	no different	60,872
2011	107.7	106.3–109.1	worse	82,368
2012	110.1	108.7–111.5	worse	91,273
2013	105.1	103.6–106.6	worse	90,732
2014	92.2	90.8–93.6	better	100,383
2015	86.0	84.7–87.4	better	105,137
2016	89.1	87.6–90.7	better	97,376
2017	92.2	90.4–94.0	better	84,150
2018	101.5	99.5–103.5	no different	80,512
2019	104.6	102.0–107.2	worse	50,714
2020	101.5	97.2–105.8	no different	18,390

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 1,232,251 (initial tests) · Method: observed failures against those expected for the same model at the same ages, test-year level adjusted; verdict follows the printed one-decimal bound · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How to cite this page

MOT Risk Index (2026). BMW 5 Series 2004 MOT statistics (data release dvsa-2024-v2; full dataset motriskindex-families-2024-v5, DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22975051), updated 30 September 2026. motriskindex.co.uk/cars/bmw-5-series/2004/

How every figure is calculated: methodology. Age, test year and build year are tied together (age = test year − build year), so the test-year level is taken as observed, not estimated.

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