BMW 7 Series 2001: MOT failure rate for its age

32.2% of 1,775 MOT tests of the BMW 7 Series first registered in 2001 failed at the first attempt (2019–2024; retests excluded). Against this model's own normal rate at the same ages the index is 95.9 (95% CI 88.0–103.7; 100 = normal for this model at that age): the 2001 build year is no different from other years of the same model at the same age. This is a rough estimate from a smaller sample.

BMW 7 Series built in 2001 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	32.2	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	1775
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 88.0–103.7)	95.9	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	1775
Rank among this model's 22 build years	9	of 22	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	1775
Tested in 2024	317	tests	median 132,970 miles	2024	317

Built 2001 against BMW 7 Series normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 18: 34.7% vs 34.9%; age 19: 32.9% vs 33.1%; age 20: 31.7% vs 32.3%; age 21: 28.6% vs 33.8%; age 22: 28.7% vs n/a%. Axis from 0% to 40%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2001 BMW 7 Series by registration · All BMW 7 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 2001 BMW 7 Series fail at each age?

Cars built in 2001 were tested at ages 18 to 22 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 7 Series built 2001: 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)
18	533	34.7	30.8–38.8	34.9	99.5
19	441 (rough estimate)	32.9	28.7–37.4	33.1	99.3
20	416 (rough estimate)	31.7	27.4–36.4	32.3	98.2
21	385 (rough estimate)	28.6	24.3–33.3	33.8	84.4
22	345 (rough estimate)	28.7	24.2–33.7	not available	not available

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 2,120 (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 2001 BMW 7 Series?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2001 is suspension: 29.5 items per 100 first tests, against 13.8 across all build years of the BMW 7 Series. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2001 were tested at ages 18 to 22.

Failure items per 100 first tests, BMW 7 Series built 2001 against the BMW 7 Series in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 2001, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Suspension	29.5	13.8	719
Brakes	18	7.5	438
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	15.1	7.4	369
Visibility	10.3	6.9	251
Tyres	6.2	8.1	151

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 2,437 (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 2001 compare with the years around it?

Among the 22 published build years of the BMW 7 Series, 2001 ranks 9 (1 = fails least for its age). 2000: index 95.4. 2002: index 97.4.

BMW 7 Series build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build year	Index (100 = normal)	95% interval	Verdict	Tests
1999	96.9	85.9–107.9	no different (rough estimate)	879
2000	95.4	86.5–104.2	no different (rough estimate)	1,361
2001	95.9	88.0–103.7	no different (rough estimate)	1,775
2002	97.4	88.3–106.4	no different (rough estimate)	1,394
2003	100.6	94.0–107.1	no different (rough estimate)	2,833
2004	102.4	95.6–109.3	no different (rough estimate)	2,654
2005	102.5	97.0–107.9	no different	4,356
2006	104.9	100.3–109.4	worse	6,890
2007	101.7	96.0–107.5	no different	4,370
2008	102.7	97.0–108.5	no different	4,674
2009	92.0	85.7–98.2	better (rough estimate)	3,803
2010	88.5	82.8–94.1	better	4,842
2011	101.7	96.0–107.4	no different	5,871
2012	102.3	96.3–108.4	no different	5,772
2013	111.5	104.2–118.7	worse	4,776
2014	110.9	104.0–117.8	worse	5,826
2015	105.8	97.8–113.9	no different	4,690
2016	90.7	85.2–96.1	better	9,755
2017	90.1	84.3–95.9	better	9,447
2018	91.1	83.9–98.3	better	6,707
2019	93.4	84.9–101.9	no different	5,256
2020	83.5	70.2–96.8	better (rough estimate)	2,022

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 99,953 (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 7 Series 2001 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-7-series/2001/

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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