BMW 7 Series 2004: MOT failure rate for its age

32.0% of 2,654 MOT tests of the BMW 7 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 102.4 (95% CI 95.6–109.3; 100 = normal for this model at that age): the 2004 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 2004 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	32.0	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	2654
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 95.6–109.3)	102.4	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	2654
Rank among this model's 22 build years	16	of 22	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	2654
Tested in 2024	281	tests	median 131,097 miles	2024	281

Built 2004 against BMW 7 Series normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 15: 36.5% vs 32.5%; age 16: 31.1% vs 30.1%; age 17: 33.5% vs 30.6%; age 18: 28.5% vs 31%; age 19: 28.6% vs 31.9%; age 20: 31% vs 31.2%. Axis from 0% to 40%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2004 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 2004 BMW 7 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 7 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	624	36.5	32.9–40.4	32.5	112.4
16	498 (rough estimate)	31.1	27.2–35.3	30.1	103.5
17	463 (rough estimate)	33.5	29.3–37.9	30.6	109.4
18	431 (rough estimate)	28.5	24.5–33	31	92
19	357 (rough estimate)	28.6	24.1–33.5	31.9	89.5
20	281 (rough estimate)	31	25.8–36.6	31.2	99.1

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 2,654 (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 7 Series?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2004 is suspension: 34 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 2004 were tested at ages 15 to 20.

Failure items per 100 first tests, BMW 7 Series built 2004 against the BMW 7 Series in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 2004, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Suspension	34	13.8	902
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	22.3	7.4	591
Brakes	19.8	7.5	526
Visibility	12.7	6.9	338
Tyres	10.9	8.1	289

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 2,654 (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 22 published build years of the BMW 7 Series, 2004 ranks 16 (1 = fails least for its age). 2003: index 100.6. 2005: index 102.5.

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 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-7-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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