Does the BMW 7 Series fail the MOT on body, chassis and structure more than it should?
The BMW 7 Series records 1.94 body, chassis and structure failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 6.71 expected for a car of the same age mix: less than expected for its class and age (−4.77, 95% interval −4.92 to −4.62). It ranks 544 of 663 models on body, chassis and structure (1 = most failures above expected).
Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · all models on body, chassis and structure · check a BMW 7 Series by registration
What exactly fails on body, chassis and structure?
The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the BMW 7 Series is “A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot severely deteriorated”, recorded 621 times in 2019–2024.
| DVSA defect wording | Items | Per 100 tests |
|---|---|---|
| A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot severely deteriorated | 621 | 0.54 |
| A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc | 241 | 0.21 |
| Fuel system leaking, or missing or ineffective filler cap | 233 | 0.20 |
| A door will not open using the relevant control or close properly | 229 | 0.20 |
| Exhaust system leaking or insecure | 193 | 0.17 |
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 114,240 (initial tests) · Method: failure items (major and minor) grouped by DVSA's defect tree; wordings with 30+ items · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV
If a BMW 7 Series gets a body, chassis and structure advisory, how often does it fail next time?
6.7% of BMW 7 Series MOTs with a body, chassis and structure advisory were followed by a fail in the same group at the next MOT, typically 12.2 months and 3,112 miles later (1,144 advisories followed).
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 1,144 (advisories followed) · Method: the same vehicles followed to their next ordinary MOT · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV
Other pages for this model
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