Does the BMW 7 Series fail the MOT on steering more than it should?
The BMW 7 Series records 1.46 steering failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 3.24 expected for a car of the same age mix: less than expected for its class and age (−1.78, 95% interval −1.89 to −1.68). It ranks 455 of 640 models on steering (1 = most failures above expected).
Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · all models on steering · check a BMW 7 Series by registration
What exactly fails on steering?
The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the BMW 7 Series is “A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play”, recorded 653 times in 2019–2024.
| DVSA defect wording | Items | Per 100 tests |
|---|---|---|
| A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play | 653 | 0.57 |
| Steering rack gaiter or ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated | 366 | 0.32 |
| Steering rack gaiter or ball joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc | 265 | 0.23 |
| Power steering fluid leaking or system malfunctioning | 86 | 0.08 |
| A steering linkage component with excessive movement between components or likely to become detached | 74 | 0.06 |
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 steering advisory, how often does it fail next time?
7.1% of BMW 7 Series MOTs with a steering advisory were followed by a fail in the same group at the next MOT, typically 12 months and 3,596 miles later (1,191 advisories followed).
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 1,191 (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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