Ball joint excessively worn on the BMW 525
Ball joint excessively worn on the BMW 525 is recorded on 3,153 tests — 6.8% of all its MOT tests, against 3.1% across every car in the data. That is 2.2× the national share.
Is this unusual for this model?
| Compared with | What it says |
|---|---|
| Every car in the data | 3.1% of tests record it — this model is 2.2× that share |
| The 358 models compared | 48 of 358, highest first |
| The model's own record | 46,357 tests · every year of the 525 → |
A share of tests is not a probability for your car: it counts every BMW 525 tested, whatever its mileage, service history and use. The like-for-like comparison on the model page is the fairer number.
Year by year
In 2001, 3.4% of this model's tests recorded it; in 2012, 3.3%. The share has barely moved over that time. Worst year 2005 at 4.3%; best 2009 at 1.9%.
| Year | Failures recorded | Tests | Share of tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 194 | 5,715 | 3.4% |
| 2002 | 203 | 7,497 | 2.7% |
| 2003 | 217 | 7,188 | 3.0% |
| 2004 | 402 | 10,911 | 3.7% |
| 2005 | 444 | 10,334 | 4.3% |
| 2006 | 389 | 13,989 | 2.8% |
| 2007 | 377 | 16,908 | 2.2% |
| 2008 | 214 | 10,158 | 2.1% |
| 2009 | 142 | 7,608 | 1.9% |
| 2010 | 252 | 6,170 | 4.1% |
| 2011 | 212 | 7,848 | 2.7% |
| 2012 | 67 | 2,026 | 3.3% |
Years with fewer than 0.2% of tests recording the item are left out: a year with two failures in 400 tests is noise, and this table is not here to make noise look like a trend.
What it costs
A typical UK repair for this item is £18–£45 fitted. It is a job a careful owner can do at home. What the part is, and what to buy →
Prices are typical UK supply-and-fitting estimates, not quotes. What happens if it fails covers the retest rules.
Where this sits
- Ball joint excessively worn: every model, every year → — the item's own page, with the part guide.
- BMW 525 MOT pass rate by year → — the model's whole record, and what else it fails on.
- Every BMW model →