Linkage ball joint excessively worn on the BMW 525
Linkage ball joint excessively worn on the BMW 525 is recorded on 1,767 tests — 3.8% of all its MOT tests, against 1.8% across every car in the data. That is 2.1× the national share.
Is this unusual for this model?
| Compared with | What it says |
|---|---|
| Every car in the data | 1.8% of tests record it — this model is 2.1× that share |
| The 291 models compared | 58 of 291, 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, 2.8% of this model's tests recorded it; in 2010, 0.2%. The share has fallen 2.5 points over that time. Worst year 2003 at 3.4%; best 2010 at 0.2%.
| Year | Failures recorded | Tests | Share of tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 158 | 5,715 | 2.8% |
| 2002 | 208 | 7,497 | 2.8% |
| 2003 | 161 | 4,792 | 3.4% |
| 2004 | 196 | 10,911 | 1.8% |
| 2005 | 289 | 15,501 | 1.9% |
| 2006 | 214 | 13,989 | 1.5% |
| 2007 | 210 | 16,908 | 1.2% |
| 2008 | 196 | 15,237 | 1.3% |
| 2009 | 95 | 7,608 | 1.3% |
| 2010 | 14 | 6,170 | 0.2% |
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
- Linkage 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 →