Pass rate
88.1%
Above average — 12.2 pts ahead of the 75.9% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 244 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £41–£123
2011 BMW 740 MOT pass rate
- 2011
- typical 119,928 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Tyres
25.6% of faults · 19.8% nationally
mostly tread below the limit, cuts and sidewall bulges.
Which year to buy
- Best 2021 94.2% pass
- Avoid 2000 81.4% pass
Across the 17 years on record, a spread of 12.8 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 86.6%
- Typical mileage
- 120k mi
The 2011 BMW 740 MOT pass rate is 88.1% of its MOT tests — 12.2 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Tyres is the biggest single reason it fails, at 25.6% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Emissions & leaks: 2.7× the national share
Emissions & leaks make up 14.8% of everything recorded on the 2011 BMW 740, against 5.5% nationally — 9.3 points above. Tyres are still the single largest share at 25.6%, but at 19.8% nationally that one is ordinary. A smoky diesel or a leaking joint fails on emissions more often than on wear, so ask for a recent emissions printout.
- Beats its own age and mileage. Once you allow for how old and how far these cars have been driven, the expected pass rate is 75.9% and this one manages 88.1% — 12.2 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 18% of this model’s typical repairs come in under £30 in parts — the failures here tend to be the kind that need a garage rather than a bulb.
Written from this page's own figures: fault shares against the national composition, the like-for-like pass rate, and the priced repair list. How these are worked out
Watching a BMW 740? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2011 BMW 740 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 75.9%, so this figure is 12.2 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 86.6%. The median 2011 BMW 740 in this dataset had covered 119,928 mi.
93% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Diesel, which passed 88.1% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 88.6% of the time, April–September 87.5%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Coil spring fractured or broken", noted on 2.87% of tests.
- 244 recorded tests behind this page.
- 88.1% overall pass rate, 86.6% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the BMW 740, the average is 90.3% — best year 2021 (94.2%), worst 2000 (81.4%).
Figures count every completed test on this vehicle-year in the dataset, including retests. See methodology for the exact definition.
This page's data
- Tests analysed
- 244
- Typical mileage (median)
- 119,928 mi
- Make and model
- BMW 740
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Coil Spring
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the 740 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 78% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Diesel is the most common here (93% of tests).
Where the BMW 740 is most common
Across all 740 model years on record (2000–2021): 4,777 BMW 740 cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 9,067 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 208 cars tested there. Cars are counted by the postcode area of the MOT station, so this is where they were tested, not necessarily where their owners live.
| # | Postcode area | Cars | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Birmingham (B) | 208 | 92.5% |
| 2 | London (NW) | 145 | 93.7% |
| 3 | Romford (RM) | 118 | 93.8% |
| 4 | Ilford (IG) | 110 | 88.8% |
| 5 | Peterborough (PE) | 106 | 87.8% |
| 6 | Coventry (CV) | 104 | 88.5% |
| 7 | Slough (SL) | 104 | 91.3% |
| 8 | Leicester (LE) | 102 | 91.1% |
| 9 | London (E) | 99 | 97.6% |
| 10 | Wembley (HA) | 98 | 92.3% |
| 11 | Hayes (UB) | 95 | 96.9% |
| 12 | London (N) | 93 | 96.0% |
| 13 | Manchester (M) | 92 | 90.9% |
| 14 | Glasgow (G) | 90 | 88.0% |
| 15 | Luton (LU) | 89 | 91.0% |
| 16 | Sheffield (S) | 85 | 91.0% |
| 17 | Guildford (GU) | 79 | 87.5% |
| 18 | High Wycombe (HP) | 76 | 92.3% |
| 19 | Enfield (EN) | 75 | 95.4% |
| 20 | Nottingham (NG) | 73 | 88.0% |
The twenty areas with the most BMW 740 cars in the record, sorted by car count — sort the columns for a different question. Cars tested at a station whose postcode area could not be resolved are counted in the model's total but in no area, so the shares add up to slightly under 100% even across every area, and an area's cars are a subset of the model's. Pass rate is blank below 30 tests in an area, where a percentage is noise rather than a finding. How this model's pass rate varies by postcode →
Regional pass rates for the 740
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 52 | 86.5% |
| East of England | 35 | 91.4% |
| West Midlands | 30 | 93.3% |
| North West | 30 | 76.7% |
| South West | 28 | 89.3% |
| London | 18 | 100.0% |
| Yorkshire | 16 | 100.0% |
Regions come from the postcode area recorded at the test station. Areas on region borders are assigned to the region with the majority of their population.
What fails a 2011 740
Everything a tester recorded on this vehicle, grouped into the inspection sections that produced it. The notch on each bar is the national share, so you can see at a glance whether this car is unusual or just ordinary.
A test can record several items, so these percentages do not add up to 100%. The exact strings, with prices, are in the full DVSA record at the bottom of this page.
Before your test
Three checks worth doing on a 2011 740
These are not generic tips — they are the faults recorded most often on this exact model, rewritten as things you can check yourself. All three take about ten minutes and cost nothing.
-
Check the coil springs 2.9% of tests
“coil spring fractured or broken”
Look up inside each wheel arch with a torch, all the way round the spring. A snapped spring usually breaks at the very bottom coil, where a quick glance will not reach.
-
Check the suspension joints 2.0% of tests
“pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn”
With the car parked on level ground, rock the top of each front wheel in and out while someone watches the suspension arm. Clunks, or rubber boots split and greasy, are what testers record here.
-
Check the windscreen 1.6% of tests
“windscreen damaged”
Check the driver’s side of the screen within the swept area for chips and cracks; anything larger than 10mm in the driver’s central view is a fail. Most chips can be resin-repaired for far less than a new screen.
Shares are the proportion of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item, so they overlap: one test can record several.
What it costs to get a 2011 740 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £41–£123 — and 18% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £41–£123
- Cheapest common item: side repeaters with a multiple light source…
- £3–£15
- Dearest common item: engine oil leaks leaking excessively from…
- £200–£700
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 70%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 18%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 244 MOT tests on this vehicle. They exclude diagnostics, retest fees and garage labour where the part is a DIY fit, and they are not figures from the DVSA dataset. Older and higher-mileage examples cost more than the average. How these estimates are built → · All MOT repair costs → · Cheapest cars to put through a test →
Every year of the 740, side by side
17 model years on record, from 2000 to 2021. Across them the pass rate runs from 81.4% to 94.2% — a spread of 12.8 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 81.4% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2001 83.4% anti-lock braking system warning…
- 2005 82.8% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2006 83.0% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2009 83.0% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2010 86.4% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2011 88.1%coil spring fractured or broken
- 2012 86.4% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2013 85.4% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2014 91.5% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2015 89.4% pins and bushes pin or bush…
- 2016 91.5% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2017 90.2% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2018 90.8% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2019 93.5% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2020 94.1% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2021 94.2% has a bulge, caused by separation…
Colour is the pass rate on a fixed scale, so a block means the same thing on any model. Each year links to its own page with the full fault breakdown.
Compare the 2011 BMW 740 with another year
The raw pass rate mostly measures age. The year comparison adds the like-for-like figure, the mileage bands and the repair bill.
Other 2011 cars with a similar record
- Honda Fit 86.9%
- Porsche Cayenne 86.8%
- Lexus IS250 86.8%
- Jaguar Xkr 86.4%
- Audi A8 90.3%
- Lexus Ct 85.8%
Closest pass rates among 2011 cars with at least 2,000 tests, so a small sample cannot flatter itself into the list. See the full rankings: best and worst MOT pass rates.
The full DVSA record for the 2011 BMW 740 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 10 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 269 individual items recorded on this vehicle, and the same share across all cars nationally. A single test can record several items, so a row is not a percentage of tests.
| Category | Items | This car | Nationally | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyres | 69 | 25.60% | 19.76% | +5.84 |
| Suspension | 62 | 23.00% | 20.98% | +2.02 |
| Brakes | 52 | 19.30% | 20.89% | −1.59 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 40 | 14.80% | 5.52% | +9.28 |
| Visibility | 12 | 4.40% | 4.97% | −0.57 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 11 | 4.10% | 12.21% | −8.11 |
| Non-component advisories | 10 | 3.70% | 4.18% | −0.48 |
| Steering | 6 | 2.20% | 2.57% | −0.37 |
| Road Wheels | 4 | 1.50% | 0.75% | +0.75 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 3 | 1.10% | 1.76% | −0.66 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 2.9% | £25–65 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Major | 2.0% | £40–150 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 1.6% | £80–200 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 1.2% | £18–45 |
| Side repeaters with a multiple light source up to 1/2 not functioning Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 1.2% | £3–15 |
| Washers provides insufficient washer liquid Visibility | Major | 1.2% | £5–15 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 0.82% | £18–45 |
| Driver's view of an obligatory external mirror significantly affected by an obstruction Visibility | Rectified | 0.82% | £20–80 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 0.82% | £200–700 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Major | 0.82% | £45–95 |
Severity is as recorded: Major and Dangerous fail the test outright; Minor and Advisory do not. Costs are estimates from typical UK parts prices — see how they are built.
What testers noted without failing the car
Advisories are the early warnings — the same parts a year or two before they fail. Reading them is how you tell a car that has been maintained from one that has been patched.
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 20.9% | £45–95 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 13.1% | £200–700 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 9.0% | £45–110 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 8.2% | £18–45 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 5.7% | £40–150 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 4.9% | £18–45 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 3 | 100.0% | 29,222 mi |
| 30-60k | 17 | 94.1% | 43,502 mi |
| 60-90k | 33 | 87.9% | 76,072 mi |
| 90-120k | 69 | 88.4% | 105,654 mi |
| 120k+ | 122 | 86.9% | 148,419 mi |
Source: 244 recorded tests on this vehicle-year. Every row above is recomputed from the same DVSA extract as the rest of the page — see the methodology.
2011 740 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2011 BMW 740?
88.1% of the 244 2011 BMW 740 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 75.9% for cars first used in 2011. First-attempt pass rate: 86.6%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2011 BMW 740?
The three most recorded items are coil spring fractured or broken (2.87%), pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn (2.05%), windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (1.64%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2011 BMW 740 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 100.0% of the time, falling to 86.9% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2011 BMW 740 in this dataset had covered 119,928 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2011 BMW 740?
Diesel: 88.1% pass rate across 227 tests. Petrol: 88.2% pass rate across 17 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2011 BMW 740 MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 88.6% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 87.5%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.