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MOT fail rates

Audi A6 MOT fail rate by age

How often the Audi A6 fails its MOT at each age, compared with all cars of the same age, and what it fails on. From 510,103 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated

At 9 years, the most tested age

MOT fail rate at age 9 (n=46,170)17.7%
All cars at 9 years (n=9,949,012)27.1%
Median mileage at test93,126
All cars, median mileage68,033

51 of 315 model groups with enough tests fail less often at 9 years.

What stands out

  • At 3 years the Audi A6 fails 9.7% of MOTs (22,647 tests), 2.3 points below the 12.1% for all cars that age. At 23 years it fails 38.6% (1,033 tests), 1.0 points below the 39.6% average.
  • The gap is widest at 12 years: 11.9 points below all cars.
  • Its most common structural or mechanical fail item at 9 years: Suspension arm bush worn, at 2.7 per 100 MOTs.

MOT fail rate by age

3 years 23 years 47.6%

Solid line: this model. Dashed line: all cars at the same age.

Audi A6: share of MOT tests that failed, by age, against all cars. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
AgeMOT fail rateTests (n)All carsDifferenceMedian mileage
3 years9.7%22,64712.1%−2.3 pts29,422 miles
4 years9.8%26,43813.4%−3.6 pts39,009 miles
5 years10.9%30,48515.3%−4.4 pts49,463 miles
6 years12.6%40,42617.8%−5.2 pts60,539 miles
7 years14.4%42,92520.6%−6.3 pts71,782 miles
8 years16.1%45,33223.8%−7.7 pts82,891 miles
9 years17.7%46,17027.1%−9.5 pts93,126 miles
10 years19.5%41,34230.3%−10.8 pts103,775 miles
11 years21.9%37,06533.3%−11.4 pts113,661 miles
12 years24.1%33,02336.0%−11.9 pts123,648 miles
13 years27.0%26,90438.3%−11.3 pts133,261 miles
14 years30.2%25,43440.3%−10.1 pts142,048 miles
15 years32.1%25,15141.6%−9.5 pts149,617 miles
16 years33.2%21,33542.6%−9.3 pts155,199 miles
17 years34.5%17,50043.1%−8.6 pts158,375 miles
18 years35.7%11,90643.3%−7.6 pts160,210 miles
19 years35.9%6,79343.2%−7.3 pts159,051 miles
20 years38.8%4,13442.8%−4.0 pts154,692 miles
21 years39.6%2,45542.1%−2.5 pts152,026 miles
22 years38.1%1,60541.0%−2.9 pts150,231 miles
23 years38.6%1,03339.6%−1.0 pts149,424 miles

Most common fail items at 9 years

Split into structural or mechanical items and wear items. Wear items (tyres, brake pads, wipers, bulbs) say more about upkeep than about the design.

Structural and mechanical

Fail itemPer 100 MOTs
Suspension arm bush worn Major2.7
Driveshaft CV boot split Major1.8
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction Major1.3
Coil spring broken Major1.2

Out of 46,170 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Wear and upkeep

Fail itemPer 100 MOTs
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm Dangerous4.2
Tyre with cords exposed Dangerous1.7
Tyre condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Major1.5
Brake pads under 1.5 mm Dangerous1
Wipers not clearing screen Major0.9
Headlamp aim: too low Major0.9

Out of 46,170 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Other models at 9 years

ModelMOT fail rateTests (n)All cars
Audi A319.8%149,02527.1%
Audi A125.0%95,11327.1%
Audi A423.3%72,33227.1%

MOT fail rate by first-use year

Each year has its own page: the fail rate for cars first used that year at each MOT from 2022 to 2025 with at least 1,000 tests, the most common faults at that age, and the car tax and ULEZ rules for that year.

First-use year data updated .

Latest MOT age with at least 1,000 tests for each first-use year.
First usedAge at testMOT fail rateTests (n)All cars
200420 years in 202439.0%1,06842.8%
200520 years in 202535.8%1,37842.8%
200619 years in 202535.1%2,42143.2%
200718 years in 202534.1%4,45143.3%
200817 years in 202534.1%4,70943.1%
200916 years in 202531.0%3,83942.6%
201015 years in 202530.4%6,19641.6%
201114 years in 202527.1%6,54340.3%
201213 years in 202522.0%7,70838.3%
201312 years in 202520.7%10,05536.0%
201411 years in 202520.4%10,42333.3%
201510 years in 202517.8%11,08630.3%
20169 years in 202516.5%12,98827.1%
20178 years in 202514.8%9,24023.8%
20187 years in 202514.1%8,10320.6%
20196 years in 202511.7%8,79117.8%
20205 years in 20259.7%3,48715.3%
20214 years in 20259.1%4,62213.4%

More on the Audi A6

Read this with care. A fail rate is not a measure of build quality. How far cars are driven, how they are used and how well owners maintain them all change it, and wear items such as tyres and brake pads are common fails. Compare a model only with cars of the same age. Methodology and limits.

Looking at one Audi A6?

These are figures for the model, not for one car. The VetTheCar Buying Report looks at a single car: its MOT tests, defects, advisories and mileage readings.

See an example report Browse the car tools

Source

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data, class 4 normal MOT tests, 2022 to 2025. MOT data updated 22 September 2026.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by DVSA. How we calculate these figures · Data sources