Buying Report · £14.99
Tools

MOT fail rates

Mazda 6 MOT fail rate by age

How often the Mazda 6 fails its MOT at each age, compared with all cars of the same age, and what it fails on. From 259,157 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated

At 8 years, the most tested age

MOT fail rate at age 8 (n=25,307)23.2%
All cars at 8 years (n=10,440,457)23.8%
Median mileage at test76,798
All cars, median mileage60,745

186 of 315 model groups with enough tests fail less often at 8 years.

What stands out

  • At 3 years the Mazda 6 fails 8.0% of MOTs (7,086 tests), 4.1 points below the 12.1% for all cars that age. At 20 years it fails 46.4% (1,363 tests), 3.7 points above the 42.8% average.
  • The gap is widest at 18 years: 4.3 points above all cars.
  • Its most common structural or mechanical fail item at 8 years: Coil spring broken, at 3.9 per 100 MOTs.

MOT fail rate by age

3 years 20 years 52.3%

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

Mazda 6: 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 years8.0%7,08612.1%−4.1 pts22,759 miles
4 years10.7%9,51013.4%−2.7 pts31,227 miles
5 years14.2%13,57315.3%−1.1 pts41,594 miles
6 years16.8%19,58217.8%−1.0 pts53,497 miles
7 years20.1%22,02920.6%−0.6 pts66,173 miles
8 years23.2%25,30723.8%−0.6 pts76,798 miles
9 years25.6%24,74827.1%−1.5 pts85,584 miles
10 years29.6%20,33830.3%−0.7 pts93,022 miles
11 years33.1%18,00033.3%−0.1 pts100,258 miles
12 years37.3%17,83736.0%+1.4 pts106,830 miles
13 years39.0%17,93138.3%+0.8 pts111,573 miles
14 years41.8%18,40740.3%+1.5 pts116,326 miles
15 years43.3%16,13841.6%+1.7 pts115,160 miles
16 years44.9%11,67142.6%+2.3 pts113,135 miles
17 years46.0%8,08243.1%+3.0 pts109,564 miles
18 years47.6%4,87143.3%+4.3 pts101,895 miles
19 years46.8%2,68443.2%+3.6 pts97,304 miles
20 years46.4%1,36342.8%+3.7 pts94,378 miles

Most common fail items at 8 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
Coil spring broken Major3.9
Suspension ball joint worn Major2.1
Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded Major1.7

Out of 25,307 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Wear and upkeep

Fail itemPer 100 MOTs
Brake pads under 1.5 mm Dangerous3.5
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm Dangerous2.9
Wipers not clearing screen Major2
Side/position light not working Major1.9
Tyre condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Major1.6
Headlamp aim: too low Major1.2
Tyre with cords exposed Dangerous1

Out of 25,307 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Other models at 8 years

ModelMOT fail rateTests (n)All cars
Mazda 325.2%39,42623.8%
Mazda 220.6%36,30623.8%
Mazda CX-520.5%28,76423.8%

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
200518 years in 202350.8%1,10343.3%
200618 years in 202444.1%1,28943.3%
200718 years in 202546.8%1,79043.3%
200817 years in 202545.8%2,54843.1%
200916 years in 202540.8%3,03842.6%
201015 years in 202541.3%4,23941.6%
201114 years in 202540.8%3,37740.3%
201213 years in 202539.1%2,58538.3%
201312 years in 202533.8%3,79236.0%
201411 years in 202531.5%5,75233.3%
201510 years in 202528.9%6,30430.3%
20169 years in 202526.0%6,77027.1%
20178 years in 202522.5%4,66923.8%
20187 years in 202517.7%3,21720.6%
20196 years in 202513.1%4,40617.8%
20205 years in 202511.1%1,04815.3%

More on the Mazda 6

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 Mazda 6?

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