Common problems

Bentley Continental common problems

What MOT testers find on the Bentley Continental: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 56,740 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 18 years, the most tested age

Exhaust, emissions and leaks fails per 100 MOTs (n=4,940)4.4

All cars at 18 years (n=3,261,622)6.8

Tyres advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=4,940)12.5

All cars, same age (n=3,261,622)27.6

What stands out

No part area of the Bentley Continental fails more than 1 point per 100 MOTs above all cars at 18 years old (n=4,940; all cars n=3,261,622).
Lights and electrics fails are less common: 3.2 per 100 MOTs against 21.4 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 18 years: malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction, on 2.9 per 100 MOTs (all cars 2.5).
The most common advisory or minor defect: brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened, on 7.7 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 18 years

How many of every 100 MOTs found a fail, or an advisory or minor defect, in each area. A test with faults in two areas counts in both.

Bentley Continental at 18 years (n=4,940) against all cars at 18 years (n=3,261,622). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	4.4	6.8	0.9	14.1
Lights and electrics	3.2	21.4	3.9	17.8
Brakes	3.1	12.9	11.8	32.3
Tyres	2.7	7.0	12.5	27.6
Suspension	1.7	17.2	5.9	35.3
Body and structure	1.2	8.7	2.0	14.7
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	0.9	7.3	1.9	6.2
Number plates and VIN	0.6	0.6	0.5	5.5
Seat belts and airbags	0.4	2.7	0.2	1.3
Steering	0.4	3.9	1.0	5.6
Road wheels	0.2	0.5	0.4	1.3

What testers fail most on the Continental at 18 years

Fail items on the Bentley Continental at 18 years (n=4,940), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=3,261,622).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	2.9	2.5	diagnosis from £39 (rough guide)
Tyre condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords	Tyres	1.0	1.1	£88 to £145 per tyre
Suspension arm bush worn	Suspension	0.9	2.2	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Electronic stability control: warning lamp indicates a fault	Brakes	0.8	0.3
Catalyst emissions: carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	0.8	0.6
Driveshaft CV boot split	Body and structure	0.7	3.2	£88 to £196 per boot (rough guide)
Catalyst emissions: Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	0.6	1.3
Tyre with cords exposed	Tyres	0.6	1.7	£88 to £145 per tyre
Side/position light not working	Lights and electrics	0.6	5.6	£10 to £47 per lamp
Brake pads under 1.5 mm	Brakes	0.5	1.8	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 18 years

Advisories and minor defects are recorded, but the car still passes. Across all cars, a part with an advisory or minor defect failed at the next MOT 5.5 times in 100 (n=88,666,940 pairs of consecutive MOTs), against 0.3 times in 100 when the same part had none (n=12,936,860,350).

Advisories and minor defects on the Bentley Continental at 18 years (n=4,940), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=3,261,622).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	7.7	11.1	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	5.6	9.8	£88 to £145 per tyre
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	5.2	17.4	£88 to £145 per tyre
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	3.9	8.5	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	3.5	6.4	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Drive shaft joints: constant velocity boot severely deteriorated	Body and structure	1.4	4.0
Brake discs: worn, but not excessively	Brakes	1.2	2.1	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Windscreen: damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	1.2	3.7
Tyre condition: has a cut but not deep enough to reach the ply or cords	Tyres	1.1	0.9	£88 to £145 per tyre
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources	Lights and electrics	0.9	5.8

Repair estimates are a guide for an independent garage: labour at the national median local garage rate (median £78 an hour from 65 garages, ONS price quotes) times estimated labour hours, plus a parts band. Labour hours and most parts bands are estimates, not quotes, and prices vary by model, engine and region. A warning light fault shows the cost of the diagnosis only.

How problems change with age

Fails per 100 MOTs in the three most common areas at 18 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	Lights and electrics	Brakes
3 years	2,341	0.2	0.5	0.2
4 years	2,518	0.3	0.6	0.2
5 years	2,732	0.4	0.8	0.3
6 years	2,972	0.3	0.9	0.3
7 years	2,941	0.3	0.9	0.2
8 years	3,106	0.5	1.1	0.6
9 years	3,185	0.5	1.5	0.8
10 years	3,064	0.7	1.3	0.4
11 years	2,827	1.1	2.6	1.2
12 years	2,640	1.7	3.0	1.3
13 years	2,292	1.9	3.1	1.5
14 years	2,487	2.3	2.9	1.6
15 years	3,355	2.6	2.5	2.0
16 years	3,899	3.2	2.5	2.6
17 years	4,732	4.0	2.7	3.1
18 years	4,940	4.4	3.2	3.1
19 years	3,411	4.9	3.3	2.5
20 years	2,216	5.1	2.7	3.2
21 years	1,082	5.5	3.8	2.9

Mileage

At 18 years, Bentley Continental cars showing 30,000 to 60,000 miles failed 9.5% of MOTs (n=1,792); the band that failed most, 60,000 to 90,000 miles, failed 14.3% (n=1,803). For pass and fail rates by age, see MOT fail rates by model.

What to check on a viewing

On the Bentley Continental, testers most often record malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction; tyre condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords; suspension arm bush worn. Look at these first, then the areas below.

Exhaust, emissions and leaks

Start the engine from cold if you can and watch the exhaust for blue or black smoke.
Check that the engine warning light goes out after starting and stays out on the test drive.
Look under the car and around the engine for oil or fluid leaks, and listen for a blowing exhaust.

Lights and electrics

With someone outside, try every light: dipped and main beam, indicators, brake lights, fog lights and number plate lamps.
Check that the warning lights come on with the ignition and go out once the engine runs.
Look for misted, cracked or yellowed headlamp lenses.

Brakes

On the test drive the car should stop in a straight line without pulling, juddering or grinding.
Look at the discs through the wheels for a deep lip, heavy rust or scoring.
Check that the handbrake or electronic parking brake holds the car on a slope.
Ask when the pads, discs and brake fluid were last changed, and for the receipts.

Ask for the car's MOT history and service record: advisories that repeat from one year to the next show what has been left. GOV.UK MOT history.

Questions

What are the most common problems on the Bentley Continental?

At 18 years, the age with the most MOT tests (4,940), the fail items testers record most often on the Bentley Continental are malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction (2.9 per 100 MOTs), tyre condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords (1.0 per 100 MOTs), suspension arm bush worn (0.9 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened (7.7) and tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing (5.6).

Which parts of the Bentley Continental fail more often than on other cars?

None by more than 1 point per 100 MOTs at 18 years, compared with 3,261,622 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Bentley Continental problems by area

Other Bentley models

Bentley Bentayga common problems

All Bentley models · Common problems by make

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.

The all cars figures cover all class 4 vehicles (cars and light vans) tested at the same age.

Looking at a Bentley Continental?

These figures describe the model, not the car in front of you. Found one you might buy? See what the VetTheCar Buying Report covers, or use the tools that work without a registration.

See a sample report Car tools · MOT fail rates by model · Compare models by MOT record

Repair estimates: ONS consumer price quotes for local garage labour (09/2025 to 08/2026), the MOT inspection manual for defect wording, and estimated labour hours and parts bands. Not affiliated with or endorsed by ONS.

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 28 September 2026.

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