Audi A6 MOT failure rate and common faults
119,461 Audi A6 cars aged 3 to 20 took their MOT in 2025, and 20.1% failed at the first attempt. An average car of the same age failed 28.9% of the time, which makes the Audi A6 30% less likely to fail than the typical car on the road. Here is what fails, and which years to look for.
20.1%
failed first time
119,461 MOT tests in 2025
-30%
vs same age average
average car of this age mix: 28.9%
20 of 208
age adjusted rank
among cars; 1 fails least
94.0
dangerous defects per 1,000
same age average: 106.3
What fails on a Audi A6 MOT
Failure items recorded per 1,000 tests, by part of the car, set against an average car with exactly the same spread of ages. A figure well above average is a weak spot worth checking before you buy.
The most common Audi A6 MOT failures
The individual failure items testers recorded most often, per 1,000 tests.
| Failure item | Area | Per 1,000 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm | Tyres | 35.8 |
| Suspension arms: pin or bush excessively worn | Suspension | 23.3 |
| Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction | Engine, emissions and leaks | 22.3 |
| Coil spring: fractured or broken | Suspension | 18.8 |
| Tyres: has ply or cords exposed | Tyres | 18.3 |
| Tyres: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords | Tyres | 18.1 |
| Drive shafts: constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt | Body, chassis, exhaust and drive shafts | 14.9 |
| Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick | Brakes | 12.4 |
| Linkage pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn | Suspension | 12.2 |
| Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively | Windscreen, wipers and mirrors | 11.8 |
Audi A6 MOT failure rate by year
Every car fails more often as it ages, so each registration year is compared with the average for all cars of the same age. Years with fewer than 500 tests are left out.
| First registered | Tests | Failed | Same age average | Average mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 4,095 | 9.1% | 11.4% | 32,800 |
| 2021 | 4,592 | 9.1% | 12.8% | 43,900 |
| 2020 | 3,463 | 9.8% | 14.1% | 53,900 |
| 2019 | 8,731 | 11.8% | 16.5% | 65,000 |
| 2018 | 8,077 | 14.1% | 19.1% | 72,700 |
| 2017 | 9,203 | 14.8% | 21.8% | 85,600 |
| 2016 | 12,924 | 16.5% | 25.1% | 95,300 |
| 2015 | 11,023 | 17.9% | 28.1% | 106,000 |
| 2014 | 10,369 | 20.5% | 31.4% | 114,100 |
| 2013 | 10,004 | 20.7% | 34.3% | 122,600 |
| 2012 | 7,665 | 22.1% | 36.6% | 132,200 |
| 2011 | 6,505 | 27.3% | 38.8% | 141,200 |
| 2010 | 6,142 | 30.7% | 40.7% | 149,300 |
| 2009 | 3,817 | 31.2% | 41.8% | 155,600 |
| 2008 | 4,672 | 34.3% | 42.9% | 158,700 |
| 2007 | 4,411 | 34.4% | 42.7% | 163,900 |
| 2006 | 2,403 | 35.3% | 43.0% | 167,600 |
| 2005 | 1,365 | 36.1% | 42.4% | 162,500 |
Advisories to look for in a Audi A6's MOT history
An advisory is a tester's warning that something is wearing but has not failed yet. These are the ones written most often on the Audi A6, per 1,000 tests. If the car you are looking at has one of these, ask whether it has been fixed since.
- Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge314.0
- Suspension arms: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement162.9
- Brake pads: wearing thin89.5
- Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened86.0
- Tyres: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing51.9
- Brake discs: worn, but not excessively38.5
Checking a used Audi A6 before you buy
The Audi A6 has no part of the car that fails well above average for its age, so check the areas that fail most often overall.
Tyres
Check the tread across the full width of every tyre, inner edge included. Uneven wear points to worn suspension or out of line steering geometry.
Suspension
Drive over speed bumps with the radio off and listen for knocks. Look at the car side on: a corner sitting lower than the others often means a broken coil spring.
Lights and electrics
Walk round the car with every light on: headlights on dip and main beam, indicators, brake lights, fog lights and the number plate lamp. A pattern of electrical faults costs more than a bulb.
Averages only take you so far. The specific car's MOT history shows whether it has already failed on any of these, how often advisories were ignored, and whether the mileage climbs steadily from test to test. Read our guide to reading a car's MOT history before you go to view it.
Fuel mix of the Audi A6 cars tested: Diesel 88%, Petrol 11%. Average age at test 10.6 years, average recorded mileage 107,200.
Audi A6 MOT questions
What is the Audi A6 MOT failure rate?
20.1% of Audi A6 cars failed their first MOT test of 2025, from 119,461 tests on vehicles aged 3 to 20. An average car with the same age mix failed 28.9% of the time, so the Audi A6 was 30% less likely to fail.
What fails most often on a Audi A6 MOT?
Tyres caused the most failure items, at 95 per 1,000 tests. The single most common failure item was "Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm", recorded 35.8 times per 1,000 tests.
Which Audi A6 year has the best MOT record?
Measured against cars of the same age, 2012 registrations did best: 22.1% failed against an average of 36.6% for cars that age. Older cars always fail more often, so compare a year with its age group rather than with newer cars.
Does this tell me whether a particular Audi A6 will pass?
No. These are averages across every Audi A6 tested in 2025. The car in front of you has its own record: its full MOT history shows every pass, failure and advisory it has had, and it is free to view by registration.
Other Audi models
Ranked close to the Audi A6
- Mazda CX-30rank 17
- Range Roverrank 18
- BMW 5 Seriesrank 19
- BMW X5rank 22
How these figures are calculated
Source: DVSA Anonymised MOT tests and results, 2025 release. We count first tests of cars and small vans (class 4) aged 3 to 20, so a car that fails and is retested is counted once. A failure includes faults fixed and passed within the same visit. The same age average weights the national failure rate for each age by how many Audi A6 cars of that age were tested, so a model is never penalised for having an older fleet. Make and model are as recorded at the test; trim levels are combined. Full method and rankings.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.