Audi A6 MOT failures and reliability

In 2023 the Audi A6 took 129,379 MOT tests in Britain and passed 79% of them first time, above the national average of 71% for all cars. The figures below come from the DVSA's record of every test, so they show what testers actually found on these cars rather than what owners report.

MOT tests in 2023: 129,379
First-time pass rate: 79%
All cars: 71%

What the A6 fails on

Share of tests with at least one failure in each area, against the figure for all cars.

Tyres7.2% (all cars 6.4%)
Lights and electrics6.5% (all cars 11.3%)
Suspension5.3% (all cars 9.0%)
Brakes3.1% (all cars 6.8%)
Exhaust and emissions2.6% (all cars 3.1%)
Visibility2.4% (all cars 4.8%)
Body and structure2.1% (all cars 3.5%)
Seat belts and airbags1.1% (all cars 1.0%)

Most common failure items

Share of tests on which each item was recorded.

Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm 2.9%
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction 2.1%
Tyres, condition: has ply or cords exposed 1.7%
Coil spring: fractured or broken 1.6%
Tyres, condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords 1.5%
Suspension arms, pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn 1.3%
Position lamp: not working 1.2%
Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick 1.2%

Most common advisories

Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge 20.5%
Suspension arms, pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement 8.8%
Brake pads: wearing thin 8.0%
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened 6.2%
Tyres, condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing 3.8%
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive 2.9%
Registration plates: deteriorated but not likely to be misread 2.6%
Shock absorbers: has light misting of oil 2.5%

Pass rate by year of registration

Older cars fail more often whatever the model, so compare a car with others of the same age.

First registered	Tests	Pass rate
2002	546	59%
2003	923	60%
2004	1,403	63%
2005	2,391	64%
2006	4,110	65%
2007	6,786	67%
2008	6,638	67%
2009	4,640	69%
2010	7,120	70%
2011	7,356	73%
2012	8,410	78%
2013	10,655	80%
2014	10,920	81%
2015	11,473	84%
2016	13,524	86%
2017	9,536	87%
2018	8,370	89%
2019	9,309	90%
2020	3,870	91%

Typical mileage by age

Average odometer reading at the MOT, by the car's age in years at the test.

Age at test	Average mileage
3 years	32,459 miles
4 years	42,811 miles
5 years	53,023 miles
6 years	65,637 miles
7 years	77,340 miles
8 years	89,630 miles
9 years	99,112 miles
10 years	107,791 miles
11 years	119,046 miles
12 years	129,799 miles
13 years	138,324 miles
14 years	146,385 miles
15 years	151,948 miles
16 years	158,361 miles
17 years	162,440 miles
18 years	159,398 miles
19 years	153,968 miles
20 years	155,889 miles

Check a particular A6

Model figures tell you what to look out for. To see one car's own MOT history, mileage and tax, enter its registration.

Other Audi models

Source: Department for Transport, Anonymised MOT tests and results, 2023, cars and light vans, normal tests only. Pass rates are first-time passes; a pass after repair at the test station counts as a fail. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.