MOT Risk Index.co.uk

BMW 6 Series — MOT statistics 2024

The BMW 6 Series failed 20.55% of 22,568 first MOT attempts in 2024 ("first-time", excluding retests). Adjusted for the age of the fleet, its initial-failure ratio is 65.4 (100 = expected for its age profile). This car fails its MOT about 35% less often than expected for its age.

MOT risk index 65.4, 95% CI 63.7–67.1 (100 = national average) 100 65.4 0 200
Index
65.4
100 = age-normal
Raw fail rate
20.55%
n = 22,568
Dangerous /100
11
national ≈11
Diesel − petrol
-4.8 pp
fail-rate gap
Rank
165 of 761
lower index = better

Age-adjusted peer: Kia EV6 (index 65.4) — the two published results are 0.0 index points apart.

BMW 6 Series common problems: what actually fails the MOT

Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment are well below the reference at 6.8 per 100 tests, against 18.6 per 100 tests across UK vehicles of the same ages.

higher bar = fails more oftenrate per 100 tests

BMW 6 Series common problems: what actually fails the MOT — 2024 UK MOT data

family vs national — matched to UK vehicles of the same ages — top component groups, per 100 tests. Legend: This family · National avg. Combined labels: family / national average. A gap here reflects how these vehicles are driven, used and maintained as well as how they were built — an MOT defect is a test outcome, not a breakdown.

Component-group comparison table

Each ratio carries a 95% interval. With 6 groups compared here, roughly one apparent difference in twenty is chance alone.

GroupThis familyCases behind itUK, same agesFamily / national
Tyres11.615,9088.91.30×1.28–1.32
Suspension9.613,16215.90.60×0.59–0.61
Lamps & electrical6.89,33818.60.37×0.36–0.37
Visibility5.67,7118.20.69×0.67–0.70
Brakes5.27,11812.20.42×0.41–0.43
Emissions & leaks1.72,3234.00.42×0.40–0.44
Named defects — items per 100 initial tests, this family vs UK national average; this model measured on 137,669 tests, 2019-2024, national column 2024
What failedper 100 tests (this family)per 100 tests (UK average)ratio family / UKWhat to check
Tyre seriously damagedA tyre seriously damaged5.142.542.02×Check tyre tread depth across the full width
Tyre cords visible or damagedA tyre cords visible or damaged3.061.631.88×Check tyre tread depth across the full width
Suspension joint dust cover missing or no longer…A suspension joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc2.001.781.12×Listen for knocks over bumps — worn joints show up on the test
Suspension joint dust cover severely deterioratedA suspension joint dust cover severely deteriorated1.641.900.86×Listen for knocks over bumps — worn joints show up on the test
Windscreen or window damaged or seriously…Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view2.052.360.87×Check wipers, washers and windscreen chips in the driver's view
Windscreen washers not working or not providing…Windscreen washers not working or not providing sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen1.221.620.75×Check wipers, washers and windscreen chips in the driver's view
Spring or spring component fractured or seriously…A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened2.302.860.80×Ask the seller about: A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened
Lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a…A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning1.112.090.53×Try every light and switch — lamps are a top failure
Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the…Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements2.393.590.67×Check tyre tread depth across the full width
Suspension pin, bush or joint excessively wornA suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn2.744.870.56×Listen for knocks over bumps — worn joints show up on the test

Named defects ranked by how much more often they appear than the national average — not by raw rate.

BMW 6 Series MOT advisories: what gets flagged

Tyres are highest at 31.6 per 100 tests; Body & structure are lowest at 1.4 per 100 tests — the gap is 30.2 per 100 tests.

higher bar = flagged more oftenadvisory items per 100 initial tests

BMW 6 Series MOT advisories: what gets flagged — 2024 UK MOT data
Advisory rates table
GroupAdvisories per 100
Tyres31.6
Brakes21.8
Suspension13.6
Emissions & leaks6.6
Non-component advisories5
Body & structure1.4

Advisories are wear the tester noted but didn't fail — what will need money soon.

Tyres, brakes and suspension: BMW 6 Series against cars of the same age

AgePartBMW 6 SeriesSame age, petrol and dieselDifference
3 yearsTyres10.374.176.20
3 yearsBrakes0.421.77-1.35
3 yearsSuspension0.20.63-0.43
4 yearsTyres9.14.544.56
4 yearsBrakes0.582.43-1.85
4 yearsSuspension0.41.21-0.81
5 yearsTyres9.235.064.17
5 yearsBrakes0.863.09-2.23
5 yearsSuspension0.732.19-1.46
6 yearsTyres9.915.544.37
6 yearsBrakes1.133.81-2.68
6 yearsSuspension1.423.72-2.30
7 yearsTyres9.235.953.28
7 yearsBrakes1.374.55-3.18
7 yearsSuspension2.385.68-3.30
8 yearsTyres8.926.312.61
8 yearsBrakes1.425.38-3.96
8 yearsSuspension3.67.78-4.18

Failing items per 100 initial tests, 2019-2024. The comparison group is every petrol or diesel car tested at the same age, so weight and drivetrain show up rather than fleet age.

If a car like this fails, does it fail again?

A failure rate does not say whether a failure is a one-off or the start of something. This follows the same vehicles into their next ordinary MOT a year later — retests after a repair are excluded, because they follow a failure by definition. 2019-2024.

After this year's testFails next yearVehicles followed
It failed24.3%5,296
It passed18.6%80,149

A failed test raises next year's chance of failing again by 5.7 percentage points. The failure most likely to come back is visibility — 28.5% of those vehicles fail again next year. Some of this is the vehicle and some is the owner: a car that was let go once tends to be let go again. One caveat: a car that fails may be sold or scrapped rather than tested again, so these figures describe the vehicles that came back.

Adjusted for how much these are actually driven

The headline index adjusts for the fleet's age. Wear, though, follows mileage: a three-year-old taxi and a three-year-old garage queen sit in the same age band. These two rows compare every car with vehicles of the same age, and then with vehicles of the same age and the same annual mileage, 2019-2024, on 136,602 tests. Both stand on the six-year corpus so they are measured on identical data — compare them with each other, not with the headline index above, which is measured on 2024 alone.

Standardised forIndexReading
Age only69.4fails less often than expected
Age and annual mileage67.6fails less often than vehicles driven as much
Share doing under 3,000 miles a year4.2%a normal spread of use

Mileage changes little here (-1.8 points): this fleet is driven about as much as the vehicles it is compared with. One limit to keep in mind: mileage is partly a result of how often a car breaks down — one that spends weeks in the workshop covers fewer miles — so the mileage-matched figure can understate a real weakness. Tests with no usable odometer reading are left out of it.

How the BMW 6 Series compares with cars of its own age and size

Not against the whole fleet — against cars of the same size class tested at the same age, 2019-2024.

AgeBMW 6 SeriesSame class, same ageDifferenceTests
3 years14.24%10.78%+3.46 pp7,597
4 years13.7%12.32%+1.38 pp9,253
5 years14.95%14.14%+0.81 pp11,083
6 years16.43%16.06%+0.38 pp12,073
7 years17.8%18.23%-0.43 pp11,429
8 years18.4%20.52%-2.12 pp10,560
9 years19.32%23.07%-3.75 pp9,168
10 years20.83%25.57%-4.74 pp7,720
11 years21.22%28.19%-6.97 pp6,913
12 years23.3%30.52%-7.22 pp6,168
13 years25.96%32.58%-6.62 pp6,271
14 years27.91%34.54%-6.64 pp7,149
15 years28.96%36.01%-7.04 pp7,983
16 years29.39%37.05%-7.66 pp6,972
17 years28.81%37.43%-8.63 pp5,707
18 years30.22%37.81%-7.59 pp4,136
19 years30.51%37.42%-6.91 pp2,481
20 years27.89%36.92%-9.03 pp1,072

Raw first-time failure rates within each age, so fleet age cannot flatter either side. A positive difference means this model fails more often than its own class at that age.

How does the BMW 6 Series perform as it gets older?

The 6 Series at age 14 is well below the reference at 22.8%, against 40.4% for all vehicles of the same age.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

How does the BMW 6 Series perform as it gets older? — 2024 UK MOT data

Chart axes: car age, years · failure-rate scale 0–47%.

Takeaway: a 10-year-old 6 Series has roughly a 20% chance of failing its MOT.

Data table
AgeBMW 6 SeriesAll vehiclesGap
411.7%13.1%-1.5 pp
511.5%15.1%-3.7 pp
613.9%17.5%-3.6 pp
718.3%20.2%-1.9 pp
816.2%23.3%-7.1 pp
916.8%26.5%-9.8 pp
1020.0%30.1%-10.1 pp
1120.1%33.2%-13.0 pp
1220.6%35.7%-15.1 pp
1321.3%38.2%-16.9 pp
1422.8%40.4%-17.6 pp
1524.3%41.6%-17.3 pp
1625.6%43.1%-17.5 pp
1726.4%43.1%-16.7 pp
1829.0%43.9%-14.9 pp
1930.3%43.5%-13.2 pp
2027.5%41.0%-13.6 pp

Is a BMW 6 Series ULEZ compliant?

The share of classifiable 2024 BMW 6 Series MOT tests likely ULEZ compliant by first-registration date is 52.7%.

Based on 22,003 classifiable initial MOT tests. This describes the tested fleet, not a specific car. MOT data do not record Euro class, so likely compliance is inferred from fuel and first-registration date. For the only authoritative answer, check the registration with TfL's official ULEZ checker.

higher = larger share likely compliantinferred from fuel and first-registration date; not a recorded Euro class

Age-band estimate from classifiable initial MOT tests
Vehicle age at testLikely ULEZ-compliant shareTests
Under 3 yearsSuppressed — sample below publication threshold
Check a registration with TfL
n = 0
3–5 years100.0%
Check a registration with TfL
n = 1,324
6–7 years100.0%
Check a registration with TfL
n = 3,655
8 years100.0%
Check a registration with TfL
n = 1,820
9 years41.1%
Check a registration with TfL
n = 1,952
10–14 years13.3%
Check a registration with TfL
n = 6,633
15–17 years59.8%
Check a registration with TfL
n = 2,878
18 years99.6%
Check a registration with TfL
n = 1,402
19 years0.0%
Check a registration with TfL
n = 1,216
20+ years0.0%
Check a registration with TfL
n = 1,123

How dangerous are BMW 6 Series MOT failures?

Major defects are well below the reference at 27.2 per 100 tests, against 52.8 per 100 tests nationally.

higher bar = fails more oftenrate per 100 tests

How dangerous are BMW 6 Series MOT failures? — 2024 UK MOT data
Severity table
SeverityThis family /100National /100Family / national
Minor7.2014.220.51×
Major27.1752.750.52×
Dangerous11.3811.151.02×

Chart values: Minor 7.2 · Major 27.2 · Dangerous 11.4.

Per 100 tests on this family. National average: Minor 14.2 · Major 52.8 · Dangerous 11.2 per 100.

Does the month of a BMW 6 Series MOT matter?

Apr is highest at 22.0%; Dec is lowest at 20.1% — the gap is 2.0 percentage points.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

Does the month of a BMW 6 Series MOT matter? — 2024 UK MOT data

Chart scale: 19%–33%.

bars: BMW 6 Series · dashed: all class-4 cars

Month-by-month table
MonthBMW 6 SeriesAll vehiclesGap
Jan21.01%31.12%-10.1 pp
Feb21.42%29.99%-8.6 pp
Mar20.83%28.26%-7.4 pp
Apr22.01%29.78%-7.8 pp
May21.64%28.79%-7.1 pp
Jun21.24%28.15%-6.9 pp
Jul21.73%29.33%-7.6 pp
Aug21.34%29.2%-7.9 pp
Sep20.74%28.19%-7.5 pp
Oct20.88%30.34%-9.5 pp
Nov20.79%30.58%-9.8 pp
Dec20.05%29.33%-9.3 pp

Takeaway: the spread between best and worst month is 2.0 percentage points — booking month barely matters for this family. Seasonality partly reflects registration-date clustering, not weather.

Before reading the shape: most of it is not about cars. Britain changes its registration plates twice a year, and 18.9% of these cars were first registered in March with another17.1% in September — 36% in two months against the 17% an even spread would give. An MOT falls due three years after first registration, so the buying calendar becomes the testing calendar. That shapes how many cars are tested each month — not how often they fail: the busiest months here are not the worst ones, so read the failure line on its own and the volume behind it separately.

BMW 6 Series average mileage by age

At age 8, the middle half of 6 Series models runs from 48,398 miles to 82,129 miles, against 63,895 miles as the median.

further right = more milesmedian is the typical car; band is p25–p75

Bars: BMW 6 Series · dashed: all class-4 cars — 2024 UK MOT data

Chart axes: car age, years · odometer scale 0–148k mi.

Does high mileage mean more BMW 6 Series MOT failures at the same age?

Within the same age group, split by odometer (2024 MOTs), so this separates wear from age: at ages 6–9, 13% of those with under 40,000 miles failed first time versus 19.2% of those with over 140,000 miles.No clear mileage gap inside this age group, among cars still being tested.

Does high mileage mean more BMW 6 Series MOT failures at the same age? — 2024 UK MOT data
BMW 6 Series: first-time failure by mileage within each age group (2024)
AgeOdometer% failing95% intervalTests
3–5<40k miles9.9%7.6–12.7%536
3–540-70k miles11.2%8.9–14%589
3–570-100k miles14.3%9.6–20.7%154 (rough estimate)
6–9<40k miles13%11.3–14.9%1,347
6–940-70k miles15.4%14.2–16.7%3,392
6–970-100k miles17.9%16.3–19.7%1,947
6–9100-140k miles19%16.1–22.3%600
6–9140k+ miles19.2%12.6–28%99 (rough estimate)
10–14<40k miles15.8%12.3–20.1%341 (rough estimate)
10–1440-70k miles17.2%15.3–19.3%1,417
10–1470-100k miles21.9%20.3–23.5%2,485
10–14100-140k miles21.6%19.8–23.5%1,929
10–14140k+ miles22.4%18.9–26.5%459 (rough estimate)
15+<40k miles15.6%10.8–22%160 (rough estimate)
15+40-70k miles20.3%17.5–23.4%715
15+70-100k miles26.5%24.4–28.6%1,730
15+100-140k miles29.5%27.8–31.3%2,631
15+140k+ miles30.1%27.7–32.6%1,382

line: median · band: middle half of the fleet (p25–p75)

Mileage by age (p25 / median / p75)
Agep25Medianp75Tests
428,33336,76046,588249
534,35647,17762,4421,071
638,86151,01965,9732,319
741,74754,64571,4501,336
848,39863,89582,1291,820
955,72573,54592,0061,952
1061,23180,361100,8631,983
1170,23590,092111,2741,983
1274,74693,890113,8691,502
1359,53980,749104,453630
1489,884111,492135,096535
1585,580111,313140,596585
1688,585113,416140,0491,077
1785,370110,678135,9511,216
1887,575111,776134,2911,402
1984,067110,272134,4531,218
20+82,065105,239126,9421,124

A typical 8-year-old 6 Series has ~63,895 miles on the clock. Much more — ask why; much less — check for gaps in the MOT history.

Where in Britain the BMW 6 Series fails its MOT most

Kirkcaldy area is highest at 30.3%; London E area is lowest at 14.1% — the gap is 16.2 percentage points.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

Where in Britain the BMW 6 Series fails its MOT most — 2024 UK MOT data
Toughest areas% failingvs model overall
Kirkcaldy (KY)30.34%+9.2 pp
Dorchester (DT)29.41%+8.3 pp
Dundee (DD)29.29%+8.2 pp
Aberdeen (AB)29.23%+8.1 pp
Newport (NP)28.84%+7.7 pp
Easiest areas% failingvs model overall
London E (E)14.13%-7.0 pp
Uxbridge (UB)14.26%-6.8 pp
Sutton (SM)14.48%-6.6 pp
Wakefield (WF)15.34%-5.8 pp
Enfield (EN)15.4%-5.7 pp

Why do areas differ?

For each external factor we correlate the area fail rate with the factor across postcode areas that have ≥800 tests of this family, then compare the bottom vs top fifth (quintile) of the factor. Correlation, not causation — factors travel together (the north is colder and often poorer; urban areas are denser and less salted). Road surface condition is joined now, for the 91 English areas the DfT publishes, and it explains nothing: the correlation with suspension failures is −0.01 and with body and structure failures 0.07. Potholes wreck wheels and tyres between tests, but by the time a car reaches the bay the road it drives on leaves no measurable trace.

In areas with the highest urban share this model fails 5.8 pp less often than in the lowest fifth (r=-0.47, n=75 areas with ≥800 tests).

In areas with the highest income deprivation this model fails 4.4 pp less often than in the lowest fifth (r=-0.46, n=69 areas with ≥800 tests).

In areas with the highest terrain gradient this model fails 4.7 pp more often than in the lowest fifth (r=0.41, n=42 areas with ≥800 tests).

BMW 6 Series Why do areas differ? — 2024 UK MOT data
Values shown in the quintile chart
FactorLow QHigh QGapCorrelation
Urban share22.9%17.1%-5.8 ppr=-0.47
Income deprivation22.4%18.0%-4.4 ppr=-0.46
Terrain gradient20.0%24.8%+4.8 ppr=0.41

Factors that only mean something combined

Some conditions are useless on their own and informative multiplied together. Frost days alone say little — Britain barely freezes. Salt tonnage alone says little — it tracks frost. Distance to the sea alone says little. Multiply the first two and divide by the third and you get an index of how hard an area attacks a car's underside, and it lines up with the corrosion defects we actually record. We built five such combinations and tested each against our own data. Three survived; two did not, and the failures are listed here on purpose — a proxy that was never checked is decoration. One survivor only survived on the second attempt: built from a crude stand-in for street parking it failed outright, and rebuilt from the census — terraced streets carrying more cars than they have driveways — it works, and carries information the salt index does not.

Composite area indicators, each tested against a defect rate we measure
CompositeBuilt fromTested againstrVerdict
Underbody corrosionfrost days × salt load ÷ (distance to coast + 1)share of tests with a corrosion defect+0.42holds (116 areas)
Tyre wearrain days × annual miles ÷ age at first tyre advisoryshare of tests failing on tyres+0.45holds (116 areas)
Overnight corrosionterraced housing × cars per household × frost daysshare with a corrosion defect+0.41holds (102 areas) — and adds signal beyond the first index
Deferred maintenancedeprivation × advisory-to-failure conversion ÷ labour ratecars repeating the same advisory−0.26fails (118 areas)
Powertrain stressengine capacity ÷ kerb weightsuspension, brake and emissions failures−0.16fails (22 models)

The deprivation result is the one worth dwelling on. The intuition that poorer areas defer repairs is strong enough that most people treat it as established. We tested it twice — once on raw failure rates (r = 0.04) and again, more fairly, on whether an advisory turns into a failure — and it did not hold any of the three times we tried it — on raw failure rates, on advisory-to-failure conversion, and again with deprivation measured properly inside each nation rather than England alone. We are closing it. What does predict local failure rates is the density of test centres, which is a statement about testing, not about cars.

All external-factor correlations (machine-readable)
Factorrn areasLow-Q fail %High-Q fail %Gap ppLow-Q factorHigh-Q factor
Urban share (0–1)-0.4657522.917.1-5.80.51
Income deprivation (score)-0.4636922.418.0-4.40.10.2
Terrain gradient (% grade)0.4154220.024.8+4.70.53.1
Distance to coast (km)-0.3627523.319.9-3.47.983.6
MOT centre density (per 10k vehicles)0.3577518.221.9+3.74.97.6
Frost days (days/year)-0.0727522.720.5-2.211.128.4
Road-salt proxy (g/m²-yr)-0.0527521.820.8-1.0217.9499.7

Deprivation uses England IMD 2019 income score only (Scotland SIMD is a different scale). Salt proxy is a simplified NWSRG-style dry-salt sum from air Tmin; coastalness is distance from the area centroid to the nearest coastline.

Every dot is a postcode area — size = how many were tested there, colour = share failing. These figures are not age-adjusted: coastal and rural areas often run older fleets and salted roads, so higher raw fail rates do not automatically mean a worse local stock of this model.

Map labels: Scotland · N. England · Wales · London · S. West. Colour scale: 16%–29% failing.

BMW 6 Series survival: which cars are still on the road

By age 19 is well below the reference at 23.0%, against 100.0% at the ages 4–6 reference level.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

BMW 6 Series survival: which cars are still on the road — 2024 UK MOT data

Chart axes: car age, years · survival vs ages 4–6 · scale 0–105%.

Survival vs fail rate by age
AgeTestsSurvival vs ages 4–6Fail %
37,59770.3%14.24%
49,25385.7%13.7%
511,083100%14.95%
612,073100%16.43%
711,429100%17.8%
810,56097.8%18.4%
99,16884.9%19.32%
107,72071.5%20.83%
116,91364%21.22%
126,16857.1%23.3%
136,27158%25.96%
147,14966.2%27.91%
157,98373.9%28.96%
166,97264.5%29.39%
175,70752.8%28.81%
184,13638.3%30.22%
192,48123%30.51%

By age 19, only about 23% as many cars of this family present for MOT as at ages 4–6 (reference n≈10,803); survivors still fail at 30.5% vs 13.7% at age 4. Older cars that still appear are a selected subset — weaker ones have already left.

How many miles does a BMW 6 Series last?

100,000+ miles is highest at 26.8%; 200,000+ miles is lowest at 0.6% — the gap is 26.2 percentage points.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

OdometerTests ≥ thresholdShare of sample
100,000+ miles36,74126.79%
150,000+ miles6,4854.73%
200,000+ miles8080.59%

Of 137,164 tests of this family with a usable odometer in 2024, 26.8% had reached 100k miles, 4.7% had reached 150k miles, 0.6% had reached 200k miles. This is a cross-section of cars still presenting for MOT, not a full birth cohort.

How many years is a BMW 6 Series likely to last?

Bought at age 5 is highest at 10.0 years; Bought at age 15 is lowest at 2.9 years — the gap is 7.1 years.

bigger number = longer remaining lifeyears on the observed survival curve

Age nowTypical mileage (p50)Expected years left
5—10
8—7.2
10—7.5
12—7.1
15—at least 2.9

estimateEstimate only — not a warranty: a typical 10-year-old example of this family has about 7.5 expected years of further MOT-present life on the 2024 survival curve. Derived from how many cars of each age still appear for test, not from a longitudinal panel.

BMW 6 Series faults that come together

Emissions & leaks + Seatbelts & SRS stand out at 10.02×, against 1.00× if the faults were independent.

above 1.0× = more than expectedbelow 1.0× = less

Group AGroup BTogetherLift
Noise, emissions and leaksSeat belts and supplementary restraint systems15210.02× (rough estimate)
Body, chassis, structureNoise, emissions and leaks1169.93× (rough estimate)
BrakesNoise, emissions and leaks4928.06× (rough estimate)
Body, chassis, structureSeat belts and supplementary restraint systems577.86× (rough estimate)
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentSeat belts and supplementary restraint systems3877.34× (rough estimate)
BrakesSeat belts and supplementary restraint systems2636.93× (rough estimate)
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentNoise, emissions and leaks5656.66×
Body, chassis, structureBrakes1926.57× (rough estimate)
BrakesLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment1,2705.99×
BrakesSteering3755.99× (rough estimate)
Body, chassis, structureLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment2355.79× (rough estimate)
Identification of the vehicleSeat belts and supplementary restraint systems355.78× (rough estimate)
Noise, emissions and leaksSteering1395.56× (rough estimate)
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentSteering4535.21× (rough estimate)
Seat belts and supplementary restraint systemsSteering815.21× (rough estimate)
Noise, emissions and leaksSuspension6045.14×
Seat belts and supplementary restraint systemsSuspension3695.05× (rough estimate)
BrakesSuspension1,4695×
Body, chassis, structureIdentification of the vehicle234.93× (rough estimate)
SteeringSuspension5874.87×
Road WheelsSeat belts and supplementary restraint systems554.78× (rough estimate)
Body, chassis, structureRoad Wheels424.74× (rough estimate)
Body, chassis, structureSuspension2614.64× (rough estimate)
Body, chassis, structureSteering554.59× (rough estimate)
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentSuspension1,8224.46×
Identification of the vehicleLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment1494.4× (rough estimate)
Seat belts and supplementary restraint systemsVisibility2414.35× (rough estimate)
Identification of the vehicleRoad Wheels324.32× (rough estimate)
Body, chassis, structureVisibility1814.25× (rough estimate)
Identification of the vehicleSteering404× (rough estimate)
BrakesIdentification of the vehicle933.82× (rough estimate)
Identification of the vehicleNoise, emissions and leaks363.69× (rough estimate)
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentVisibility1,1393.68×
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentRoad Wheels2343.63× (rough estimate)
Noise, emissions and leaksVisibility3233.62× (rough estimate)
BrakesRoad Wheels1673.6× (rough estimate)
Identification of the vehicleSuspension1603.41× (rough estimate)
Identification of the vehicleVisibility1193.34× (rough estimate)
BrakesVisibility7223.24×
Road WheelsTyres3362.96× (rough estimate)
Road WheelsSuspension2632.95× (rough estimate)
Road WheelsVisibility1972.91× (rough estimate)
Seat belts and supplementary restraint systemsTyres2652.85× (rough estimate)
Identification of the vehicleTyres1652.76× (rough estimate)
Noise, emissions and leaksRoad Wheels512.75× (rough estimate)
Road WheelsSteering512.68× (rough estimate)
SteeringVisibility2442.67× (rough estimate)
SuspensionVisibility1,1352.65×
Noise, emissions and leaksTyres3742.5× (rough estimate)
BrakesTyres9122.44×
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentTyres1,2242.35×
SteeringTyres3332.17× (rough estimate)
TyresVisibility1,1792.16×
Body, chassis, structureTyres1542.15× (rough estimate)
SuspensionTyres1,4281.98×

Defects in «Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment» and «Noise, emissions and leaks» appear together 6.66× more often than chance (565 co-occurrences in the same test; lift≥1.3, n≥500).

Lift = how many times more often both groups appear on the same test than if independent. A pair is listed from 5 tests with both faults; the lift is shown from 20, and called above chance only when its 95% interval excludes 1 (see rough estimates).

Is low mileage better for a BMW 6 Series?

Cars driven under 5,000 miles a year is well below the reference at 15.9%, against 21.8% for cars driven 8,000–12,000 miles a year.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

BandFail %Tests
<5k miles/year15.88%11,696
8–12k miles/year21.84%33,803
Gap (low − normal)-5.95 pp—
By fuel and age

Diesel

AgeLow-use fail %nNormal fail %nGap pp
516.291,03115.773,450+0.53 pp
617.371,14017.274,083+0.1 pp
715.031,058194,259-3.97 pp
815.4397219.933,924-4.5 pp
916.7380719.633,515-2.9 pp
1015.5565621.952,938-6.4 pp
1114.2347122.572,388-8.35 pp
1216.4927924.481,532-7.99 pp
1317.7516927.53908-9.78 pp
1413.2413627.35819-14.12 pp

Petrol

AgeLow-use fail %nNormal fail %nGap pp
57.8636912.23466-4.37 pp
611.735914.36383-2.66 pp
711.5130417.91201-6.4 pp
815.2837321.14298-5.86 pp
914.8433716.36275-1.53 pp
1013.3732926.98278-13.6 pp
1118.9140223.68456-4.78 pp
121460728.71808-14.71 pp
1317.1782132.331,299-15.16 pp
14211,07634.211,523-13.21 pp

At matched ages 5–14, cars averaging under 5k miles/year fail at 15.9% vs 21.8% for 8–12k miles/year — 6.0 pp lower (n_low=11,696, n_normal=33,803). In this family low annual use is associated with fewer MOT fails, not more — the ‘garage queen’ penalty is not visible in overall fail rates. Diesel alone: 16.1% low-use vs 18.6% normal (-2.5 pp).

Best year for a BMW 6 Series, and the years to avoid

Build year 2005 is highest at 106.7; Build year 2019 is lowest at 75.4 — the gap is 31.3 points.

below 100 is betterabove 100 is worse100 = normal for this model at that age

build year vs the same model at the same age · 100 = as expected

BMW 6 Series build year vs the same model at the same age · 100 = as expected — 2024 UK MOT data
BMW 6 Series by build year, tests 2019–2024. Below 100 is better than the model's own age norm.
Every build year with its confidence interval
Build yearvs own age norm95% CIRaw fail %TestsVerdict
20208361.3–104.811.31%495no different
201975.467.4–83.310.48%3,274better
201891.286.1–96.213.22%9,593better
201710094.1–10615.13%7,160no different
201610196.4–105.616.04%11,460no different
201597.393.1–101.616.22%12,401no different
2014104.7100.5–108.918.67%12,716worse
2013104.4100.3–108.519.73%12,747worse
2012100.996.5–105.320.2%10,076no different
201196.189.6–102.620.52%4,074no different
2010100.994–107.823.09%3,516no different
200994.988.7–101.123.23%3,896no different
200893.389–97.724.14%7,331better
200795.391.3–99.425.98%8,095better
2006103.599.7–107.329.47%9,715no different
2005106.7102.8–110.731.25%8,933worse
2004106.2102.1–110.431.29%8,114worse

The best build year here is 2018 and the weakest is 2005. Comparing build years sounds simple and is not: within a single year of testing, a car's build year and its age are the same number, so a naive comparison of years is a comparison of ages wearing a disguise. Each year below is measured against the same model at the same age in other cohorts, across six years of testing — 7 of 17 years come out distinguishable from their own model's age norm.

Two limits worth knowing before you act on this. Age, test year and build year are locked together by arithmetic, so the test-year effect is taken from the observed national failure level of each year rather than estimated — it is an adjustment, not a solution.

BMW 6 Series MOT repair costs

The MOT-failure repair budget per test runs from £48.44 to £92.04, against £54.85 for the test itself.

bigger number = costs morepounds per test, MOT-failing faults only

MOT repairs, budget
£48–92
per test, repairs only
The test itself
£54.85
statutory cap, unchanged since 2010
How the figure is built: chance of failing × typical price of that repair
ComponentFails per 100 testsTypical repairIts priceContribution
Suspension9.6 (nat. 15.36)Suspension coil spring (single corner)£180£17.28
Tyres11.6 (nat. 8.7)Tyre (single mid-range 16" fitted)£90£10.44
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment6.8 (nat. 18.09)Battery replacement (standard 12V lead-acid)£140£9.52
Brakes5.2 (nat. 11.25)Front brake pads (parts + labour, typical hatchback)£150£7.80
Noise, emissions and leaks1.7 (nat. 3.67)Exhaust rear silencer£200£3.40

Multiply how often each component fails on this model by what that repair usually costs, and you get the amount an owner should expect to budget per test for MOT-failing faults only — roughly £48 to £92, on top of the test fee itself. It is a budgeting figure, not a quote: the spread between a set of pads and a set of discs is most of the range.

Prices are modal quotes from a hand-kept catalogue of published UK garage guides — we do not scrape the booking sites, their terms forbid it, so this list is short and updated by hand with a source and date against each line. Each line prices one typical repair in that group, not a full remedy, and only groups our catalogue actually covers are counted. The contrast worth noticing is the second card: the legal maximum for the test has been £54.85 since 2010, while the repairs it uncovers have followed inflation the whole time.

For scale from a different direction: Warrantywise, which sees used-car warranty claims rather than test failures, puts the average claim at £2,052 across the ten highest-claim models it ranks and £539 for Honda, the lowest-claim make in its index (Warrantywise index 2026, 1.6 million claims, cars aged 3–15). Those sit an order of magnitude above the figures in this table, and the gap is the point: a warranty claim is a gearbox or an engine, which almost never fails an MOT, while the faults that do fail one are corrosion, lamps and tyres, which no warranty pays for. The two numbers answer different questions and neither replaces the other.

BMW 6 Series running costs for a fleet

Vehicles failing at age 10 stand out at 20.0%, against 11.0% at age 5, tested in the same year.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

Fails per 100 at age 5
11
vehicles needing work (rough estimate: 1,071 tests)
At age 10
20
other cars of this model tested at age 10 in 2024 (rough estimate: 1,983 tests)
Repairs per 100
£4,844
plus £5,485 in test fees
Off the road
1d
median; 27.21% cleared same day
Failure rate and typical odometer by age
AgeFailsMedian odometerTestsGap vs age 5
411.65%36,760249+0.2 pp
511.48%47,1771,071+0.0 pp
613.89%51,0192,319+2.4 pp
718.26%54,6451,336+6.8 pp
816.21%63,8951,820+4.7 pp
916.75%73,5451,952+5.3 pp
1019.97%80,3611,983+8.5 pp
1120.12%90,0921,983+8.6 pp
1220.64%93,8901,502+9.2 pp
1321.27%80,749630+9.8 pp
1422.8%111,492535+11.3 pp
1524.27%111,313585+12.8 pp
1625.63%113,4161,077+14.1 pp
1726.4%110,6781,216+14.9 pp
1828.96%111,7761,402+17.5 pp
1930.3%110,2721,218+18.8 pp

No single year stands out as the point where this model starts costing more: the year-to-year steps in its failure rate are too small or rest on too few tests to name one (D1 rule: a step is named only with at least 2,000 tests on both sides and a jump above 3 percentage points).

Repair spend uses the same modal prices as the section above, so it inherits the same limits: one typical repair per component group, not a full remedy. Downtime is the gap between the failed test and the passed re-test, which is the window a vehicle is legally off the road.

BMW 6 Series rust problems: where they corrode

Age-standardised corrosion susceptibility is well below the reference at 0.33×, against 1.00× for the national age-standardised rate.

above 1.0× = rusts more than averagebelow 1.0× = rusts less

How it rusts
0.33×
0.25% of tests record a corrosion defect vs 0.77% typical — age-standardised
Salt Belt exposure
26th
percentile among the models published here, from its tests across 75 postcode areas

This BMW 6 Series fails on corrosion much less often than average once age is held constant, and its owners live in areas that are gentler than most for the models we publish.

Corrosion is the one failure mode that is as much about geography as about the car. We keep the two apart on purpose: a model can look rusty simply because it is popular in Scotland, and a model can look clean simply because it is bought in Surrey. Blending them into a single score would hide which of the two is doing the work.

Exposure is this model's tests weighted by an area corrosion index built from frost days, salt load and distance to the coast — the composite validated at r = 0.42 against corrosion defects we actually record. It is published as a rank, not a raw score, because every mainstream model skews towards low-corrosion areas for the simple reason that most of Britain's cars are in the south. Susceptibility is standardised to the national age profile, so an old fleet does not get labelled a rusty model.

Does a BMW 6 Series advisory become a failure?

Suspension is highest at 17.3%; Non-component advisories are lowest at 0.0% — the gap is 17.3 percentage points.

higher = more likelypercentage is the observed transition probability

chance the same component fails at the next MOT, given an advisory now

BMW 6 Series chance the same component fails at the next MOT, given an advisory now — 2024 UK MOT data
BMW 6 Series, advisory → failure conversion by component group, chained tests 2019–2024. Chart labels and rates: Suspension 17.3% · Lamps & electrical 14.1% · Steering 11.2% · Tyres 10.4% · Brakes 7.6% · Noise, emissions, leaks 5% · Body & chassis 4.5% · Road wheels 2.8%.
Advisory today → failure at the next test, with how long you have
ComponentFails next timeTypical lead timeMiles of warningAdvisories tracked
Suspension17.3%12.1 months4,2808,351
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment14.1%12 months3,023624
Steering11.2%12 months4,2571,063
Tyres10.4%12.1 months5,43320,753
Brakes7.6%12.1 months3,62413,447
Noise, emissions and leaks5.0%12.3 months2,9126,174
Body, chassis, structure4.5%12.1 months1,7561,102
Road wheels2.8%12.1 months10,578714
Identification of the vehicle2.2%12.1 months4,077880
Non-component advisories0.0%——4,952

This is the question an advisory note actually raises, and it needs six years of test history to answer. We followed the same vehicles from one MOT to the next across 2019–2024 and measured how often a component that was merely advised came back as a genuine failure at the next test.

Read it as a budgeting horizon, not a prophecy: the most likely component above turns into a failure for about 17 in 100 cars, and the median gap is 12.1 months and roughly 4,280 miles. The rest were repaired, sold, scrapped, or simply held. Rows with fewer than 500 tracked advisories are not shown.

What will fail next on a BMW 6 Series?

Suspension after a failure at age 15-19 is highest at 17.7%; Suspension after a passed at age 6-8 is lowest at 3.6% — the gap is 14.1 percentage points.

higher = more likelypercentage is the observed transition probability

Probability of each component failing at the next test, by age and last result
AgeLast testMost likely next failuresCars tracked
3-5passedTyres 8.5%17,831
6-8passedTyres 7.6% · Visibility 4.4% · Suspension 3.6%16,243
6-8advisoryTyres 10.2%5,273
9-11passedTyres 6.8% · Suspension 6.0%8,676
12-14passedSuspension 9.2%7,611
12-14advisorySuspension 13.2%5,283
12-14failureSuspension 16.0% · Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 11.8%4,842
15-19passedSuspension 11.1%5,991
15-19advisorySuspension 15.7% · Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 9.8%5,461
15-19failureSuspension 17.7% · Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 14.6%4,934

The same chains, cut differently: given a car's age and how its last test went, which component most often causes trouble at the following one.

The pattern that repeats across every family: a failure at one test roughly doubles the chance of a failure on the same component at the next one, and an advisory sits about half-way between a clean pass and a failure. Age bands in years; probabilities are per car, not per defect item.

BMW 6 Series ownership: what six years of MOTs show

The ten-day re-test pass rate is highest at 68.1%; The later re-test pass rate is lowest at 4.7% — the gap is 63.4 percentage points.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

Fixed same day
27.21%
of failures re-tested
Fails /10k miles
0.325
miles actually driven
Clean streaks
53.37%
3+ tests, nothing noted
Odometer anomaly
1.424%
reading went backwards

Failing is usually a same-week event, not a disaster. Of 22,160 failures followed through to their re-test, 27.21% were repaired and passed the same day and 68.08% within ten days; the median gap is 1 day. 43,389 defect items were cleared in the process.

Per mile driven, not per year. Dividing failures by the miles that actually went onto the odometers between consecutive tests gives 0.325 failures per 10,000 miles, on a median of 5,125 miles a year across 26,147 chains. This is the number to compare between models — an annual rate quietly rewards cars that barely leave the drive.

Two populations hide inside one model. 53.37% of these cars strung together three or more tests with nothing recorded at all, while 19.36% carried the same advisory three times or more — the same fault, noted, ignored, noted again. When you buy used you are buying one of those two histories, and the MOT record shows which.

Odometer anomalies: 1.424% of 26,198 chains show a reading lower than the previous test, with a median drop of 32,599 miles. We call this an anomaly and not fraud on purpose — instrument swaps, imports, unit mix-ups and keying errors all land in the same bucket. Obvious typos (drops under 100 miles or over 90% of the reading) are already excluded.

BMW 6 Series safety recalls and how to check yours

DVSA recall campaigns stand out at 44.

bigger number = more recorded casescompare like-for-like scope, not sample size alone

recall campaigns launched per year

BMW 6 Series recall campaigns launched per year — 2024 UK MOT data
Campaigns launched per year for the BMW 6 Series. Source: DVSA vehicle safety recalls. Chart values: 2012: 4 · 2013: 0 · 2014: 1 · 2015: 0 · 2016: 0 · 2017: 3 · 2018: 5 · 2019: 4 · 2020: 0 · 2021: 3 · 2022: 4 · 2023: 3 · 2024: 4 · 2025: 4 · 2026: 1.
Most recent safety recall campaigns for the BMW 6 Series
ReferenceLaunchedVehiclesConcern
R/2026/05402/03/20262Replace the Engine Starter Motor
R/2025/34918/12/2025319Takata Driver and/or Passenger Airbag Recall (Global VINs)
R/2025/34918/12/202594Takata Driver and/or Passenger Airbag Recall (Global VINs)
R/2025/34918/12/2025119Takata Driver and/or Passenger Airbag Recall (Global VINs)
R/2025/40527/10/2025967Replace the Engine Starter Motor
All 44 campaigns
ReferenceLaunchedBuild datesVehiclesConcern
R/2026/05402/03/202628/07/2021 – 03/08/20212Replace the Engine Starter Motor
R/2025/34918/12/202507/03/2012 – 17/06/2017319Takata Driver and/or Passenger Airbag Recall (Global VINs)
R/2025/34918/12/202515/12/2010 – 09/11/201694Takata Driver and/or Passenger Airbag Recall (Global VINs)
R/2025/34918/12/202521/07/2011 – 24/04/2017119Takata Driver and/or Passenger Airbag Recall (Global VINs)
R/2025/40527/10/202506/03/2018 – 25/06/2020967Replace the Engine Starter Motor
R/2024/40321/10/202421/09/2011 – 27/10/20171,275Check Driver’s Airbag for Conversion Takata SDI & PSDI-5
R/2024/40321/10/202428/07/2010 – 04/09/20171,533Check Driver’s Airbag for Conversion Takata SDI & PSDI-5
R/2024/40321/10/202422/02/2011 – 11/09/20171,995Check Driver’s Airbag for Conversion Takata SDI & PSDI-5
R/2024/19101/05/202428/07/2010 – 28/07/20101Replace VANOS bolts N51 N52 N55
R/2023/01624/01/202314/05/2013 – 28/06/20172,276A possible degradation of the propellant tablets could lead to an over-aggressive combusti
R/2023/01624/01/202313/11/2012 – 29/06/20174,952A possible degradation of the propellant tablets could lead to an over-aggressive combusti
R/2023/01624/01/202323/02/2012 – 26/06/20171,615A possible degradation of the propellant tablets could lead to an over-aggressive combusti
R/2022/25522/08/202215/02/2017 – 25/06/2020322,745Undetected EGR System leaks may cause thermal activity in the intake manifold
R/2022/20601/08/202222/09/2011 – 29/05/2018319,399THE EXHAUST GAS RECIRCULATION COOLER MAY LEAK OVER TIME AND CAUSE THERMAL INCIDENT
R/2022/20601/08/202212/03/2011 – 28/05/2018319,399THE EXHAUST GAS RECIRCULATION COOLER MAY LEAK OVER TIME AND CAUSE THERMAL INCIDENT
R/2022/20601/08/202223/05/2011 – 23/10/2017319,399THE EXHAUST GAS RECIRCULATION COOLER MAY LEAK OVER TIME AND CAUSE THERMAL INCIDENT
R/2021/21314/06/202114/06/2017 – 16/04/201818,330THE EXHAUST GAS RECIRCULATION MODULE COULD LEAK OVER TIME
R/2021/21314/06/202121/03/2017 – 23/10/201718,330THE EXHAUST GAS RECIRCULATION MODULE COULD LEAK OVER TIME
R/2021/21314/06/202127/03/2017 – 27/04/201818,330THE EXHAUST GAS RECIRCULATION MODULE COULD LEAK OVER TIME
R/2019/36809/12/201924/09/2018 – 24/01/201953THE PRESSING FORCE OF THE BEARING BUSHING INTO THE CRANKCASE MAY BE OUT OF SPECIFICATION
R/2019/19529/07/201905/02/2002 – 27/07/2010121,849POSSIBLE CORROSION OF THE BULKHEAD CONNECTOR OF THE POSITIVE BATTERY CABLE
R/2019/05701/03/201921/12/2010 – 02/09/20115,866AUXILIARY WATER PUMP'S ELECTRONIC CIRCUIT BOARD COULD LEAD TO A SHORT CIRCUIT
R/2019/05701/03/201922/02/2011 – 31/08/20115,866AUXILIARY WATER PUMP'S ELECTRONIC CIRCUIT BOARD COULD LEAD TO A SHORT CIRCUIT
R/2018/34107/12/201823/05/2011 – 11/04/2017225,449EXHAUST GAS RECIRCULATION MODULE COOLER COULD LEAK
R/2018/34107/12/201812/03/2011 – 01/02/2017225,449EXHAUST GAS RECIRCULATION MODULE COOLER COULD LEAK
R/2018/34107/12/201822/09/2011 – 11/04/2017225,449EXHAUST GAS RECIRCULATION MODULE COOLER COULD LEAK
R/2018/26015/10/201817/05/2018 – 23/05/20181,642SOFTWARE FAULT IN CRANKSHAFT SENSOR
R/2018/21120/08/201817/05/2018 – 05/06/20184,025SOFTWARE FAULT WITH CRANKSHAFT SENSOR
R/2017/24401/09/201707/07/2017 – 18/07/201750FRONT SEAT FIXING MECHANISM MAY BE INSECURE
R/2017/13211/04/201730/12/2010 – 29/04/201110,849DRIVESHAFT UNIVERSAL JOINT MAY BREAK
R/2017/01110/01/201708/08/2016 – 14/11/2016668AIRBAGS MAY NOT DEPLOY
R/2014/06828/07/201401/09/2009 – 30/11/20112,967ENGINE EMERGENCY MODE MAY BE ACTIVATED DURING DRIVING
R/2012/10926/09/201201/07/2012 – 27/09/201280ENGINE MAY FAIL
R/2012/03924/05/201201/12/2003 – 31/07/2010128,701RISK OF FIRE
R/2012/03924/05/201201/09/2003 – 31/07/2010128,701RISK OF FIRE
R/2012/04927/04/201221FIRE MAY OCCUR
R/2011/14717/11/201116/11/2007 – 02/02/2011557SHORT CIRCUIT MAY OCCUR
R/2011/13212/10/2011520PEDESTRIAN SAFETY SYSTEM MAY NOT PERFORM CORRECTLY
R/2010/15111/11/201030/10/2001 – 23/11/200910,567POSSIBLE REDUCTION IN BRAKE SERVO ASSISTANCE
R/2008/10015/07/2008665REAR AXLE CARRIER MAY FAIL
R/2008/10015/07/200810/06/2008 – 20/06/2008665REAR AXLE CARRIER MAY FAIL
R/2006/11906/07/20063,743REAR SHOCK ABSORBER MOUNTING MAY FAIL
R/2006/08604/05/200614/02/2006 – 06/04/200611REAR TYRE MAY HAVE SUDDEN LOSS OF TYRE PRESSURE
R/2004/13114/07/200412/05/2004 – 06/07/2004231POSSIBILITY OF INADVERTNENT LOSS OF ENGINE POWER

DVSA lists 44 safety recall campaigns for the BMW 6 Series, covering roughly 2,455,724 vehicles in total. A recall is the manufacturer fixing a fault for free, so an open recall on your car costs nothing to clear.

Counter-intuitive, and measured on our own data: across the 25 families published here, more recalls go with a lower MOT Risk Index (r = −0.52). Heavily recalled models are not worse cars in the test bay — an active manufacturer removes the fault before it becomes an MOT failure.

Check whether a specific car has an outstanding recall — free, by registration — at DVSA's recall service. Source: DVSA vehicle safety recalls (check-vehicle-recalls.service.gov.uk), OGL.

BMW 6 Series technical service bulletins: what dealers are told

US market, BMW 6 SERIES, model years 2016–2019 only. A count of bulletins, not a UK failure rate.

NHTSA manufacturer communications are 458.

bigger number = more recorded dealer communicationsnot affected vehicles or confirmed faults

These are the issues the manufacturer fixes quietly: service communications sent to dealers without a public recall campaign. They show what the service network has been told even when the issue never became news.

United States · NHTSA manufacturer communications

US technical service bulletins by communication year; leading subjects cover the full file
Communication yearBulletinsLeading subjects across all years
201543
  • Electrical system (164)
  • Equipment (157)
  • Engine (48)
  • Engine and cooling (36)
  • Adaptive and mobility equipment (32)
  • Visibility (22)
  • Petrol fuel system (21)
  • Steering (18)
201657
201729
201875
201989
202071
202138
202222
202321
20249
20254

Caveat worth stating plainly: this is NHTSA data about US-specification cars. British cars sold under the same name often use different gearboxes, engines and equipment, so a bulletin may describe a component that was never fitted here. The file counts dealer communications, not affected vehicles or confirmed failures, and it cannot tell you whether an individual UK car has the issue. A communication can carry more than one subject tag, so topic counts do not have to add up to the total. Source: NHTSA Manufacturer Communications API (US-market vehicles; queried model years 2015-2022). Licence: U.S. Government work / public domain · retrieved 2026-09-25.

BMW 6 Series owner complaints: what goes wrong

US market, BMW 6 SERIES, model years 2016–2019 only. A count of owner complaints, not a UK failure rate; NHTSA has no UK denominator.

Body & structure are highest at 3; Suspension is lowest at 1 — the gap is 2.

bigger number = more recorded casescompare like-for-like scope, not sample size alone

Owner complaints (US) against actual MOT failures (UK) for the same component groups
ComponentComplaintsShareMOT fail items per 100MOT rankAgreement
Body & structure320.0%not in top 6—complained about, rarely an MOT failure
Visibility213.3%5.6#4complained about, fails occasionally
Lamps & electrical213.3%6.8#3complained about and fails often
Restraints213.3%not in top 6—complained about, rarely an MOT failure
Transmission (not MOT-tested)213.3%not in top 6—complained about, rarely an MOT failure
Suspension16.7%9.6#2complained about and fails often

Two different populations answering two different questions: the MOT records what an inspector can measure once a year, the complaint file records what annoyed or frightened an owner on the road. A component high in one column and absent from the other is the interesting case — driver-assistance and electronics dominate complaints while almost never appearing as an MOT failure item.

What the reports actually say
The dashboard has pulled away from the windshield and is rippling. If it continues it will obstruct my view. I think it would affect the airbags as well. I've seen another 640 with this same problem at the store. I am available for inspection, I also attached BMWs invoice to show it was diagnosed. No warning lamps. I also use the garage and a window shade if not in garage.
NHTSA complaint, filed 11/02/2022 · STRUCTURE
Consistent passenger restraint / passenger airbag failure warning. Took vehicle to BMW dealership and was told that the passenger seat must have moisture damage, causing the issue. There have been no spills or leaks in the vehicle. Quoted $2600 to fix. See attached. Vehicle’s safety in question.
NHTSA complaint, filed 03/31/2024 · AIR BAGS

US owners have filed 15 complaints about the equivalent BMW 6 Series to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, including 1 that mention a crash, 0 a fire and 0 an injury. These are owner reports, not verified findings — but they are the only large public record of what drivers themselves notice, and they cover the years between MOT tests.

Caveat worth stating plainly: US-specification cars, self-selected reporters, no denominator — complaint counts scale with how many cars were sold there and how motivated owners are to file. The mechanical gap matters as much as the statistical one: American cars of the same name often carry different gearboxes, engines and equipment — automatics where Britain buys manuals — so a drivetrain complaint filed in Ohio may describe a part that was never fitted here. Read the ranking inside a model, not between models, and treat drivetrain entries with particular caution. Source: NHTSA ODI consumer complaints (US market, public domain) — US-spec vehicles, indicative only.

BMW 6 Series inspection results in other countries

United Kingdom MOT is well below the reference at 20.6%, against 26.0% nationally.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

Same model, different national inspection regimes
CountryTestThis model failsNational averagePositionSample
United KingdomMOT (class 4)20.55%26.01%-5.5 pp22,568
FinlandKatsastus22.3%26.3%-4 pp708

The verdict is consistent across every regime where the difference is clear, which is the strongest form this comparison takes: independent inspectorates, different rulebooks, same direction of travel.

Britain is not the only country that inspects every car every year, and the BMW 6 Series is on the road in all of them. Each national regime writes its own rules, so the pass rates below are not comparable to each other — what does travel across a border is whether a model sits above or below its own country's average.

Rows with fewer than 500 inspections are not published. Sources: Traficom — Periodic inspections of cars by model / by model and fault object 2024, CC BY 4.0. Adapted; licences and full notice.

BMW 6 Series MOT: quick answers

BMW 6 Series MOT Risk Index is well below the reference at 65.4, against 100 for a car with the same age profile.

below 100 is betterabove 100 is worse100 = normal for this model at that age

What is the BMW 6 Series first-time MOT pass rate?
79.45% of first attempts passed in 2024 (22,568 tests). This is the first-time figure: retests after repair are excluded. Basis: first-time, excluding retests.
Why does this number differ from other sites?
Other sites often report a pass rate that includes retests or counts all attempts. Our 20.55% figure is the first-time initial failure rate, using 22,568 primary tests as the denominator (first-time, excluding retests). The age-adjusted MOT initial-failure ratio 65.4 is shown separately because raw rates compare fleet age as well as cars.

Compare the BMW 6 Series with other cars

Kia EV6 is highest at 65.4; Lexus IS is lowest at 65.1 — the gap is 0.3 points.

below 100 is betterabove 100 is worse100 = normal for this model at that age

Same brand

All BMW MOT statisticsBMW Z4 MOT statsBMW M4 MOT stats

Similar risk

Kia EV6 (index 65.4)Lexus IS (index 65.1)Toyota Noah (index 65.1)

Same size class

how Mitsubishi Colt compareshow Volvo C30 compareshow Skoda Rapid compares

By build year

BMW 6 Series 2004BMW 6 Series 2005BMW 6 Series 2006BMW 6 Series 2007BMW 6 Series 2008BMW 6 Series 2009BMW 6 Series 2010BMW 6 Series 2011BMW 6 Series 2012BMW 6 Series 2013BMW 6 Series 2014BMW 6 Series 2015BMW 6 Series 2016BMW 6 Series 2017BMW 6 Series 2018BMW 6 Series 2019BMW 6 Series 2020

By area

BMW 6 Series MOT failure rate by postcode area

By failure group

BMW 6 Series body, chassis and structure failuresBMW 6 Series brakes failuresBMW 6 Series vehicle identification failuresBMW 6 Series lamps, reflectors and electrics failuresBMW 6 Series noise, emissions and leaks failuresBMW 6 Series road wheels failuresBMW 6 Series seat belts and airbags failuresBMW 6 Series steering failuresBMW 6 Series suspension failuresBMW 6 Series tyres failuresBMW 6 Series visibility failures

Inspections abroad

BMW 6 Series in Finland


Data details & how to cite

Scope: class-4 vehicles (cars), initial tests only, outcomes pass / fail / fixed-on-the-spot at the station (PRS counts towards the failure rate — the defect was present at arrival). Index = observed initial failures ÷ failures expected for this fleet's exact age profile, ×100; margin of error is a 95% confidence interval. Covers ALL generations together — a 3-year-old and a 15-year-old are very different cars; a generation split is on the roadmap. Dataset release dataset_release_id=dvsa-2024-v2, frozen baseline; headline claim_id=family-stats:bmw-6-series:dvsa-2024-v2. Full method: methodology.

Cite: MOT Risk Index (2026). BMW 6 Series MOT statistics 2024 (data release dvsa-2024-v2; downloadable dataset motriskindex-families-2024-v5, doi:10.5281/zenodo.22975051). https://motriskindex.co.uk/cars/bmw-6-series/ · Published 2026-07-30.