BMW 6 Series 2004: MOT failure rate for its age

31.3% of 8,114 MOT tests of the BMW 6 Series first registered in 2004 failed at the first attempt (2019–2024; retests excluded). Against this model's own normal rate at the same ages the index is 106.2 (95% CI 102.1–110.4; 100 = normal for this model at that age): the 2004 BMW 6 Series fails more often than other build years of the same model at the same age.

BMW 6 Series built in 2004 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	31.3	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	8114
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 102.1–110.4)	106.2	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	8114
Rank among this model's 17 build years	16	of 17	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	8114
Tested in 2024	1054	tests	median 105,381 miles	2024	1054

Built 2004 against BMW 6 Series normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 15: 32.7% vs 31.5%; age 16: 32.4% vs 29.6%; age 17: 31.6% vs 28.8%; age 18: 31.2% vs 29.2%; age 19: 30.7% vs 29.6%; age 20: 27.9% vs 27%. Axis from 0% to 40%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2004 BMW 6 Series by registration · All BMW 6 Series MOT statistics · Download the build-year table (CSV)

Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · full dataset (v5).

How does the 2004 BMW 6 Series fail at each age?

Cars built in 2004 were tested at ages 15 to 20 between 2019 and 2024. Each row compares their first-time failure share with what this model normally shows at that age, after allowing for the overall failure level of each test year.

BMW 6 Series built 2004: first-time MOT failure by age, against the model's normal rate at that age (2019–2024)
Age	Tests	Failed, %	95% interval	Normal for this model at that age, %	Index (100 = normal)
15	1,713	32.7	30.5–34.9	31.5	103.8
16	1,387	32.4	30–35	29.6	109.6
17	1,411	31.6	29.2–34.1	28.8	109.8
18	1,314	31.2	28.8–33.8	29.2	106.9
19	1,235	30.7	28.2–33.3	29.6	103.5
20	1,054	27.9	25.3–30.7	27	103.5

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 8,114 (initial tests) · Method: normal rate = this model's first-time failure share at that age across its build years (cells of 400+ tests), adjusted for each test year's overall level; cells of 30+ tests, under 500 marked rough · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

What fails most on the 2004 BMW 6 Series?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2004 is suspension: 28.4 items per 100 first tests, against 9.6 across all build years of the BMW 6 Series. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2004 were tested at ages 15 to 20.

Failure items per 100 first tests, BMW 6 Series built 2004 against the BMW 6 Series in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 2004, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Suspension	28.4	9.6	2,302
Brakes	15.9	5.2	1,292
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	15.1	6.8	1,226
Tyres	8.7	11.6	708
Visibility	8.5	5.6	689

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 8,114 (initial tests of this build year) · Method: failure items grouped by DVSA's top-level defect groups, per 100 initial tests; groups with 30+ items · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How does 2004 compare with the years around it?

Among the 17 published build years of the BMW 6 Series, 2004 ranks 16 (1 = fails least for its age). 2005: index 106.7.

BMW 6 Series build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build year	Index (100 = normal)	95% interval	Verdict	Tests
2004	106.2	102.1–110.4	worse	8,114
2005	106.7	102.8–110.7	worse	8,933
2006	103.5	99.7–107.3	no different	9,715
2007	95.3	91.3–99.4	better	8,095
2008	93.3	89.0–97.7	better	7,331
2009	94.9	88.7–101.1	no different (rough estimate)	3,896
2010	100.9	94.0–107.8	no different (rough estimate)	3,516
2011	96.1	89.6–102.6	no different	4,074
2012	100.9	96.5–105.3	no different	10,076
2013	104.4	100.3–108.5	worse	12,747
2014	104.7	100.5–108.9	worse	12,716
2015	97.3	93.1–101.6	no different	12,401
2016	101.0	96.4–105.6	no different	11,460
2017	100.0	94.1–106.0	no different	7,160
2018	91.2	86.1–96.2	better	9,593
2019	75.4	67.4–83.3	better (rough estimate)	3,274
2020	83.0	61.3–104.8	no different (rough estimate)	495

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 133,596 (initial tests) · Method: observed failures against those expected for the same model at the same ages, test-year level adjusted; verdict follows the printed one-decimal bound · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How to cite this page

MOT Risk Index (2026). BMW 6 Series 2004 MOT statistics (data release dvsa-2024-v2; full dataset motriskindex-families-2024-v5, DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22975051), updated 30 September 2026. motriskindex.co.uk/cars/bmw-6-series/2004/

How every figure is calculated: methodology. Age, test year and build year are tied together (age = test year − build year), so the test-year level is taken as observed, not estimated.

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