Model Reports 5 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Audi A6 2014: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 79 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2014 Audi A6 were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Tyre condition (front).

Summary

The 2014 Audi A6 follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 10,009 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
79 in every 100
Did not pass first time
21 in every 1002,064 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
11 yearsabout 110,486 miles
First tests counted
10,009

What failed most often

  1. Tyre condition (front)11 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Drive shaft joints and boots (front)10 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)9 in every 100 failed tests

How we count this. Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Only Class 4 cars on their first MOT of the year are counted. A car that fails and is fixed at the test station still counts as a fail in the first-attempt rate. These are raw results, not adjusted for age, mileage, or peer mix. The MOT does not test engine or gearbox internals.

Note:

These are patterns across 2014 Audi A6 vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Suspension

Two faults. The strongest is the anti-roll bar linkage pins and bushes (front): 12 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 2,063 of 2,064 failed first attempts that recorded an odometer reading in 2025. Mileage is needed to compare like with like.

We only list faults with at least 20 failures and a rate of about 2.0 times that of similar cars, which keeps one-off results out of the list.

Anti-roll bar linkage pins and bushes (front)

Failed on 53 first tests12 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Excessive wear in an anti-roll bar linkage pin or bush is Major. If the pin or bush is likely to become detached, it is graded Dangerous. The wording is DVSA's general one for a suspension pin, bush or joint.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 33 first tests, 6.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Suspension arm ball joint dust cover (front)

Failed on 92 first tests2.6 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Whether a suspension arm ball joint dust cover still keeps dirt out decides its grade. Severely deteriorated is Minor, while missing, or no longer preventing the ingress of dirt, is Major.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.

Noise, emissions and leaks

One fault: diesel engine warning light, 2.5 times as often as on similar cars.

Diesel engine warning light

Failed on 168 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

An engine malfunction indicator lamp that is illuminated to show a malfunction is graded Major on a diesel, but only on the diesels the test covers, which depends on the vehicle type and when it was first used. DVSA lists it under exhaust emissions for compression ignition engines, and the detail line for the row also names an inoperative lamp.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Body and structure

One fault: drive shaft joints and boots (front), 2.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Drive shaft joints and boots (front)

Failed on 212 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A constant velocity boot that is only severely deteriorated is Minor. It is Major once it is missing, split or insecure so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt. A transmission joint excessively worn is Major, and graded Dangerous when it is so worn it is likely to fail.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Advisories

Other things testers noted as worn or close to failing, more often than on similar cars.

An advisory is a note from the tester about something that has not failed yet. It is an early warning, not a fail. Advisories for the faults above are shown with those faults.

Suspension sub-frame (rear)

Noted on 109 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Counts cover advisories recorded on failed first tests only, compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

MOT pass rates

How first tests ended, and how the pass rates are counted.

Passed first time
79in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
4in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
17in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 79.4% of 10,009 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 83.0%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 4 fixed and the 17 not fixed make the 21 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as tested
Diesel9,573112,427 miles79
Petrol42874,054 miles92

Figures are in every 100 first tests.

Same model, other years

Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.

4060801002005201020142020Older carsNewer cars
406080100201020142020Older carsNewer cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 80 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200363 in every 100543
200462 in every 100754
200563 in every 1001,307
200664 in every 1002,326
200765 in every 1004,234
200865 in every 1004,491
200969 in every 1003,678
201069 in every 1005,905
201173 in every 1006,249
201278 in every 1007,442
201379 in every 1009,698
2014 This car79 in every 10010,009
201582 in every 10010,578
201683 in every 10012,385
201785 in every 1008,782
201886 in every 1007,674
201988 in every 1008,209
202090 in every 1003,222
202191 in every 1004,270
202291 in every 1003,818

If you are buying one

What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.

Mileage makes a modest difference on a 2014 Audi A6.

Of 2014 Audi A6 vehicles with under 83,000 miles, 83 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 143,000 miles or more, 76 in every 100 did.

Under 83,0001,967 tests
83
83,000–102,0002,054 tests
82
102,000–120,000 Typical car1,980 tests
78
120,000–143,0001,994 tests
78
143,000 and over2,012 tests
76

What to check at your mileage

How often each fault turned up on a failed first test, by the car's mileage. Read it as: what is likely to need looking at on a car like the one in front of you.

Under 83,000102,000–120,000143,000 and over
Tyre condition (front)2.32.62.0
Drive shaft joints and boots (front)1.62.53.0
Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)1.82.12.4
Tyre tread depth (front)1.02.11.8
Diesel engine warning light0.81.82.5

Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.

When a car fails

44in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

25in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

6in every 100

of all first tests had a defect the tester marked dangerous (unsafe to drive away).

Every figure here is a first-attempt MOT rate from DVSA open data for this model line, for cars of this model year tested in 2025. Each mileage band holds a fifth of the tests. MOTs do not test engine or gearbox internals, so this is a pre-purchase checklist, not a full reliability score.

FAQs

Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.

The 2014 Audi A6 follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Tyre condition (front), about 11 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 79.4% of 10,009 first MOTs on the 2014 Audi A6 passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 83.0%. Among 2,064 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Anti-roll bar linkage pins and bushes (front) appears more often than on similar cars (2.6% of those tests; 53 observed failures; about 12× more often than similar cars). There is no single reliability score here; this is a pre-purchase checklist built from DVSA open data, not a guarantee for any individual car.
Ranked by how often they were actually recorded, the items that most often failed a 2014 Audi A6 at the first attempt were Tyre condition (front) (10.9%), Drive shaft joints and boots (front) (10.3%) and Suspension arm pins and bushes (front) (9.5%), each as a share of the year's failed first attempts. That is what goes wrong most often on the car. The common faults table shows a different measure: faults that are unusual compared with similar cars.
Among failed first-attempt tests we highlight patterns that appear more often than on similar cars. Top example: Anti-roll bar linkage pins and bushes (front) (2.6% of those tests; 53 observed failures; about 12× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Anti-roll bar linkage pins and bushes (front) shows up more often than on similar cars (2.6% of those tests; 53 observed failures; about 12× more often than similar cars). That does not prove a design fault. Age, mileage, and how the car was used still matter. Treat it as a pre-purchase checkpoint, not a manufacturer service bulletin.
Common MOT problem areas for the 2014 Audi A6 include Anti-roll bar linkage pins and bushes (front), Suspension arm ball joint dust cover (front), Diesel engine warning light. These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
Advisories flag issues noted at the test and are not a fail rate. We show advisory patterns that appear more often than on similar cars among failed first-attempt tests, separate from common failure rows. Use them as early-warning checks, not as a pass/fail score.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2014 Audi A6 (registration year) using UK DVSA open data for the selected test year. Patterns are compared with cars of a similar age and mileage. It is a buyer checklist from MOT defect statistics, not a full service history or manufacturer service-bulletin list.
No. MOT tests do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronic modules. Patterns here come from MOT defect statistics only and should not be read as engine or gearbox reliability scores.

About this data

How this page is built and what it can (and can't) say.

These figures come from UK MOT open data for this model year. We surface common failure patterns against similar cars, not a full reliability score, and not a pass/fail verdict on any individual vehicle.

2024 2025

What we include

UK Class 4 cars only. Normal MOT tests (not retests); first test per vehicle per calendar year; results pass, PRS, or fail.

Same-day repairs

PRS means the car failed items that were fixed at the test station and then passed the same day. We count PRS as a first-attempt fail in headline rates so same-day repairs do not hide problems.

How we compare

We compare this model year with other Class 4 cars of similar age and mileage in the same test year. This model family is left out of the peer group so the car is not measured against itself.

What this does not cover

  • MOTs do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronics; this is not a full reliability score.
  • Common faults come from MOT defect stats, not manufacturer TSBs or recalls.
  • Age and mileage matching reduces, but does not remove, differences in how cars were used and maintained.
  • If the data for a car is too thin to say anything useful, we say so rather than guess.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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