Model Reports 3 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

BMW 6 Series 2017: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 84 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2017 BMW 6 Series were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Tyre condition (front).

Summary

The 2017 BMW 6 Series follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 1,254 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
84 in every 100
Did not pass first time
16 in every 100202 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
8 yearsabout 62,654 miles
First tests counted
1,254

What failed most often

  1. Tyre condition (front)28 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 2017 BMW 6 Series vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. A wear pattern follows age and use more than the way the car was built. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Tyres

Two wear patterns. The strongest is the tyre condition (front): 3.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 200 of 202 failed first attempts (99.0%) 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.

Tyre condition (front)

Failed on 55 first tests3.0 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

Exposed or damaged ply or cords are graded Dangerous. A cut in excess of the requirements and deep enough to reach the ply or cords is Major, and testers may open the cut with a blunt instrument to check its depth. A tyre contacting the vehicle through flexing or suspension movement is not a defect; fouling fails only at the time of test.

Tyre condition (rear)

Failed on 45 first tests2.8 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

Exposed or damaged ply or cords are graded Dangerous. A cut in excess of the requirements and deep enough to reach the ply or cords is Major, and testers may open the cut with a blunt instrument to check its depth. A tyre contacting the vehicle through flexing or suspension movement is not a defect; fouling fails only at the time of test.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. 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
84in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
2in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
14in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 83.9% of 1,254 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 86.1%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 2 fixed and the 14 not fixed make the 16 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

406080100200520102017Older carsNewer cars
40608010020102017Older 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, 81 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200470 in every 100917
200569 in every 1001,113
200670 in every 1001,283
200774 in every 1001,081
200876 in every 100980
200975 in every 100530
201080 in every 100493
201177 in every 100583
201278 in every 1001,360
201379 in every 1001,784
201478 in every 1001,816
201582 in every 1001,820
201685 in every 1001,726
2017 This car84 in every 1001,254
201886 in every 1002,168
201988 in every 100990

FAQs

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

The 2017 BMW 6 Series follows the pattern of the model years either side. In 2025, 83.9% of 1,254 first MOTs on the 2017 BMW 6 Series passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 86.1%. Among 202 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), we highlight MOT failure patterns that show up more often than on cars of a similar age and mileage when the sample is large enough to trust. 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 2017 BMW 6 Series at the first attempt were Tyre condition (front) (27.5%), 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.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2017 BMW 6 Series (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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