Model Reports 5 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Mazda 6 2013: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 66 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2013 Mazda 6 were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Suspension arm ball joint (front).

Summary

The 2013 Mazda 6 follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 3,591 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
66 in every 100
Did not pass first time
34 in every 1001,228 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
12 yearsabout 104,935 miles
First tests counted
3,591

What failed most often

  1. Suspension arm ball joint (front)26 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)12 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Individual sidelight or tail light (front)8 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 2013 Mazda 6 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

One wear pattern: tyre pressure monitoring system, 4.9 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 1,228 failed first attempts in 2025 that had a mileage recorded, which allows a like-for-like comparison.

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 pressure monitoring system

Failed on 37 first tests4.9 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

A tyre pressure monitoring system that is obviously inoperative is graded Major, and so is one listed as malfunctioning or obviously inoperative. The Minor row uses the word malfunctioning too, but its detail is a warning lamp indicating a fault, and it also covers a tyre that is obviously under-inflated.

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

Brakes

Two faults. The strongest is the handbrake performance (roller test, rear): 3.8 times as often as on similar cars.

Handbrake performance (roller test, rear)

Failed on 51 first tests3.8 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A parking brake that is inoperative on one side is Major. When tested on the road, the failure is the vehicle deviating excessively from a straight line. Vehicles whose parking brake was already tested as the secondary brake are not tested again for this.

Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)

Failed on 147 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A parking brake with efficiency below the minimum requirement is Major, and graded Dangerous where efficiency is less than half of the required value. On a roller brake tester, the requirement counts as met if more than half of the wheels of a brake system lock. The check applies only to vehicles whose parking brake was not already tested as the secondary brake.

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

Suspension

One fault: suspension arm ball joint (front), 3.6 times as often as on similar cars.

Suspension arm ball joint (front)

Failed on 322 first tests3.6 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A suspension arm ball joint is failed under the general suspension pin, bush or joint wording. Excessively worn is Major, and likely to become detached is graded Dangerous.

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

Noise, emissions and leaks

One fault: diesel emissions test (compression-ignition rules for vehicles from 01/07/2008), 2.8 times as often as on similar cars.

Diesel emissions test (compression-ignition rules for vehicles from 01/07/2008)

Failed on 53 first tests2.8 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

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.

Anti-roll bar linkage (rear)

Noted on 20 first tests98 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension arm (rear)

Noted on 151 first tests7.2 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Flexible brake hoses (rear)

Noted on 27 first tests2.8 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension sub-frame (rear)

Noted on 97 first tests2.6 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension arm (front)

Noted on 24 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Rigid brake pipes (front)

Noted on 63 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

Wheel condition (front)

Noted on 25 first tests2.1 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
66in 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
30in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 65.8% of 3,591 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 69.5%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 4 fixed and the 30 not fixed make the 34 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as testedPassed first time, same mileage
Diesel2,417111,256 miles6566
Petrol1,17489,684 miles6865

Figures are in every 100 first tests. Cars with more miles usually fail more often, so the same-mileage figure gives every fuel the mileage mix of all the cars in this year.

Same model, other years

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

4060801002005201020132020Older carsNewer cars
406080100201020132020Older 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, 69 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200550 in every 100529
200654 in every 100915
200752 in every 1001,676
200853 in every 1002,381
200958 in every 1002,875
201058 in every 1004,007
201159 in every 1003,220
201260 in every 1002,450
2013 This car66 in every 1003,591
201468 in every 1005,437
201571 in every 1005,966
201674 in every 1006,398
201777 in every 1004,463
201882 in every 1003,120
201987 in every 1004,244
202089 in every 1001,016
202190 in every 100642
202292 in every 100683

If you are buying one

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

Mileage matters most on a 2013 Mazda 6.

Of 2013 Mazda 6 vehicles with under 77,000 miles, 76 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 134,000 miles or more, 61 in every 100 did.

Under 77,000717 tests
76
77,000–96,000712 tests
70
96,000–114,000 Typical car734 tests
61
114,000–134,000707 tests
61
134,000 and over721 tests
61

Petrol or diesel?

Typical mileagePassed first time,
as tested		Passed first time,
same mileage
Diesel111,256 miles6566
Petrol89,684 miles6865

Figures are in every 100 first tests. Petrol cars look better on the raw figures only because diesel cars have done more miles (typically 111,256 against 89,684). At the same mileage there is no clear difference between the two.

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 77,00096,000–114,000134,000 and over
Suspension arm ball joint (front)2.913.49.8
Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)3.24.44.6
Individual sidelight or tail light (front)0.43.74.2
Track rod end (front)1.43.03.5
Coil spring (rear)2.82.52.8

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

When a car fails

39in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

35in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

9in 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 2013 Mazda 6 follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Suspension arm ball joint (front), about 26 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 65.8% of 3,591 first MOTs on the 2013 Mazda 6 passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 69.5%. Among 1,228 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Handbrake performance (roller test, rear) appears more often than on similar cars (4.2% of those tests; 51 observed failures; about 3.8× 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 2013 Mazda 6 at the first attempt were Suspension arm ball joint (front) (26.2%), Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test) (12.0%) and Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (8.2%), 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: Handbrake performance (roller test, rear) (4.2% of those tests; 51 observed failures; about 3.8× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Handbrake performance (roller test, rear) shows up more often than on similar cars (4.2% of those tests; 51 observed failures; about 3.8× 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 2013 Mazda 6 include Handbrake performance (roller test, rear), Suspension arm ball joint (front), Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test). 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 2013 Mazda 6 (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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