Pass rate
89.2%
Above average — 12.0 pts ahead of the 77.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 74 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £31–£102
2012 Audi S6 MOT pass rate
- 2012
- 2 trims combined
- typical 74,897 mi
Only 74 tests of this exact model and year are in the DVSA data, below the 100 we ask for before a page goes in the index. The figures are still shown, because they are the only ones there are.
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Tyres
35.7% of faults · 19.8% nationally
mostly tread below the limit, cuts and sidewall bulges.
Which year to buy
- Best 2021 95.6% pass
- Avoid 2008 78.5% pass
Across the 10 years on record, a spread of 17.1 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 88.1%
- Typical mileage
- 75k mi
The 2012 Audi S6 MOT pass rate is 89.2% of its MOT tests — 12.0 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Tyres is the biggest single reason it fails, at 35.7% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Tyres: 1.8× the national share
Tyres make up 35.7% of everything recorded on the 2012 Audi S6, against 19.8% nationally — 15.9 points above. Check all four tyres yourself, including the inner shoulders, and look at the date stamp — a tyre can pass on tread and still be six years old.
- Beats its own age and mileage. Once you allow for how old and how far these cars have been driven, the expected pass rate is 77.2% and this one manages 89.2% — 12.0 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- Based on a small sample. 74 tests back this page. That is enough to publish and to index, not enough to treat the decimal places as precise — read the pattern, not the second digit.
Written from this page's own figures: fault shares against the national composition, the like-for-like pass rate, and the priced repair list. How these are worked out
Watching a Audi S6? Get an email when these numbers change .
Every Audi S6 first registered in 2012 is combined here — 2 trim and body variants in total — so the sample is as large as the DVSA data allows.
How does the 2012 Audi S6 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 77.2%, so this figure is 12.0 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 88.1%. The median 2012 Audi S6 in this dataset had covered 74,897 mi.
The single most recorded failure item is "Mirrors slightly damaged", noted on 4.05% of tests.
- 74 recorded tests behind this page.
- 89.2% overall pass rate, 88.1% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Audi S6, the average is 88.3% — best year 2021 (95.6%), worst 2008 (78.5%).
Figures count every completed test on this vehicle-year in the dataset, including retests. See methodology for the exact definition.
This page's data
- Tests analysed
- 74
- Typical mileage (median)
- 74,897 mi
- Make and model
- Audi S6
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Bulb
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the S6 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 76% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the S6
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 24 | 87.5% |
Regions come from the postcode area recorded at the test station. Areas on region borders are assigned to the region with the majority of their population.
What fails a 2012 S6
Everything a tester recorded on this vehicle, grouped into the inspection sections that produced it. The notch on each bar is the national share, so you can see at a glance whether this car is unusual or just ordinary.
A test can record several items, so these percentages do not add up to 100%. The exact strings, with prices, are in the full DVSA record at the bottom of this page.
Before your test
Three checks worth doing on a 2012 S6
These are not generic tips — they are the faults recorded most often on this exact model, rewritten as things you can check yourself. All three take about ten minutes and cost nothing.
-
Check the lights 4.0% of tests
“mirrors slightly damaged”
Switch everything on and walk round the car: both headlamps on dip and main, every indicator, both brake lights, reverse, fog and the two number-plate lamps. A bulb is a few pounds and a five-minute job.
-
Check the exhaust and emissions 1.4% of tests
“catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds default limits”
Listen for a blow at idle and have someone rev it gently. Then look at the tailpipe smoke: blue is oil, white when warm is coolant, black is over-fuelling. Any of those and the emissions test is the least of it.
Shares are the proportion of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item, so they overlap: one test can record several.
What it costs to get a 2012 S6 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £31–£102 — and 42% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £31–£102
- Cheapest common item: malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or…
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content…
- £60–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 60%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 42%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 74 MOT tests on this vehicle. They exclude diagnostics, retest fees and garage labour where the part is a DIY fit, and they are not figures from the DVSA dataset. Older and higher-mileage examples cost more than the average. How these estimates are built → · All MOT repair costs → · Cheapest cars to put through a test →
Every year of the S6, side by side
10 model years on record, from 2000 to 2022. Across them the pass rate runs from 78.5% to 95.6% — a spread of 17.1 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 84.0% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2006 79.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2007 79.7% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2008 78.5% malfunction indicator lamp…
- 2012 89.2%mirrors slightly damaged
- 2013 94.6% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2019 93.2% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2020 88.7% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2021 95.6% has a bulge, caused by separation…
- 2022 93.9% windscreen damaged but not…
Colour is the pass rate on a fixed scale, so a block means the same thing on any model. Each year links to its own page with the full fault breakdown.
Compare the 2012 Audi S6 with another year
The raw pass rate mostly measures age. The year comparison adds the like-for-like figure, the mileage bands and the repair bill.
Other 2012 cars with a similar record
- Honda Fit 89.3%
- Toyota Estima 88.3%
- Lexus Rx 88.3%
- Lexus RX450H 88.0%
- Porsche Boxster 91.6%
- Lexus Ct 86.8%
Closest pass rates among 2012 cars with at least 2,000 tests, so a small sample cannot flatter itself into the list. See the full rankings: best and worst MOT pass rates.
The full DVSA record for the 2012 Audi S6 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 8 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 42 individual items recorded on this vehicle, and the same share across all cars nationally. A single test can record several items, so a row is not a percentage of tests.
| Category | Items | This car | Nationally | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyres | 15 | 35.70% | 19.76% | +15.94 |
| Brakes | 9 | 21.40% | 20.89% | +0.51 |
| Suspension | 8 | 19.00% | 20.98% | −1.98 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 4 | 9.50% | 5.52% | +3.98 |
| Visibility | 3 | 7.10% | 4.97% | +2.13 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 1 | 2.40% | 12.21% | −9.81 |
| Non-component advisories | 1 | 2.40% | 4.18% | −1.78 |
| Road Wheels | 1 | 2.40% | 0.75% | +1.65 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mirrors slightly damaged Visibility | Minor | 4.0% | £3–15 |
| Brake performance not tested unable to be tested Brakes | Major | 1.4% | £60–150 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds default limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.4% | £60–250 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.4% | £60–250 |
| Catalyst emissions hydrocarbon content after 2nd fast idle exceeds default limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.4% | £60–250 |
| Fractured Road Wheels | Major | 1.4% | £20–55 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Major | 1.4% | £45–95 |
| Has ply or cords exposed Tyres | Major | 1.4% | £45–95 |
| Headlamp cleaning device for LED or HID headlamp inoperative Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 1.4% | £5–25 |
| Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.4% | £3–12 |
Severity is as recorded: Major and Dangerous fail the test outright; Minor and Advisory do not. Costs are estimates from typical UK parts prices — see how they are built.
What testers noted without failing the car
Advisories are the early warnings — the same parts a year or two before they fail. Reading them is how you tell a car that has been maintained from one that has been patched.
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 10.8% | £45–95 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 6.8% | £18–45 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 5.4% | £40–150 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Advisory | 2.7% | £45–95 |
| Linkage pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 2.7% | £40–150 |
| Tread depth tread pattern not visible over the whole tread area when minimum depth required is 1.0mm Tyres | Advisory | 2.7% | £45–95 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 2 | 100.0% | 23,164 mi |
| 30-60k | 19 | 89.5% | 45,934 mi |
| 60-90k | 32 | 84.4% | 74,981 mi |
| 90-120k | 20 | 95.0% | 103,086 mi |
| 120k+ | 1 | 100.0% | 137,160 mi |
Source: 74 recorded tests on this vehicle-year. Every row above is recomputed from the same DVSA extract as the rest of the page — see the methodology.
2012 S6 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2012 Audi S6?
89.2% of the 74 2012 Audi S6 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 77.2% for cars first used in 2012. First-attempt pass rate: 88.1%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2012 Audi S6?
The three most recorded items are mirrors slightly damaged (4.05%), brake performance not tested unable to be tested (1.35%), catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds default limits (1.35%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2012 Audi S6 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 100.0% of the time, falling to 100.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2012 Audi S6 in this dataset had covered 74,897 mi.