Bentley Continental MOT pass rate and common failures
In 2025, 91.6% of Bentley Continental MOT tests were a first-time pass, across 14,416 tests in Great Britain. For all cars it was 71.5%.
Compared with cars of the same age
Older cars fail more often, so a model that’s mostly a few years old will look better than one that’s mostly 12. These figures compare like with like.
At 3–5 years
96.6%
All cars: 86.1% (10.5 points better). 1,601 tests.
At 6–10 years
94.6%
All cars: 76.1% (18.5 points better). 3,651 tests.
At 11 years and over
89.4%
All cars: 61.3% (28.1 points better). 9,164 tests.
Pass rate by age
Figures by age, with typical mileage
| Age (years) | Tests | First-time pass | All cars | Typical mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 393 | 96.2% | 87.8% | 11,250 miles |
| 4 | 530 | 97.0% | 86.4% | 16,250 miles |
| 5 | 678 | 96.5% | 84.5% | 18,750 miles |
| 6 | 759 | 95.8% | 81.9% | 21,250 miles |
| 7 | 529 | 95.5% | 79.3% | 23,750 miles |
| 8 | 774 | 94.4% | 76.3% | 28,750 miles |
| 9 | 847 | 93.5% | 73.1% | 31,250 miles |
| 10 | 742 | 94.3% | 70.0% | 33,750 miles |
| 11 | 727 | 91.9% | 66.9% | 38,750 miles |
| 12 | 767 | 92.0% | 64.4% | 43,750 miles |
| 13 | 623 | 91.0% | 62.1% | 43,750 miles |
| 14 | 538 | 89.6% | 60.2% | 46,250 miles |
| 15 | 500 | 91.4% | 58.6% | 48,750 miles |
| 16 | 592 | 89.9% | 57.5% | 53,750 miles |
| 17 | 1,117 | 90.3% | 57.2% | 56,250 miles |
| 18 | 1,266 | 90.5% | 57.0% | 58,750 miles |
| 19 | 1,014 | 86.4% | 57.2% | 63,750 miles |
| 20+ | 2,020 | 86.8% | 61.4% | 66,250 miles |
Typical mileage is the median reading at the test, to the nearest 2,500 miles.
What fails most often
The share of Bentley Continental MOT tests that failed on at least one item in each area, against all cars. A test can fail on several areas at once.
| Area | Continental | All cars |
|---|---|---|
| Tyres | 3.1% | 8.4% |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 3.1% | 16.6% |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 2.4% | 4.0% |
| Brakes | 2.4% | 10.2% |
| Suspension | 1.4% | 13.7% |
| Visibility | 1.0% | 5.2% |
| Identification of the vehicle | 0.8% | 0.4% |
| Body, chassis, structure | 0.6% | 4.2% |
Most common reasons for failing
- Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction failed 1.5% of tests · what this means
- Condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords failed 0.8% of tests
- Pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn failed 0.8% of tests · what this means
- Registration plates: does not conform to the specified requirements failed 0.7% of tests · what this means
- Condition: has ply or cords exposed failed 0.6% of tests
- Condition: has a bulge, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure failed 0.5% of tests
- Condition: has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure failed 0.4% of tests
- Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm failed 0.4% of tests
- Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid failed 0.4% of tests · what this means
- Electronic stability control: warning lamp indicates a fault failed 0.3% of tests
Checking a particular Continental?
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About these figures
- They cover every Continental version DVSA records under this name (engines, trims and generations together), on its first MOT test of each visit. A “pass with rectification” (fixed within an hour) counts as a fail, as in DVSA’s own statistics.
- Cars under three years old are left out, because the few tested that young are mostly taxis.
- Fuel mix of the cars tested: petrol 100.0%, liquefied petrolum gas (lpg) 0.0%, diesel 0.0%.
- A pass rate describes the model, not any one car. How a car has been looked after matters more.
Download these figures (CSV) · Other Bentley models · All makes
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data for 2025. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Our own analysis; not produced or endorsed by DVSA.