All generations and engines together · 1,196 MOT tests in the 2025 data · typical mileage at age 7: 14k
Owner folklore from forums and the motoring press. Most of it never shows up in an MOT, which is why this section exists at all.
A widely reported niggle across all model years: leave a DB9 for a couple of weeks and the battery is often dead. Owners trace it to the standing draw from the tracker, alarm, and amplifier fans that never fully sleep, and Aston's own advice has long been to fit a trickle charger for any car not driven regularly. It is not usually a sign of a bad car, but a flat battery at a viewing on a car that has "just been sitting" is normal, not a red flag on its own.
On 2006-2014 cars the seat heater's control module can fail in a way that leaves the heater stuck on, so the seat gets hot enough to scorch the leather and, in a handful of cases, smoulder. Aston Martin recalled around 7,000 cars worldwide in 2015 (NHTSA 14V-753) and dealers fit an extra cut-out module free of charge. Ask whether this recall was actioned, since plenty of older UK cars changed hands before it was widely publicised.
On 2009-2016 automatic cars with the 6-speed Touchtronic II gearbox, a communication fault between the engine and transmission control modules could stop the parking pawl engaging, letting the car roll if the handbrake was not applied. Aston Martin recalled affected cars (NHTSA 17V-796) and the fix is a software update, no gearbox hardware involved. Separately, owners and a manufacturer TSB flag gearbox fault warnings caused by a poor engine harness earth, cured by adding a ground wire.
Owners and specialist repairers report the naturally aspirated V12 can get through oil between services, and if it is allowed to run low the crank, big-end bearings or tappets can start knocking, which is an expensive rebuild rather than a quick fix. Timing chain cover seepage is also mentioned as a recurring ageing-related weep rather than a sudden failure. Neither is manufacturer-acknowledged as a defect, so treat it as a maintenance item: check oil level and colour, and ask for evidence of regular oil top-ups between services.
The Linn-branded head unit and amplifier fitted to the DB9 has a reputation for dying outright rather than developing a minor fault, and once gone it is generally not economically repairable, so owners either live without it or source a secondhand unit. Some owners rate it as a known weak point, others say theirs has been fine for over a decade, so it is a judgement call rather than an inevitability. Water ingress around the boot seals is also linked by some owners to electrical gremlins in this area.
Condensation or water getting into the headlight units is a known niggle mentioned by Honest John, with aftermarket venting kits sold specifically to cure it. It is cosmetic and rarely causes a bulb or wiring failure, but persistent misting after rain is worth checking at a viewing since a full headlight unit is not cheap to replace.
Built from the two sections above.
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