All generations and engines together · 48,324 MOT tests in the 2025 data · typical mileage at age 7: 71k
Worse than most saloons and estates, by age and by mileage. Watch suspension and brakes. A used buy worth some caution. Check the MOT history for repeating suspension advisories before you go.
Split by first-registration year. Cars registered in a changeover year can belong to either generation.
Owner folklore from forums and the motoring press, with how well each report stands up. Most of it never shows up in an MOT, which is why this section exists at all.
On the Skyactiv-D and earlier MZR-CD 2.0/2.2 diesels, short town trips stop the DPF regeneration cycle partway through, and unburnt diesel ends up diluting the sump oil. Owners who don't catch it on the dipstick have ended up with oil level warnings, timing chain wear, and in the worst reported cases a written-off engine, mostly between 35,000 and 105,000 miles. Mazda has issued oil strainer and software bulletins for affected diesels, but a full engine rebuild has still cost some owners upwards of £5,000-9,500.
Tied to the oil dilution problem above: the 2.2 diesel's timing chain has been reported stretching early and chewing metal swarf into the oil passages, and the oil strainer can carbonise and block from injector seal leaks. Owners with full service history have still seen engine failures in the 36,000-83,000 mile range. Mazda put out a service bulletin telling dealers to check oil strainers on affected cars.
Several 2013-2016 2.2 diesel owners have reported turbo failure between roughly 36,000 and 88,000 miles, usually blamed on carbonised oil reaching the turbo bearing from the same regeneration/oil dilution issue rather than a standalone design fault. It's not been the subject of a manufacturer recall, so treat it as a consequence of poor oil condition rather than a guaranteed time bomb.
Owners of the 2012-on Mazda 6 report creaking from the front end, often put down to worn anti-roll bar sleeve bushes or top mounts, alongside a firmer-than-expected ride on 19-inch wheel cars. Suspension is the fault that actually shows up most in this model's MOT failure data, so the creaks buyers hear are a genuine early warning of the same wear that eventually fails a test, not just a noise to ignore.
Cars fitted with Mazda's i-ELOOP brake energy regeneration system have thrown "Battery Management System Inspection Required" warnings, often from around 35,000 miles, usually traced to a faulty i-ELOOP capacitor. It's not fitted to every model or trim, but where it is the replacement capacitor has been quoted at around £650 or more.
A number of owners report sticking or seized front calipers causing overheating and uneven pad wear, in one case four caliper failures on the same car by 60,000 miles, while others report normal wear rates. It reads as owner-to-owner variation rather than a single design flaw, and no TSB or recall covers it, so budget for calipers and pads/discs as a possibility rather than a certainty.
Ranked from this model’s own MOT record, then from what owners report.
Saveable checklistThe physical checks its own defect data says are worth your time, most telling first.
These judge the seller’s upkeep rather than the model, and they are where the haggling money is.
The physical checks its own defect data says are worth your time, most telling first.
These judge the seller’s upkeep rather than the model, and they are where the haggling money is.
The physical checks its own defect data says are worth your time, most telling first.
These judge the seller’s upkeep rather than the model, and they are where the haggling money is.
Drawn from the reports above rather than the MOT data. These are the model-specific ones.
Computed from DVSA MOT results, all of Great Britain, 2025. Nothing here is opinion.
Share of tests where each item was recorded. The dark tick is the class average across all tracked models; bars are scaled within each group.
The rows that judge the model rather than its keeper. 19,520 tests in this band.
Tyres, pads and stone chips say more about how the car was driven and maintained than about how it was built.
Same segment (Saloons & estates), best MOT record first. Compare before you shortlist.