91.7%
Bentley Continental
Bentley Continental MOT pass rate and common problems
The Bentley Continental passed 91.7% of its initial MOT tests in 2025, 19.4 percentage points above the 72.3% UK average. The item testers recorded most often was malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction.
Checking a specific car? Its own results, advisories and recorded mileages are in a free MOT history check.
How the Continental compares
Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded. A car that failed and was repaired at the test station counts as a fail.
91.4%
Bentley average
72.3%
UK average, all cars
The Continental is level with the Bentley average. It is 2nd of the 2 Bentley models in the data. The average Continental arrived at its test 13.6 years old with 45,169 miles recorded.
A pass rate records whether cars met the roadworthiness standard on test day. It is not a reliability score, and part of any gap reflects how old the tested cars were.
Continental MOT pass rate by age
The same 2025 tests split by the car's age at test.
Bentley Continental cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 96.6% of MOT tests. For cars aged 11 years and over that fell to 89.5%, a drop of 7.1 percentage points.
| Age at test | Tests | Pass rate | vs UK average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 to 5 years | 1,601 | 96.6% | 24.3 pts above |
| 6 to 10 years | 3,651 | 94.6% | 22.3 pts above |
| 11 years and over | 9,165 | 89.5% | 17.2 pts above |
That is a typical decline as cars age. The UK average of 72.3% covers cars of every age, so compare like with like.
Where Continental failures cluster
Every failure item recorded on Bentley Continental cars in 2025, grouped into the DVSA's test areas.
Tyres and lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment together account for 38.9% of recorded failure items. These are recorded failures across the model, not faults every car has.
The 10 most common Continental MOT failures
Specific items recorded on Bentley Continental cars that failed their 2025 MOT, as a share of all recorded failure items.
Together these 10 items make up 40.6% of everything testers recorded against failed Bentley Continental cars. The rest is spread across many smaller items, and one failed test often records several at once.
What to look at on a Continental
The recorded failures above, grouped by area, biggest first.
1
Tyres
Recorded most often: condition has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords, condition has ply or cords exposed, condition has a bulge, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure, tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm and condition has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure. 17.2% of failure items.
2
Noise, emissions and leaks
Recorded most often: malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction. 9.1% of failure items.
3
Suspension
Recorded most often: pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn. 5.2% of failure items.
4
Identification of the vehicle
Recorded most often: registration plates does not conform to the specified requirements. 4.6% of failure items.
The car's own MOT history matters more than any model average. A free MOT history check shows whether a specific Continental has failed on these items before, or had them noted as advisories. Buying one? See the used Bentley Continental buying guide.
Already found one?
Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.
Bentley Continental MOT FAQs
What is the Bentley Continental MOT pass rate?
91.7% of Bentley Continental cars passed their initial MOT first time in 2025, from 14,754 tests. That is 19.4 percentage points above the 72.3% average for all cars, and ranks 17th of 575 models.
What does a Bentley Continental most commonly fail its MOT on?
The item testers recorded most often on Bentley Continental cars failing their 2025 MOT was malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction, on 9.1% of failure items. Next were pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn (5.2%) and condition has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords (5.1%).
Which area causes the most Bentley Continental MOT failures?
Across every recorded failure item, the largest area was tyres at 19.5%, followed by lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment at 19.4%.
Do older Bentley Continental cars fail their MOT more often?
Bentley Continental cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 96.6% of MOT tests in 2025, against 89.5% for cars aged 11 years and over.
Does this mean every Bentley Continental has these problems?
No. These are the items testers recorded across every Bentley Continental that failed in 2025. They show where the model most often needs attention, not the condition of any individual car.
How do I see a specific Bentley Continental's MOT history?
Enter its registration on the free Carpeep MOT history check to see that car's own test results, failures, advisories and recorded mileages.
MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025: class 4 initial tests, retests excluded, with failure items from failed tests (advisories and minor defects excluded), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability.