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MOT fail rates

Audi A3 MOT fail rate by age

How often the Audi A3 fails its MOT at each age, compared with all cars of the same age, and what it fails on. From 1,697,772 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated

At 8 years, the most tested age

MOT fail rate at age 8 (n=155,588)17.0%
All cars at 8 years (n=10,440,457)23.8%
Median mileage at test66,521
All cars, median mileage60,745

72 of 315 model groups with enough tests fail less often at 8 years.

What stands out

  • At 3 years the Audi A3 fails 11.0% of MOTs (77,290 tests), 1.0 points below the 12.1% for all cars that age. At 25 years it fails 39.9% (1,222 tests), 3.6 points above the 36.3% average.
  • The gap is widest at 9 years: 7.4 points below all cars.
  • Its most common structural or mechanical fail item at 8 years: Shock absorber leaking, at 1.6 per 100 MOTs.

MOT fail rate by age

3 years 25 years 49.2%

Solid line: this model. Dashed line: all cars at the same age.

Audi A3: share of MOT tests that failed, by age, against all cars. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
AgeMOT fail rateTests (n)All carsDifferenceMedian mileage
3 years11.0%77,29012.1%−1.0 pts24,480 miles
4 years11.2%86,65713.4%−2.2 pts31,682 miles
5 years11.7%99,21815.3%−3.6 pts39,256 miles
6 years13.3%122,66117.8%−4.6 pts47,843 miles
7 years14.8%143,64820.6%−5.8 pts56,920 miles
8 years17.0%155,58823.8%−6.8 pts66,521 miles
9 years19.8%149,02527.1%−7.4 pts76,160 miles
10 years23.4%135,84630.3%−6.9 pts86,442 miles
11 years27.3%116,22733.3%−6.0 pts96,513 miles
12 years32.0%103,40436.0%−4.0 pts104,886 miles
13 years35.5%99,30838.3%−2.7 pts111,175 miles
14 years37.1%93,54140.3%−3.1 pts116,843 miles
15 years39.3%86,74741.6%−2.3 pts122,095 miles
16 years40.4%73,73942.6%−2.2 pts127,932 miles
17 years42.2%58,07543.1%−0.8 pts132,615 miles
18 years43.5%40,29043.3%+0.2 pts135,347 miles
19 years44.5%25,09843.2%+1.3 pts135,600 miles
20 years44.7%13,55842.8%+1.9 pts134,801 miles
21 years44.8%7,02542.1%+2.7 pts131,167 miles
22 years42.1%4,43041.0%+1.2 pts130,407 miles
23 years40.2%3,11039.6%+0.6 pts129,651 miles
24 years37.8%2,06537.8%0.0 pts125,493 miles
25 years39.9%1,22236.3%+3.6 pts123,429 miles

Most common fail items at 8 years

Split into structural or mechanical items and wear items. Wear items (tyres, brake pads, wipers, bulbs) say more about upkeep than about the design.

Structural and mechanical

Fail itemPer 100 MOTs
Shock absorber leaking Major1.6
Coil spring broken Major1.3

Out of 155,588 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Wear and upkeep

Fail itemPer 100 MOTs
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm Dangerous3.5
Tyre condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Major1.7
Brake pads under 1.5 mm Dangerous1.6
Tyre with cords exposed Dangerous1.6
Headlamp aim: too low Major1.2
Wipers not clearing screen Major0.9
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid Major0.9
Dipped headlight not working Major0.8

Out of 155,588 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Other models at 8 years

ModelMOT fail rateTests (n)All cars
Audi A122.1%95,96823.8%
Audi A421.7%77,54823.8%
Audi Q317.6%60,78923.8%

MOT fail rate by first-use year

Each year has its own page: the fail rate for cars first used that year at each MOT from 2022 to 2025 with at least 1,000 tests, the most common faults at that age, and the car tax and ULEZ rules for that year.

First-use year data updated .

Latest MOT age with at least 1,000 tests for each first-use year.
First usedAge at testMOT fail rateTests (n)All cars
200122 years in 202342.4%1,06441.0%
200222 years in 202442.4%1,23741.0%
200322 years in 202541.8%1,24141.0%
200421 years in 202545.5%2,58442.1%
200520 years in 202543.4%6,11542.8%
200619 years in 202543.3%9,77543.2%
200718 years in 202540.9%12,25143.3%
200817 years in 202540.4%16,32343.1%
200916 years in 202537.3%20,20442.6%
201015 years in 202537.5%23,18141.6%
201114 years in 202535.1%20,59740.3%
201213 years in 202534.2%24,98438.3%
201312 years in 202526.6%27,09536.0%
201411 years in 202522.5%38,74033.3%
201510 years in 202519.6%41,64430.3%
20169 years in 202517.1%38,83827.1%
20178 years in 202514.9%33,83523.8%
20187 years in 202513.3%27,00820.6%
20196 years in 202513.6%20,94117.8%
20205 years in 202511.7%15,81415.3%
20214 years in 202511.3%20,71013.4%
20223 years in 202510.9%17,86712.1%

More on the Audi A3

Read this with care. A fail rate is not a measure of build quality. How far cars are driven, how they are used and how well owners maintain them all change it, and wear items such as tyres and brake pads are common fails. Compare a model only with cars of the same age. Methodology and limits.

Looking at one Audi A3?

These are figures for the model, not for one car. The VetTheCar Buying Report looks at a single car: its MOT tests, defects, advisories and mileage readings.

See an example report Browse the car tools

Source

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data, class 4 normal MOT tests, 2022 to 2025. MOT data updated 22 September 2026.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by DVSA. How we calculate these figures · Data sources