Buying Report · £14.99
Tools

MOT fail rates

Audi A4 MOT fail rate by age

How often the Audi A4 fails its MOT at each age, compared with all cars of the same age, and what it fails on. From 1,045,108 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated

At 8 years, the most tested age

MOT fail rate at age 8 (n=77,548)21.7%
All cars at 8 years (n=10,440,457)23.8%
Median mileage at test78,010
All cars, median mileage60,745

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

What stands out

  • At 3 years the Audi A4 fails 12.1% of MOTs (37,337 tests), about the same as the 12.1% for all cars that age. At 25 years it fails 36.2% (2,457 tests), about the same as the 36.3% average.
  • The gap is widest at 13 years: 7.5 points below all cars.
  • Its most common structural or mechanical fail item at 8 years: Coil spring broken, at 5.2 per 100 MOTs.

MOT fail rate by age

3 years 25 years 47.6%

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

Audi A4: 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 years12.1%37,33712.1%0.0 pts27,923 miles
4 years12.1%44,06213.4%−1.3 pts36,215 miles
5 years13.5%57,51315.3%−1.8 pts45,621 miles
6 years16.6%71,27717.8%−1.2 pts56,061 miles
7 years19.8%74,44820.6%−0.8 pts66,856 miles
8 years21.7%77,54823.8%−2.0 pts78,010 miles
9 years23.3%72,33227.1%−3.8 pts88,676 miles
10 years25.9%63,84930.3%−4.4 pts99,182 miles
11 years27.1%61,52533.3%−6.1 pts109,022 miles
12 years28.8%57,81736.0%−7.2 pts117,829 miles
13 years30.7%55,57438.3%−7.5 pts125,659 miles
14 years33.6%59,51740.3%−6.7 pts130,763 miles
15 years35.4%62,58541.6%−6.2 pts133,292 miles
16 years36.6%62,75142.6%−5.9 pts134,284 miles
17 years37.7%56,39043.1%−5.4 pts135,107 miles
18 years38.3%45,81443.3%−5.0 pts136,099 miles
19 years39.0%33,15243.2%−4.2 pts137,702 miles
20 years39.7%20,87142.8%−3.1 pts142,058 miles
21 years39.7%13,01542.1%−2.3 pts144,101 miles
22 years39.9%7,43241.0%−1.1 pts144,577 miles
23 years39.5%4,61839.6%−0.1 pts145,117 miles
24 years36.8%3,22437.8%−1.0 pts147,923 miles
25 years36.2%2,45736.3%−0.1 pts149,354 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
Coil spring broken Major5.2
Suspension arm bush worn Major1.5
Driveshaft CV boot split Major1.4
Shock absorber leaking Major1.4
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction Major1.1

Out of 77,548 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Wear and upkeep

Fail itemPer 100 MOTs
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm Dangerous4.7
Brake pads under 1.5 mm Dangerous1.8
Tyre condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Major1.7
Tyre with cords exposed Dangerous1.7
Wipers not clearing screen Major1.6

Out of 77,548 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Other models at 8 years

ModelMOT fail rateTests (n)All cars
Audi A317.0%155,58823.8%
Audi A122.1%95,96823.8%
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
200023 years in 202339.8%1,15739.6%
200122 years in 202338.6%1,19941.0%
200223 years in 202538.2%1,48539.6%
200322 years in 202538.5%2,83741.0%
200421 years in 202537.6%5,06042.1%
200520 years in 202537.6%5,72742.8%
200619 years in 202536.8%10,52143.2%
200718 years in 202535.6%12,52443.3%
200817 years in 202536.8%13,21843.1%
200916 years in 202534.8%11,53942.6%
201015 years in 202533.9%12,13641.6%
201114 years in 202531.2%13,21840.3%
201213 years in 202528.9%12,95038.3%
201312 years in 202527.4%15,63336.0%
201411 years in 202527.2%16,58733.3%
201510 years in 202526.2%16,13430.3%
20169 years in 202521.4%21,79327.1%
20178 years in 202521.0%21,12523.8%
20187 years in 202520.0%13,58120.6%
20196 years in 202516.2%13,16217.8%
20205 years in 202512.4%8,48615.3%
20214 years in 202512.3%7,17313.4%
20223 years in 202512.3%6,72712.1%

More on the Audi A4

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 A4?

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