Common problems

Audi A2 common problems

What MOT testers find on the Audi A2: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 27,619 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 21 years, the most tested age

Suspension fails per 100 MOTs (n=5,907)18.6

All cars at 21 years (n=1,321,417)15.9

Suspension advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=5,907)32.7

All cars, same age (n=1,321,417)35.0

What stands out

Suspension fails show up on 18.6 of every 100 MOTs of a Audi A2 at 21 years old (n=5,907), against 15.9 for all cars of that age (n=1,321,417).
Body and structure fails are less common: 6.8 per 100 MOTs against 9.3 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 21 years: coil spring broken, on 6.0 per 100 MOTs (all cars 2.3).
The most common advisory or minor defect: engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive, on 16.2 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 21 years

How many of every 100 MOTs found a fail, or an advisory or minor defect, in each area. A test with faults in two areas counts in both.

Audi A2 at 21 years (n=5,907) against all cars at 21 years (n=1,321,417). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Suspension	18.6	15.9	32.7	35.0
Lights and electrics	18.4	20.6	16.9	16.7
Brakes	15.6	13.3	29.5	33.7
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	8.4	7.1	16.9	16.4
Tyres	7.0	6.0	27.1	25.2
Body and structure	6.8	9.3	11.4	16.0
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	6.5	7.5	8.2	6.5
Steering	5.5	4.2	7.2	6.6
Seat belts and airbags	1.3	3.1	0.7	1.6
Number plates and VIN	0.6	0.7	7.2	6.6
Road wheels	0.2	0.4	2.6	1.0

What testers fail most on the A2 at 21 years

Fail items on the Audi A2 at 21 years (n=5,907), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=1,321,417).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Coil spring broken	Suspension	6.0	2.3	£64 to £236 per spring (rough guide)
Headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect	Lights and electrics	4.4	3.7	£16 to £39 per car (rough guide)
Handbrake too weak	Brakes	4.3	2.7
Driveshaft CV boot split	Body and structure	3.9	3.0	£88 to £196 per boot (rough guide)
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	3.5	2.4	diagnosis from £39 (rough guide)
Brake light not working	Lights and electrics	2.9	3.9	£10 to £47 per lamp
Side/position light not working	Lights and electrics	2.8	4.9	£10 to £47 per lamp
Service brake imbalance: across an axle	Brakes	2.7	1.2
Anti-roll bar link worn	Suspension	2.7	1.2	£33 to £102 per link (rough guide)
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm	Tyres	2.4	2.4	£88 to £145 per tyre

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 21 years

Advisories and minor defects are recorded, but the car still passes. Across all cars, a part with an advisory or minor defect failed at the next MOT 5.5 times in 100 (n=88,666,940 pairs of consecutive MOTs), against 0.3 times in 100 when the same part had none (n=12,936,860,350).

Advisories and minor defects on the Audi A2 at 21 years (n=5,907), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=1,321,417).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	16.2	14.8
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	15.8	14.8	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	13.3	10.4	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	10.8	10.4	£88 to £145 per tyre
Coil spring: corroded	Suspension	9.8	8.1
Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material	Brakes	8.7	15.9	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Registration plates: deteriorated but not likely to be misread	Number plates and VIN	7.1	6.5	£23 to £63 per plate (rough guide)
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources	Lights and electrics	7.0	5.3
Windscreen: damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	6.7	3.9
Shock absorbers: has light misting of oil	Suspension	6.2	3.2	£122 to £484 per axle (pair) (rough guide)

Repair estimates are a guide for an independent garage: labour at the national median local garage rate (median £78 an hour from 65 garages, ONS price quotes) times estimated labour hours, plus a parts band. Labour hours and most parts bands are estimates, not quotes, and prices vary by model, engine and region. A warning light fault shows the cost of the diagnosis only.

How problems change with age

Fails per 100 MOTs in the three most common areas at 21 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Suspension	Lights and electrics	Brakes
17 years	1,070	15.5	18.3	14.2
18 years	2,891	16.5	17.2	16.4
19 years	4,235	18.7	18.5	16.5
20 years	5,761	18.1	19.0	16.2
21 years	5,907	18.6	18.4	15.6
22 years	4,086	18.3	18.7	16.6
23 years	2,565	18.1	18.8	16.3
24 years	1,104	20.0	19.5	15.8

Mileage

At 21 years, Audi A2 cars showing 90,000 to 120,000 miles failed 44.5% of MOTs (n=1,399); the band that failed most, over 150,000 miles, failed 44.9% (n=1,848). For pass and fail rates by age, see MOT fail rates by model.

What to check on a viewing

On the Audi A2, testers most often record coil spring broken; headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect; handbrake too weak. Look at these first, then the areas below.

Suspension

Listen for knocks or clonks over speed bumps and rough roads on the test drive.
Push down hard on each corner: the car should settle at once rather than keep bouncing.
Look behind the wheels for broken or heavily rusted coil springs and split rubber bushes.
Check that the car sits level and that no tyre is worn on one edge only.

Lights and electrics

With someone outside, try every light: dipped and main beam, indicators, brake lights, fog lights and number plate lamps.
Check that the warning lights come on with the ignition and go out once the engine runs.
Look for misted, cracked or yellowed headlamp lenses.

Brakes

On the test drive the car should stop in a straight line without pulling, juddering or grinding.
Look at the discs through the wheels for a deep lip, heavy rust or scoring.
Check that the handbrake or electronic parking brake holds the car on a slope.
Ask when the pads, discs and brake fluid were last changed, and for the receipts.

Ask for the car's MOT history and service record: advisories that repeat from one year to the next show what has been left. GOV.UK MOT history.

Questions

What are the most common problems on the Audi A2?

At 21 years, the age with the most MOT tests (5,907), the fail items testers record most often on the Audi A2 are coil spring broken (6.0 per 100 MOTs), headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect (4.4 per 100 MOTs), handbrake too weak (4.3 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive (16.2) and tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (15.8).

Which parts of the Audi A2 fail more often than on other cars?

At 21 years: suspension (18.6 per 100 MOTs against 15.9 for all cars); brakes (15.6 per 100 MOTs against 13.3 for all cars); exhaust, emissions and leaks (8.4 per 100 MOTs against 7.1 for all cars). Compared with 1,321,417 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Audi A2 problems by area

Other Audi models

All Audi models · Common problems by make

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.

The all cars figures cover all class 4 vehicles (cars and light vans) tested at the same age.

Looking at a Audi A2?

These figures describe the model, not the car in front of you. Found one you might buy? See what the VetTheCar Buying Report covers, or use the tools that work without a registration.

See a sample report Car tools · MOT fail rates by model · Compare models by MOT record

Repair estimates: ONS consumer price quotes for local garage labour (09/2025 to 08/2026), the MOT inspection manual for defect wording, and estimated labour hours and parts bands. Not affiliated with or endorsed by ONS.

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 28 September 2026.

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