Audi A3 2002: MOT failure rate for its age

48.0% of 13,914 MOT tests of the Audi A3 first registered in 2002 failed at the first attempt (2019–2024; retests excluded). Against this model's own normal rate at the same ages the index is 104.2 (95% CI 101.7–106.7; 100 = normal for this model at that age): close to other build years of the same model at the same age (within 5 points of normal).

Audi A3 built in 2002 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	48.0	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	13914
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 101.7–106.7)	104.2	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	13914
Rank among this model's 23 build years	18	of 23	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	13914
Tested in 2024	1215	tests	median 136,392 miles	2024	1215

Built 2002 against Audi A3 normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 17: 50.9% vs 48.8%; age 18: 48% vs 46.5%; age 19: 47.9% vs 46.1%; age 20: 46.4% vs 44.2%; age 21: 46.1% vs 43.9%; age 22: 43% vs 41.3%. Axis from 0% to 60%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2002 Audi A3 by registration · All Audi A3 MOT statistics · Download the build-year table (CSV)

Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · full dataset (v5).

How does the 2002 Audi A3 fail at each age?

Cars built in 2002 were tested at ages 17 to 22 between 2019 and 2024. Each row compares their first-time failure share with what this model normally shows at that age, after allowing for the overall failure level of each test year.

Audi A3 built 2002: first-time MOT failure by age, against the model's normal rate at that age (2019–2024)
Age	Tests	Failed, %	95% interval	Normal for this model at that age, %	Index (100 = normal)
17	3,995	50.9	49.4–52.5	48.8	104.5
18	2,918	48	46.2–49.9	46.5	103.4
19	2,353	47.9	45.9–50	46.1	104
20	1,894	46.4	44.2–48.7	44.2	105
21	1,539	46.1	43.6–48.6	43.9	104.8
22	1,215	43	40.2–45.8	41.3	104.1

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 13,914 (initial tests) · Method: normal rate = this model's first-time failure share at that age across its build years (cells of 400+ tests), adjusted for each test year's overall level; cells of 30+ tests, under 500 marked rough · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

What fails most on the 2002 Audi A3?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2002 is lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment: 57.7 items per 100 first tests, against 13.4 across all build years of the Audi A3. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2002 were tested at ages 17 to 22.

Failure items per 100 first tests, Audi A3 built 2002 against the Audi A3 in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 2002, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	57.7	13.4	8,023
Suspension	28.9	15.2	4,017
Brakes	28.2	8.9	3,927
Body, chassis, structure	23.8	6.7	3,312
Visibility	15.7	7.1	2,188

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 13,914 (initial tests of this build year) · Method: failure items grouped by DVSA's top-level defect groups, per 100 initial tests; groups with 30+ items · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How does 2002 compare with the years around it?

Among the 23 published build years of the Audi A3, 2002 ranks 18 (1 = fails least for its age). 2001: index 99.1. 2003: index 105.1.

Audi A3 build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build year	Index (100 = normal)	95% interval	Verdict	Tests
1998	97.7	90.1–105.2	no different (rough estimate)	1,416
1999	96.6	91.2–102.1	no different (rough estimate)	2,697
2000	96.5	92.7–100.4	no different	5,398
2001	99.1	96.1–102.2	no different	8,875
2002	104.2	101.7–106.7	worse	13,914
2003	105.1	103.0–107.2	worse	19,985
2004	106.1	104.6–107.5	worse	42,199
2005	103.2	102.2–104.3	worse	80,264
2006	103.9	102.9–104.8	worse	105,468
2007	101.2	100.3–102.1	worse	118,614
2008	100.7	99.8–101.5	no different	140,269
2009	98.7	97.9–99.5	better	154,135
2010	104.6	103.7–105.5	worse	164,090
2011	105.1	104.1–106.1	worse	137,844
2012	107.3	106.4–108.3	worse	160,644
2013	99.3	98.3–100.3	no different	169,298
2014	95.9	95.0–96.8	better	239,634
2015	94.2	93.3–95.2	better	257,227
2016	91.3	90.3–92.3	better	242,368
2017	90.2	89.0–91.4	better	183,484
2018	96.2	94.5–97.8	better	111,087
2019	101.1	98.8–103.4	no different	63,694
2020	100.9	94.8–107.0	no different	9,252

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 2,431,856 (initial tests) · Method: observed failures against those expected for the same model at the same ages, test-year level adjusted; verdict follows the printed one-decimal bound · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How to cite this page

MOT Risk Index (2026). Audi A3 2002 MOT statistics (data release dvsa-2024-v2; full dataset motriskindex-families-2024-v5, DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22975051), updated 30 September 2026. motriskindex.co.uk/cars/audi-a3/2002/

How every figure is calculated: methodology. Age, test year and build year are tied together (age = test year − build year), so the test-year level is taken as observed, not estimated.

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