Audi A4 MOT pass rate and common problems

Audi A4 common problems: what should I check before buying?

The faults recorded most often at Audi A4 MOTs in 2019–2024, per 100 tests.

• Worn suspension bush or joint5.44
  Major

  What to check: Listen for knocks over speed bumps, feel for the car wandering under braking, and ask which part was replaced.

• Tyre tread below the legal limit4.84
  Dangerous

  What to check: Check the tread across every tyre with a gauge; wear on one edge points to a tracking fault.

• Broken or weakened suspension spring3.49
  Major

  What to check: Look behind each wheel at the coil springs for a snapped end, and check the car sits level from side to side.

• Windscreen or window damaged3.48
  Minor

  What to check: Look for chips and cracks across the windscreen: chips spread, and larger damage in front of the driver fails.

• Headlight aimed wrongly3.27
  Major

  What to check: Shine the dipped beams at a wall after dark: both should sit at the same height.

One test can record several defects, so this is not the share of Audi A4s.

Each tip applies only if the car you are looking at has that fault in its own MOT history.

Which Audi A4 years should I avoid?

2015 is the Audi A4 year that fails its MOT most for its age; 2017 fails least.

Fails more for its age: 1999, 2015.

Fails less for its age: 2017.

Year means the year the car was first registered, as DVSA records it. It may differ from the year it was built.

How does the Audi A4 compare with similar cars?

4 of 8 similar models fail less often for their age than the Audi A4.

This is a different comparison from the one at the top. There, the Audi A4 is measured against all cars of the same age. Here, it sits among similar models. Both can be true.

How do Audi A4s hold up as they get older?

First-time MOT failures on Audi A4s go from 9.3% at age 3 to 39.1% at age 19.

Download every age and sample size (CSV)

Do advisories on Audi A4s turn into fails at the next MOT?

26.1% of lights and electrical advisories on Audi A4s turned into lights and electrical fails at the next MOT.

The next MOT came about 12 months later.

Based on 16,556 advisories, each followed to the car's next MOT, 2019–2024. This counts advisories, not cars.

The most common advisories on Audi A4s are for tyres: 41.80 per 100 tests.

Download all advisory transitions (CSV)

Audi A4 common problems: what actually fails the MOT?

Audi A4 MOTs fail most often on suspension: 16.4 per 100 tests, against 17.9 for UK cars of the same age (2019–2024, n = 1,637,306).

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What is likely to fail next on a used Audi A4?

For Audi A4s aged 3 to 5 whose last MOT was a pass, the item most likely to fail at the next MOT is tyres: 5.6% failed on it (2019–2024, n = 148,283).

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How often do Audi A4s get a dangerous MOT defect?

The Audi A4 gets a dangerous defect more often than the UK average: 12.0 per 100 first tests against 11.2 across the UK. A dangerous defect means the vehicle should not be driven away until it is fixed. In the same tests, 46.5 major and 17.1 minor defects were recorded per 100 tests (one test can record several).

Severity was not recorded for some 2018–2021 tests.

Comparison: 11.2 per 100.

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How much do Audi A4 MOT repairs cost?

Expected repair cost per Audi A4 MOT: about £76 (up to about £145 if more expensive parts are needed), from the chance of failing each item and its most common UK repair price (catalogue estimate, n = 244,118).

Computed, not measured.

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What mileage is normal for a used Audi A4?

At age 8, the median Audi A4 had covered 77,038 miles by its MOT; the middle half ranged from 59,663 to 99,133 miles (2024, n = 22,075).

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Do high-mileage Audi A4s fail their MOT more often?

At ages 15+, 14.7% of Audi A4s with under 40,000 miles failed first time, against 41.1% of those with over 140,000 miles (2024, n = 36,775). Inside this age group, higher mileage goes with more failures.

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How many miles do Audi A4s last?

48.5% of Audi A4s tested had reached 100,000 miles, and 17.9% had reached 150,000 (2024, n = 789,588).

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Does mileage, as well as age, change the Audi A4 failure index?

Matched on annual mileage as well as age, the Audi A4 index is 79.2, against 86.0 on age alone (2019–2024, n = 244,118).

Comparison: 86 index.

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Which Audi A4 fuel type fails its MOT less?

Diesel Audi A4s fail first time more often than petrol ones, before allowing for age: 30.2% against 23.3%.

Comparison: other fuels.

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Which Audi A4 engine fails its MOT least?

Among engines with enough tests, the best Audi A4 engine is the petrol over 2.0 litre at index 79.9, and the worst the diesel 1.8–2.0 litre at 104.5, where 100 = the model's own average (2024, n = 244,118).

Comparison: 100 = model average.

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Where in Britain does the Audi A4 fail its MOT most?

Audi A4 fails first-time MOTs most in Torquay (TQ): 39.5% against 27.7% across Britain for this model, both 2019–2024 (2019–2024, n = 7,172).

Across Britain for this model: 27.7% failed first time, also in 2019–2024.

See every postcode area and its sample size

Does the Audi A4 have rust problems?

Allowing for age, Audi A4 MOTs record corrosion failures at 0.4 times the national rate: 0.28% of tests against 0.77% (2024 + geographic layers, n = 242,284).

Computed, not measured.

Comparison: 1 ratio estimate.

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What do six years of MOTs show about owning a used Audi A4?

Of failed Audi A4 MOTs, 37.4% were retested the same day and a further 58.9% within 10 days; the median failed car passed its retest after 1 day (2019–2024, n = 332,212).

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Is low mileage good for a used Audi A4?

Audi A4s aged 5 to 14 doing under 5,000 miles a year failed first time in 15.1% of tests, against 26.3% for those doing 8,000 to 12,000 miles (2019–2024, n = 54,405).

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How many years do Audi A4s last?

Audi A4s tend to last: at ten years old the typical one has about 8.7 more years of MOTs ahead, more than the median model. This is a forecast from the survival curve and may not come true.

Computed, not measured.

Forecast, not a prediction for a particular car.

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How many Audi A4s are still on the road as they age?

In 2024, for every 100 Audi A4s tested at ages 4 to 6, about 31 were tested at age 19 (2024, n = 32,486).

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If a used Audi A4 fails its MOT, will it fail the next one?

Audi A4s that fail once are much more likely to fail again: 33.5% failed the next MOT after a fail, against 23.6% after a pass (test chains 2019–2024). The failure most likely to come back is ‘lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment’: 36.0% of those fails recurred at the next MOT.

Comparison: 23.6 %.

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Which Audi A4 faults tend to come together?

On Audi A4s, road Wheels and seat belts and supplementary restraint systems failures turn up together 6.7 times as often as chance would predict (2024, n = 491).

Comparison: expected joint rate.

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Audi A4 safety recalls: how do I check this car?

DVSA lists 36 safety recall campaigns matched to the Audi A4; check whether yours has been fixed, using its registration number.

Computed, not measured.

Recall effects are computed comparisons, not causal findings; campaigns are not linked to individual VINs.

Check outstanding safety recalls by registration

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How many Audi A4s fail the MOT at each age?

Of every 100 Audi A4s tested at age 5, about 14 failed the MOT first time; at age 10, about 26. These are one-year rates for different cars tested in the same year, not a fleet followed over time (2024).

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What have US dealers been told about the Audi A4?

NHTSA lists 2366 US technical service bulletins for the Audi A4 (US market, Audi A4, model years 2015–2022 only); a count, not a UK failure rate.

Comparison: NHTSA.

NHTSA, US market, Audi A4, model years 2015–2022 only; covers 211 of 761 models. These two sections use US records from NHTSA. US cars sold under the same name can differ from UK ones.

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What do US owners complain about on the Audi A4?

The most common US owner complaint about the Audi A4 to NHTSA concerns lamps & electrical: 138 complaints (US market, Audi A4, model years 2015–2022 only).

NHTSA, US market, Audi A4, model years 2015–2022 only; covers 211 of 761 models. These two sections use US records from NHTSA. US cars sold under the same name can differ from UK ones.

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Do Audi A4s fail their MOT more in some months?

Audi A4s fail first time most in January (28.9%, against 31.1% for all cars that month) and least in March (26.8%) (2024, n = 244,118).

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How far is real-world MPG from the lab figure for Audi cars?

Real-world fuel use of 2022 diesel cars from Audi AG is 17.1% above the official WLTP figure: 6.9 against 5.89 litres per 100 km (2021+ cohorts, n = 58,647 vehicles).

Computed, not measured.

Plug-in hybrids: the lab figure assumes the battery is charged often; on the road many are driven mostly on petrol, so the gap is several times larger.

Comparison: 0% gap.

European Commission OBFCM; covers 19 of 761 models.

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More on the Audi A4

Overview:

Model overview · All Audi models

Build years:

1998 · 1999 · 2000 · 2001 · 2002 · 2003 · 2004 · 2005 · 2006 · 2007 · 2008 · 2009 · 2010 · 2011 · 2012 · 2013 · 2014 · 2015 · 2016 · 2017 · 2018 · 2019 · 2020

What fails:

body · brakes · plates · lights · emissions · wheels · seat belts · steering · suspension · tyres · visibility

Abroad:

Finland · the Netherlands · Norway

By area:

Postcode areas

Compare:

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