Audi SQ8 — MOT statistics 2024
The Audi SQ8 failed 8.14% of 528 first MOT attempts in 2024 ("first-time", excluding retests). Adjusted for the age of the fleet, its initial-failure ratio is 62.2 (100 = expected for its age profile). This car fails its MOT about 38% less often than expected for its age. Small sample — treat with care.
Age-adjusted peer: Audi S3 (index 62.1) — the two published results are 0.1 index points apart.
Audi SQ8 common problems: what actually fails the MOT
Tyres stand out at 9.7 per 100 tests, against 5.9 per 100 tests across UK vehicles of the same ages.
higher bar = fails more oftenrate per 100 tests
family vs national — matched to UK vehicles of the same ages — top component groups, per 100 tests. Legend: This family · National avg. Combined labels: family / national average. A gap here reflects how these vehicles are driven, used and maintained as well as how they were built — an MOT defect is a test outcome, not a breakdown.
Component-group comparison table
| Group | This family | Cases behind it | UK, same ages | Family / national |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyres | 9.7 | 94 | 5.9 | 1.64×1.33–2.01 |
| What failed | per 100 tests (this family) | per 100 tests (UK average) | ratio family / UK | What to check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyre seriously damagedA tyre seriously damaged | 6.30 | 2.54 | 2.48× | Check tyre tread depth across the full width |
Named defects ranked by how much more often they appear than the national average — not by raw rate.
Audi SQ8 MOT advisories: what gets flagged
Tyres are highest at 38.7 per 100 tests; Non-component advisories are lowest at 8.0 per 100 tests — the gap is 30.7 per 100 tests.
higher bar = flagged more oftenadvisory items per 100 initial tests
Advisory rates table
| Group | Advisories per 100 |
|---|---|
| Tyres | 38.7 |
| Brakes | 10.2 |
| Non-component advisories | 8 |
Advisories are wear the tester noted but didn't fail — what will need money soon.
Adjusted for how much these are actually driven
The headline index adjusts for the fleet's age. Wear, though, follows mileage: a three-year-old taxi and a three-year-old garage queen sit in the same age band. These two rows compare every car with vehicles of the same age, and then with vehicles of the same age and the same annual mileage, 2019-2024, on 968 tests. Both stand on the six-year corpus so they are measured on identical data — compare them with each other, not with the headline index above, which is measured on 2024 alone.
| Standardised for | Index | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Age only | 63.9 | fails less often than expected |
| Age and annual mileage | 57.5 | fails less often than vehicles driven as much |
| Share doing under 3,000 miles a year | 1.8% | a normal spread of use |
Mileage matters here: matching on how much these are driven moves the figure by 6.4 points — this fleet works harder than the vehicles it is measured against, so the age-only view penalises it — but it does not change which side of normal the car sits on. One limit to keep in mind: mileage is partly a result of how often a car breaks down — one that spends weeks in the workshop covers fewer miles — so the mileage-matched figure can understate a real weakness. Tests with no usable odometer reading are left out of it.
How the Audi SQ8 compares with cars of its own age and size
Not against the whole fleet — against cars of the same size class tested at the same age, 2019-2024.
| Age | Audi SQ8 | Same class, same age | Difference | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 years | 9.45% | 10.77% | -1.32 pp | 529 |
| 4 years | 7.72% | 12.34% | -4.63 pp | 298 |
Raw first-time failure rates within each age, so fleet age cannot flatter either side. A positive difference means this model fails more often than its own class at that age.
How does the Audi SQ8 perform as it gets older?
The SQ8 at age 4 is well below the reference at 4.4%, against 13.1% for all vehicles of the same age.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
Chart axes: car age, years · failure-rate scale 0–19%.
Takeaway: solid line: this family; dashed: all cars.
Data table
| Age | Audi SQ8 | All vehicles | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 11.8% | 12.4% | -0.6 pp |
| 4 | 4.4% | 13.1% | -8.7 pp |
| 5 | 7.1% | 15.1% | -8.0 pp |
Is an Audi SQ8 ULEZ compliant?
The share of classifiable 2024 Audi SQ8 MOT tests likely ULEZ compliant by first-registration date is 100.0%.
Based on 528 classifiable initial MOT tests. This describes the tested fleet, not a specific car. MOT data do not record Euro class, so likely compliance is inferred from fuel and first-registration date. For the only authoritative answer, check the registration with TfL's official ULEZ checker.
higher = larger share likely compliantinferred from fuel and first-registration date; not a recorded Euro class
| Vehicle age at test | Likely ULEZ-compliant share | Tests |
|---|---|---|
| Under 3 years | Suppressed — sample below publication threshold Check a registration with TfL | n = 15 |
| 3–5 years | 100.0% Check a registration with TfL | n = 513 |
| 6–7 years | Suppressed — sample below publication threshold Check a registration with TfL | n = 0 |
| 8 years | Suppressed — sample below publication threshold Check a registration with TfL | n = 0 |
| 9 years | Suppressed — sample below publication threshold Check a registration with TfL | n = 0 |
| 10–14 years | Suppressed — sample below publication threshold Check a registration with TfL | n = 0 |
| 15–17 years | Suppressed — sample below publication threshold Check a registration with TfL | n = 0 |
| 18 years | Suppressed — sample below publication threshold Check a registration with TfL | n = 0 |
| 19 years | Suppressed — sample below publication threshold Check a registration with TfL | n = 0 |
| 20+ years | Suppressed — sample below publication threshold Check a registration with TfL | n = 0 |
How dangerous are Audi SQ8 MOT failures?
Major defects are well below the reference at 9.6 per 100 tests, against 52.8 per 100 tests nationally.
higher bar = fails more oftenrate per 100 tests
Severity table
| Severity | This family /100 | National /100 | Family / national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minor | 2.17 | 14.22 | 0.15× |
| Major | 9.61 | 52.75 | 0.18× |
| Dangerous | 4.55 | 11.15 | 0.41× |
Chart values: Minor 2.2 · Major 9.6 · Dangerous 4.5.
Per 100 tests on this family. National average: Minor 14.2 · Major 52.8 · Dangerous 11.2 per 100.
Does the month of an Audi SQ8 MOT matter?
Sep is highest at 12.3%; Jun is lowest at 4.5% — the gap is 7.8 percentage points.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
Chart scale: 3%–33%.
bars: Audi SQ8 · dashed: all class-4 cars
Month-by-month table
| Month | Audi SQ8 | All vehicles | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 6.25% | 31.12% | -24.9 pp |
| Feb | 8.33% | 29.99% | -21.7 pp |
| Mar | 8.64% | 28.26% | -19.6 pp |
| Apr | 10.71% | 29.78% | -19.1 pp |
| May | 8.06% | 28.79% | -20.7 pp |
| Jun | 4.48% | 28.15% | -23.7 pp |
| Jul | 5.81% | 29.33% | -23.5 pp |
| Aug | 8.24% | 29.2% | -21.0 pp |
| Sep | 12.3% | 28.19% | -15.9 pp |
| Oct | 11.21% | 30.34% | -19.1 pp |
| Nov | 6% | 30.58% | -24.6 pp |
| Dec | 9.41% | 29.33% | -19.9 pp |
Takeaway: the spread between best and worst month is 7.8 percentage points — noticeable seasonality. Seasonality partly reflects registration-date clustering, not weather.
Before reading the shape: most of it is not about cars. Britain changes its registration plates twice a year, and 18.9% of these cars were first registered in March with another17.1% in September — 36% in two months against the 17% an even spread would give. An MOT falls due three years after first registration, so the buying calendar becomes the testing calendar. That shapes how many cars are tested each month — not how often they fail: the busiest months here are not the worst ones, so read the failure line on its own and the volume behind it separately.
Audi SQ8 average mileage by age
At age 4, the middle half of SQ8s runs from 28,503 miles to 51,475 miles, against 39,822 miles as the median.
further right = more milesmedian is the typical car; band is p25–p75
Does high mileage mean more Audi SQ8 MOT failures at the same age?
Within the same age group, split by odometer (2024 MOTs), so this separates wear from age: at ages 3–5, 8.9% of those with under 40,000 miles failed first time versus 7% of those with 40,000–70,000 miles.No clear mileage gap inside this age group, among cars still being tested.
| Age | Odometer | % failing | 95% interval | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3–5 | <40k miles | 8.9% | 6.2–12.5% | 316 (rough estimate) |
| 3–5 | 40-70k miles | 7% | 4.1–11.9% | 171 (rough estimate) |
line: median · band: middle half of the fleet (p25–p75)
Mileage by age (p25 / median / p75)
| Age | p25 | Median | p75 | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 20,102 | 26,310 | 36,661 | 220 |
| 4 | 28,503 | 39,822 | 51,475 | 181 |
| 5 | 34,136 | 44,177 | 55,278 | 112 |
A typical 4-year-old SQ8 has ~39,822 miles on the clock. Much more — ask why; much less — check for gaps in the MOT history.
Where in Britain the Audi SQ8 fails its MOT most
Too few tests in any single postcode area to name one, so this is the wider picture across 968 tests, 2019-2024.
| Part of Britain | % failing | Tests |
|---|---|---|
| Midlands | 10.47% | 363 |
| Southern England | 8.99% | 345 |
| Northern England | 5.71% | 175 |
Raw pass/fail rates, not age-adjusted: fleets differ by region. England is split north of Sheffield, between Sheffield and Oxford, and south of it.
Audi SQ8 survival: which cars are still on the road
By age 5 is well below the reference at 54.6%, against 100.0% at the ages 4–6 reference level.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
Survival vs fail rate by age
| Age | Tests | Survival vs ages 4–6 | Fail % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 529 | 100% | 9.45% |
| 4 | 298 | 100% | 7.72% |
| 5 | 112 | 54.6% | 7.14% |
By age 5, only about 55% as many cars of this family present for MOT as at ages 4–6 (reference n≈205); survivors still fail at 7.1% vs 7.7% at age 4. Older cars that still appear are a selected subset — weaker ones have already left.
How many years is an Audi SQ8 likely to last?
Bought at age 5 stands out at 0.5 years.
bigger number = longer remaining lifeyears on the observed survival curve
| Age now | Typical mileage (p50) | Expected years left |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | — | at least 0.5 |
estimateObserved only until age 5. The curve does not run five years past the stated age with the share still tested under 50%, so no 'years left' number is given.
Which Audi SQ8 engine is best?
petrol over 2.0 is highest at 120.0; diesel over 2.0 is lowest at 92.6 — the gap is 27.4 points.
below 100 is betterabove 100 is worse100 = normal for this model at that age
| Fuel | Capacity | vs own age norm | Raw fail % | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| diesel | over 2.0 litre | 92.6 | 7.71% | 726 (rough estimate) |
| petrol | over 2.0 litre | 120 | 11.16% | 242 (rough estimate) |
No engine band clearly fails less or more for its age: the bands are within 5 index points of each other, or their 95% intervals overlap, so this page does not name a best or worst engine.
Read this one with more care than the rest of the page. Age is held constant, but who buys which engine is not: the largest capacity in a range is often a performance or executive variant that is garaged, cherished and lightly driven, while the smallest is frequently a fleet or entry car worked hard from new. The gap below is real in the test records; how much of it is the engine and how much is the owner, this data cannot separate. Bands under 100 tests are not shown; bands under 5,000 tests are rough estimates.
Audi SQ8 running costs for a fleet
Failure rate and typical odometer by age
| Age | Fails | Median odometer | Tests | Gap vs age 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 11.82% | 26,310 | 220 | +4.7 pp |
| 4 | 4.42% | 39,822 | 181 | -2.7 pp |
| 5 | 7.14% | 44,177 | 112 | +0.0 pp |
No single year stands out as the point where this model starts costing more: the year-to-year steps in its failure rate are too small or rest on too few tests to name one (D1 rule: a step is named only with at least 2,000 tests on both sides and a jump above 3 percentage points).
Repair spend uses the same modal prices as the section above, so it inherits the same limits: one typical repair per component group, not a full remedy. Downtime is the gap between the failed test and the passed re-test, which is the window a vehicle is legally off the road.
Audi SQ8 rust problems: where they corrode
Salt-belt exposure is well below the reference at 40th percentile, against 50th percentile as the middle of published models.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
This Audi SQ8 has too few tests to judge for corrosion once age is held constant, and its owners live in areas that are about typical for the models we publish.
Corrosion is the one failure mode that is as much about geography as about the car. We keep the two apart on purpose: a model can look rusty simply because it is popular in Scotland, and a model can look clean simply because it is bought in Surrey. Blending them into a single score would hide which of the two is doing the work.
Exposure is this model's tests weighted by an area corrosion index built from frost days, salt load and distance to the coast — the composite validated at r = 0.42 against corrosion defects we actually record. It is published as a rank, not a raw score, because every mainstream model skews towards low-corrosion areas for the simple reason that most of Britain's cars are in the south. Susceptibility is standardised to the national age profile, so an old fleet does not get labelled a rusty model.
What will fail next on an Audi SQ8?
Tyres after a passed at age <3 are highest at 5.8%; Visibility after a passed at age <3 is lowest at 3.2% — the gap is 2.6 percentage points.
higher = more likelypercentage is the observed transition probability
| Age | Last test | Most likely next failures | Cars tracked |
|---|---|---|---|
| <3 | passed | Tyres 5.8% · Visibility 3.2% | 155 (rough estimate) |
| 3-5 | passed | Tyres 4.9% | 144 (rough estimate) |
The same chains, cut differently: given a car's age and how its last test went, which component most often causes trouble at the following one.
The pattern that repeats across every family: a failure at one test roughly doubles the chance of a failure on the same component at the next one, and an advisory sits about half-way between a clean pass and a failure. Age bands in years; probabilities are per car, not per defect item.
Audi SQ8 MOT: quick answers
Audi SQ8 MOT Risk Index is well below the reference at 62.2, against 100 for a car with the same age profile.
below 100 is betterabove 100 is worse100 = normal for this model at that age
- What is the Audi SQ8 first-time MOT pass rate?
- 91.86% of first attempts passed in 2024 (528 tests). This is the first-time figure: retests after repair are excluded. Basis: first-time, excluding retests.
- Why does this number differ from other sites?
- Other sites often report a pass rate that includes retests or counts all attempts. Our 8.14% figure is the first-time initial failure rate, using 528 primary tests as the denominator (first-time, excluding retests). The age-adjusted MOT initial-failure ratio 62.2 is shown separately because raw rates compare fleet age as well as cars.
Compare the Audi SQ8 with other cars
Audi Q8 is highest at 62.4; Audi S3 is lowest at 62.1 — the gap is 0.3 points.
below 100 is betterabove 100 is worse100 = normal for this model at that age
Same brand
All Audi MOT statisticsAudi S3 MOT statsAudi Q2 MOT stats
Similar risk
Audi S3 (index 62.1)Audi Q2 (index 62.4)Audi Q8 (index 62.4)
Same size class
how Aston Martin DBX compareshow McLaren 720S compareshow Lamborghini Gallardo compares
By failure group
Data details & how to cite
Scope: class-4 vehicles (cars), initial tests only, outcomes pass / fail / fixed-on-the-spot at the station (PRS counts towards the failure rate — the defect was present at arrival). Index = observed initial failures ÷ failures expected for this fleet's exact age profile, ×100; margin of error is a 95% confidence interval. Covers ALL generations together — a 3-year-old and a 15-year-old are very different cars; a generation split is on the roadmap. Dataset release dataset_release_id=dvsa-2024-v2, frozen baseline; headline claim_id=family-stats:audi-sq8:dvsa-2024-v2. Full method: methodology.
Cite: MOT Risk Index (2026). Audi SQ8 MOT statistics 2024 (data release dvsa-2024-v2; downloadable dataset motriskindex-families-2024-v5, doi:10.5281/zenodo.22975051). https://motriskindex.co.uk/cars/audi-sq8/ · Published 2026-07-30.