Audi A3 MOT failures and reliability

In 2023 the Audi A3 took 422,882 MOT tests in Britain and passed 75% of them first time, above the national average of 71% for all cars. The figures below come from the DVSA's record of every test, so they show what testers actually found on these cars rather than what owners report.

MOT tests in 2023: 422,882
First-time pass rate: 75%
All cars: 71%

What the A3 fails on

Share of tests with at least one failure in each area, against the figure for all cars.

Suspension8.6% (all cars 9.0%)
Lights and electrics8.2% (all cars 11.3%)
Tyres7.6% (all cars 6.4%)
Brakes5.7% (all cars 6.8%)
Visibility3.2% (all cars 4.8%)
Exhaust and emissions3.1% (all cars 3.1%)
Body and structure2.9% (all cars 3.5%)
Seat belts and airbags1.1% (all cars 1.0%)

Most common failure items

Share of tests on which each item was recorded.

Coil spring: fractured or broken 3.4%
Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm 3.0%
Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick 1.9%
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction 1.8%
Linkage ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt 1.8%
Joints: constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt 1.8%
Tyres, condition: has ply or cords exposed 1.7%
Headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect 1.6%

Most common advisories

Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge 19.7%
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened 9.8%
Brake pads: wearing thin 8.6%
Tyres, condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing 7.2%
Suspension arms, pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement 5.1%
Shock absorbers: has light misting of oil 4.3%
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive 3.8%
Registration plates: deteriorated but not likely to be misread 2.7%

Pass rate by year of registration

Older cars fail more often whatever the model, so compare a car with others of the same age.

First registered	Tests	Pass rate
1998	314	57%
1999	403	63%
2000	730	58%
2001	1,055	57%
2002	1,539	54%
2003	2,056	54%
2004	4,559	51%
2005	10,039	55%
2006	14,450	56%
2007	17,237	58%
2008	21,313	59%
2009	24,429	63%
2010	26,537	63%
2011	22,467	66%
2012	26,458	69%
2013	27,938	75%
2014	39,547	79%
2015	42,141	82%
2016	39,483	85%
2017	34,289	87%
2018	27,356	88%
2019	21,681	88%
2020	15,967	89%
2021	743	93%

Typical mileage by age

Average odometer reading at the MOT, by the car's age in years at the test.

Age at test	Average mileage
3 years	25,481 miles
4 years	34,189 miles
5 years	41,695 miles
6 years	51,547 miles
7 years	60,429 miles
8 years	70,890 miles
9 years	81,085 miles
10 years	92,354 miles
11 years	101,908 miles
12 years	111,078 miles
13 years	111,494 miles
14 years	118,632 miles
15 years	124,831 miles
16 years	132,154 miles
17 years	135,103 miles
18 years	137,728 miles
19 years	135,623 miles
20 years	136,689 miles

Check a particular A3

Model figures tell you what to look out for. To see one car's own MOT history, mileage and tax, enter its registration.

Other Audi models

Source: Department for Transport, Anonymised MOT tests and results, 2023, cars and light vans, normal tests only. Pass rates are first-time passes; a pass after repair at the test station counts as a fail. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.