Audi A8 MOT failures and reliability

In 2023 the Audi A8 took 12,084 MOT tests in Britain and passed 86% 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: 12,084
First-time pass rate: 86%
All cars: 71%

What the A8 fails on

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

Tyres4.4% (all cars 6.4%)
Lights and electrics3.7% (all cars 11.3%)
Brakes2.5% (all cars 6.8%)
Visibility2.5% (all cars 4.8%)
Suspension2.3% (all cars 9.0%)
Exhaust and emissions2.1% (all cars 3.1%)
Body and structure1.2% (all cars 3.5%)
Seat belts and airbags0.7% (all cars 1.0%)

Most common failure items

Share of tests on which each item was recorded.

Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm 1.4%
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction 1.4%
Tyres, condition: has ply or cords exposed 1.1%
Tyres, condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords 1.0%
Suspension arms, pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn 1.0%
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid 0.9%
Position lamp: not working 0.7%
Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively 0.7%

Most common advisories

Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge 15.7%
Suspension arms, pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement 7.0%
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened 6.2%
Brake pads: wearing thin 5.2%
Tyres, condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing 3.7%
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive 3.2%
Brake discs: worn, but not excessively 1.9%
Non-component advisories: Nail in tyre 1.6%

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
2005	400	76%
2006	449	75%
2007	632	78%
2008	768	81%
2009	427	80%
2010	512	86%
2011	760	86%
2012	782	87%
2013	776	88%
2014	892	91%
2015	998	90%
2016	905	92%
2017	668	91%
2018	997	92%
2019	752	94%
2020	403	91%

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	33,652 miles
4 years	41,388 miles
5 years	48,833 miles
6 years	61,142 miles
7 years	73,768 miles
8 years	79,637 miles
9 years	93,772 miles
10 years	98,985 miles
11 years	109,668 miles
12 years	117,745 miles
13 years	124,594 miles
14 years	137,723 miles
15 years	142,449 miles
16 years	145,414 miles
17 years	147,524 miles
18 years	142,976 miles
19 years	138,732 miles
20 years	137,320 miles

Check a particular A8

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.