Audi Q5 MOT failures and reliability

In 2023 the Audi Q5 took 100,754 MOT tests in Britain and passed 84% 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: 100,754
First-time pass rate: 84%
All cars: 71%

What the Q5 fails on

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

Tyres4.5% (all cars 6.4%)
Lights and electrics3.6% (all cars 11.3%)
Suspension3.4% (all cars 9.0%)
Body and structure3.2% (all cars 3.5%)
Brakes2.2% (all cars 6.8%)
Visibility1.7% (all cars 4.8%)
Exhaust and emissions1.6% (all cars 3.1%)
Number plates and VIN0.4% (all cars 0.4%)

Most common failure items

Share of tests on which each item was recorded.

Joints: constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt 2.6%
Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm 1.7%
Coil spring: fractured or broken 1.6%
Tyres, condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords 1.4%
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction 1.4%
Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick 1.3%
Suspension arms, pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn 1.1%
Headlamp aim: too low 0.9%

Most common advisories

Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge 17.2%
Brake pads: wearing thin 10.6%
Suspension arms, pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement 7.3%
Tyres, condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing 4.5%
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened 3.8%
Non-component advisories: Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt 3.8%
Brake discs: worn, but not excessively 2.6%
Non-component advisories: Nail in tyre 2.4%

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
2009	3,915	69%
2010	3,777	71%
2011	5,568	73%
2012	4,626	76%
2013	6,213	81%
2014	8,729	82%
2015	10,661	83%
2016	11,377	86%
2017	10,210	83%
2018	13,365	89%
2019	12,446	91%
2020	9,323	92%
2021	344	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	28,785 miles
4 years	35,992 miles
5 years	44,438 miles
6 years	53,830 miles
7 years	64,668 miles
8 years	73,772 miles
9 years	82,552 miles
10 years	92,985 miles
11 years	99,587 miles
12 years	108,515 miles
13 years	116,863 miles
14 years	123,594 miles
15 years	125,906 miles

Check a particular Q5

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.