75.9%
Audi A3
Audi A3 MOT pass rate and common problems
The Audi A3 passed 75.9% of its initial MOT tests in 2025, 3.6 percentage points above the 72.3% UK average. The item testers recorded most often was coil spring fractured or broken.
Checking a specific car? Its own results, advisories and recorded mileages are in a free MOT history check.
How the A3 compares
Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded. A car that failed and was repaired at the test station counts as a fail.
78.5%
Audi average
72.3%
UK average, all cars
The A3 runs 2.6 points behind the Audi average. It is 22nd of the 24 Audi models in the data. The average A3 arrived at its test 10.8 years old with 88,070 miles recorded.
A pass rate records whether cars met the roadworthiness standard on test day. It is not a reliability score, and part of any gap reflects how old the tested cars were.
A3 MOT pass rate by age
The same 2025 tests split by the car's age at test.
Audi A3 cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 88.2% of MOT tests. For cars aged 11 years and over that fell to 64.7%, a drop of 23.5 percentage points.
| Age at test | Tests | Pass rate | vs UK average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 to 5 years | 52,789 | 88.2% | 15.9 pts above |
| 6 to 10 years | 169,786 | 82.8% | 10.5 pts above |
| 11 years and over | 183,355 | 64.7% | 7.6 pts below |
That is a steep decline with age, so the headline rate flatters older examples. The UK average of 72.3% covers cars of every age, so compare like with like.
Where A3 failures cluster
Every failure item recorded on Audi A3 cars in 2025, grouped into the DVSA's test areas.
Suspension and lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment together account for 44% of recorded failure items. These are recorded failures across the model, not faults every car has.
The 10 most common A3 MOT failures
Specific items recorded on Audi A3 cars that failed their 2025 MOT, as a share of all recorded failure items.
Together these 10 items make up 40.1% of everything testers recorded against failed Audi A3 cars. The rest is spread across many smaller items, and one failed test often records several at once.
What to look at on a A3
The recorded failures above, grouped by area, biggest first.
1
Tyres
Recorded most often: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm, condition has ply or cords exposed and condition has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords. 13.8% of failure items.
2
Suspension
Recorded most often: coil spring fractured or broken, linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt and shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak. 13.4% of failure items.
3
Noise, emissions and leaks
Recorded most often: malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction. 3.4% of failure items.
4
Brakes
Recorded most often: brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick. 3.3% of failure items.
The car's own MOT history matters more than any model average. A free MOT history check shows whether a specific A3 has failed on these items before, or had them noted as advisories. Buying one? See the used Audi A3 buying guide.
Already found one?
Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.
Audi A3 MOT FAQs
What is the Audi A3 MOT pass rate?
75.9% of Audi A3 cars passed their initial MOT first time in 2025, from 420,947 tests. That is 3.6 percentage points above the 72.3% average for all cars, and ranks 255th of 575 models.
What does an Audi A3 most commonly fail its MOT on?
The item testers recorded most often on Audi A3 cars failing their 2025 MOT was coil spring fractured or broken, on 6.8% of failure items. Next were tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (6.5%) and linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (4%).
Which area causes the most Audi A3 MOT failures?
Across every recorded failure item, the largest area was suspension at 23.9%, followed by lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment at 20.1%.
Do older Audi A3 cars fail their MOT more often?
Audi A3 cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 88.2% of MOT tests in 2025, against 64.7% for cars aged 11 years and over.
Does this mean every Audi A3 has these problems?
No. These are the items testers recorded across every Audi A3 that failed in 2025. They show where the model most often needs attention, not the condition of any individual car.
How do I see a specific Audi A3's MOT history?
Enter its registration on the free Carpeep MOT history check to see that car's own test results, failures, advisories and recorded mileages.
MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025: class 4 initial tests, retests excluded, with failure items from failed tests (advisories and minor defects excluded), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability.