73%
Audi A4 pass rate
Used Audi A4 buying guide
In 2025, Audi A4 cars passed 73% of 243,352 initial MOT tests, 0.7 points above the 72.3% UK average. Here is where it fails and what to check before you buy.
Looking at a specific A4? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.
Audi A4 MOT record in brief
Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded.
72.3%
UK average, all cars
+0.7
percentage points above average
Ranked on pass rate the A4 sits 292nd of 575 models in the data. Audi as a brand averaged 78.5%, so this model runs 5.5 points behind its own brand. Audi A4 cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 86.6% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 66.5%.
A pass rate is not a reliability score. The full Audi A4 MOT record has the pass rate by age, every common failure and how the A4 compares with similar cars.
A4 fuel types
Diesel made up 64.7% of Audi A4 MOT tests in 2025, against 39.3% across all models in this data. Most used examples you look at will be diesels.
Where the A4 fails its MOT
Where Audi A4 cars that failed their 2025 MOT were marked down, as a share of all recorded failure items.
The specific items testers recorded most often were coil spring fractured or broken (7.8%), tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (6.7%) and pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn (5.8%). See every common A4 MOT failure.
These are DVSA failure records across every Audi A4 that failed, not a claim that every A4 has these problems.
What should you check when buying a used A4?
The areas above, most common first, and what an MOT tester looks at in each.
1
Suspension
Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters. 24.7% of A4 failure items.
2
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment
Walk round with every light on: headlights, brake lights, indicators, fog lights and the number plate lamp. Check no warning lights stay on after starting. 19.8% of A4 failure items.
3
Tyres
Check tread depth across the full width of every tyre (the legal minimum is 1.6mm), and look for cuts, bulges and uneven wear. 17.2% of A4 failure items.
4
Brakes
Make sure the pedal feels firm, the car stops in a straight line, the handbrake holds on a slope and no brake warning light is showing. 11.8% of A4 failure items.
5
Body, chassis, structure
Look underneath and along the sills for corrosion, and check for damaged or poorly repaired panels. 8.6% of A4 failure items.
None of this replaces the car's own record. Run a free MOT history check on the registration to see every test, advisory and recorded mileage for that car.
A4 vs similar cars
Head-to-head comparisons on the same 2025 DVSA data.
What the MOT record doesn't tell you
Knowing Audi A4 failures cluster around suspension and lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment tells you what to inspect. It tells you nothing about whether the car is safe to buy. An MOT does not show money still owed on the car, a write-off, a theft record or a clocked odometer.
Check the exact A4 you are looking at. One £15 report, instant results, backed by a £30,000 data guarantee. More on the Audi history check.
- Outstanding finance
- Write-off records
- Stolen markers
- Mileage history
- Previous keepers
Other used Audi models
The most-tested Audi models in 2025, with how their MOT pass rate compares with the A4.
Used Audi A4 FAQs
Is the Audi A4 reliable?
MOT data does not measure reliability. It records whether a car met the roadworthiness standard on the day of its test. What it does show is a 73% first-time pass rate for the Audi A4 across 243,352 tests in 2025, above the 72.3% average for all cars.
Do older Audi A4 cars fail their MOT more often?
Audi A4 cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 86.6% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 66.5%. On an older example, the car's own MOT history tells you more than the model average.
What should I check before buying a used Audi A4?
On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: suspension, lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment and tyres. Then check the individual car's history: outstanding finance, insurance write-off records, stolen markers, mileage and previous keepers. None of these appear in the MOT record or on the V5C.
How do I check an Audi A4's history?
Enter the registration of the specific car. A Carpeep car history check reports outstanding finance, write-off category, stolen markers, mileage history, previous keepers, MOT and tax status, import and export markers and scrapped status in one £15 report.
MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025 (class 4 initial tests, retests excluded), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability.