Audi A5, Buying guide, MOT record, UK numbers and recalls
131,165 Audi A5s are licensed in the UK. In 2025 they passed 77.5% of initial MOT tests, 5.2 points above the 72.3% UK average.
Looking at a specific A5? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.
Audi A5 at the MOT
77.5% of 126,381 initial tests passed in 2025, ranking the A5 233rd of 575 models. Audi A5s aged 3 to 5 years passed 86.7% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 71.6%.
First-time pass rate, 2025
Share of initial tests passed, retests excluded.
Pass rate by age at test
Audi A5 tests in 2025.
Where A5s fail
Share of all failure items recorded on Audi A5 tests in 2025.
The items testers recorded most often were tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (9%), coil spring fractured or broken (7.8%) and pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn (6%).
The MOT page lists every common A5 MOT failure. For one car's own results and advisories, run a free MOT history check.
What to look at on a viewing
The A5's most common failure areas, and what a tester checks in each.
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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.25.9% of A5 failure items
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Suspension
Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters.23.6% of A5 failure items
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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.16.6% of A5 failure items
Audi A5s in the UK
131,165 were licensed at the end of June 2026. The number licensed has grown 72% since the end of 2014.
- Change since 2014
- +72%from 76,256 licensed
- Typical year of first use
- 2016half of those licensed at the end of 2025 were first used in 2016 or earlier
- First registered in 2025
- 7,710against 12,449 in 2017
- Declared off the road
- 8,1135.8% of those registered, under SORN
Licensed Audi A5s since 2014
Licensed at each year end and in the latest quarter.
Show the figures
| Date | Licensed |
|---|---|
| End of 2014 | 76,256 |
| End of 2015 | 85,690 |
| End of 2016 | 92,742 |
| End of 2017 | 102,029 |
| End of 2018 | 109,361 |
| End of 2019 | 116,102 |
| End of 2020 | 117,846 |
| End of 2021 | 121,703 |
| End of 2022 | 124,232 |
| End of 2023 | 126,141 |
| End of 2024 | 126,530 |
| End of 2025 | 129,397 |
| End of June 2026 | 131,165 |
How old they are
Licensed Audi A5s by year of first use.
- Licensed at the end of 2025
- First registered that year
A further 782 were first used before 2008.
Show the figures
| First used | Licensed, end 2025 | First registered that year |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 7,365 | 7,710 |
| 2024 | 4,346 | 4,435 |
| 2023 | 4,884 | 5,441 |
| 2022 | 4,114 | 4,637 |
| 2021 | 5,277 | 5,676 |
| 2020 | 4,796 | 5,204 |
| 2019 | 9,205 | 10,090 |
| 2018 | 8,877 | 9,732 |
| 2017 | 10,694 | 12,449 |
| 2016 | 7,608 | 8,832 |
| 2015 | 9,457 | 11,350 |
| 2014 | 10,055 | |
| 2013 | 9,984 | |
| 2012 | 8,596 | |
| 2011 | 8,070 | |
| 2010 | 8,323 | |
| 2009 | 4,773 | |
| 2008 | 2,689 |
9,457 A5s first used in 2015 were still licensed at the end of 2025, roughly 83% of the 11,350 first registered that year.
A5 engines and fuel
2.0 litre engines made up 71% of Audi A5 MOT tests in 2025, followed by 3.0 litre at 16%. Diesel accounts for 57% of licensed A5s and petrol for 41%.
Engine size at MOT, 2025
Share of 126,325 initial MOT tests in 2025.
Fuel type, licensed A5s
DfT licensing statistics, June 2026.
| Fuel | Licensed | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Petrol | 53,572 | 41% |
| Diesel | 74,301 | 57% |
| Plug-in hybrid | 3,287 | 3% |
| Hybrid electric | 4 | <0.1% |
| Gas | 1 | <0.1% |
Audi A5 recalls
20 DVSA safety recalls launched from 2010 to July 2026 name the Audi A5. The 8 most recent are below. Each covers vehicles built in a set period, so a recall does not mean every A5 is affected.
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Aug 2025 R/2025/387
Stop-drive TAKATA PSAN
Defect and remedy
- Defect
- Urgent Safety Warning - Do Not Drive Your Vehicle Affected vehicles were originally allocated to or used for an extended period of time in a region with a climate zone considered to as HIGH RISK. Certain front airbags contain an ageing inflator propellant that may explode when deployed due to long-term exposure to heat and humidity. If the airbag inflator explodes metal fragments may be ejected causing life-threatening or fatal injuries to anyone in the vehicle.
- Remedy
- Affected airbags will be replaced. You can contact Audi's dedicated Takata Stop Drive helpline at 0113 526 9646 (MONDAY to FRIDAY 9:00AM to 5:00PM.
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Mar 2025 R/2025/110
Replacing rear seat backrest
Defect and remedy
- Defect
- The rear seat backrest may not comply with crash safety requirements due to an inadequate weld joint. This means that there is an increased risk of rear seat passengers being injured in the event of a frontal collision if heavy loads are being transported in the luggage compartment. Until the repair has been performed we request that you do not transport any heavy loads in the luggage compartment.
- Remedy
- For safety reasons it is necessary to replace the right rear seat backrest.
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Feb 2023 R/2023/052
If a front airbag is deployed it is possible that the gas generator housing in which the propellant is generated may burst on vehicles manufactured within a limited period
Defect and remedy
- Remedy
- As a precautionary safety measure it is necessary to replace the airbag unit on the driver side.
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Feb 2022 R/2022/036
Following a previous campaign the toe and/or camber values on the rear axle may in certain circumstances incorrectly be changed without this being noticed
Defect and remedy
- Remedy
- The wheel alignment must be checked and if necessary the suspension must be serviced on the affected vehicles.
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Jun 2021 R/2021/236
Rear axle suspension links nuts do not meet specifications
Defect and remedy
- Defect
- One or more nuts which do not meet the specifications may have been fitted on the rear axle suspension links.
- Remedy
- The affected nuts on the rear axle will be replaced on affected vehicles.
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Jun 2021 R/2021/204
Vehicles may have been fitted with a hinged towing bracket on which the locking mechanism in the hinge module could be faulty
Defect and remedy
- Remedy
- The hinge module for the towing bracket must be checked and where necessary replaced on the vehicles affected.
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Oct 2020 R/2020/302
Seat frame may not be bolted correctly to the rail on the driver and passenger sides
Defect and remedy
- Defect
- The seat frame may not have been bolted correctly to the seat rail on the driver and/or front passenger side
- Remedy
- Check the affected seat frame connection and replace the frame if required.
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Jun 2020 R/2020/138
Moisture may enter the belt-driven starter-alternator
Defect and remedy
- Defect
- It is possible that moisture may enter the belt-driven starter-alternator.
- Remedy
- The starter-alternator must be replaced on the affected vehicles.
Audi A5 FAQs
How many Audi A5s are there in the UK?
131,165 Audi A5s were licensed in the UK at the end of June 2026, with a further 8,113 declared off the road (SORN), according to DfT vehicle licensing statistics.
Is the Audi A5 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 77.5% first-time pass rate for the Audi A5 across 126,381 tests in 2025, above the 72.3% average for all cars.
Has the Audi A5 had any recalls?
20 DVSA safety recalls launched from 2010 to July 2026 name the Audi A5. The most recent was published in August 2025. A recall applies to vehicles built in a set period, so check a specific car on the GOV.UK vehicle recall checker.
What should I check before buying a used Audi A5?
On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: tyres, suspension and lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment. Then check the individual car's own records. Outstanding finance, insurance write-offs and police stolen markers are not part of the MOT record, so they take a history check.
How do I check an Audi A5'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.
Already found an A5?
Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.
Across the 1,389 vehicles of every make Carpeep has checked since November 2025, 19% had outstanding finance recorded and 13% an insurance write-off. More on the Audi history check. To confirm a car's identity, see the Audi VIN check.
- Outstanding finance
- Write-off records
- Stolen markers
- Mileage history
- Previous keepers
MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025 (class 4 initial tests, retests excluded), which also gives the engine sizes. Licensed, SORN, fuel and registration figures are from the Department for Transport vehicle licensing statistics (VEH0120, VEH0124, VEH0160). Recalls are from the DVSA vehicle recalls data, with recalls launched up to July 2026. Government data is used under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability. History-check findings are anonymous counts from reports bought on Carpeep, each vehicle counted once, and are published only where at least 100 vehicles returned an answer.