Audi A8 MOT pass rate & common failures
65,376 MOT tests on the Audi A8 (1990–2025) give it an 89.8% pass rate. Executive cars of a similar age fail 17.2% of the time, so this is 7.0pp better than the group it competes with. Its most common failure areas are tyres, lighting & signalling and brakes.
Best and worst A8 years
Ranked across A8 years with at least 1,000 tests. Older cars fail more simply because they are older — compare years close together in age before drawing conclusions.
What the MOT record shows
The strongest year on this record is 2019 (94.7% pass rate); the weakest is 2005 (83.0%). Older cars carry more of the difference than the average implies.
No single area dominates — tyres (4.0%) and lighting & signalling (3.5%) are close, so failures are spread across several systems rather than one weak point.
At component level the recurring items are tread depth, pins and bushes and washers — tread depth alone was recorded 1,345 times.
Mileage is the strongest signal on the record: 5.2% of 0-30k cars fail, rising to 14.3% once past 150k — 2.8× the risk.
The hybrid cars hold up better: 3.8% fail against 13.5% for petrol, a 9.7-point gap across 14,025 tests.
Tyres is the most common advisory, noted on 19.2% of tests — work that passed today but is likely due soon.
The trend is improving — the fail rate fell from 11.2% in 2021 to 9.3% in 2025, as the worst-kept examples leave the fleet.
How it compares
By model year
Every A8 model year with a usable sample. Years with their own detailed report are linked.
| Year | Tests | Pass rate | Fail rate | Most common failure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 71 | 81.7% | 18.3% | Lighting & signalling |
| 1996 | 115 | 73.0% | 27.0% | Brakes |
| 1997 | 251 | 74.5% | 25.5% | Brakes |
| 1998 | 327 | 76.1% | 23.8% | Lighting & signalling |
| 1999 | 414 | 75.8% | 24.1% | Brakes |
| 2000 | 444 | 75.7% | 24.3% | Brakes |
| 2001 | 621 | 79.9% | 20.1% | Suspension |
| 2002 | 678 | 79.5% | 20.5% | Suspension |
| 2003 | 852 | 79.3% | 20.7% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2004 | 1,485 | 83.2% | 16.8% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2005 | 2,370 | 83.0% | 17.1% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2006 | 2,579 | 83.6% | 16.4% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2007 | 3,692 | 84.4% | 15.6% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2008 | 4,245 | 86.5% | 13.5% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2009 | 2,357 | 87.0% | 13.0% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2010 | 2,794 | 88.9% | 11.1% | Tyres |
| 2011 | 4,223 | 91.0% | 9.0% | Tyres |
| 2012 | 4,131 | 91.0% | 9.0% | Tyres |
| 2013 | 4,122 | 91.7% | 8.3% | Tyres |
| 2014 | 4,760 | 93.0% | 7.0% | Tyres |
| 2015 | 5,295 | 92.8% | 7.2% | Tyres |
| 2016 | 4,868 | 93.3% | 6.7% | Tyres |
| 2017 | 3,597 | 93.6% | 6.4% | Tyres |
| 2018 | 5,229 | 93.8% | 6.2% | Tyres |
| 2019 | 3,235 | 94.7% | 5.3% | Tyres |
| 2020 | 1,337 | 93.5% | 6.5% | Tyres |
| 2021 | 649 | 95.7% | 4.3% | Tyres |
| 2022 | 307 | 95.8% | 4.2% | Tyres |
| 2023 | 313 | 97.4% | 2.6% | Tyres |
Most common failures (all years)
| # | Category | % of tests affected | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tyres | 4.0% | 2,642 |
| 2 | Lighting & signalling | 3.5% | 2,267 |
| 3 | Brakes | 2.5% | 1,606 |
| 4 | Suspension | 2.4% | 1,552 |
| 5 | Visibility | 2.2% | 1,429 |
| 6 | Emissions & environmental | 1.9% | 1,223 |
| 7 | Body, structure & corrosion | 1.1% | 741 |
| 8 | Seat belts & restraints | 0.6% | 372 |
Most common specific failures
The exact components most often recorded as failures — more specific than the categories above.
| # | Failure item | Times recorded |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tread depth | 1,345 |
| 2 | Pins and bushes | 1,075 |
| 3 | Washers | 945 |
| 4 | Headlamp aim | 941 |
| 5 | Malfunction indicator lamp | 892 |
| 6 | Brake pads | 655 |
| 7 | Wipers | 601 |
| 8 | Position lamp | 595 |
Top advisory categories
Advisories aren't failures, but they flag work likely needed soon — useful when budgeting.
| # | Category | % of tests with advisory | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tyres | 19.2% | 12,530 |
| 2 | Brakes | 13.6% | 8,890 |
| 3 | Suspension | 11.7% | 7,625 |
| 4 | Other defects | 5.4% | 3,523 |
| 5 | Lighting & signalling | 4.6% | 3,030 |
| 6 | Emissions & environmental | 4.2% | 2,716 |
Failure rate by mileage
Higher-mileage cars tend to fail more — often the most useful guide to real condition.
| Mileage band | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 5,233 | 5.2% |
| 30-60k | 12,690 | 6.4% |
| 60-90k | 12,992 | 8.6% |
| 90-120k | 12,243 | 11.4% |
| 120-150k | 10,441 | 13.2% |
| 150k+ | 11,733 | 14.3% |
Failure rate by age
By fuel type
| Fuel | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| Diesel | 51,332 | 9.4% |
| Petrol | 13,449 | 13.5% |
| Hybrid | 576 | 3.8% |
Trend over time
| Dataset year | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 13,747 | 11.2% |
| 2022 | 13,731 | 10.4% |
| 2023 | 13,249 | 10.3% |
| 2024 | 12,633 | 9.8% |
| 2025 | 12,016 | 9.3% |
What to check before buying a Audi A8
- Tyres (4.0% of tests): Usually a quick, known-cost fix, but check tread, age and uneven wear (which can hint at alignment or suspension issues). Typical repair: £50–£120 per tyre.
- Lighting & signalling (3.5% of tests): Often a cheap bulb, but persistent issues can mean wiring or corrosion in the units. Typical repair: £10–£150.
- Brakes (2.5% of tests): Pads/discs are routine wear; binding, imbalance or corroded pipes are more serious — test for pulling under braking. Typical repair: £100–£350 per axle.
Repair costs are rough UK ballpark ranges to set expectations, not quotes — actual prices vary widely by car, parts and garage.
Frequently asked questions
What is the MOT pass rate for the Audi A8?
89.8% of the 65,376 Audi A8 MOT tests in this dataset passed, a 10.2% fail rate, across model years 1990–2025.
What does the Audi A8 most often fail its MOT on?
Tyres, recorded in 4.0% of tests, then lighting & signalling (3.5%).
Which A8 years are best and worst for MOT results?
2019 has the best pass rate at 94.7% and 2005 the weakest at 83.0%, from 3,235 and 2,370 tests respectively.
How much does mileage affect A8 MOT results?
Fail rates run at 5.2% for cars in the 0-30k band and 14.3% for 150k+, a 9.1-point difference.
Is the hybrid or petrol A8 more reliable at MOT time?
On MOT-testable defects the hybrid fails 3.8% of the time against 13.5% for the petrol. This covers testable items only, not engine or gearbox reliability.
Methodology & source. Based on 65,376 MOT tests. Dataset: DVSA MOT testing data (2021,2022,2023,2024,2025). Data last updated 2026-07-27. Figures reflect MOT-testable defects only — read the methodology for how these are calculated and what they don't measure.