Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Audi A4 2011: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 68 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2011 Audi A4 were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Suspension arm pins and bushes (front).

Summary

The 2011 Audi A4 follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 12,652 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
68 in every 100
Did not pass first time
32 in every 1003,995 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
14 yearsabout 133,659 miles
First tests counted
12,652

What failed most often

  1. Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)14 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Drive shaft joints and boots (front)12 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Headlight aim11 in every 100 failed tests

How we count this. Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Only Class 4 cars on their first MOT of the year are counted. A car that fails and is fixed at the test station still counts as a fail in the first-attempt rate. These are raw results, not adjusted for age, mileage, or peer mix. The MOT does not test engine or gearbox internals.

Note:

These are patterns across 2011 Audi A4 vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Suspension

Four faults. The strongest is the anti-roll bar linkage pins and bushes (front): 8.8 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 3,978 of 3,995 failed first attempts (99.6%) that recorded an odometer reading in 2025. Mileage is needed to compare like with like.

We only list faults with at least 20 failures and a rate of about 2.0 times that of similar cars, which keeps one-off results out of the list.

Anti-roll bar linkage pins and bushes (front)

Failed on 93 first tests8.8 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Excessive wear in an anti-roll bar linkage pin or bush is Major. If the pin or bush is likely to become detached, it is graded Dangerous. The wording is DVSA's general one for a suspension pin, bush or joint.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 43 first tests, 3.3 times as often as on similar cars.

Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)

Failed on 555 first tests2.6 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Pins and bushes on suspension arms fail as Major when they are excessively worn. They are graded Dangerous when likely to become detached. DVSA uses the same wording for a suspension joint.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 1,082 first tests, 2.8 times as often as on similar cars.

Suspension arm ball joint dust cover (front)

Failed on 158 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Whether a suspension arm ball joint dust cover still keeps dirt out decides its grade. Severely deteriorated is Minor, while missing, or no longer preventing the ingress of dirt, is Major.

Shock absorbers (rear)

Failed on 259 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Slight seepage that leaves a film of fluid on a shock absorber does not fail it. Severe leakage, or damage so that it does not function, is Major. A shock absorber missing or likely to become detached is graded Dangerous, though a missing one is only rejected if shock absorbers were fitted as standard.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 299 first tests, 2.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.

Seat belts and restraints

One fault: seat belt condition (rear), 2.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Seat belt condition (rear)

Failed on 83 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Any sign of overstretching is a deficiency, and so is a cut anywhere on a child seat belt. On other belts the size of a cut decides it, with a stricter limit at the webbing edge than away from it. Webbing significantly stretched or weakened has rows in both Major and Dangerous grades.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Body and structure

One fault: drive shaft joints and boots (front), 2.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Drive shaft joints and boots (front)

Failed on 495 first tests2.0 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A constant velocity boot that is only severely deteriorated is Minor. It is Major once it is missing, split or insecure so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt. A transmission joint excessively worn is Major, and graded Dangerous when it is so worn it is likely to fail.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Noise, emissions and leaks

One fault: diesel engine warning light, 2.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Diesel engine warning light

Failed on 249 first tests2.0 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

An engine malfunction indicator lamp that is illuminated to show a malfunction is graded Major on a diesel, but only on the diesels the test covers, which depends on the vehicle type and when it was first used. DVSA lists it under exhaust emissions for compression ignition engines, and the detail line for the row also names an inoperative lamp.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

MOT pass rates

How first tests ended, and how the pass rates are counted.

Passed first time
68in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
6in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
26in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 68.4% of 12,652 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 74.1%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 6 fixed and the 26 not fixed make the 32 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as testedPassed first time, same mileage
Diesel10,765139,179 miles6768
Petrol1,88697,653 miles7569

Figures are in every 100 first tests. Cars with more miles usually fail more often, so the same-mileage figure gives every fuel the mileage mix of all the cars in this year.

Same model, other years

Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.

40608010020002005201120152020Older carsNewer cars
406080100200020112020Older carsNewer cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 69 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
199864 in every 100364
199962 in every 100591
200061 in every 100723
200163 in every 100659
200261 in every 1001,406
200361 in every 1002,678
200462 in every 1004,784
200562 in every 1005,426
200662 in every 1009,953
200764 in every 10011,899
200862 in every 10012,492
200964 in every 10010,978
201066 in every 10011,589
2011 This car68 in every 10012,652
201271 in every 10012,475
201372 in every 10015,094
201473 in every 10015,932
201574 in every 10015,482
201678 in every 10020,832
201779 in every 10020,081
201880 in every 10012,882
201984 in every 10012,510
202087 in every 1008,075
202188 in every 1006,782
202288 in every 1006,332

If you are buying one

What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.

Mileage matters most on a 2011 Audi A4.

Of 2011 Audi A4 vehicles with under 100,000 miles, 76 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 170,000 miles or more, 65 in every 100 did.

Under 100,0002,553 tests
76
100,000–123,0002,473 tests
68
123,000–144,000 Typical car2,557 tests
66
144,000–170,0002,507 tests
66
170,000 and over2,501 tests
65

Petrol or diesel?

Typical mileagePassed first time,
as tested		Passed first time,
same mileage
Diesel139,179 miles6768
Petrol97,653 miles7569

Figures are in every 100 first tests. Petrol cars look better on the raw figures only because diesel cars have done more miles (typically 139,179 against 97,653). At the same mileage there is no clear difference between the two.

What to check at your mileage

How often each fault turned up on a failed first test, by the car's mileage. Read it as: what is likely to need looking at on a car like the one in front of you.

Under 100,000123,000–144,000170,000 and over
Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)3.24.35.7
Drive shaft joints and boots (front)1.74.75.3
Headlight aim2.03.74.1
Tyre condition (rear)2.23.03.4
Coil spring (front)2.03.02.6

Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.

When a car fails

35in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

39in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

9in every 100

of all first tests had a defect the tester marked dangerous (unsafe to drive away).

Every figure here is a first-attempt MOT rate from DVSA open data for this model line, for cars of this model year tested in 2025. Each mileage band holds a fifth of the tests. MOTs do not test engine or gearbox internals, so this is a pre-purchase checklist, not a full reliability score.

FAQs

Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.

The 2011 Audi A4 follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Suspension arm pins and bushes (front), about 14 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 68.4% of 12,652 first MOTs on the 2011 Audi A4 passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 74.1%. Among 3,995 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Anti-roll bar linkage pins and bushes (front) appears more often than on similar cars (2.3% of those tests; 93 observed failures; about 8.8× more often than similar cars). There is no single reliability score here; this is a pre-purchase checklist built from DVSA open data, not a guarantee for any individual car.
Ranked by how often they were actually recorded, the items that most often failed a 2011 Audi A4 at the first attempt were Suspension arm pins and bushes (front) (14.0%), Drive shaft joints and boots (front) (12.4%) and Headlight aim (10.7%), each as a share of the year's failed first attempts. That is what goes wrong most often on the car. The common faults table shows a different measure: faults that are unusual compared with similar cars.
Among failed first-attempt tests we highlight patterns that appear more often than on similar cars. Top example: Anti-roll bar linkage pins and bushes (front) (2.3% of those tests; 93 observed failures; about 8.8× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Anti-roll bar linkage pins and bushes (front) shows up more often than on similar cars (2.3% of those tests; 93 observed failures; about 8.8× more often than similar cars). That does not prove a design fault. Age, mileage, and how the car was used still matter. Treat it as a pre-purchase checkpoint, not a manufacturer service bulletin.
Common MOT problem areas for the 2011 Audi A4 include Anti-roll bar linkage pins and bushes (front), Suspension arm pins and bushes (front), Seat belt condition (rear). These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2011 Audi A4 (registration year) using UK DVSA open data for the selected test year. Patterns are compared with cars of a similar age and mileage. It is a buyer checklist from MOT defect statistics, not a full service history or manufacturer service-bulletin list.
No. MOT tests do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronic modules. Patterns here come from MOT defect statistics only and should not be read as engine or gearbox reliability scores.

About this data

How this page is built and what it can (and can't) say.

These figures come from UK MOT open data for this model year. We surface common failure patterns against similar cars, not a full reliability score, and not a pass/fail verdict on any individual vehicle.

2024 2025

What we include

UK Class 4 cars only. Normal MOT tests (not retests); first test per vehicle per calendar year; results pass, PRS, or fail.

Same-day repairs

PRS means the car failed items that were fixed at the test station and then passed the same day. We count PRS as a first-attempt fail in headline rates so same-day repairs do not hide problems.

How we compare

We compare this model year with other Class 4 cars of similar age and mileage in the same test year. This model family is left out of the peer group so the car is not measured against itself.

What this does not cover

  • MOTs do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronics; this is not a full reliability score.
  • Common faults come from MOT defect stats, not manufacturer TSBs or recalls.
  • Age and mileage matching reduces, but does not remove, differences in how cars were used and maintained.
  • If the data for a car is too thin to say anything useful, we say so rather than guess.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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