Model Reports 5 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Audi A5 2012: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 73 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2012 Audi A5 were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Drive shaft joints and boots (front).

Summary

A 2012 Audi A5 passed first time about 2 in every 100 more often than the average of the 2011 and 2013 model years.

At a glance

How 8,576 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
73 in every 100
Did not pass first time
27 in every 1002,295 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
13 yearsabout 109,386 miles
First tests counted
8,576

What failed most often

  1. Drive shaft joints and boots (front)16 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Tyre condition (front)13 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)10 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 2012 Audi A5 vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. A wear pattern follows age and use more than the way the car was built. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Lamps and electrical

One fault: headlight levelling device (rear), 28 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 2,292 of 2,295 failed first attempts (99.9%) 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.

Headlight levelling device (rear)

Failed on 65 first tests28 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A headlamp levelling device that is inoperative is graded Major, and so is a manual levelling device that cannot be operated from the driver's seat. Vehicles with high intensity discharge or LED dipped beam headlamps may have a self-levelling system, and if fitted it must work. Where it is not easy to tell, testers give the benefit of the doubt, and motor caravans are not checked.

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

Suspension

One fault: shock absorbers (rear), 2.7 times as often as on similar cars.

Shock absorbers (rear)

Failed on 185 first tests2.7 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 181 first tests, 2.4 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.

Body and structure

One fault: drive shaft joints and boots (front), 2.7 times as often as on similar cars.

Drive shaft joints and boots (front)

Failed on 366 first tests2.7 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.

Tyres

One wear pattern: tyre condition (rear), 2.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Tyre condition (rear)

Failed on 271 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

Exposed or damaged ply or cords are graded Dangerous. A cut in excess of the requirements and deep enough to reach the ply or cords is Major, and testers may open the cut with a blunt instrument to check its depth. A tyre contacting the vehicle through flexing or suspension movement is not a defect; fouling fails only at the time of test.

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

Advisories

Other things testers noted as worn or close to failing, more often than on similar cars.

An advisory is a note from the tester about something that has not failed yet. It is an early warning, not a fail. Advisories for the faults above are shown with those faults.

Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)

Noted on 485 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension sub-frame (rear)

Noted on 213 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Counts cover advisories recorded on failed first tests only, 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
73in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
4in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
23in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 73.2% of 8,576 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 77.3%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 4 fixed and the 23 not fixed make the 27 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as testedPassed first time, same mileage
Diesel6,216117,498 miles7273
Petrol2,35989,251 miles7874

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.

406080100201220152020Older carsNewer cars
40608010020122020Older 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, 74 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200771 in every 1001,115
200868 in every 1003,279
200970 in every 1005,098
201069 in every 1008,998
201170 in every 1008,786
2012 This car73 in every 1008,576
201374 in every 1009,981
201476 in every 10010,081
201578 in every 1009,804
201678 in every 1007,930
201780 in every 10013,186
201881 in every 10010,837
201984 in every 1009,390
202087 in every 1004,584
202188 in every 1005,045
202289 in every 1004,172

If you are buying one

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

Mileage matters most on a 2012 Audi A5.

Of 2012 Audi A5 vehicles with under 80,000 miles, 82 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 142,000 miles or more, 68 in every 100 did.

Under 80,0001,700 tests
82
80,000–100,0001,691 tests
76
100,000–119,000 Typical car1,788 tests
70
119,000–142,0001,685 tests
71
142,000 and over1,702 tests
68

Petrol or diesel?

Typical mileagePassed first time,
as tested		Passed first time,
same mileage
Diesel117,498 miles7273
Petrol89,251 miles7874

Figures are in every 100 first tests. Petrol cars look better on the raw figures only because diesel cars have done more miles (typically 117,498 against 89,251). 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 80,000100,000–119,000142,000 and over
Drive shaft joints and boots (front)1.14.86.6
Tyre condition (front)3.44.13.0
Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)1.22.93.6
Tyre tread depth (front)1.32.03.8
Headlight aim1.22.52.4

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

When a car fails

41in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

32in 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.

A 2012 Audi A5 passed first time about 2 in every 100 more often than the average of the 2011 and 2013 model years. In 2025, 73.2% of 8,576 first MOTs on the 2012 Audi A5 passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 77.3%. Among 2,295 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Headlight levelling device (rear) appears more often than on similar cars (2.8% of those tests; 65 observed failures; about 28× 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 2012 Audi A5 at the first attempt were Drive shaft joints and boots (front) (16.0%), Tyre condition (front) (13.1%) and Suspension arm pins and bushes (front) (10.2%), 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: Headlight levelling device (rear) (2.8% of those tests; 65 observed failures; about 28× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Headlight levelling device (rear) shows up more often than on similar cars (2.8% of those tests; 65 observed failures; about 28× 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 2012 Audi A5 include Headlight levelling device (rear), Shock absorbers (rear), Drive shaft joints and boots (front). These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
Advisories flag issues noted at the test and are not a fail rate. We show advisory patterns that appear more often than on similar cars among failed first-attempt tests, separate from common failure rows. Use them as early-warning checks, not as a pass/fail score.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2012 Audi A5 (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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