Audi Q7 2020: reliability & common MOT faults

At a glance

How 3,428 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time: 90 in every 100
Did not pass first time: 10 in every 100349 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car: 5 yearsabout 47,026 miles
First tests counted: 3,428

What failed most often

Tyre condition (rear)23 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 2020 Audi Q7 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.

Noise, emissions and leaks

One fault: diesel engine warning light, 2.5 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 349 failed first attempts in 2025 that had a mileage recorded, which allows a like-for-like comparison.

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.

Diesel engine warning light

Failed on 21 first tests2.5 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.

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.

Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)

Noted on 22 first tests2.5 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: 90in every 100; Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station: 1in every 100; Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed: 9in every 100; Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 89.8% of 3,428 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 91.2%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 1 fixed and the 9 not fixed make the 10 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as testedPassed first time, same mileage

Diesel2,78447,972 miles8989

Petrol42440,434 miles9090

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.

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 89 in every 100 passed first time.

Year	Passed first time	First tests
2006	73 in every 100	905
2007	72 in every 100	2,337
2008	72 in every 100	1,745
2009	73 in every 100	1,062
2010	77 in every 100	1,280
2011	79 in every 100	1,590
2012	80 in every 100	2,111
2013	82 in every 100	2,959
2014	81 in every 100	2,993
2015	83 in every 100	3,031
2016	81 in every 100	4,542
2017	83 in every 100	4,975
2018	85 in every 100	4,520
2019	86 in every 100	4,259
2020 This car	90 in every 100	3,428
2021	89 in every 100	2,965
2022	89 in every 100	3,033

If you are buying one

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

Mileage makes little difference on a 2020 Audi Q7.

Of 2020 Audi Q7 vehicles with under 35,000 miles, 90 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 63,000 miles or more, 89 in every 100 did.

Under 35,000707 tests

90

35,000–43,000666 tests

90

43,000–51,000 Typical car652 tests

89

51,000–63,000710 tests

91

63,000 and over693 tests

89

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 35,000	43,000–51,000	63,000 and over
Tyre condition (rear)	1.6	2.5	3.0

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

When a car fails

60in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

13in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

4in 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.

Is the 2020 Audi Q7 reliable?

A 2020 Audi Q7 passed first time about 3 in every 100 more often than the average of the 2019 and 2021 model years. In 2025, 89.8% of 3,428 first MOTs on the 2020 Audi Q7 passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 91.2%. Among 349 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Diesel engine warning light appears more often than on similar cars (6.0% of those tests; 21 observed failures; about 2.5× 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.

What is most likely to fail on a 2020 Audi Q7?

Ranked by how often they were actually recorded, the items that most often failed a 2020 Audi Q7 at the first attempt were Tyre condition (rear) (22.9%), 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.

What common MOT faults stand out on the Audi Q7 2020?

Among failed first-attempt tests we highlight patterns that appear more often than on similar cars. Top example: Diesel engine warning light (6.0% of those tests; 21 observed failures; about 2.5× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.

Why does Diesel engine warning light stand out?

Diesel engine warning light shows up more often than on similar cars (6.0% of those tests; 21 observed failures; about 2.5× 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.

What are common problems with the 2020 Audi Q7?

Common MOT problem areas for the 2020 Audi Q7 include Diesel engine warning light. These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.

How should I read advisories vs fails?

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.

What does this Audi Q7 2020 MOT report cover?

This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2020 Audi Q7 (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.

Does this include engine and gearbox problems?

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.