All generations and engines together · 14,730 MOT tests in the 2025 data
Better than most SUVs per mile driven. Watch wheels and lights & electrics. A solid used buy, provided its MOT history has no repeating wheels advisories.
Owner folklore from forums and the motoring press, with how well each report stands up. Most of it never shows up in an MOT, which is why this section exists at all.
The electric flush-fit door handles can bind, sit proud instead of flush, or pop out and refuse to retract, sometimes leaving a door that won't open from the outside at all. It's turned up across the range from early 2019 cars through to current e-tron GT models, and seems worse in cold weather. Audi's own technical bulletin (TSB 2060196/5) covers the fault; dealers replace the handle unit or its motor, roughly £150-£400 a handle depending on which one has failed.
Cars on the adaptive air suspension can throw an "air suspension malfunction" warning, sit noticeably lopsided, or limit road speed to around 30mph while the system loses pressure. It's shown up on some cars still under warranty and keeps recurring on older ones, commonly from 60-80k miles. Audi's TSB 2073034/7 identifies a specific fault code and, in some cases, a fix at the control unit rather than the whole compressor; a full replacement out of warranty typically runs £1,500-£2,500.
Regenerative braking does most of the stopping on these cars, so the friction brakes barely get used, and discs rust while caliper pistons and slide pins can seize, especially on cars that sit for days or live somewhere damp. Owners describe graunching or a juddering pedal on the first few stops of the day, and it's common enough for Audi to issue TSB 2067132/1 covering the noise and corrosion on 2022-2023 cars. A disc and pad refresh runs roughly £300-£600 an axle, more if a caliper needs replacing.
Cars fitted with the digital wing-mirror cameras and interior screens (instead of glass mirrors) have shown blank, frozen or fogged-up displays, with internal condensation in the camera housing a recurring cause. It matters at MOT time too, since a dead mirror screen with no physical mirror to fall back on is a fail. Reports go back to early cars and Audi hasn't put out a fix that owners say has closed the problem for good, so for now it's dealt with case by case at dealers rather than under a recall.
Owners and independent repairers point to the e-tron's kerb weight (comfortably over 2.4 tonnes) as harder on wheel bearings and tyres than a combustion SUV of similar size, with instant torque adding to the load. The measured MOT data for this model backs up a real weak spot around the wheels, though it doesn't single out bearings specifically, so treat the bearing-wear story as the likely explanation rather than a proven one. Expect a wheel bearing replacement, if needed, to run £300-£600 a corner, and tyres wearing noticeably faster than on a petrol equivalent.
A safety recall covers e-tron GT and RS e-tron GT cars built between January 2020 and February 2024, where individual cell modules in the high-voltage battery can develop a fault that risks a short circuit and fire. It doesn't affect the original e-tron/e-tron Sportback SUV. The fix is free at any Audi dealer, so check the car's VIN against the recall checker before you buy rather than assume a private seller has already sorted it.
Ranked from this model’s own MOT record, then from what owners report.
Saveable checklistThe physical checks its own defect data says are worth your time, most telling first.
These judge the seller’s upkeep rather than the model, and they are where the haggling money is.
Drawn from the reports above rather than the MOT data. These are the model-specific ones.
Computed from DVSA MOT results, all of Great Britain, 2025. Nothing here is opinion.
Share of tests where each item was recorded. The dark tick is the class average across all tracked models; bars are scaled within each group.
The rows that judge the model rather than its keeper. 14,360 tests in this band.
Tyres, pads and stone chips say more about how the car was driven and maintained than about how it was built.
Same segment (Family & large SUVs), best MOT record first. Compare before you shortlist.