All generations and engines together · 75,537 MOT tests in the 2025 data · typical mileage at age 7: 56k
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. 33,400 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.
Owner folklore from forums and the motoring press. Most of it never shows up in an MOT, which is why this section exists at all.
The 1.4 and 2.0 TFSI engines inject fuel straight into the cylinder rather than the intake tract, so there's no fuel washing the backs of the intake valves clean. Carbon deposits build up over time and can bring a rough idle, hesitation or a flat spot low down, usually from around 50-70k miles. A specialist valve clean (walnut blasting) runs to a few hundred pounds; there's no recall or TSB for it, it's treated as normal wear on this style of engine.
A small number of owners have reported the clutch failing well before it should, one 2017 1.0 TFSI manual needed a full clutch and flywheel at just 16 months old, quoted at just over £2,200 through the dealer. The dealer's first instinct was to blame driving style rather than admit a fault, which is why this stays disputed rather than confirmed, most manual Q2s see normal clutch life. Worth budgeting for a clutch and flywheel job (roughly £800-1,500 at an independent) if the bite point feels high or has been creeping up.
The 7-speed S tronic fitted to the 1.0, 1.4 and 1.5 TFSI and front-drive TDI automatics is the DQ200, a dry-clutch box with a poor reputation right across the VW Group range for mechatronic unit failure. Symptoms are jerky or hesitant pull-away from a standstill, occasional shunting on rough roads, and in bad cases a gearbox stuck in one ratio. A mechatronic replacement out of warranty typically runs into four figures. It doesn't apply to the wet-clutch automatic used on the 2.0 TFSI quattro.
Early Q2s built before November 2017 were recalled after Audi found some rear hub carriers weren't made to spec, with the wheel bearing housings needing replacement. Owners of both affected and unaffected cars report knocks and clonks from the rear as the car ages, and the measured MOT data for this class of car backs that up, suspension is the standout fault category for small SUVs in this segment. A knock over a speed bump is worth getting checked properly rather than written off as a loose trim panel.
Audi recalled early Q2s over the electro-mechanical parking brake, which on some cars could release itself as the clutch pedal was let out, before there was enough drive to hold the car on its own. The fix was a control software update, done free at a dealer. It's an old recall now so most used examples should already have it done, but it costs nothing to check the registration against the DVSA recall list rather than assume.
A 2023 recall covers an interior electrical connector feeding the fuse carrier, which on some cars wasn't fitted correctly at the factory. Audi's remedy is to check and reseat the connection. It's a narrow, specific-build-date recall rather than a widely reported fault, so treat it as a five-minute check on a newer used example rather than a reason to walk away.
Built from the two sections above.
Same segment (Small SUVs), best MOT record first. Compare before you shortlist.