All generations and engines together · 5,046 MOT tests in the 2025 data
One of the best small SUVs per mile driven. Watch seatbelts/airbags and suspension. A solid used buy, provided its MOT history has no repeating seatbelts/airbags 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.
Owners report the MMI system occasionally fails to recognise the driver as the registered key user, and more generally the touchscreen can freeze, drop the myAudi app connection, or need a reboot after an over-the-air update. Honest John logged a case where the dealer needed several visits and was waiting on guidance from Audi before it could be fixed, which points to it being a known but not fully solved software issue. It tends to show up any time from new and there is no fixed cost, since it is normally chased under warranty rather than paid for.
Like other VW Group MEB-platform EVs, the Q4 e-tron uses a small 12V battery to run the electronics and wake the car up, separate from the main traction battery. Leave it parked for a couple of weeks, even plugged in, and owners report it can go flat, leading to lost connectivity, dashboard error messages, or a car that will not unlock or start until a dealer resets it. A weak 12V battery is usually the cause rather than the big battery, and replacement runs to roughly £150-250 if it will not hold charge any more.
Audi quietly removed the heat pump from Q4 e-tron production from around February 2023, citing semiconductor shortages, and fitted a less efficient resistive heater instead before reinstating the heat pump later. Cars from that window lose noticeably more range in cold weather than earlier or later cars with the heat pump fitted. It is not a fault as such, just a spec change, but it matters for anyone buying an EV for winter range and it is easy to miss on a spec sheet.
The Q4 e-tron has had at least two UK safety recalls covering the braking electronics: a 2024 recall to check and if necessary replace the ESC (stability control) hydraulic unit, and a 2025 recall for a safety-critical ABS control unit software update. Symptoms before the fix can include warning lights for ABS or stability control. Both are done free at a dealer, so on a used example it is worth confirming the work has actually been carried out.
A handful of owners report the seatbelt or airbag warning light coming on for no obvious reason, traced to a loose or disconnected wiring connector under the seat rather than a genuine airbag or belt fault. This lines up with the measured MOT data for this class of small SUV, where seatbelts and airbags are the standout MOT fail category. The folklore version is not usually a worn-out mechanical part, it is more often a connector or seat occupancy sensor throwing a false warning, which an MOT tester still has to fail on.
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. 5,046 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 (Small SUVs), best MOT record first. Compare before you shortlist.