Used buying checklist

Audi A8 reliability, common problems and used buying checks

A used Audi A8 looks better than average for reliability in UK MOT data: 10.3% of 13,005 tests failed, compared with 18.7% across all indexed models. A good example should have a clean MOT history for lights and electrical, windscreen, wipers, and mirrors, and suspension and steering.

Sources used: DVSA MOT tests (Apr 2026); vehicle recalls (Apr 2026); MOT fault wording (May 2025). MOT data does not capture every reliability issue, especially intermittent engine, gearbox or infotainment faults that do not appear during the test.

• 10.3% MOT failure rate
• Median tested mileage 95,475 miles
• 1,336 failed MOT tests analysed

Most useful finding

Lights and electrical is the clearest area to check

Lights and electrical is the clearest named problem area in this model's MOT history (8.5 MOT notes per 100 tests). Example MOT phrases from this area include inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources, has a product on the lens or light source which significantly reduces light intensity, and inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps.

Example MOT phrases to search in the car's history:

• inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources
• has a product on the lens or light source which significantly reduces light intensity
• inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps
• warning lamp indicates a fault
• Items removed from drivers view prior to test
• provides insufficient washer liquid
• damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view
• does not clear the windscreen effectively
• ball joint excessively worn
• ball joint dust cover insecure so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt

Before you view one

Focus on lights and electrical, windscreen, wipers, and mirrors, and suspension and steering

The model's recorded failure rate is 10.3%, -8.5 percentage points compared with the average across all models. Use the seller questions below to check whether repeat MOT notes have actually been repaired.

• MOT tests analysed13,005 tests
• Median tested mileage95,475 miles
• Failed MOT tests1,336

Used buyer verdict

Should you buy a used Audi A8?

89.7% of the MOT tests we analysed for this model passed. The model's recorded failure rate is 10.3%, -8.5 percentage points compared with the average across all models. This is a buying brief for the exact car in front of you: clean repeat history matters more than badge reputation.

Better than average in our MOT data

Green light if The car has a tidy MOT pattern, recent repairs for lights and electrical, windscreen, wipers, and mirrors, and suspension and steering, matching tyres, and paperwork for service or recall work.

Renegotiate if The latest MOT mentions lights and electrical, windscreen, wipers, and mirrors, and suspension and steering, consumables are due together, or the seller cannot show what was fixed after advisories.

Walk away if Dangerous defects, corrosion near structural areas, warning lights, or the same component family keep returning without clear repair evidence.

• Repeat unresolved MOT notes for lights and electrical, windscreen, wipers, and mirrors, and suspension and steering
• lights and electrical appearing across more than one MOT
• Any dangerous MOT failure on the exact car, especially if the same area appears again later
• No paperwork showing applicable recall work has been completed
• A seller who cannot explain MOT wording such as "inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources"

What should I check first?

Start with lights and electrical, windscreen, wipers, and mirrors, suspension and steering, and emissions, engine, and exhaust. The checklist on this page explains why each area is being recommended, what to inspect, and what to ask the seller. Each item shows whether it comes from MOT results, recall notices, or a standard used-car check.

• Lights and electrical Seen in MOT results

  Lights and electrical is one of the most common MOT problem areas for this model (8.5 MOT notes per 100 tests).

  What to check: Check every lamp, warning light, horn, battery condition, and dashboard messages.

  • Ask the seller: Have any lighting, warning-light, horn, battery, or electrical MOT notes come back more than once?
  • Example MOT wording: inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources; has a product on the lens or light source which significantly reduces light intensity; inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps
  • Where it shows up: seen across most mileage ranges
• Windscreen, wipers, and mirrors Seen in MOT results

  Windscreen, wipers, and mirrors is one of the most common MOT problem areas for this model (5.7 MOT notes per 100 tests).

  What to check: Check windscreen damage, wiper operation, washers, mirrors, and demisting.

  • Ask the seller: Have windscreen, wiper, washer, mirror, or demisting faults appeared in recent MOT history?
  • Example MOT wording: Items removed from drivers view prior to test; provides insufficient washer liquid; damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view
  • Where it shows up: seen across most mileage ranges
• Suspension and steering Seen in MOT results

  Suspension and steering is one of the most common MOT problem areas for this model (5.6 MOT notes per 100 tests).

  What to check: Listen for knocks, check uneven tyre wear, and inspect steering play.

  • Ask the seller: Has any suspension, steering, ball-joint, spring, or wheel-bearing advisory been repaired?
  • Example MOT wording: ball joint excessively worn; ball joint dust cover insecure so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt; ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt
  • Where it shows up: seen across most mileage ranges
• Emissions, engine, and exhaust Seen in MOT results

  Emissions, engine, and exhaust is one of the most common MOT problem areas for this model (5.5 MOT notes per 100 tests).

  What to check: Check warning lights, smoke, exhaust leaks, recent emissions failures, and service history.

  • Ask the seller: Has the car had repeat emissions, smoke, exhaust, lambda, or engine-warning MOT failures?
  • Example MOT wording: leaking excessively from engine; emissions likely to be affected by an exhaust leak; has a major leak of exhaust gases
  • Where it shows up: most visible around 100-150k, 150-200k, and 200k+ miles
• Corrosion and structure Seen in MOT results

  Corrosion and structure is one of the most common MOT problem areas for this model (3.5 MOT notes per 100 tests).

  What to check: Inspect sills, subframes, mounting points, arches, and underside corrosion advisories.

  • Ask the seller: Has any sill, subframe, mounting-point, chassis, or structural corrosion advisory been repaired properly?
  • Example MOT wording: excessively corroded; ferrule excessively corroded; corroded and seriously weakened
  • Where it shows up: most visible around 50-100k miles
• Tyres and wheels Seen in MOT results

  Tyres and wheels is one of the most common MOT problem areas for this model (1.8 MOT notes per 100 tests).

  What to check: Check tyre age, tread depth, sidewall damage, wheel condition, and alignment wear.

  • Ask the seller: Have uneven tyre wear, damaged tyres, wheel damage, or alignment issues been corrected?
  • Example MOT wording: Nail in tyre; on a single line braking system has no recorded effort at a wheel; incorrectly seated on the wheel rim
  • Where it shows up: most visible around 0-50k miles

What changes with mileage?

Past 100k miles on the Audi A8, MOT records most often point to lights and electrical, emissions, engine, and exhaust, and suspension and steering.

Common MOT problem areas

13,005 MOT tests analysed for this model

11,297 Distinct vehicles represented

10.3% Recorded MOT test failure rate — -8.5 percentage points vs all models

Common faults: what usually fails on this model?

Lights and electrical is the clearest named problem area in the MOT history (8.5 MOT notes per 100 tests). These counts are issue notes, not failure rates, because a single MOT can list several faults.

Lights and electrical

• inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources
• has a product on the lens or light source which significantly reduces light intensity

8.5 MOT notes per 100 tests

Windscreen, wipers, and mirrors

• Items removed from drivers view prior to test
• provides insufficient washer liquid

5.7 MOT notes per 100 tests

Suspension and steering

• ball joint excessively worn
• ball joint dust cover insecure so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt

5.6 MOT notes per 100 tests

Emissions, engine, and exhaust

• leaking excessively from engine
• emissions likely to be affected by an exhaust leak

5.5 MOT notes per 100 tests

Corrosion and structure

• excessively corroded
• ferrule excessively corroded

3.5 MOT notes per 100 tests

Tyres and wheels

• Nail in tyre
• on a single line braking system has no recorded effort at a wheel

1.8 MOT notes per 100 tests

Brakes

• remains on when the brakes are released

0.0 MOT notes per 100 tests

Recall-related areas to verify

Official recall areas

Manufacturer recall notices for the Audi A8 mainly involve 6 areas: suspension and steering, seatbelts and safety systems, mixed recall notices, and emissions, engine, and exhaust. Treat each as something to verify on the specific car you are viewing; the recall table below shows the official notice text.

Suspension and steering

• Replacing front suspension link
• Following a previous campaign the toe and/or camber values on the rear axle may in certain circumstances incorrectly be changed without this being noticed

9 recalls · 114,181 vehicles

Seatbelts and safety systems

• The deployment of the takata airbag may be delayed or insufficiently powerful due to a potential reduction in the performance of the gas generator
• The retaining clip in the active head restraint assembly may not be installed

5 recalls · 61,575 vehicles

Mixed recall notices

• The mesh size of the oil strainer in the oil supply for both turbochargers is too small
• Gear oil may escape due to a faulty welded joint on the gearbox oil line

5 recalls · 6,442 vehicles

Emissions, engine, and exhaust

• The engine compartment seal may become deformed and loose
• Fuel may escape from one or both fuel rails

3 recalls · 4,634 vehicles

Tyres and wheels

• Loss of tyre pressure

1 recall · 144 vehicles

Lights and electrical

• Software update for battery control unit

1 recall · 185 vehicles

Mileage and age checks

Mileage changes: what starts showing up after high mileage?

Past 100k miles on the Audi A8, MOT records most often point to lights and electrical, emissions, engine, and exhaust, and suspension and steering. On lower-mileage cars, the most common named areas are windscreen, wipers, and mirrors, tyres and wheels, and lights and electrical.

Mileage range	Tests	Vehicles	Failure rate (vs all models)	Median mileage
0-50k	2,571	2,331	6.2%-4.6 percentage points vs all models	35,375 miles
50-100k	4,266	3,775	8.4%-12.3 percentage points vs all models	74,726 miles
100-150k	3,750	3,241	12.5%-13.7 percentage points vs all models	123,600 miles
150-200k	1,750	1,494	14.5%-12.8 percentage points vs all models	167,573 miles
200k+	589	492	15.4%-11.1 percentage points vs all models	221,520 miles

Problem areas by mileage

Past 100k miles on the Audi A8, MOT records most often point to lights and electrical, emissions, engine, and exhaust, and suspension and steering.

Mileage range	Car areas most often recorded	Specific MOT defect examples
0-50k	Windscreen, wipers, and mirrors (2.7 MOT notes per 100 tests) Tyres and wheels (1.9 MOT notes per 100 tests) Lights and electrical (1.6 MOT notes per 100 tests)	No exact MOT wording is available for this mileage range.
50-100k	Windscreen, wipers, and mirrors (4.5 MOT notes per 100 tests) Lights and electrical (4.5 MOT notes per 100 tests) Suspension and steering (2.4 MOT notes per 100 tests)	No exact MOT wording is available for this mileage range.
100-150k	Lights and electrical (12.1 MOT notes per 100 tests) Emissions, engine, and exhaust (8.2 MOT notes per 100 tests) Suspension and steering (7.5 MOT notes per 100 tests)	No exact MOT wording is available for this mileage range.
150-200k	Lights and electrical (16.5 MOT notes per 100 tests) Emissions, engine, and exhaust (13.4 MOT notes per 100 tests) Suspension and steering (13.0 MOT notes per 100 tests)	No exact MOT wording is available for this mileage range.
200k+	Lights and electrical (21.4 MOT notes per 100 tests) Suspension and steering (16.0 MOT notes per 100 tests) Emissions, engine, and exhaust (15.6 MOT notes per 100 tests)	No exact MOT wording is available for this mileage range.

Fair comparisons: is this problem normal for its age?

The MOT failure rate rises from 5.1% at 0-3 years to 16.5% at 15+ years. Compare the car with the nearest age range before treating a fault as normal wear or a warning sign. The average MOT failure rate across all models in the same dataset is 18.7%. The highest failure rate by age is 16.5% for 15+ years cars, based on 3,277 tests.

Age range	Tests	Vehicles	Failure rate (vs all models)	Median age
0-3 years 2023–2026 reg.	158	146	5.1%-3.4 percentage points vs all models	3.0 years
3-6 years 2020–2023 reg.	2,258	1,989	5.7%-4.9 percentage points vs all models	4.9 years
6-10 years 2016–2020 reg.	3,827	3,413	7.5%-9.1 percentage points vs all models	8.0 years
10-15 years 2011–2016 reg.	3,485	3,058	10.7%-12.9 percentage points vs all models	12.1 years
15+ years pre-2011 reg.	3,277	2,746	16.5%-9.4 percentage points vs all models	17.3 years

Recall records and data freshness

Recall context: are there safety notices to know about?

6 relevant recall notices appear for this model. Treat them as safety checks to verify for the exact car, not as normal MOT wear.

2025-10-10	Software update for battery control unit On affected vehicles there may be defective battery modules which may result in a fire hazard when charging the high-voltage battery. Update the software of the high-voltage battery to improve the self-diagnosis capabilities. Vehicle owners are advised to not charge the high-voltage battery using external charging sources and also not use the e-tron modes “Battery charge” and “Battery hold” until the update is applied.
2024-07-19	Replacing front suspension link A suspension link on the front axle that has invisible cracks may have been fitted to your vehicle. This possible damage means the service life of the suspension link can no longer be guaranteed and the component may fail. A failure particularly at higher speeds may result in vehicle behaviour that is difficult to control. For safety reasons it is necessary to replace the front upper left suspension link
2022-05-04	THE MESH SIZE OF THE OIL STRAINER IN THE OIL SUPPLY FOR BOTH TURBOCHARGERS IS TOO SMALL The mesh size of the oil strainer in the oil supply for both turbochargers is too small. The oil strainer will be replaced with a revised version with a larger mesh size.
2022-02-14	FOLLOWING A PREVIOUS CAMPAIGN THE TOE AND/OR CAMBER VALUES ON THE REAR AXLE MAY IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES INCORRECTLY BE CHANGED WITHOUT THIS BEING NOTICED Following a previous campaign the toe and/or camber values on the rear axle may in certain circumstances incorrectly be changed without this being noticed. The wheel alignment must be checked and if necessary the suspension must be serviced on the affected vehicles.
2021-09-22	THE DEPLOYMENT OF THE TAKATA AIRBAG MAY BE DELAYED OR INSUFFICIENTLY POWERFUL DUE TO A POTENTIAL REDUCTION IN THE PERFORMANCE OF THE GAS GENERATOR On vehicles with TAKATA driver airbag and NADI gas generator manufactured within a specific period it is possible that the function of the driver airbag may be restricted due to its age. The driver airbag unit must be checked on the vehicles affected and the gas generator must be replaced if necessary
2021-09-22	FUNCTION OF THE DRIVER AIRBAG MIGHT BE RESTRICTED DUE TO ITS AGE On vehicles with 3-spoke steering wheel manufactured within a specific period the function of the driver airbag may be restricted due to its age. The gas generator in the driver airbag must be replaced on the affected vehicles.

Related searches

Common ways people look up the Audi A8. Each link runs the search and lands on the relevant section of this report.

• Audi A8 common problems
• Audi A8 reliability
• Audi A8 after 100k miles
• Audi A8 after 200k miles
• Audi A8 high mileage common problems
• Audi A8 age related problems
• Audi A8 MOT failures
• Audi A8 recalls

Related reliability guides

Sources used: DVSA MOT tests (Apr 2026); vehicle recalls (Apr 2026); MOT fault wording (May 2025). These are patterns from many MOT tests and recall notices. They help you decide what to inspect and what to ask; they do not certify the condition of one specific car.