Used buying checklist

Audi Cabriolet reliability, common problems and used buying checks

A used Audi Cabriolet looks worse than average for reliability in UK MOT data: 24.0% of 1,447 tests failed, compared with 18.7% across all indexed models. A good example should have a clean MOT history for emissions, engine, and exhaust, corrosion and structure, 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.

• 24.0% MOT failure rate
• Median tested mileage 104,845 miles
• 347 failed MOT tests analysed

Most useful finding

Emissions, engine, and exhaust is the clearest area to check

Emissions, engine, and exhaust is the clearest named problem area in this model's MOT history (33.1 MOT notes per 100 tests). Example MOT phrases from this area include fuel Pipe/s corroded, lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits, and leaking excessively from engine.

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

• Fuel Pipe/s corroded
• Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits
• leaking excessively from engine
• has a major leak of exhaust gases
• corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened
• ferrule excessively corroded
• corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is significantly reduced
• prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength
• ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated, but preventing the ingress of dirt
• ball joint has excessive play

Before you view one

Focus on emissions, engine, and exhaust, corrosion and structure, and suspension and steering

The model's recorded failure rate is 24.0%, +5.3 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 analysed1,447 tests
• Median tested mileage104,845 miles
• Failed MOT tests347

Used buyer verdict

Should you buy a used Audi Cabriolet?

76.0% of the MOT tests we analysed for this model passed. The model's recorded failure rate is 24.0%, +5.3 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.

Worse than average in our MOT data

Green light if The car has a tidy MOT pattern, recent repairs for emissions, engine, and exhaust, corrosion and structure, and suspension and steering, matching tyres, and paperwork for service or recall work.

Renegotiate if The latest MOT mentions emissions, engine, and exhaust, corrosion and structure, 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 emissions, engine, and exhaust, corrosion and structure, and suspension and steering
• emissions, engine, and exhaust 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 "Fuel Pipe/s corroded"

What should I check first?

Start with emissions, engine, and exhaust, corrosion and structure, suspension and steering, and lights and electrical. 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.

• Emissions, engine, and exhaust Seen in MOT results

  Emissions, engine, and exhaust is one of the most common MOT problem areas for this model (33.1 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: Fuel Pipe/s corroded; Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits; leaking excessively from engine
  • Where it shows up: most visible around 50-100k, 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 (32.7 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: corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened; ferrule excessively corroded; corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is significantly reduced
  • 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 (15.8 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 dust cover damaged or deteriorated, but preventing the ingress of dirt; ball joint has excessive play; ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt
  • Where it shows up: seen across most mileage ranges
• Lights and electrical Seen in MOT results

  Lights and electrical is one of the most common MOT problem areas for this model (13.7 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: reflector slightly defective; slightly damaged; warning lamp indicates a fault
  • 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 (8.2 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: excessively tinted but not adversely affecting driver's view; damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view; provides insufficient washer liquid
  • Where it shows up: most visible around 0-50k miles
• Tyres and wheels Seen in MOT results

  Tyres and wheels is one of the most common MOT problem areas for this model (1.1 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: primary retaining device ineffective; Nail in tyre; rim loose

What changes with mileage?

Past 100k miles on the Audi Cabriolet, MOT records most often point to emissions, engine, and exhaust, corrosion and structure, and lights and electrical.

Common MOT problem areas

1,447 MOT tests analysed for this model

1,112 Distinct vehicles represented

24.0% Recorded MOT test failure rate — +5.3 percentage points vs all models

Common faults: what usually fails on this model?

Emissions, engine, and exhaust is the clearest named problem area in the MOT history (33.1 MOT notes per 100 tests). These counts are issue notes, not failure rates, because a single MOT can list several faults.

Emissions, engine, and exhaust

• Fuel Pipe/s corroded
• Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits

33.1 MOT notes per 100 tests

Corrosion and structure

• corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened
• ferrule excessively corroded

32.7 MOT notes per 100 tests

Suspension and steering

• ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated, but preventing the ingress of dirt
• ball joint has excessive play

15.8 MOT notes per 100 tests

Lights and electrical

• reflector slightly defective
• slightly damaged

13.7 MOT notes per 100 tests

Windscreen, wipers, and mirrors

• excessively tinted but not adversely affecting driver's view
• damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view

8.2 MOT notes per 100 tests

Tyres and wheels

• primary retaining device ineffective
• Nail in tyre

1.1 MOT notes per 100 tests

Brakes

• defective but brake still operating
• remains on when the brakes are released

0.1 MOT notes per 100 tests

Recall-related areas to verify

Official recall areas

Manufacturer recall notices for the Audi Cabriolet mainly involve 3 areas: seatbelts and safety systems, suspension and steering, and lights and electrical. Treat each as something to verify on the specific car you are viewing; the recall table below shows the official notice text.

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

1 recall · 57,169 vehicles

Suspension and steering

• Function of the driver airbag might be restricted due to its age

1 recall · 9,536 vehicles

Lights and electrical

• Possibility that headlight brightness may significantly reduce.

1 recall · 1,075 vehicles

Mileage and age checks

Mileage changes: what starts showing up after high mileage?

Past 100k miles on the Audi Cabriolet, MOT records most often point to emissions, engine, and exhaust, corrosion and structure, and lights and electrical. On lower-mileage cars, the most common named areas are suspension and steering, corrosion and structure, and lights and electrical.

Mileage range	Tests	Vehicles	Failure rate (vs all models)	Median mileage
0-50k	88	72	18.2%+7.3 percentage points vs all models	41,996 miles
50-100k	538	419	22.1%+1.4 percentage points vs all models	81,858 miles
100-150k	668	511	25.6%-0.6 percentage points vs all models	118,308 miles
150-200k	123	95	27.6%+0.4 percentage points vs all models	161,101 miles
200k+	16	11	31.3%+4.7 percentage points vs all models	219,278 miles

Problem areas by mileage

Past 100k miles on the Audi Cabriolet, MOT records most often point to emissions, engine, and exhaust, corrosion and structure, and lights and electrical.

Mileage range	Car areas most often recorded	Specific MOT defect examples
0-50k	Suspension and steering (14.8 MOT notes per 100 tests) Corrosion and structure (10.2 MOT notes per 100 tests) Lights and electrical (9.1 MOT notes per 100 tests)	No exact MOT wording is available for this mileage range.
50-100k	Corrosion and structure (31.2 MOT notes per 100 tests) Emissions, engine, and exhaust (24.0 MOT notes per 100 tests) Suspension and steering (14.5 MOT notes per 100 tests)	No exact MOT wording is available for this mileage range.
100-150k	Emissions, engine, and exhaust (36.7 MOT notes per 100 tests) Corrosion and structure (35.6 MOT notes per 100 tests) Lights and electrical (15.7 MOT notes per 100 tests)	No exact MOT wording is available for this mileage range.
150-200k	Emissions, engine, and exhaust (68.3 MOT notes per 100 tests) Corrosion and structure (38.2 MOT notes per 100 tests) Suspension and steering (26.0 MOT notes per 100 tests)	No exact MOT wording is available for this mileage range.
200k+	Emissions, engine, and exhaust (100.0 MOT notes per 100 tests) Suspension and steering (37.5 MOT notes per 100 tests) Corrosion and structure (25.0 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 12.5% at 6-10 years to 24.4% 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 24.4% for 15+ years cars, based on 1,381 tests.

Age range	Tests	Vehicles	Failure rate (vs all models)	Median age
6-10 years 2016–2020 reg.	8	7	12.5%-4.1 percentage points vs all models	7.9 years
10-15 years 2011–2016 reg.	58	46	15.5%-8.0 percentage points vs all models	14.0 years
15+ years pre-2011 reg.	1,381	1,057	24.4%-1.5 percentage points vs all models	25.5 years

Recall records and data freshness

Recall context: are there safety notices to know about?

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

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.
2005-05-10	POSSIBILITY THAT HEADLIGHT BRIGHTNESS MAY SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE. It is possible that the brightness of the headlights may reduce significantly over time due to the degradation of the headlight coating Affected vehicles will be recalled at which time the reflectors of both headlights will be changed.

Related searches

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

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