2011 Audi A8: MOT pass rate and reliability

91.2% of 2011 Audi A8s pass the MOT first time, measured across 708 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 123,308 miles.

How the 2011 compares

  • Against all Audi A8s (89.2%, 11,046 tests): +2 points
  • Against all 2011 cars (68.7%): +22.5 points
  • National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%

Every Audi A8 model year

Pass rates fall as cars age, so the only fair comparison for a 2011 car is other cars of the same age. The full run for the Audi A8:

Year Pass rate Tests Avg mileage
2005 81.8% 335 145,105
2006 83.2% 369 148,925
2007 81.8% 566 148,876
2008 85.3% 660 144,868
2009 86% 385 141,801
2010 85.1% 457 126,715
2011 91.2% 708 123,308
2012 90% 718 116,172
2013 89.1% 718 105,809
2014 92.7% 868 101,243
2015 91.4% 977 86,468
2016 92.3% 908 81,045
2017 93.5% 675 71,007
2018 94.5% 974 59,448
2019 93.7% 729 52,841
2020 95.7% 208 42,270

What this means if you are buying a 2011 A8

The 2011 is one of the stronger years for this model, passing 2 points more often than the Audi A8 average. That is a point in its favour, though condition and service history still matter more than the model year. Check the exact car with the free MOT history checker before you buy, and run its VIN and mileage through our free VIN decoder and clocking check.

What a 15-year-old car fails on

A 2011 car is 15 years old now, and age drives the failure mix more than the badge does. Across all cars tested, these are the categories that actually cause failures:

  • Lights and electrical: 10.36% of all cars tested
  • Suspension: 8.65% of all cars tested
  • Tyres: 6.23% of all cars tested
  • Brakes: 6.1% of all cars tested
  • Visibility: wipers, washers, glass: 4.65% of all cars tested
  • Body, chassis and structure: 3.18% of all cars tested

That is high mileage, so timing belts, clutches, suspension bushes and corrosion are the items worth budgeting for rather than the MOT itself. On a 2011 Audi A8 the average at test was 123,308 miles, so treat anything far above that as a car that has worked harder than its peers, and anything far below as one worth checking for the faults that come from standing still.

The strongest year for this model is 2020 at 95.7%, and the weakest in our data is 2005 at 81.8%. That 13.9 point spread across the model's life is why comparing a 2011 car against a newer one tells you very little.

Nearby model years

All Audi A8 MOT data · Every model