Pass rate
92.2%
Above average — 15.0 pts ahead of the 77.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 51 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £45–£117
2012 Audi RS4 MOT pass rate
- 2012
- 2 trims combined
- typical 78,018 mi
Only 51 tests of this exact model and year are in the DVSA data, below the 100 we ask for before a page goes in the index. The figures are still shown, because they are the only ones there are.
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Tyres
30.5% of faults · 19.8% nationally
mostly tread below the limit, cuts and sidewall bulges.
Part only £55–£85 for Tyre has a tear. What fitting it takes →
Which year to buy
- Best 2012 92.2% pass · this year
- Avoid 2008 84.3% pass
Across the 9 years on record, a spread of 7.9 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 91.7%
- Typical mileage
- 78k mi
The 2012 Audi RS4 MOT pass rate is 92.2% of its MOT tests — 15.0 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Tyres is the biggest single reason it fails, at 30.5% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Tyres: 1.5× the national share
Tyres make up 30.5% of everything recorded on the 2012 Audi Rs4, against 19.8% nationally — 10.7 points above. Check all four tyres yourself, including the inner shoulders, and look at the date stamp — a tyre can pass on tread and still be six years old.
- Beats its own age and mileage. Once you allow for how old and how far these cars have been driven, the expected pass rate is 77.2% and this one manages 92.2% — 15.0 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- Based on a small sample. 51 tests back this page. That is enough to publish and to index, not enough to treat the decimal places as precise — read the pattern, not the second digit.
Written from this page's own figures: fault shares against the national composition, the like-for-like pass rate, and the priced repair list. How these are worked out
Watching a Audi RS4? Get an email when these numbers change .
Every Audi RS4 first registered in 2012 is combined here — 2 trim and body variants in total — so the sample is as large as the DVSA data allows.
How does the 2012 Audi RS4 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 77.2%, so this figure is 15.0 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 91.7%. The median 2012 Audi RS4 in this dataset had covered 78,018 mi.
The single most recorded failure item is "Headlamp not working on dipped beam", noted on 3.92% of tests.
- 51 recorded tests behind this page.
- 92.2% overall pass rate, 91.7% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Audi RS4, the average is 87.3% — best year 2012 (92.2%), worst 2008 (84.3%).
Figures count every completed test on this vehicle-year in the dataset, including retests. See methodology for the exact definition.
This page's data
- Tests analysed
- 51
- Typical mileage (median)
- 78,018 mi
- Make and model
- Audi RS4
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Headlight Bulb
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the RS4 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 42% so small gaps stay visible.
Where the Audi RS4 is most common
Across all RS4 model years on record (2000–2015): 2,238 Audi RS4 cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 4,382 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 90 cars tested there. Cars are counted by the postcode area of the MOT station, so this is where they were tested, not necessarily where their owners live.
| # | Postcode area | Cars | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Birmingham (B) | 90 | 96.3% |
| 2 | Guildford (GU) | 75 | 85.3% |
| 3 | Bradford (BD) | 72 | 93.1% |
| 4 | Reading (RG) | 52 | 84.3% |
| 5 | Crawley (RH) | 49 | 88.9% |
| 6 | Aberdeen (AB) | 46 | 83.9% |
| 7 | Slough (SL) | 46 | 91.3% |
| 8 | Sheffield (S) | 39 | 88.9% |
| 9 | Northampton (NN) | 38 | 89.4% |
| 10 | Oxford (OX) | 38 | 90.0% |
| 11 | Luton (LU) | 37 | 96.8% |
| 12 | High Wycombe (HP) | 35 | 90.9% |
| 13 | Ashford (TN) | 35 | 87.0% |
| 14 | Leeds (LS) | 34 | 81.7% |
| 15 | Nottingham (NG) | 31 | 91.8% |
| 16 | Chelmsford (CM) | 30 | 84.4% |
| 17 | Chester (CH) | 29 | 91.4% |
| 18 | Milton Keynes (MK) | 29 | 94.2% |
| 19 | Colchester (CO) | 28 | 93.2% |
| 20 | Hounslow (TW) | 28 | 84.5% |
The twenty areas with the most Audi RS4 cars in the record, sorted by car count — sort the columns for a different question. Cars tested at a station whose postcode area could not be resolved are counted in the model's total but in no area, so the shares add up to slightly under 100% even across every area, and an area's cars are a subset of the model's. Pass rate is blank below 30 tests in an area, where a percentage is noise rather than a finding. How this model's pass rate varies by postcode →
What fails a 2012 RS4
Everything a tester recorded on this vehicle, grouped into the inspection sections that produced it. The notch on each bar is the national share, so you can see at a glance whether this car is unusual or just ordinary.
A test can record several items, so these percentages do not add up to 100%. The exact strings, with prices, are in the full DVSA record at the bottom of this page.
Before your test
Three checks worth doing on a 2012 RS4
These are not generic tips — they are the faults recorded most often on this exact model, rewritten as things you can check yourself. All three take about ten minutes and cost nothing.
-
Check the lights 3.9% of tests
“headlamp not working on dipped beam”
Switch everything on and walk round the car: both headlamps on dip and main, every indicator, both brake lights, reverse, fog and the two number-plate lamps. A bulb is a few pounds and a five-minute job.
-
Check the steering 2.0% of tests
“steering rack gaiter missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt”
With the wheels straight, rock the steering wheel gently with the engine off — more than about an inch of free play before the wheels move is worth investigating. Split rack gaiters are cheap to replace and commonly recorded.
-
Check the tyre tread 2.0% of tests
“tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm”
Check all four tyres cold, including the inner shoulder where wear hides — 1.6mm across the central three-quarters is the legal limit, and most testers fail at 1.6mm without argument.
Shares are the proportion of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item, so they overlap: one test can record several.
What it costs to get a 2012 RS4 through its MOT
Across the 9 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £45–£117 — and 36% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 9 common items
- £45–£117
- Cheapest common item: headlamp not working on dipped beam
- £5–£25
- Dearest common item: steering rack gaiter missing or no longer…
- £120–£300
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 56%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 36%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 51 MOT tests on this vehicle. They exclude diagnostics, retest fees and garage labour where the part is a DIY fit, and they are not figures from the DVSA dataset. Older and higher-mileage examples cost more than the average. How these estimates are built → · All MOT repair costs → · Cheapest cars to put through a test →
Every year of the RS4, side by side
9 model years on record, from 2000 to 2015. Across them the pass rate runs from 84.3% to 92.2% — a spread of 7.9 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 89.9% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2001 88.3% position lamp not working
- 2006 86.4% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2007 85.4% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2008 84.3% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2012 92.2%headlamp not working on dipped…
- 2013 89.1% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2014 90.6% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2015 89.3% has a cut in excess of the…
Colour is the pass rate on a fixed scale, so a block means the same thing on any model. Each year links to its own page with the full fault breakdown.
Compare the 2012 Audi RS4 with another year
The raw pass rate mostly measures age. The year comparison adds the like-for-like figure, the mileage bands and the repair bill.
Other 2012 cars with a similar record
- Porsche Boxster 91.6%
- Porsche 911 93.4%
- Bentley Continental 93.4%
- Honda Fit 89.3%
- Toyota Estima 88.3%
- Lexus Rx 88.3%
Closest pass rates among 2012 cars with at least 2,000 tests, so a small sample cannot flatter itself into the list. See the full rankings: best and worst MOT pass rates.
The full DVSA record for the 2012 Audi RS4 9 failure items · 6 advisories · 9 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 59 individual items recorded on this vehicle, and the same share across all cars nationally. A single test can record several items, so a row is not a percentage of tests.
| Category | Items | This car | Nationally | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyres | 18 | 30.50% | 19.76% | +10.74 |
| Suspension | 15 | 25.40% | 20.98% | +4.42 |
| Brakes | 14 | 23.70% | 20.89% | +2.81 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 4 | 6.80% | 12.21% | −5.41 |
| Road Wheels | 3 | 5.10% | 0.75% | +4.35 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 2 | 3.40% | 5.57% | −2.17 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 1 | 1.70% | 5.52% | −3.82 |
| Visibility | 1 | 1.70% | 4.97% | −3.27 |
| Steering | 1 | 1.70% | 2.57% | −0.87 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Headlamp not working on dipped beam Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.9% | £5–25 |
| Headlamp not working on main beam Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.9% | £5–25 |
| Brake performance not tested unable to be tested Brakes | Major | 2.0% | £60–150 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Major | 2.0% | £45–95 |
| Has ply or cords exposed Tyres | Major | 2.0% | £45–95 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 2.0% | £80–250 |
| Steering rack gaiter missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Steering | Major | 2.0% | £120–300 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Major | 2.0% | £45–95 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 2.0% | £80–200 |
Severity is as recorded: Major and Dangerous fail the test outright; Minor and Advisory do not. Costs are estimates from typical UK parts prices — see how they are built.
What testers noted without failing the car
Advisories are the early warnings — the same parts a year or two before they fail. Reading them is how you tell a car that has been maintained from one that has been patched.
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Advisory | 15.7% | £30–75 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 13.7% | £45–95 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 11.8% | £18–45 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 7.8% | £40–150 |
| Valve stem seriously damaged Tyres | Advisory | 7.8% | £45–95 |
| Badly distorted Road Wheels | Advisory | 5.9% | £20–55 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30-60k | 11 | 81.8% | 53,478 mi |
| 60-90k | 35 | 97.1% | 78,177 mi |
| 90-120k | 3 | 100.0% | 97,736 mi |
| 120k+ | 2 | 50.0% | 125,835 mi |
Source: 51 recorded tests on this vehicle-year. Every row above is recomputed from the same DVSA extract as the rest of the page — see the methodology.
2012 RS4 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2012 Audi RS4?
92.2% of the 51 2012 Audi RS4 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 77.2% for cars first used in 2012. First-attempt pass rate: 91.7%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2012 Audi RS4?
The three most recorded items are headlamp not working on dipped beam (3.92%), headlamp not working on main beam (3.92%), brake performance not tested unable to be tested (1.96%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2012 Audi RS4 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 81.8% of the time, falling to 50.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2012 Audi RS4 in this dataset had covered 78,018 mi.