Pass rate
85.1%
Above average — 9.2 pts ahead of the 75.9% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 710 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £37–£92
2011 Audi S5 MOT pass rate
- 2011
- typical 81,324 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Suspension
28.0% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Part only £35–£75 for Suspension pin or bush excessively worn. What fitting it takes →
Which year to buy
- Best 2017 92.6% pass
- Avoid 2007 80.8% pass
Across the 13 years on record, a spread of 11.8 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 83.0%
- Typical mileage
- 81k mi
The 2011 Audi S5 MOT pass rate is 85.1% of its MOT tests — 9.2 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 28.0% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Suspension: 1.3× the national share
Suspension accounts for 28.0% of everything recorded on the 2011 Audi S5, against 21.0% nationally — 7.0 points above. Ask for the front and rear suspension to be checked on a ramp before you buy — worn bushes and broken springs are cheap to look at and expensive to discover at test time.
- 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 75.9% and this one manages 85.1% — 9.2 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 26% of this model’s typical repairs come in under £30 in parts — the failures here tend to be the kind that need a garage rather than a bulb.
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 S5? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2011 Audi S5 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 75.9%, so this figure is 9.2 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 83.0%. The median 2011 Audi S5 in this dataset had covered 81,324 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 84.9% of the time, April–September 85.3%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources", noted on 2.82% of tests.
- 710 recorded tests behind this page.
- 85.1% overall pass rate, 83.0% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Audi S5, the average is 85.9% — best year 2017 (92.6%), worst 2007 (80.8%).
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
- 710
- Typical mileage (median)
- 81,324 mi
- Make and model
- Audi S5
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Number Plate Lamp
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the S5 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 73% so small gaps stay visible.
Where the Audi S5 is most common
Across all S5 model years on record (2007–2022): 3,499 Audi S5 cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 6,410 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 105 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) | 105 | 91.7% |
| 2 | Chelmsford (CM) | 76 | 88.0% |
| 3 | Reading (RG) | 69 | 88.6% |
| 4 | Glasgow (G) | 66 | 84.9% |
| 5 | Peterborough (PE) | 63 | 87.6% |
| 6 | Crawley (RH) | 61 | 84.7% |
| 7 | Newcastle upon Tyne (NE) | 59 | 85.2% |
| 8 | Sheffield (S) | 58 | 90.2% |
| 9 | Aberdeen (AB) | 54 | 81.2% |
| 10 | Nottingham (NG) | 54 | 87.4% |
| 11 | Leicester (LE) | 54 | 81.7% |
| 12 | Ashford (TN) | 52 | 80.6% |
| 13 | Derby (DE) | 52 | 86.0% |
| 14 | Coventry (CV) | 51 | 86.4% |
| 15 | Guildford (GU) | 50 | 93.2% |
| 16 | High Wycombe (HP) | 49 | 86.7% |
| 17 | Slough (SL) | 49 | 87.4% |
| 18 | Bristol (BS) | 48 | 76.1% |
| 19 | Northampton (NN) | 48 | 83.9% |
| 20 | Norwich (NR) | 46 | 82.2% |
The twenty areas with the most Audi S5 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 →
Regional pass rates for the S5
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 171 | 89.5% |
| East of England | 104 | 87.5% |
| North West | 81 | 86.4% |
| Scotland | 66 | 78.8% |
| West Midlands | 55 | 78.2% |
| South West | 52 | 73.1% |
| East Midlands | 50 | 80.0% |
| Yorkshire | 48 | 95.8% |
| London | 36 | 94.4% |
| North East | 28 | 75.0% |
| Wales | 19 | 84.2% |
Regions come from the postcode area recorded at the test station. Areas on region borders are assigned to the region with the majority of their population.
What fails a 2011 S5
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 2011 S5
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 2.8% of tests
“registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources”
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 windscreen 2.7% of tests
“windscreen damaged”
Check the driver’s side of the screen within the swept area for chips and cracks; anything larger than 10mm in the driver’s central view is a fail. Most chips can be resin-repaired for far less than a new screen.
-
Check the coil springs 1.7% of tests
“coil spring fractured or broken”
Look up inside each wheel arch with a torch, all the way round the spring. A snapped spring usually breaks at the very bottom coil, where a quick glance will not reach.
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 2011 S5 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £37–£92 — and 26% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £37–£92
- Cheapest common item: registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the…
- £5–£20
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 80%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 26%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 710 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 S5, side by side
13 model years on record, from 2007 to 2022. Across them the pass rate runs from 80.8% to 92.6% — a spread of 11.8 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2007 80.8% pins and bushes pin or bush…
- 2008 82.5% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2009 83.5% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2010 84.0% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2011 85.1%registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2012 86.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2013 86.4% has ply or cords exposed
- 2014 88.7% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2017 92.6% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2018 92.2% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2020 88.6% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2021 90.8% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2022 92.5% windscreen damaged but not…
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 2011 Audi S5 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 2011 cars with a similar record
Closest pass rates among 2011 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 2011 Audi S5 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 10 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 771 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suspension | 219 | 28.00% | 20.98% | +7.02 |
| Tyres | 187 | 23.90% | 19.76% | +4.14 |
| Brakes | 122 | 15.60% | 20.89% | −5.29 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 71 | 9.10% | 5.52% | +3.58 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 62 | 7.90% | 12.21% | −4.31 |
| Visibility | 38 | 4.90% | 4.97% | −0.07 |
| Non-component advisories | 27 | 3.50% | 4.18% | −0.68 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 20 | 2.60% | 5.57% | −2.97 |
| Steering | 14 | 1.80% | 2.57% | −0.77 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 11 | 1.40% | 1.76% | −0.36 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 2.8% | £5–20 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 2.7% | £80–200 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 1.7% | £25–65 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Major | 1.4% | £45–95 |
| Has ply or cords exposed Tyres | Major | 1.3% | £45–95 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Major | 1.1% | £45–95 |
| Headlamp levelling device inoperative Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 0.99% | £5–25 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 0.85% | £18–45 |
| Has a bulge, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Major | 0.85% | £45–95 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Major | 0.85% | £40–150 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 14.8% | £40–150 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 11.8% | £45–95 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 6.2% | £18–45 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 5.2% | £45–110 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 5.1% | £200–700 |
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Advisory | 4.5% | £30–75 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 12 | 91.7% | 24,568 mi |
| 30-60k | 115 | 88.7% | 48,350 mi |
| 60-90k | 315 | 86.0% | 75,315 mi |
| 90-120k | 205 | 81.0% | 102,971 mi |
| 120k+ | 58 | 86.2% | 140,273 mi |
Source: 710 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.
2011 S5 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2011 Audi S5?
85.1% of the 710 2011 Audi S5 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 75.9% for cars first used in 2011. First-attempt pass rate: 83.0%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2011 Audi S5?
The three most recorded items are registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (2.82%), windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (2.68%), coil spring fractured or broken (1.69%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2011 Audi S5 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 91.7% of the time, falling to 86.2% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2011 Audi S5 in this dataset had covered 81,324 mi.
Does the season affect the 2011 Audi S5 MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 84.9% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 85.3%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.