2015 Audi Q3 1.4L Petrol · EU65 OGR

Recurring front-end wear defines this Audi Q3's record: front brake discs flagged as worn, pitted or scored across five consecutive tests from 2020 through 2024, and an offside front shock absorber showing a light misting of oil at every single test since 2020. The car has also failed twice on safety-critical items, in November 2021 for an offside rear inner brake pad below 1.5mm and again in November 2023 for an offside front tyre below the 1.6mm legal tread depth, both rectified and passed the same day. The latest test on 18 November 2025 was a pass, but it introduced a new concern: both rear tyres wearing unevenly on their inner edges with tread down to 3.8 and 3.9mm. Taken together, the trend is not worsening dramatically, but it shows persistent, slowly progressing wear items that have been monitored rather than decisively resolved. At 114,295 miles over roughly eleven years, the car has averaged about 10,390 miles annually, a typical accumulation for its age with consistent year-on-year testing and no gaps in the record. This steady use pattern is consistent with the wear observed: brake discs and pads consumed through normal service, and dampers beginning to weep after a decade of work. There is no evidence of extended lay-up or unusually low usage that would raise separate concerns about seized components or perished rubber. The front brake discs deserve close attention. Having been advisory items for five consecutive years, they may now be approaching minimum thickness, and the 2021 dangerous rear pad failure shows friction material has previously been allowed to run to the legal limit. On inspection, check the disc faces for deep scoring and a pronounced lip at the outer edge, and on the test drive feel for judder through the pedal or steering wheel under braking from motorway speeds, which would suggest disc thickness variation or warping. Budget for front discs and pads, and possibly rear pads, in the near term. The offside front shock absorber's oil misting, noted at six consecutive tests without escalating to a fail, warrants a bounce test on that corner and a listen for knocks or a floating sensation over undulations. The uneven inner-edge wear now appearing on both rear tyres mirrors the inner-edge wear seen on the front tyres in 2021, which points to a recurring geometry issue rather than coincidence. Ask for evidence of a four-wheel alignment check, inspect the rear suspension bushes and toe arms for play, and on the drive note any steering pull, off-centre wheel, or tyre roar at speed. Tyres at 3.8 to 3.9mm will need replacement soon regardless, and fitting new rubber without correcting the alignment will simply repeat the wear pattern.