AUDI A3
Reliability, NHTSA Complaints & Recall History

Safety Recall

Safety Recall

Safety Recall

Safety Recall

Safety Recall

Safety Recall

Safety Recall

Safety Recall

Safety Recall

Safety Recall

Safety Recall

Safety Recall

Safety Recall

Safety Recall

Safety Recall

Safety Recall

Safety Recall

Safety Recall

Safety Recall

Safety Recall

If the car is not driven for 20 minutes per day and the car sits for any length of time the check engine light comes on. The dealership advises it is the 12v battery is run down. According the Audi USA and the service order that the car is operating as designed.

The honk stopped functioning on January 21 2026. I noticed this when a car was moving into my lane on a major highway and I need to honk to alert them. Not being able to alert another drive that they are about to hit me puts me, the other driver, and potentially others at risk. I had to break hard, which is also a safety hazard. The honk has not functioned since, so it was not an isolated issue. No warning lights went on. I have scheduled an appointment with the Bridgewater dealership for Friday January 30.

1) Electronic emergency brake goes on repeatedly when attempting to put vehicle in gear. 2) Speed control has coasted to a very low speed while on the highway several times, on its own with no vehicles in front of me. 3) Numerous other “glitchy” electrical issues exist. Dealer says they are collaborating with engineers in Germany. There is currently no fix. It is as if the vehicle is always cycling through various “glitches”.

Tire Brand: Continental Tire Line / Model: ProContact TX Tire Size: 225/40R18 What Happened: This is the second tire failure I’ve experienced on Continental ProContact TX tires (OEM on my 2020 Audi A3 S Line). At only 13,000 total miles, I’ve had two separate instances of sidewall bubbles on different tires. •The first occurred in 2022 at just under 7,000 miles and caused the vehicle to fail PA state inspection. Continental covered 50% of the replacement cost after I submitted a warranty claim. •The second bubble appeared in June 2025 on the front passenger tire. At that point, I replaced all four tires out of safety concerns and disposed of the Continentals. The vehicle is in excellent condition, lightly driven, and is not exposed to potholes, curbs, or harsh use. I work remotely, so mileage is extremely low. Both tire failures were from normal road use and developed without any impact or external damage. I contacted Continental again in June 2025 with a full explanation and referenced my prior case. They refused to offer any goodwill or further investigation, stating that I had already disposed of the tires. ⸻ Why This Matters: Experiencing two identical sidewall failures within 13,000 miles on different tires under light driving conditions suggests a potential design or manufacturing defect. I’m reporting this in the interest of safety and awareness, as a sidewall failure at highway speed could be far more dangerous.

Car has 50,000 miles and vehicle has a bulletin on the vehicle from Audi, where the vehicle goes into limp mode and only shift through certain gears, rendering the vehicle, unable to drive and creating a safety hazard due to the fact that it can’t drive at Highway speed and or jolt and skips gears. Code for the P173600 known issue by Audi, went into mode while merging onto freeway and a lost control of vehicle.

The contact owns a 2020 Audi A3. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the transmission malfunction warning light was displayed, and the vehicle failed to shift into reverse. The vehicle was driven to the local dealer who diagnosed that the transmission mechatronics had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted regarding the failure. The failure mileage was 17,525.

As of October 25, 2022, the manufacturer (Audi) continues to not provide a solution to Recall Number 69BY / NHTSA Recall Number 21V198, stating that parts are still not available.

The passenger occupant detection system has permanently failed and causes my passenger airbag to be off at all times including when a passenger is seated in the vehicle. The seatbelt sensor also goes off when no one is in the seat. Audi dealership said this is an Audi issue and the parts are not in stock. This is a huge safety issue.

Our vehicle was purchased new a year and four months before the tires were considered completely "dry rotted" out by the Audi technician. The vehicle has 35, 737 miles on it, but it was all highway commuting driving. The TMPS never sparked an issue until the tires got down to 10 PSI only 10 miles before we were on our way to the dealership for this routine 30k maintenance appointment. The tech said that the TMPS would not show an issue because the faulty tires were all worn down with dry rot equally. So it was a 1: 2 punch of faulty tires with a terrible design to the TMPS. To make it worse, we were supposed to have the car in for this maintenance plan 3 weeks before, but Audi called to tell us they were canceling our appointment because they were double booked. In fact, the only reason this car was even able to be seen at this appointment on this day three weeks later was because our other Audi was scheduled for routine maintenance the day of this appointment and we asked to push back our other Audi so this one could be seen since it was too much of a delay. SO our safety kept being put at risk by a design flaw with the vehicle that did not show an issue when it should have, faulty tires given to us by Audi, and then a large delay in service we were supposed to receive (nd a delay in service on our other vehicle as well). Also they were unable to fix the other recall on the vehicle because Audi ran out of parts for it, so we are at risk still for that recall issue. It is unknown when they will address this. Also interestingly enough, we have maintenance and repair plans for everything on this vehicle, and of course, this just happened to be the one thing not covered conveniently. We submitted to Audi that this is unacceptable, and they refused to help us. The mechanic included a video of the damage to the tires that we will submit with this. The link for this is https://asr.autonation.com/1uPfbpuqWB We will also download it and submit it in case this link is delete

Supposedly the recall parts for the PODS system can’t be replaced because AUDI is not manufacturing the necessary part!! There is no schedule or estimated time for when the parts will become available. Now I am afraid to drive my car knowing my passenger is not safe! This requires immediate attention as I cannot risk my passengers’ lives every time they are in my car. We have been trying to resolve this for months and the service center says they cannot do anything until the parts somehow magically become available.

The contact owns a 2020 Audi A3. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V198000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer and Biener Audi (795 Northern Blvd, Great Neck, NY 11021) were made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

The contact owns a 2020 Audi A3. The contact stated that the front passenger’s side air bag alarm would chime intermittently. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer and made the dealer aware of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V198000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The dealer informed the contact to latch the front passenger’s seat belt latch at all times. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was approximately 7,000. Parts distribution disconnect.

The contact owns a 2020 AUDI A3. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V198000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact stated the air bag warning light was illuminated. The approximate failure mileage was 7,000. Parts distribution disconnect.

The contact owns a 2020 Audi A3. The contact stated while driving approximately 65-70 MPH with a passenger seated in the passenger’s seat, the "Air bag Off", "Malfunction, air bag off" warning light illuminated intermittently. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring while driving and the warning light remained illuminated. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V198000 (Air Bags). The dealer also informed the contact that the parts for the recall repair were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 9,500. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

Nothing has happened (Yet), but Audi has still not come up with a fix for this problem since March 2021. This is real safety concern for front passengers in the 2020 Audi A3 autos.

Airbags have had a recall since March 2021.

The contact owns a 2020 Audi A3. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V198000 (Air Bags) however, the part to the recall repair was unavailable. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer and it was confirmed that the part was not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms part not available.

The contact owns a 2020 Audi A3. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would independently come to a complete stop as the brake, air bag, and seat belt warning lights would appear on the instrument panel. The contact also stated that while her husband was driving the vehicle 35 MPH, the vehicle accelerated independently as the steering wheel locked. The vehicle hit a railing and the airbags did not deploy upon impact. Her husband did not receive any medical attention after the accident. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was towed to an independent tow yard where it remained in their possession. The contact also stated that the ECM module was defective and would not properly track her vehicle's mileage. Prior to the accident, the contact had taken the vehicle to a dealer where they offered no assistance for the repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure prior to the accident and was offered no assistance. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 3,000.

The contact owns a 2019 Audi A3. The contact stated that while driving 65 MPH for a 50-mile trip, the message "Transmission Failure" displayed, and the check engine warning light illuminated. The transmission then inadvertently switched from automatic to manual transmission mode and became stuck in second gear. Additionally, the vehicle jerked and decelerated to 35 MPH while driving. The contact activated the hazard lights before pulling over to the right shoulder to turn off the vehicle. The vehicle was restarted, but the failure persisted. The contact stated that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of fuel very quickly. The contact was able to drive to the destination. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who retrieved DTC: P173500 (Electrical Malfunction with the Position Sensor for Clutch 1 in the Transmission). The vehicle was then taken to the dealer, but no cause for the failure was found. The contact then drove the vehicle for a long distance at high speeds and was able to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, who determined that the mechatronic hardware, DSG transmission cover, gasket, and fluid needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to Technical Service Bulletin: 2058504/1 (Transmission malfunction, DTC P173500 and/or P173600 stored in the TCM). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, but informed the contact that the VIN was not included in the Technical Service Bulletin. The failure mileage was approximately 34,500.

The headlight assembly failed and manufacturer accepts no responsibility and quoted astronomical repair cost. This should not have been an issue with such new components. I've seen many vehicles like mine with the same problem.