2018 AUDI A3 — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 31 complaints · 2 recalls
Most-reported system: AIR BAGS (12 complaints · 38.7%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 1
  • Fires 0
  • Injuries 2
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 2017 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution AIR BAGS appears in 12 of 31 owner complaints (38.7%) in this vehicle snapshot. AIR BAGS: 12 complaints, 38.7% of reports AIR BAGS 12 · 38.7% · 1 crash reports FUEL SYSTEM: 4 complaints, 12.9% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 4 · 12.9% POWER TRAIN: 3 complaints, 9.7% of reports POWER TRAIN 3 · 9.7% ENGINE: 2 complaints, 6.5% of reports ENGINE 2 · 6.5% ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 1 complaints, 3.2% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 · 3.2% EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 1 complaints, 3.2% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 · 3.2% FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: 1 complaints, 3.2% of reports FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 · 3.2% SEAT BELTS: 1 complaints, 3.2% of reports SEAT BELTS 1 · 3.2% TIRES: 1 complaints, 3.2% of reports TIRES 1 · 3.2% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 7 complaints, 22.6% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 7 · 22.6% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
AIR BAGS 12 38.7% 1 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 4 12.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 3 9.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 2 6.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 3.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 3.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 3.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SEAT BELTS 1 3.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
TIRES 1 3.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 7 22.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jan 2020; the first recall shown was reported in Mar 2021. 2020-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2021-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2021-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2022-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2022-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2022-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2024-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2024-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2025-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2025-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2026-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jan 2020 Apr 2026 Recall campaign 21V198000 ◆ Recall campaign 21V198000 Recall campaign 24V110000 ◆ Recall campaign 24V110000 Investigation DP22005 ● Investigation DP22005 Investigation RQ23007 ● Investigation RQ23007
  • Campaign 21V198000 was reported 374 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2020-Q1 Owner reports 1
2021-Q1 Owner reports 1
2021-Q2 Owner reports 2
2021-Q3 Owner reports 6
2021-Q4 Owner reports 3
2022-Q1 Owner reports 2
2022-Q3 Owner reports 3
2022-Q4 Owner reports 1
2023-Q1 Owner reports 1
2023-Q3 Owner reports 1
2023-Q4 Owner reports 2
2024-Q1 Owner reports 1
2024-Q2 Owner reports 2
2025-Q2 Owner reports 3
2025-Q3 Owner reports 1
2026-Q2 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 21V198000
Recall campaign 1 24V110000
Defect investigation 1 DP22005
Defect investigation 1 RQ23007
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (2)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 21V198000

    Report date
    Component:
    AIR BAGS
    Consequence:
    A deactivated passenger air bag increases the risk of injury during a crash.
    Remedy:
    Dealers will replace the PODS sensor mat and update the PODS control module, free of charge. Owners letters were mailed December 23, 2021. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 69BY.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 24V110000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source increases the risk of a fire.
    Remedy:
    Dealers will replace the suction pump, free of charge. Final owner notification letters for Audi owners were mailed on July 25, 2024. Final owner letters for VW owners were mailed on August 13, 2024. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298 or Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are VW: 20UF/Audi: 20YF. Vehicles that were previously recalled under 16V-647 will need to have the new remedy completed. This recall expands and replaces previous recall number 16V-647.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 31 complaints · page 1 of 2

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources