2020 Audi A3 problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Air Bags (7) · Power Train (2) · Wheels (1)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Audi A3 model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (3)
Fuel System, Gasoline 2024-02-14 · campaign 24V110000 · 261,257 vehicles
Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain front-wheel drive 2015-2020 Audi A3 Sedan, 2015-2019 Audi A3 Cabriolet, 2019-2020 Volkswagen Jetta GLI, 2018 Golf Sportwagen GP, 2018-2019 Golf Sportwagen A7, 2015-2017 Golf Sportwagen, 2015-2020 Golf GTI, and 2015-2020 Golf A7 vehicles. Due to a problem with a suction jet pump seal inside the fuel tank, fuel may flow into the evaporative emissions (EVAP) system and possibly leak out of the charcoal canister.
Risk: A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source increases the risk of a fire.
Fix: 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 re
Tires:pressure Monitoring And Regulating Systems 2022-10-31 · campaign 22V815000 · 296,044 vehicles
Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan LWB, Golf Sportswagen A7, Golf Alltrack, Golf R GP, Audi Q3, Audi A3 Cabriolet, 2019-2020 Jetta NF, Jetta GLI, Golf GTI, Atlas, Golf A7, Audi A3, 2020-2021 Atlas Cross Sport, and 2021 Atlas FL vehicles. The tire pressure monitoring system may not detect an air pressure loss in adequate time when deflating occurs among all four tires simultaneously. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirem
Risk: An undetected sudden loss of pressure in all four tires increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will update the TPMS software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 18, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298 or Audis customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are (Audi) 45J7, and (VW) 45J6 and 45J8.
Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification:front Passenger 2021-03-22 · campaign 21V198000 · 153,152 vehicles
Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2015-2020 Audi S3 Sedan, A3 Sedan, 2016-2018 A3 Etron, 2017-2020 RS3 Sedan, and 2015-2019 A3 Cabriolet vehicles. The passenger occupant detection system (PODS) may malfunction and switch off the passenger air bag even when the seat is occupied.
Risk: A deactivated passenger air bag increases the risk of injury during a crash.
Fix: 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.
Service bulletins (731)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Unknown Or Other 2026-09-25 · TSB_2083409_1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin states that technicians are required to report to the manufacturer when a vehicle has flooded, and specify the height to which the vehicle has been flooded.
Unknown Or Other 2026-09-25 · TSB_2052680_2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin provides information for reporting safety related information to the manufacturer.
Steering 2026-09-22 · TSB_2074846_5 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin provides information about vibrations and rotational steering vibrations.
Visibility/Wiper 2026-09-22 · TSB_2020552_15 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin provides service information regarding exterior glass cleaning.
Structure:body 2026-09-18 · TSB_2078648_4 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin provides information about billing for a broken sunroof glass panel.
Electrical System 2026-09-18 · TSB_2068573_6 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin provides information when the rear parking sensor sometimes does not work, rear parking sensor loose, rear parking sensor fault message.
Showing the 6 most recent of 731 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-06-10 · Engine“at 70,000 miles with only one owner, it develops transmission problems, making it unsafe to drive and control the car; control of the car is lost. here is the link from the dealer [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6)…”
2025-06-26 · Tires:sidewall“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 un…”
2025-04-12 · Power Train“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 int…”
2025-02-21 · Power Train · 17,525 mi“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 repair…”
2022-10-25 · Unknown Or Other“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.…”
2022-09-05 · Seat Belts“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.…”
2022-06-16 · Wheels“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…”
2022-06-09 · Unknown Or Other“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…”
2022-05-02 · Air Bags“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 1102…”
2022-03-16 · Air Bags · 7,000 mi“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 la…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.