Audi A3
Owners filed 734 complaints across 23 model years of the Audi A3. The 2006 drew the most (123).
Which Audi A3 years should you avoid?
Going by 734 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the Audi A3 years to avoid are 2006.
- 2006123 complaints, 2.6× a typical A3 year, most often about the airbags.
Better bets: among years old enough for a low count to mean something, the 2018 drew the fewest complaints without an unusual share of serious ones.
Too new to judge: 2025 and 2026. Complaints take a few years to arrive, so a new model year looks better than it is.
How this is worked out: each year is compared with a typical year of the same model, which takes most of the difference in sales out of it, and its share of serious failures is compared with every other car of the same model year, because older cars were complained about differently. A year needs 25 complaints to be judged at all. Complaints are unverified owner reports. Full method →
Every Audi A3 model year compared
Complaints per year| Year | Complaints | Relative volume | Recalls | Fires | Crashes | Most reported | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026Too new | 2 | 0 | — | — | Electrical System | Routine | |
| 2025Too new | 5 | 0 | — | 2 | Unknown or Other | Routine | |
| 2024 | 2 | 0 | — | — | Electrical System | Routine | |
| 2023 | 7 | 2 | — | — | Electrical System | Routine | |
| 2022 | 9 | 6 | — | — | Electrical System | Routine | |
| 2020 | 16 | 3 | — | 1 | Air Bags | Routine | |
| 2019 | 10 | 3 | — | — | Air Bags | Routine | |
| 2018 | 33 | 2 | — | 1 | Air Bags | Routine | |
| 2017 | 44 | 2 | — | 1 | Air Bags | Routine | |
| 2016 | 83 | 3 | 2 | 3 | Air Bags | Routine | |
| 2015 | 93 | 2 | — | — | Air Bags | Routine | |
| 2013 | 20 | 3 | — | — | Air Bags | Routine | |
| 2012 | 43 | 4 | 2 | 1 | Air Bags | Routine | |
| 2011 | 43 | 4 | 1 | — | Air Bags | Routine | |
| 2010 | 50 | 5 | — | 1 | Fuel System, Diesel | Routine | |
| 2009 | 47 | 5 | — | 5 | Air Bags | Routine | |
| 2008 | 43 | 3 | — | 2 | Air Bags | Routine | |
| 2007 | 52 | 3 | — | — | Air Bags | Routine | |
| 2006Avoid | 123 | 4 | — | 3 | Air Bags | Routine | |
| 2005 | 0 | 1 | — | — | — | Routine | |
| 2004 | 6 | 0 | — | — | Vehicle Speed Control | Routine | |
| 2003 | 2 | 0 | — | — | Power Train | Routine | |
| 2001 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | Electrical System › Ignition | Routine |
Data: NHTSA complaint and recall files, October 2026. Complaints are unverified owner reports.