2015 Audi A3

No clear pattern

0% of complaints about the 2015 Audi A3 arrived in its first year of service. That is an unusual figure for a 2015 vehicle, but with only 135 complaints on record the sample is too small to call it a pattern — the margin of error covers the range where ordinary vehicles sit. The figures below are reported without a verdict. The most-reported system is air bags (46 complaints), typically at 6.1 yr or about 58,000 miles.

Complaints: 135
Median age at failure: 6.6 yr
Median mileage: 65,000 n=54
Crash / fire / tow: 1.5% of reports
Safety recalls: 2

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

24V110000 2024-02-14

Fuel system

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.

A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source increases the risk of a fire.

21V198000 2021-03-22

Air bags:sensor:occupant classification:front passenger

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.

A deactivated passenger air bag increases the risk of injury during a crash.

In owners’ own words

Air bags 65,000 mi 5.3 yr in service

THERE WAS RECENTLY A PODS RECALL FOR THE WIRING HARNESS GOING TO THE OCCUPANT DETECTION SENSOR THE RECALL DID NOT FIX THE ISSUES FOR MANY PEOPLE. CAR WILL RANDOMLY THINK SOMEONE IS SETTING IN THE PASSENGER SEAT AND ACTIVATE AIRBAG AND CAUSE THE SEATBELT LIGHT TO CHIME CONSTANTLY WHILE DRIVING CAUSING THE AIR BAG TO TURN ON AND OFF. THE SENSOR IMBEDDED IN THE BOTTOM OF THE SEAT IS FAULTY.

Air bags 36,000 mi 5.0 yr in service

MY CAR KEEPS HAVING A SAFETY SYSTEM FAULT. THERE ARE TWO ERRORS: 1. THE "PAASENGER AIRBAG OFF" INDICATOR STAYS ON EVEN WHEN A PASSENGER IS IN THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT 2. BUCKLE SEATBELT SIGN IS ON WHEN THERE IS NO PASSENGER I TOOK MY CAR FOR A RECALL BUT IT DID NOT FIX THE ISSUE OF THE AIRBAG BEING OFF! THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING FOR QUITE SOME TIME.

Air bags mileage not reported 5.7 yr in service

AUDI PASSENGER OCCUPANT SYSTEM CONSISTENTLY FAULTS EFFECTIVELY DISABLING THE PASSENGER AIRBAG. THIS ISSUE OCCURS MOSTLY WHILE A PASSENGER IS IN THE SEAT, BUT FROM TIME TO TIME WILL OCCUR WHEN NO PASSENGER IS PRESENT. IT OCCURS WHILE STATIONARY AND IN MOTION DURING NORMAL DAY TO DAY DRIVING. I HAVE HAD THE PODS RECALL PERFORMED ON THE VEHICLE BACK IN SEPTEMBER 2019, WHICH HAS MADE THE ISSUE WORSE. *TR

Electrical system 69,000 mi 5.7 yr in service

FOR THE LAST 4 DAYS I HAVE HAD SOMEONE GET INTO MY PASSENGER SEAT AND RANDOMLY WHILE I'M DRIVING AND THE CAR IS IN MOTION THE AIRBAG SIGNAL STATES ' PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF' IT FLASHES TO NOTIFY ME IT HAS TURNED OF. I COMPLETED RESEARCH AND FOUND THEIR IS A RECALL ON AUDI VEHICLES FOR THIS COMPLAINT BUT ONLY 2016 AND A FEW OTHER YEARS. I BELIEVE THIS RECALL NEEDS TO BE EXTENDED TO 2015 AS WELL. *TR

Other A3 model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

2015 Audi A3

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

In owners’ own words

Other A3 model years

How to read this