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2016 Audi A3

Safety ratings, recalls, and consumer complaints from NHTSA

NHTSA Safety Ratings

2016 Audi A3 C AWD

Overall
Not Rated
Front Crash
Not Rated
Side Crash
Not Rated
Rollover
Not Rated

2016 Audi A3 C FWD

Overall
Not Rated
Front Crash
Not Rated
Side Crash
Not Rated
Rollover
Not Rated

2016 Audi A3 C FWD

Overall
Not Rated
Front Crash
Not Rated
Side Crash
Not Rated
Rollover
Not Rated

2016 Audi A3 4 DR FWD

Overall
★★★★★
Front Crash
★★★★☆
Side Crash
★★★★★
Rollover
★★★★☆

2016 Audi A3 4 DR AWD

Overall
★★★★★
Front Crash
★★★★☆
Side Crash
★★★★★
Rollover
★★★★☆

Recalls(3)

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.

Campaign: 21V198000

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2016 Audi TT Roadster, TT Coupe, S3 Sedan, R8 Coupe, A3 Sedan, A3 Etron, A3 Cabriolet, 2016 Golf Sportwagen, Golf R, Golf GTI, Golf A7, and E Golf vehicles. During air bag deployment, the front passenger air bag may explode or deploy improperly.

Campaign: 22V543000

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE

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.

Campaign: 24V110000

Consumer Complaints(112 total, showing 10)

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,AIR BAGS

The contact owns a 2016 Audi A3. The contact stated that the front passenger’s side air bag occupant sensor failed to identify a passenger seat in the seat. A dealer was contacted. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that PODS had failed and needed to be replaced. Additionally, the engine was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V474000 (AIR BAGS); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 44,000.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

Electrical problems and fuel leak

SUSPENSION,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,STRUCTURE

This vehicle was involved in a rear end collision in late 2025. The vehicle was just sold at auction with a clean title even though it has frame damage that is more than 100% of the cost of this vehicle. It is sold with a clean title and I am worried that a used car dealership will try to sell it with no accident history and clean title to an unsuspecting person.

Crash reported1 injury

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

FUEL LEAKED ALL MY GARAGE ALMOST CAUSING A FIRE IN MY HOME WHILE I WAS SLEEPING. I HAVE HAD THE FUEL TANK REPLACED 3 TIMES. AND I HAD TO PAY OUT OF POCKET TO HAVE IT REPLACED BECAUSE AUDI WOULD NOT REPLACE THE RECALL OF IT SO I AM REACHING OUT TO YOU SO YOU CAN REACH OUT TO AUDI ABOUT NOT STANDING BY THE RECALL PROCEDURE!

Fire reported

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

My 2016 Audi A3 Sportsback E-tron vehicle was parked at my house. When I went to start it the engine did nothing, no power. The message “Driver System Fault” and a red triangle with a red ! in the middle was displayed on the instrument panel. I was unable to start or operate the vehicle. I called AAA and they towed the vehicle to a Recharge Hybrid pump location near my house. I tired to charge the battery and it would just turn off. Then I called AAA again and they towed my car back to my house and checked the small 12 volt battery to see if that was the problem, they determined that the 12 volt battery still had 75% life in it. They were unable to get my vehicle started. The same message is still on the dashboard “Driver System Fault." The failure mileage is approximately 81,567. I want to know before I call the Dealer and get it towed again if this issue is the Hybrid High-Voltage Battery or the housing bonded seam could have lead to corrosion the service recall from a while ago. Service Action Code 93D2

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

The contact owns a 2016 Audi A3. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked with the engine running, the vehicle experienced a sudden loss of motive power. During the failure, the message “Driver System Fault” was displayed on the instrument panel. The contact was unable to restart or operate the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the Hybrid battery had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 83,000.

AIR BAGS

Passenger airbag not activated when passenger is seated

AIR BAGS

Passenger Occupancy Detection System is malfunctioning. Pre-sense system fault

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

The rearview camera is failed. Yes I can have an inspection done. Yes, dealer confirmed that camera is failed but wanted hundreds of dollars to troubleshoot. Has not been inspected by police or insurance. No it just stopped working one day.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

The rear wiper hose is consistently getting completely clogged so that no fluid comes out when the spray mechanism is engaged. The dealership has replaced it for a fee two or three times. At the last service they told us they cleaned it and did not charge a fee. However, within two months it was clogged again. I have noticed that the issue is more likely to occur after (intentionally or accidentally) using the rear window defroster. I am therefore wondering whether the hose is made of a plastic that is too soft, causing it to change shape as a response to the defroster heat.

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Other years

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