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Audi · NHTSA safety record

2019 Audi Q3

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

Owners have filed 10 safety complaints about the 2019 Audi Q3 with the US government. Of those, no death is recorded. 4 recall campaigns are open against it.

The most complained-about system is the electrical system, named in 3 complaints, 30% of the total. The typical failure was reported at 6,550 miles, the median across the 6 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers January 2020 to April 2025 · How this is counted

What is on file

10 complaints on file

10

Complaints

0

Describe a crash

0

Mention fire

0

People injured

0

Deaths

A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.

A recall is the manufacturer conceding a defect, and the repair is free. Whether one covers your particular car is a question only its VIN can answer, because a campaign covers a production range rather than a model year.

Which system owners named

Complaints naming each system
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 3 · 30%
ENGINE 2 · 20%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 · 20%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 · 10%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 · 10%
POWER TRAIN 1 · 10%
STEERING 1 · 10%
STRUCTURE 1 · 10%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 · 10%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 · 10%
0 4 8

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 10.

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2020 at 4.

8 6 4 2
20 21 22 23 25

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2020 to 2025.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA crashes a car into a barrier and a pole and measures what happens to the dummies inside. This is what it awarded the 2019 Audi Q3, and it is a separate question from what owners report going wrong later.

Test SUV AWD
Overall
Frontal crash
Frontal, driver
Frontal, passenger
Side crash
Side barrier
Side pole
Rollover
Chance of rollover 16.4%
Stability control standard Forward collision warning standard Lane departure warning standard

A dash means NHTSA did not rate that test for this vehicle.

Recall campaigns

4 on file

STEERING

26V590000 · September 11, 2026

The defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018 Tiguan, 2018-2019 Atlas, and 2019-2021 Audi Q3 vehicles. One of the bolts that attaches the steering rack to the subframe may corrode and break. If this happens, the steering rack housing can break.
The risk
A broken steering rack housing can result in a loss of steering control, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the right-side steering rack mounting bolt, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed November 10, 2026. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 48LG and 48VT. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on September 16, 2026.

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. · up to 208,724 vehicles across all model years covered

TIRES:PRESSURE MONITORING AND REGULATING SYSTEMS

22V815000 · October 31, 2022

The 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 requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 138, "Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems."
The risk
An undetected sudden loss of pressure in all four tires increases the risk of a crash.
The remedy
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 Audi’s customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are (Audi) 45J7, and (VW) 45J6 and 45J8.

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. · up to 296,044 vehicles across all model years covered

STEERING:CRITICAL FASTENERS

21V027000 · January 27, 2021

The defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling one 2019 Audi Q3 vehicle. Production deviation in the belt pully can prevent the circlip from properly engaging the steering rack.
The risk
The circlip can detach and catch on surrounding components, causing the steering system to lock and increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Audi will notify the owner, and a dealer will replace the steering rack, free of charge. The recall was completed February 28, 2021. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 48P7.

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. · up to 1 vehicle across all model years covered

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

20V273000 · May 13, 2020

The defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2019 Audi Q3 vehicles. The passenger air bag may not properly deploy through the instrument panel tear seam.
The risk
In the event of a crash, the passenger air bag may not properly deploy and inflate, and small plastic parts may enter the cabin, increasing the risk of injury.
The remedy
Audi will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the instrument panel and replace it, if necessary, free of charge. The recall began June 10, 2020. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-822-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 70H7.

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. · up to 3,024 vehicles across all model years covered

In owners’ own words

Quoted from the complaint file

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

STRUCTURE:INTERIOR PANELS:SUN VISOR

56,000 miles

The contact owns a 2019 Audi Q3. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving while it was raining, the contact felt water dripping on her. The contact stated had observed water dripping from the sunroof panel in three places to the gear shift, and the passenger’s and driver’s seats and the floorboard. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 56,000.

NHTSA complaint 11656567. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING
After multiple attempts to have my 2019 Audi Q3 repaired the vehicle is still sitting at Audi of Columbia with the following issues (leaking water, drainage system is compromised, mold in the roof lining, sunroof is leaking).

NHTSA complaint 11506722. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Vehicle stalls even while actively engaged in driving. Audi diagnosed performing as designed and advised nothing that they can do until diagnosed as “not performing as designed”. Poses imminent crash issue as vehicle will stall at any time. Please investigate. I am terrified to drive the car from place to place.

NHTSA complaint 11494165. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
While driving, Audi Pre sense warning illuminated on dash, then emergency braking occurred while seatbelt tightened. There were no other cars around (neither in front or on the side) I did not hit anything in the street. Safety put at risk from unnecessary braking. Thankfully no cars were behind me. This did startle me but I maintained proper control of the vehicle.

NHTSA complaint 11474208. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Vehicle fuel pump fails intermittently even while actively engaged in driving. Engine stalled while driving putting me at risk for an accident. Issue was hard to diagnose because the fault would clear after an episode and reappear 300-400 miles after being driven again. Check engine light appears and then after allowing car to sit for a few hours, the car will start again. Sometimes the check engine light remains, other times it goes away on its own. Vehicle was inspected by Audi Little Rock and was performing as designed but issued occurred again 4 days after pickup. Currently the high pressure fuel pump is being replaced to try and solve the problem but vehicle can be made available for

NHTSA complaint 11461748, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

6,900 miles

WITH NO WARNING CAR DIED ON THE FREEWAY IN THE RAIN "DRIVE SYSTEM FAILURE". CAR TOWED TO DEALERSHIP.

NHTSA complaint 11386713. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Audi Q3

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2026 5 1 —
2024 18 2 —
2022 33 5 —
2021 15 3 —
2020 65 3 —
2018 26 1 —
2017 8 3 —
2016 28 3 —
2015 23 2 —

Other 2019 Audi models

Every Audi on this site — 155 vehicles.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. How many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst