CSR

Audi · NHTSA safety record

2022 Audi A3

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

9

Complaints

0

Crashes

0

Fires

0

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2022 Audi A3 have filed 9 safety complaints with NHTSA between September 2022 and March 2026. The most complained-about system is the electrical system, named in 4 of them (44%). The typical failure was reported at 26,000 miles, the median across the 1 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

NHTSA has issued 6 recalls covering this vehicle.

Recalls (6)

BACK OVER PREVENTION:DISPLAY FUNCTION

22V823000 · November 2, 2022

The defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2022 Golf R A8, Audi S3, RS3 Sedan, Q4 E-Tron SUV, A3 Sedan, and 2022-2023 Volkswagen Golf GTI, and ID4 vehicles. The rearview camera image may be blank or unresponsive when the vehicle is placed in reverse gear or when the park function is manually activated. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
The risk
An inoperative rearview camera display can reduce the driver's rear visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the rearview camera, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed to Audi owners February 14, 2023. Volkswagen owners will receive an owner notification letter once remedy parts become available. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298 and Audi's customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are (Volkswagen) 91EK and (Audi) 91EL.

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. · up to 2,607 vehicles across all model years covered

EQUIPMENT:ELECTRICAL:INFOTAINMENT:VIDEO (TOUCH)SCREEN/MONITOR/UNIT

22V806000 · October 26, 2022

The defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2021-2022 AUDI A8, A6 Allroad, E-TRON Quattro, 2022 S3, RSQ8, RS7, RS6 Avant, Q8, Q7, Q3, E-TRON Sportback Quattro, S5 Cabriolet, E-TRON GT, S5 Sportback, A7, A6, A5 Sportback, A5 Cabriolet, A4, A4 Allroad, A3, S8, SQ7, SQ8, S6, and S4 vehicles. The infotainment main unit may become damaged internally when the vehicle is shut off, resulting in an inoperative rearview camera display the next time the vehicle is started. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
The risk
An inoperative rearview camera display reduces the driver's rear visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the infotainment main unit, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 6, 2022. Owners may contact Audi's customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 91Ei.

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. · up to 6,076 vehicles across all model years covered

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL

22V652000 · August 29, 2022

The defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2022 Audi S3, A3, and RS3 vehicles. The front passenger air bag may have been folded incorrectly.
The risk
An incorrectly folded air bag can tear, prohibiting it from deploying properly during a crash, increasing the risk of an injury.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the front passenger air bag module, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 13, 2022. Owners may contact Audi's customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 69DZ.

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. · up to 4,117 vehicles across all model years covered

SEAT BELTS:PRETENSIONER

22V515000 · July 20, 2022

The defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2022 Audi S3 and A3 sedans. The retention force of the seat belt tensioner on the driver and front passenger seats may be inadequate to properly restrain the occupants during a crash.
The risk
Improperly restrained occupants have an increased risk of injury during a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the driver and front passenger seat belt assemblies, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 15, 2022. Owners may contact Audi's customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 68i2.

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. · up to 2,584 vehicles across all model years covered

CHILD SEAT:VEHICLE LATCH ANCHOR

22V224000 · April 6, 2022

The defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2022 A3 Sedan and S3 Sedan vehicles. The child seat anchorage fitting sleeves are incorrectly marked with a different symbol than the one described in the owner's manual. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 225, "Child Restraint Anchorage Systems."
The risk
An incorrectly marked child restraint anchorage may cause confusion during child seat installation, resulting in a child seat being improperly secured and increasing the risk of injury during a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will replace all four fitting sleeves, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May24, 2022. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 72M7.

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. · up to 466 vehicles across all model years covered

BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA

21V825000 · October 20, 2021

The defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2021 Audi A8 and S8, 2022 Audi A5 Sportback, A4 Sedan, E-Tron GT, Q3, Q5, RS6 Avant, A3 Sedan, S5 Sportback, Q5 Sportback, Q7, Q8, RSQ8, SQ7, SQ8, and S3 Sedan vehicles. A software error may prevent the rear-view image from initially displaying when the vehicle begins to reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
The risk
A rear-view camera that does not display an image reduces the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will update the infotainment unit parameters, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 9, 2021. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 91CR.

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. · up to 2,857 vehicles across all model years covered

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 9.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 4 44%
AIR BAGS 3 33%
POWER TRAIN 2 22%
BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 11%
ENGINE 1 11%
SEAT BELTS 1 11%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2022 at 3.

2022 2026
2022 to 2026, the last of them a part year

In owners' own words

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

POWER TRAIN
On March 22, 2026, my Check Engine light came on while driving my 2022 Audi A3. Prior to this, I had been noticing a slight jerk when accelerating from a stop. Because Audi dealerships charge approximately $250 just to read diagnostic codes, I went to Discount Auto Parts, where they retrieved code P27F500 — indicating the gear shift lock solenoid is stuck in the open position. I then contacted my Audi dealership and asked directly whether this required a software update or if the gear selector was physically failing. They refused to give me a straight answer. I separately spoke with an Audi service technician who confirmed that the 2022 Audi A3 is well known to have this exact issue. My own

NHTSA complaint 11726245, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
I get an error message that says: Selector Lever Malfunction. Currently the car is still drivable it is an issue with the transmission/gear shifter for transmission. This could cause serious injury if the transmission decided to stop working/communicating with the sensor while driving. Currently it states that it is safe to drive, however I could be on my way home and have it switch without warning. Based on research online, this error has effected many people with the same exact year, make, and model as my car. Where this could effect the transmission it could cause serious safety issues for myself and any other drivers on the road it if suddenly decides to change from, Okay to drive and

NHTSA complaint 11713636, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
I was driving my car on a city street when it all of sudden stopped. The car died without warning. I was about to complete a left hand turn into a shopping center parking lot. Thankfully there was not traffic headed towards me at the time or my son and I could have been hit. There wasn't any traffic nearby behind me. Should there have been, we likely would have been struck from the rear.The way the car just put us down like that is very dangerous. I am being told it may be an alternator issue.

NHTSA complaint 11702558. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Installed two brand new batteries. The new batteries won't stay charged. The car cut off suddenly while I was driving. Many codes started flashing rapidly. The brake makes a clicking when trying to restart the car. The car wouldn't start.

NHTSA complaint 11701640. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
Car intermittently doesn’t go into park and rolls

NHTSA complaint 11691435. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
While driving the alternator failed. The battery also failed. Multiple instances at the dealer trying to repair.

NHTSA complaint 11541559. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Audi A3

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2020 16 3
2019 10 3
2018 33 2
2017 44 2
2016 81 3
2015 90 2
2013 20 3
2012 43 4
2011 43 4
2010 50 5

Other 2022 Audi models

Every Audi on this site — 147 vehicles, 216 recall campaigns and 0 open investigation s.

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. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

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.

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