7 complaints reported

2010 Audi A3 Power Train

Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.

Reports
7
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

Aug 2020

THIS 2010 AUDI A3 TDI EQUIPPED WITH AN S TRONIC DIRECT-SHIFT GEARBOX WILL RANDOMLY SHIFT INTO NEUTRAL OR LIMP MODE AND IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO PROCEED WITH NORMAL VEHICLE OPERATION AFTER THIS OCCURS WITHOUT FIRST PLACING THE VEHICLE IN PARK, TURNING OFF THE IGNITION AND THEN RESTARTING THE VEHICLE. THESE SYMPTOMS ARE INDICATIVE OF A KNOWN DEFECT FOR THIS MODELS POWER TRAIN AND THERE ARE NUMEROUS TESTIMONIES ON THE WEB FROM AUDI AND VW OWNERS WHOSE 2009/2010 VEHICLES ARE EXHIBITING THE SAME SYMPTOMS, YET WHO ARE BEING TOLD THAT THE AUDI RECALL #'S 37E3/S7 & 37E5/J7 (NHTSA CAMPAIGN #09V333000) DO NOT APPLY TO THEIR VEHICLES DUE TO THEIR HAVING BEEN BUILT OUTSIDE THE BUILD DATE PARAMETERS OF THE RECALL. IT IS OBVIOUS FROM THE NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS FROM AUDI AND VW OWNERS THAT THE DEFECTIVE TRANSMISSION TEMPERATURE SENSOR HARNESSES WERE INSTALLED IN VEHICLES OUTSIDE OF THE RECALL PARAMETERS AND AUDI AND VW ARE NOT WILLING TO AUTHORIZE DEALERS TO REPROGRAM THE TRANSMISSION CONTROL MODULE OF THESE VEHICLES WITH UPDATED SOFTWARE TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM. I EVEN INQUIRED AS TO WHAT MY COST WOULD BE TO HAVE THIS UPDATED SOFTWARE INSTALLED (EVEN THOUGH IT IS PROVIDED FREE FOR AUDI AND VW VEHICLES WITHIN THE BUILD DATE PARAMETERS) BECAUSE IT IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND WAS TOLD THAT THE REPROGRAMMING DOES NOT APPLY TO MY VEHICLE, THOUGH IT EXHIBITS EXACTLY THE SYMPTOMS DESCRIBED IN THE RECALL.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2010 AUDI A3, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Jun 2020
Sep 2017

AT SLOW SPEEDS & WHEN STOPPED WITH VEHICLE IN GEAR (DRIVE OR REVERS) THE TRANSMISSION JERKS, CLUNKS, FEELS LIKE IT'S ENGAGING AND DISENGAGING. IT IS DANGEROUS - ESPECIALLY WHEN STOPPED OR PARKING AS THE VEHICLE WILL SUDDENLY LUNGE FORWARD OR BACKWARD DEPENDING ON THE GEAR YOU ARE IN. UNFORTUNATELY IT HAS ONLY RESULTED IN DAMAGE TO MY OWN VEHICLE - NOT TO ANOTHER VEHICLE OR PERSON.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2010 AUDI A3, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Aug 2017
Mar 2017

FULL TRANSMISSION FAILURE.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2010 AUDI A3, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Apr 2017
Sep 2014

AUTOMOBILE WAS TRAVELING ON BQE IN NEW YORK CITY AT ABOUT 50 MPH WHEN THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION SHIFTED INTO NEUTRAL AND REFUSED TO SHIFT INTO GEAR. ALL FORWARD POWER WAS LOST. THE DRIVER ROLLED THE CAR ONTO THE RIGHT LANE AS THERE WAS NOT A SHOULDER. THE DRIVER STOPPED THE CAR AND TURNED IT OFF. THEN TURNED THE CAR ON AND WAS ABLE TO GAIN POWER AND DRIVE. THE AUDI REPAIR SERVICE CENTER INDICATED A FAULTY MECHATRONIC OR DSG UNIT, WHICH MATCHES THE RECALL 09V-333. AUDI INSISTS THIS PARTICULAR VEHICLE WAS NOT PART OF THE RECALL LISTED ABOVE. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2010 AUDI A3, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Oct 2014
Nov 2011

THE CAR HAS AN AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION THAT DOWNSHIFTS ON ITS OWN FROM AUTOMATIC (D) TO M1 (THE LOWEST MANUAL GEAR). WHEN THIS HAPPENS THE CAR IMMEDIATELY SLOWS AND THE ENGINE RPMS INCREASE TOWARD THE RED LINE. IT HAPPENS ABOUT EVERY 250 MILES OR SO, USUALLY WHEN I AM GOING ABOUT 20-25 MILES AN HOUR IN CITY DRIVING. THE LAST TIME IT HAPPENED, I WAS HOLDING A CUP OF COFFEE AND IT SPILLED OVER MY LAP. I AM WORRIED THAT IT COULD HAPPEN WHEN ANOTHER CAR IS FOLLOWING CLOSELY AND RESULT IN A REAR END COLLISION. THERE WOULD BE NO WARNING OF THE SLOW DOWN TO THE OTHER DRIVER SINCE THE BRAKE LIGHTS WOULD NOT GO ON. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2010 AUDI A3, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Nov 2010
Jun 2011

THERE IS AN INTERMITTENT PROBLEM OF APPLYING GAS AND NOT MOVING; THE ENGINE REVS, BUT DOES NOT MOVE FORWARD. THIS HAS HAPPENED FROM A FULL STOP OR ALMOST A FULL STOP, WHEN TRYING TO TURN ACROSS ONCOMING TRAFFIC AND WHILE CROSSING A BUSY INTERSECTION. ALMOST HAD TWO ACCIDENTS IN ONE DAY. AUDI DEALERSHIP SAYS THAT IF THEY CANNOT DUPLICATE THE SITUATION, THEY CANNOT DO ANYTHING. I LEFT MY CAR FOR THEIR SERVICE MANAGER TO DRIVE INDEFINITELY. IT IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS INTERMITTENT PROBLEM. THIS IS A 2010, 2.0T. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2010 AUDI A3, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Jun 2010
Aug 2010

2010 AUDI A3 TDI HAS INTERMITTENT ACCELERATION PAUSING PROBLEMS. THE LACK OF POWER HAS BEEN EXPERIENCED FROM A DEAD STOP AND WHILE MERGING INTO FREEWAY TRAFFIC. THE PROBLEM IS RARE, BUT HAS BEEN A SAFETY CONCERN WHEN IT HAS HAPPENED. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2010 AUDI A3, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Aug 2010

Trend Over Time

Complaints by year

Quick Summary

The 2010 Audi A3 has 7 Power Train complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.