Owners have filed 10 complaints
about the 2023 Audi A3 with NHTSA between 2023 and 2026.
The largest single group is the electrical system.
Across this model's run it ranks 16 of 16 worst.
The letter says how bad. This says what kind — whether this year drew
an unusual number of complaints, unusually dangerous
ones, or failures that arrived unusually early.
The dashed ring is 50 — the national norm. Further out is worse.
Complaint volume — 9
Against the median year of the Audi A3. 50 means typical for this
model; 100 means roughly double.
Severity — 0
0% of these complaints
involved a crash, fire, injury or death, against a national rate of
9.7%.
Early failure — not reported
Too few complaints recorded a mileage to measure this.
Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade:
A
B
C
D
F
ungraded
What breaks on a 2023 Audi A3
Every complaint is filed against a part. Follow any row for the complaints about that part alone.
Electrical System
440.0%
Median failure at 57,083 miles
Other & Unspecified
220.0%
Brakes
110.0%
Steering
110.0%
Transmission & Drivetrain
110.0%
Engine & Cooling
110.0%
When owners complained
A spike years after the car went on sale usually means a part wearing
out on schedule across the whole fleet — the kind of pattern no single
owner can see from inside their own car.
Apr 2023peak 3May 2026
Recalls on the 2023 Audi A3
A complaint is one owner's allegation. A recall is the point at which
the manufacturer or a regulator agreed the defect is real and dangerous
enough to fix for free — however old the car is.
Canada — Transport Canada
Canada runs its own recall programme, and its campaigns do not
always mirror the American ones.
Recall 2022694107 units in Canada
Label
Issue: On certain vehicles, the compliance label, located on the B-pillar, doesn't list the vehicle weight ratings. As a result, you could overload the vehicle. Safety Risk: Overloading the vehicle could increase the risk of a crash. Corrective Actions: Audi will notify owners by mail and instruct you to take your vehicle to a dealer to install an overlay (label) on the compliance label with the correct weight ratings.
In the owners' own words, exactly as filed with NHTSA.
Tracy, CA
STEERING
Dealer is refusing to acknowledge the known BSG defect (TSB 2058831/13) and is instead attempting to charge for secondary electrical failures (ABS/AC) caused by the primary charging system failure. 2023 Audi A3 2.0T, VIN [XXX] . Recurring 48V BSG (Belt Starter Generator) failure causing complete loss of power steering and brake assist. First documented under warranty October 29, 2025 at 45,500 miles at Audi Livermore (RO #XXX) — 48V battery at 0%, fault code P0A7D00. Dealer only recharged battery and erased codes without replacing BSG. Vehicle became completely undriveable March 22, 2026 with cascading electrical failures including CELO state, ABS failure, and complete loss of power steering and brake assist — a dangerous safety condition. Vehicle has been at Audi Livermore since March 26, 2026 — 40 days — unrepaired. Audi is now attempting to charge $3,751.70 for consequential faults caused by the unrepaired BSG. Open Audi Corporate Case #XXX. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11735828 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Tracy, CA
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Dealer is refusing to acknowledge the known BSG defect (TSB 2058831/13) and is instead attempting to charge for secondary electrical failures (ABS/AC) caused by the primary charging system failure. 2023 Audi A3 2.0T, VIN [XXX] . Recurring 48V BSG (Belt Starter Generator) failure causing complete loss of power steering and brake assist. First documented under warranty October 29, 2025 at 45,500 miles at Audi Livermore (RO #XXX) — 48V battery at 0%, fault code P0A7D00. Dealer only recharged battery and erased codes without replacing BSG. Vehicle became completely undriveable March 22, 2026 with cascading electrical failures including CELO state, ABS failure, and complete loss of power steering and brake assist — a dangerous safety condition. Vehicle has been at Audi Livermore since March 26, 2026 — 40 days — unrepaired. Audi is now attempting to charge $3,751.70 for consequential faults caused by the unrepaired BSG. Open Audi Corporate Case #XXX. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11735828 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Tracy, CA
SERVICE BRAKES
Dealer is refusing to acknowledge the known BSG defect (TSB 2058831/13) and is instead attempting to charge for secondary electrical failures (ABS/AC) caused by the primary charging system failure. 2023 Audi A3 2.0T, VIN [XXX] . Recurring 48V BSG (Belt Starter Generator) failure causing complete loss of power steering and brake assist. First documented under warranty October 29, 2025 at 45,500 miles at Audi Livermore (RO #XXX) — 48V battery at 0%, fault code P0A7D00. Dealer only recharged battery and erased codes without replacing BSG. Vehicle became completely undriveable March 22, 2026 with cascading electrical failures including CELO state, ABS failure, and complete loss of power steering and brake assist — a dangerous safety condition. Vehicle has been at Audi Livermore since March 26, 2026 — 40 days — unrepaired. Audi is now attempting to charge $3,751.70 for consequential faults caused by the unrepaired BSG. Open Audi Corporate Case #XXX. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11735828 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
San Antonio, FL
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I was driving vehicle and heard a loud sound like an explosion. I looked up and there was a big hole in my sunroof. The sunroof exploded. Yes you can look at it. It proceeded to crack and glass flew everywhere. Danger was that glass flew everywhere, got in my hair and could have been way worse. It is very dangerous and lucky I didn’t wreck. I have no idea was this is not deemed bad enough for recall. Audi has the vehicle and the case has been turned over to their corporate engineering department. They are going to determine if they will fix it which I know from reading this is a recurring issue. There were no warnings. Insurance knows but Audi is responsible.
NHTSA complaint #11719608 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Washington, DC
COMMUNICATION
Please see attachment: “Hello, my name is [XXX] . I'm I'm calling about a vehicle. Recall on an Audi 2023. And I'm having trouble with the manufacturer regarding this Notice that they sent us [XXX] . thank you very much bye-bye…” INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11697574 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 57,083 milesCharlotte, NC
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The contact owns a 2023 Audi A3. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the contact observed a RED triangle icon, and the message "Electrical System Malfunction Defect - Low Charge" was displayed. The contact stated that the vehicle then lost motive power. The vehicle was steered over to the side of the road and stalled. The vehicle was restarted after 45 minutes. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the fault control module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 57,083.
NHTSA complaint #11643339 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Quakertown, PA
POWER TRAIN
My 2023 Audi A3 with less than 3,000 miles completely stopped in the middle of a highway in Saugerties, New York. 4 hours away from home. I had my dog and my little sister with me and in the freezing pouring rain we had to get out and redirect traffic/ try to find help. I called Roadside assistance. They never came on [XXX] and didn't call back till 10pm to say they couldn't get to us because of the 8 inch snow storm. We had no heat because the car would not turn back on. 5 Ubers/ 3 lyfts and all taxis didn't come. Finally 1 uber came and took us to a nearby camp site where they allowed pitbull dogs. The next day, I had to call over 60 times to get someone to just tow my car to Audi Albany. Audi Albany would not drive me a loaner car because it was an hour away. With a lot of arguing Audi roadside/tow services finally allowed me to drive with the tow truck driver to Audi Albany. They gave me a loaner but said I had to book another hotel night because I was not allowed to drive the loaner back to my home yet. I was stuck in Saugerties NY for 2 nights 3 days. We both got sick from Sunday waiting for roadside assistance for over 5 hours. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11569511 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Quakertown, PA
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
My 2023 Audi A3 with less than 3,000 miles completely stopped in the middle of a highway in Saugerties, New York. 4 hours away from home. I had my dog and my little sister with me and in the freezing pouring rain we had to get out and redirect traffic/ try to find help. I called Roadside assistance. They never came on [XXX] and didn't call back till 10pm to say they couldn't get to us because of the 8 inch snow storm. We had no heat because the car would not turn back on. 5 Ubers/ 3 lyfts and all taxis didn't come. Finally 1 uber came and took us to a nearby camp site where they allowed pitbull dogs. The next day, I had to call over 60 times to get someone to just tow my car to Audi Albany. Audi Albany would not drive me a loaner car because it was an hour away. With a lot of arguing Audi roadside/tow services finally allowed me to drive with the tow truck driver to Audi Albany. They gave me a loaner but said I had to book another hotel night because I was not allowed to drive the loaner back to my home yet. I was stuck in Saugerties NY for 2 nights 3 days. We both got sick from Sunday waiting for roadside assistance for over 5 hours. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11569511 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Quakertown, PA
ENGINE
My 2023 Audi A3 with less than 3,000 miles completely stopped in the middle of a highway in Saugerties, New York. 4 hours away from home. I had my dog and my little sister with me and in the freezing pouring rain we had to get out and redirect traffic/ try to find help. I called Roadside assistance. They never came on [XXX] and didn't call back till 10pm to say they couldn't get to us because of the 8 inch snow storm. We had no heat because the car would not turn back on. 5 Ubers/ 3 lyfts and all taxis didn't come. Finally 1 uber came and took us to a nearby camp site where they allowed pitbull dogs. The next day, I had to call over 60 times to get someone to just tow my car to Audi Albany. Audi Albany would not drive me a loaner car because it was an hour away. With a lot of arguing Audi roadside/tow services finally allowed me to drive with the tow truck driver to Audi Albany. They gave me a loaner but said I had to book another hotel night because I was not allowed to drive the loaner back to my home yet. I was stuck in Saugerties NY for 2 nights 3 days. We both got sick from Sunday waiting for roadside assistance for over 5 hours. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11569511 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Ville Platte, LA
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
While I was driving down the road out of know where my moonroof bursted open and sounded like a gunshot and clumps of glass fell into the car, previous night before I heard shifting sounds in the roof.
NHTSA complaint #11517059 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.