AutoUtility currently tracks 37 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2017 Audi A3. Air Bags & Restraints issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 15 complaints (40.5% of submitted records). Zero crashes, fires, injury reports, or fatality reports are cited across these complaint records. The 2017 Audi A3 belongs to the 3rd Generation (Typ 8V) platform.
- • Total NHTSA Complaints: 37 reports
- • #1 Reported Problem Area: Air Bags & Restraints (15 reports • 40.5% of submitted complaints)
- • Secondary Problem Areas: Electrical System (10), Fuel & Propulsion System (10)
- • Crash-Citing Complaints: 0 filings
- • Fire-Citing Complaints: 0 filings
- • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 0 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Most Reported Problems for 2017 Audi A3
Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records
Air Bags & Restraints
NHTSA records list 3 official safety recall campaigns for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #21V198000 AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION:FRONT PASSENGER
- Campaign #17V196000 AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION
- Campaign #19V474000 AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION
Electrical System
Fuel & Propulsion System
NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #24V110000 FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
Powertrain & Transmission
Driver Assistance & Safety Tech
Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2017 Audi A3
Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
"The Vehicle Electrical System Control Module J519 had a fault that prevented using many vehicle functions - no interior lights, no heated seats, dashboard and navigation screen too dim to read in daylight."
"Car throws P2884 and the internal combustion motor will not start. The issue is gone into detail here: [XXX] recommendation is swapping out mechatronic unit for the upgraded unit. Since the unit is prone to failure this really should be a recall. It happens on all cars 2016/2017 years right around..."
"Passenger airbags, and emergency braking have been failing, i would have to be aware in advance if my vehicle needs to be checked, my safety and my passengers safety is in danger because incase i need to brake quickly but dont have the reaction time to do so i will crash since emergency brake..."
"The passenger side break light and signal stop working occasionally. I took it to a certified Audi service center, and they were able to fix the issue but reported that the central wire system that makes the break light and signal work are defective and that the issue will continue given that the..."
"Panoramic sunroof spontaneously shattered while driving under normal conditions. This happened while I was driving on a freeway. Luckily I maintained my composure and safely drove home with broken glass all over myself. My car insurance paid for most of my sunroof replacement. There was no symptoms..."
Complaint History for Audi A3
Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2026)
| Model Year | NHTSA Complaints | Crash Reports | Safety Recalls | Detailed Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 Audi A3 | 178 | 1 | 7 | View 2015 Problems → |
| 2016 Audi A3 | 112 | 3 | 6 | View 2016 Problems → |
| 2017 Audi A3 Current Page | 37 | 0 | 5 | Current |
| 2018 Audi A3 | 44 | 1 | 7 | View 2018 Problems → |
| 2019 Audi A3 | 12 | 0 | 4 | View 2019 Problems → |
| 2020 Audi A3 | 18 | 1 | 3 | View 2020 Problems → |
| 2022 Audi A3 | 11 | 0 | 7 | View 2022 Problems → |
| 2023 Audi A3 | 6 | 0 | 2 | View 2023 Problems → |
| 2024 Audi A3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | View 2024 Problems → |
| 2025 Audi A3 | 6 | 2 | 0 | View 2025 Problems → |
| 2026 Audi A3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | View 2026 Problems → |
Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2017 Audi A3
Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 21 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications
| Vehicle Component / System | Total Complaints | Crash Reports | Fire Reports | Reported Injury Entries | Reported Fatality Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| AIR BAGS,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| AIR BAGS,SEATS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,SEATS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Official NHTSA Defect Investigations (1)
Formal safety defect inquiries and engineering analyses opened by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)
Fuel Leak due to Suction Jet Pump Failure within Fuel Tank (Remedy Effectiveness of Recall 16V647)
On December 12, 2023, the Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) opened RQ23-007 to investigate the remedy repair effectiveness and scope of Volkswagen (VW) recall 16V-647. Recall 16V-647 was issued on September 2, 2016, for a defective suction jet pump (SJP) inside the fuel tank. Failure of the SJP could lead to a fuel leak from the vehicle. This recall covered certain model year (MY) 2015-2016 Volkswagen Golf and Audi A3 passenger car vehicles....
The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.
Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.