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Check by VIN to confirm the
exact model and see every recall for it.
Recalls are issued for a make, model and model year. Whether the repair has already been done on one specific car is known only to its manufacturer and dealers. Check your vehicle's official status at nhtsa.gov/recalls or with a dealer.
US recalls (6)
Fuel system, gasoline
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain front-wheel drive 2015-2020 Audi A3 Sedan, 2015-2019 Audi A3 Cabriolet, 2019-2020 Volkswagen Jetta GLI, 2018 Golf Sportwagen GP, 2018-2019 Golf Sportwagen A7, 2015-2017 Golf Sportwagen, 2015-2020 Golf GTI, and 2015-2020 Golf A7 vehicles. Due to a problem with a suction jet pump seal inside the fuel tank, fuel may flow into the evaporative emissions (EVAP) system and possibly leak out of the charcoal canister.
Risk and remedy
Risk: A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source increases the risk of a fire.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the suction pump, free of charge. Final owner notification letters for Audi owners were mailed on July 25, 2024. Final owner letters for VW owners were mailed on August 13, 2024. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298 or Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are VW: 20UF/Audi: 20YF. Vehicles that were previously recalled under 16V-647 will need to have the new remedy completed. This recall expands and replaces previous recall number 16V-647.
Air bags: frontal, passenger side
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2016 Audi TT Roadster, TT Coupe, S3 Sedan, R8 Coupe, A3 Sedan, A3 Etron, A3 Cabriolet, 2016 Golf Sportwagen, Golf R, Golf GTI, Golf A7, and E Golf vehicles. During air bag deployment, the front passenger air bag may explode or deploy improperly.
Risk and remedy
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking occupants, resulting in serious injury or death. An improper air bag deployment may not properly restrain the occupant, increasing their risk of injury in a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the front-passenger air bag module, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 16, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Audi's customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69DY and 61C1.
Air bags: sensor, occupant classification
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2015-2020 Audi S3 Sedan, A3 Sedan, 2016-2018 A3 Etron, 2017-2020 RS3 Sedan, and 2015-2019 A3 Cabriolet vehicles. The passenger occupant detection system (PODS) may malfunction and switch off the passenger air bag even when the seat is occupied.
Risk and remedy
Risk: A deactivated passenger air bag increases the risk of injury during a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the PODS sensor mat and update the PODS control module, free of charge. Owners letters were mailed December 23, 2021. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 69BY.
Air bags: sensor, occupant classification
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2015-2016 Audi S3 Sedan, 2015-2019 A3 Sedan and A3 Cabriolet, 2016-2018 A3 e-tron, and 2017-2019 RS3 vehicles. An improper electrical contact may cause the Passenger Occupant Detection System (PODS) to falsely detect a malfunction and deactivate the passenger air bag.
Risk and remedy
Risk: A deactivated passenger air bag increases the risk of injury during a crash.
Remedy: Audi will notify owners, and dealers will replace the connector and reroute the cable, free of charge. The recall began September 12, 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 69Z4.
Fuel system, gasoline
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2015-2016 Volkswagen Golf, Golf SportWagen, GTI, Audi A3 sedan and A3 Cabriolet vehicles. Due to a problem with the suction pump inside the fuel tank, fuel may flow into the evaporative emissions (EVAP) system.
Risk and remedy
Risk: As fuel accumulates in the EVAP system, it may leak out through the charcoal canister filter element. A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source increases the risk of a fire.
Remedy: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the suction pump, free of charge. The recall began November 2016. Volkswagen owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298, Audi owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 20Y6 and 20Y5. This recall has been fully superseded by recall 24V-110.
Electrical system: software
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2016 TT roadster, A3 cabriolet, A3 sedan and A3 e-tron, 2016-2017 TT coupe, 2017 A4 sedan and Q7 and 2015-2017 Q3 vehicles. The affected vehicles may have been programmed with new software that inadvertently makes the side marker lights inoperative in conjunction with the parking lights or the headlights. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."
Risk and remedy
Risk: If the side marker lights do not illuminate, the vehicle may be less visible at night, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Audi will notify owners, and dealers will upload revised software to correct the issue, free of charge. This recall began November 2016. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 97CB.
Canadian recalls (6)
Show 6 Canadian recalls
Fuel system
2024-02-14 · campaign 2024-095
Issue:
On certain vehicles, a seal for the suction jet pump inside the fuel tank could fail. As a result, fuel may flow directly into the evaporative emission control system (EVAP). If this happens, fuel could leak from the charcoal canister.
Note: This problem could cause a fuel odor, the fuel nozzle to stop early and/or fuel to spill when refueling.
Safety Risk:
A fuel leak can create the risk of a fire.
Corrective Actions:
The company will notify owners by mail and advise you to take your vehicle to a dealership to replace the suction jet pump.
Airbag
2022-07-27 · campaign 2022-403 · 202 vehicles
Issue:
On certain vehicles, the passenger-front airbag inflator could rupture when the airbag deploys in a crash. If this happens, the airbag may not inflate properly and small pieces of metal could be propelled toward vehicle occupants.
Safety Risk:
An airbag inflator that ruptures can create a risk of injury or death.
Corrective Actions:
Volkswagen and Audi will notify owners by mail and instruct you to take your vehicle to a dealer to replace the passenger-front airbag module.
Airbag
2021-03-22 · campaign 2021-169
Issue:
On certain vehicles, the passenger occupant detection system (PODS) may not work properly. This could cause the airbag system to turn off the passenger-front airbag even when a person is seated in the front passenger seat.
Note: This problem would cause an error message to display on the instrument panel and a warning chime to sound. The airbag indicator light would also display "passenger airbag off".
Safety Risk:
An airbag that is turned off when it should be turned on could increase the risk of injury to a passenger in a crash.
Corrective Actions:
Audi will notify owners by mail. The corrective actions for this recall are under development. To reduce the safety risk, Audi recommends that if the PODS in your vehicle is not working properly, you should contact an Audi dealer for assistance right away and not transport a person in the front-passenger seat until the PODS has been repaired.
Airbag
2019-06-19 · campaign 2019-308
Issue:
On certain vehicles, there could be a loose wiring connection for the passenger occupant detection system (PODS). This could cause the airbag system to turn off the passenger-front airbag even though the seat may be occupied. Note: This problem would cause an error message to display on the instrument panel and a warning chime to sound. The airbag indicator light would also display "passenger airbag off".
Safety Risk:
An airbag that is turned off could increase the risk of injury to a passenger in a crash.
Corrective Actions:
The company will notify owners by mail and instruct them to take their vehicle to a dealer to install a new connector for the passenger occupant detection system. The wiring will also be re-routed under the seat.
Lights and instruments
2016-09-02 · campaign 2016-427
Certain vehicles may not comply with the requirements of Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (CMVSS) 108 - Lighting System and Retroreflective Devices. In a situation where the parking lights are switched on and the vehicle is locked, the side marker lights do not illuminate, which is contrary to the requirements of the standard. This could reduce vehicle visibility, which could increase the risk of a crash causing injury and/or damage to property. Correction: Dealers will update vehicle software.
Fuel system
2016-09-02 · campaign 2016-430
On certain vehicles, the suction pump inside the fuel tank designed to purge fuel from the evaporative emissions (EVAP) system may be compromised. This could cause fuel to flow directly into the EVAP system which could, over time, accumulate and cause a leak through the charcoal canister filter element. Leaking fuel, in the presence of an ignition source, could lead to a fire causing injury and/or damage to property. Correction: Dealers will replace the suction pump inside the fuel tank.
Owner complaints (83)
Owners filed 83 complaints with NHTSA about the 2016 Audi A3 (3 crashes, 2 fires, 1 injuries reported). Among 22 model years of this model, it ranks #3 for the most complaints (median 33).
| Most-reported problem | Complaints | |
|---|
| Air bags | 37 | |
| Electrical system | 16 | |
| Fuel/propulsion system | 16 | |
| Engine | 9 | |
| Unknown or other | 9 | |
| Power train | 6 | |
| Engine and engine cooling | 4 | |
| Fuel system, gasoline | 4 | |
Crash test ratings
NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings for the 2016 Audi A3.
| Version | Overall | Frontal | Side | Rollover |
|---|
| 2016 Audi A3 4 DR AWD | 5★ | 4★ | 5★ | 4★ |
| 2016 Audi A3 4 DR FWD | 5★ | 4★ | 5★ | 4★ |
| 2016 Audi A3 C FWD | – | – | – | – |
| 2016 Audi A3 C AWD | – | – | – | – |
Fuel economy
EPA ratings for each 2016 Audi A3 version.
| Version | City MPG | Highway MPG | Combined | Yearly fuel cost |
|---|
| A3 1.8 L Automatic (AM-S6) | 23 | 33 | 27 | $2,500 |
| A3 Cabriolet 1.8 L Automatic (AM-S6) | 24 | 35 | 28 | $2,400 |
| A3 Cabriolet quattro 2.0 L Automatic (AM-S6) | 23 | 32 | 26 | $2,600 |
| A3 e-tron 1.4 L Automatic (AM-S6) | 33 | 37 | 35 | $2,350 |
| A3 e-tron ultra 1.4 L Automatic (AM-S6) | 37 | 41 | 39 | $2,100 |
| A3 quattro 2.0 L Automatic (AM-S6) | 24 | 33 | 27 | $2,500 |
Need this data in your app?
Recalls, complaints, crash ratings and fuel economy as a JSON API. Decode up to 50 VINs per call and get a daily feed of new recalls.
Explore the API →Sources: NHTSA recalls, complaints and 5-Star Safety Ratings, US EPA fuel economy and Transport
Canada's Vehicle Recalls Database (contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada).
Recalls updated 2026-10-30.