Problem areas?

Starting to look for a replacement for my 04 Passat TDI. A used 10-11 A3 TDI is a possibility. The Passat had several known problem areas and I'm wondering if there are any parts of the A3 that are prone to trouble and require a serious inspection prior to purchase?

I'm in almost the exact same boat.. had a 20yr girl (while texting) crash into and remove the back end of my 03 jetta this week and totaled it. So many years and so many mods.. I was a bit upset to say the least.
Now I'm looking at the A3 as I'm really not a fan of the jetta style beyond the mk4. Guessing that with regard to mods its same as the VW as it's for the most part the same engine as the VW. Though with regard to everything else, the A3 probably has it's own unique issues to look for (or beware of). If any of you A3 owners could please provide some input it would be greatly appreciated!

The only issues we have had with our 2010 A3 have been the battery- just over 3 yrs 50,000mi, the exhaust flapper valve at near the same mileage. Both these items are common across the car lines though. The only other item was an oil seal for the turbo return line right at the block which was weeping and was replaced under warranty. The car now has 63,000 mi and still drives like new. I did replace (on my dime) a rear outer tail lamp assembly as when I was removing it to replace a burnt bulb I heard a crackling sound. It was held in place that tightly. Couple of months later there was water in behind the lens which corroded the circuit board. No amount of cleaning helped as a intermittent message of RR signal failure kept being displayed.The lights functioned properly but the indicator in the cluster would flash rapidly. The lesson I learned here was to apply dielectric grease to the lense locating pins for future lens removal. The lens was 200.00 fully loaded after taxes.

re: Problem Areas

I have a 2012 A3 TDI with 24K miles, and happy to report, so far zero problems

battery

went dead just recently; 2011 manufactured 11/2010 purchased 2/2011; replaced under warranty; so heads up for anyone similarly situated; it had been almost a year since last service and I initially attributed slower cranking to that; only 17,000 miles and no other problems btw

2010 a3 about 80k on it, i bought it at 73k. about 3k mile after owning it the ac seized on me and stopped blowing cold air i dont believe this is a common issue and i havent read about anything major being an issue.

I just had my battery replaced today at 47,700 miles. I have been experiencing intermittent long cranking times, sometimes requiring me to stop cranking and turn the motor over again. I suspected the battery and the dealer checked it and confirmed. Replaced under warranty.

Other than that I have found some of the plastics to be cheap (such as the visor clip that my wife broke).

I still love the car, though, and consider those items minor nuisances. Nothing compared to the warranty work I've had done on previous cars!

Oh yes, sun visor clip. Forgot to mention that broke as well.

jgeorge said:

Oh yes, sun visor clip. Forgot to mention that broke as well.

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Ha. Same here, broke within a week of buying it.

Thanks for all the feedback. Good to know there aren't any major concerns with the Audi so far.

I'm going to try to get another year out of my Passat but I've got 361K miles on it and it still has a few major components that are original (like the transmission). They could go at any time and if that happens I'll need to move to a replacement quickly so I'm trying to get all of my research done ahead of time.

ha! that sunvisor clip! my roommate busted mine. a buddy busted the spring mechanism in the fold down arm rest in the back seat. oh well!

Don't forget to consider the common rail fuel pump failures. While it is only a small percentage of cars, the issue does exist.

Wow -- we have twins!

My 2011 A3 TDI had both of the exact issues jgeorge mentions .. battery kaput at 50kmi (warranty), rear bulb out - pulled tail assy myself -- CRACK! goes the body pin molded into the assembly. Be gentle!!! That's all my baby has needed and she's at 69k miles.

jgeorge said:

The only issues we have had with our 2010 A3 have been the battery- just over 3 yrs 50,000mi, ......... The car now has 63,000 mi and still drives like new. I did replace (on my dime) a rear outer tail lamp assembly as when I was removing it to replace a burnt bulb I heard a crackling sound. It was held in place that tightly. Couple of months later there was water in behind the lens which corroded the circuit board.

Click to expand...

75k on the 2010. here's the issues encountered-
-49k, front wheel bearing, replaced under warranty
-both sun visor clips. $42/ea from the dealer! and that's the shop price.
-58k, battery stopped holding a good charge, replaced.
-recently noticed rear liftgate struts aren't holding as well.
Bushings and suspension pieces are next, this car doesn't feel as tight as it was.

2012 A-3:
At about 6 K miles we had the rubber seal around one of the door (right front IIRC) start coming loose. Replaced under warranty.
My wife (whose car it basically is) really likes it--now at about 29K miles.

QUOTE=maroonfrog1;4387487]My 2011 A3 TDI had both of the exact issues George mentions .. battery kaput at 50kmi (warranty), rear bulb out - pulled tail assy myself -- CRACK! goes the body pin molded into the assembly. Be gentle!!! That's all my baby has needed and she's at 69k miles.[/QUOTE


Maroonfrog1- if you end up replacing the lens one thing I noticed was the retaining pins had a slight "rib" which occurs when the lens backing was removed during the molding process. Before installation I used emery cloth to smooth the pins then coated them with dielectric grease as I had that on hand. After I replaced the lens I then removed it and it was much easier to do. Now I'm waiting for the bulb on the other side to fail but with luck I won't damage that lens. Ours is white as well so they must be twins- that said let me know what fails next so I know what to expect and I will do the same.

My warranty claims so far (28k miles on my 2012)

-Replaced Drivers headlamp assly (fogged up during rain badly)
-Replaced Passenger tail light (flooded with water)
-Replaced OSR clip for the rear shade

2012 have had it for 10k kms bought it from a friend [first owner] no issues to report in the 2 years + 72000 kms approx 50,000 miles that its been enjoyed between the 2 of us. We have been changing oil/filter every 10,000 kms.

My 2010 A3 just had a Oxygen sensor got bad at 52,300 miles...


I know that this is nothing special but thought I would mention it. Especially since it just made me very happy that I bought a CPOed A3 so that this was totally covered. only cost me about an hour at the dealership.

2012 A3, just hit 50k, knock on wood but only issue so far has been a dead battery at 42k. Replaced on my own.

2013 purchased in September of 2012 (20,000 miles) my center armrest latch/ clip broke replaced under warranty.

55,000 miles the seat back popped off/glue separated. I repaired that myself.

55,000 miles the blower motor started going bad - the dealer replaced that under CPO, otherwise the part is $300 and about 1 1/2 hours labor.

Only a "whistle" issue

I have a 2011 A3, TDI with 30000 miles. three issues:
1. Front tires wore out at 6000 miles = alignment issue. Tires on me
alignment on dealer. Thought dealer should also pay for the tires
2. blower motor seized--dealer said this was not an uncommon problem
3. Near 30000 miles starting getting a "whistle" noise. Seen other postings on other sites regarding this same issue. Maybe an air leak?
Dealer said he couldn't find anything wrong, of course this was the same dealer with issue #1 above.

With that being said, an A3 TDI is a nice car--get a good dealer and not one 100 miles away. dumb dumb dumb

Most recent update - mostly trouble free.

63,000 the passenger side seat back popped off so I repaired that.

63,300 miles threw a code P047F - exhaust pressure valve open. VW/Audi put out an extended coverage warranty until 120,000 miles on that part so it was covered under warranty 100% when I went in for my 65k maintenance. (I checked the service papers, it said TSB 2033356/1, but I couldn't find anything on that).

Yep the wife broke my sun visor clip its still hangin and flapping in the wind. I'm getting the full Monty done on the car this week. I'm getting the Buzzken CR140 TDI 409 SS Downpipe Kit with straight mid-pipe, Malone Stage 2 163whp/295lb-ft, Malone DSG Transmission Tune. Very excited.

Oh ya and maybe the EGR delete also

The A3 TDI now has 8X,XXX miles on it now.

2012 A3 TDI currently 101,xxxkm

1. replaced front headlamp assembly due to small stone chip/fog up (factory warranty)
2. replaced one burnt rear bulb $50cad
3. replaced front wipers at roughly 80k km $50cad
4. replaced rear brakes (rotors/pads) roughly 80k km $350cad
5. replaced Barum summer tires in 2013 with Falkens as Barums were noisy(loud wobbling noise), no cure after numerous checks/alignments done by my mechanic, Falkens fair much better (still on them now), at the end of the day, this tire-fiasco cost me roughly $800cad
6. Factory recall Apr 2015 at roughly 100k km- ECM update - no cost

That's all I can remember and doesnt include the 2 accidents I have had, both minor....

Thebauer you can go to any dealer. Your not stuck with the one you bought the car from! Once the warenty is up I would look into getting a local guy who you can talk directly to these car are not that complicated

I got the Malone stage 2 and DSG tune and DPF and HP EGR delete completed and it took care of the hesitation issue car is now running great with a hugh increase in power and shifting. I'm glad I got it done