2012 Audi A3

Documented records held locally from official US and Canadian sources. Each record shows its official identifier so it can be confirmed at the source; nothing here is a score or a prediction.

Vehicle coverage

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Choose a vehicle to see the official records held for it.

Coverage held for this vehicle

  • OFFICIAL ACTION 4 US Recalls
  • MANUFACTURER COMMUNICATION 872 Manufacturer Bulletins
  • INVESTIGATION 2 Investigations
  • CONSUMER REPORT 43 Consumer Complaints
  • CANADIAN RECALL 4 Canada Recalls

These are counts of distinct official records held locally. They are not combined into any score, and a record count is not a failure rate. A zero means no record is held here, not that none exists.

US Recalls

NHTSA Recall US

  • 19V862000 2019-12-04

    Recall 19V862000

    Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2012-2015 Passat, 2011-2014 Golf A6, and 2011-2013 Audi A3 diesel vehicles, thought to have been previously repaired under one of the Takata air bag recalls. The driver's side air bag inflator may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.

    Recorded model years: 2012

  • 18V082000 2018-01-30

    Recall 18V082000

    Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2006-2013 Audi A3, 2007-2009 A4 Cabriolet and S4 Cabriolet, 2008 RS4 Cabriolet, 2009-2012 Q5, and 2010-2012 Audi A5 Cabriolet and S5 Cabriolet vehicles. Upon deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to explode.

    Recorded model years: 2012

  • 16V079000 2016-02-10

    Recall 16V079000

    Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2006 Volkswagen Passat sedans and wagons, 2005-2013 Audi A3, and 2006-2009 Audi A4 Cabriolet vehicles. Upon deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to rupture.

    Recorded model years: 2012

Showing 3 of 4 records held. The full set is available from the official source named above.

A further 20 records exist for the Audi A3 where the source stated no model year. They are not counted above and appear on no year page.

Campaign applicability can depend on build date, equipment and market, and a remedy may already have been completed. Confirm any campaign against the official record using the VIN.

Manufacturer Bulletins

NHTSA Manufacturer Communication US

  • 11035854 2026-07-27

    TSB_2082846_1

    This bulletin provides a statement regarding the bottleneck of supply for VW approved oil types VW 504.00 and VW 507.00.

    Recorded model years: 2012

  • 11035809 2026-07-09

    TSB_2073282_1

    This bulletin provides information when there is a film/visible rings on the clear glass cover of the headlight when the dipped beam is switched on.

    Recorded model years: 2012

  • 11034643 2026-06-23

    TSB_2059335_7

    This bulletin provides information when there are noises from the area around the instrument cluster.

    Recorded model years: 2012

Showing 3 of 872 records held. The full set is available from the official source named above.

A further 2,266 records exist for the Audi A3 where the source stated no model year. They are not counted above and appear on no year page.

A manufacturer communication is service guidance issued to dealers. It is not a safety recall, and its existence does not mean this vehicle has the described condition.

Investigations

NHTSA Investigation US

  • PE11023 2011-08-02

    Diesel Fuel Injector Line Leakage

    By letter dated October 3, 2011, Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (VW) notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that it will conduct a safety recall to address a defect in approximately 168,275 model year (MY) 2009-2012 Volkswagen Jetta, Jetta Sportwagen, Golf, and Audi A3 vehicles equipped with the 2.0L TDI Common Rail Clean Diesel engine (NHTSA Recall No.…

    Recorded model years: 2012

  • EA11003 2011-02-07

    High-Pressure Fuel Pump Failure

    The Office of Defects Investgation (ODI) opened EA11-003 on February 7, 2011, based on 160 complaints to ODI and Volkswagen involving high pressure fuel pump (HPFP) failures in model year (MY) 2009 through 2010 Volkswagen Jetta and Golf and Audi A3 TDI vehicles and questions regarding fuel sample results provided by Volkswagen as part of its response to PE10-034.During EA11-003,…

    Recorded model years: 2012

A further 6 records exist for the Audi A3 where the source stated no model year. They are not counted above and appear on no year page.

An investigation records that a regulator reviewed a suspected defect. It is not itself a finding of defect and not a recall.

Canada Recalls

Transport Canada Recall CA

  • 2020353 2020-08-04

    Transport Canada recall 2020353

    Issue: On certain vehicles, the warning label for the engine block heater cable is written in English only. As a result, a French user may not receive important safety information about how to use the engine block heater. A label that is not provided in both official languages could create confusion. Safety Risk: User confusion could increase the risk of…

    Recorded model years: 2012

  • 2018059 2018-01-30

    Transport Canada recall 2018059

    Multiple source assertions are recorded for this identifier. Consult the official record for configuration-specific detail.

    Recorded model years: 2012

  • 2016065 2016-02-09

    Transport Canada recall 2016065

    On certain vehicles, the driver frontal airbag inflator could produce excessive internal pressure during airbag deployment. Increased pressure may cause the inflator to rupture, which could allow fragments to be propelled toward vehicle occupants, increasing the risk of injury. This could also damage the airbag module, which could prevent proper deployment. Failure of the airbag to fully deploy during a…

    Recorded model years: 2012

Showing 3 of 4 records held. The full set is available from the official source named above.

A further 29 records exist for the Audi A3 where the source stated no model year. They are not counted above and appear on no year page.

Canadian campaigns are recorded separately from US campaigns and do not imply one another.

Consumer Complaints

NHTSA Complaint US

43 complaint records in the dataset for this vehicle and year.

Outcomes stated in those reports

  • reports mentioning a crash 1
  • reports mentioning a fire 2

Outcomes as stated by the person who filed the report. They are not verified, not adjudicated, and carry no exposure denominator, so they cannot be turned into a rate.

By system

  • Air bags (restraint system)31 (64.6%)Official recall records for this system: 20, covering model years 2006–2023.
  • Electrical system6 (12.5%)
  • Lights5 (10.4%)Official recall records for this system: 3, covering model years 2016–2019.
  • Fuel system4 (8.3%)Official recall records for this system: 9, covering model years 2006–2020.
  • Brakes1 (2.1%)Official recall records for this system: 2, covering model years 2009.
  • Stability & traction control1 (2.1%)Official recall records for this system: 1, covering model years 2009.

A single report can name several systems, so these figures overlap and must not be added together — their sum is larger than the report total above.

A further 720 complaint records exist for this vehicle where the source stated no model year. They are not counted above and appear on no year page.

These are owner-submitted allegations, not confirmed defects. Counts are record counts in the dataset. No exposure denominator exists, so no failure rate or reliability score can be derived from them.

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