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2016 Audi S3

The Verdict

97 Smooth Ride

The 2016 Audi S3 has 14 owner complaints filed with NHTSA. The most reported issues are electrical (10 complaints) and body (2 complaints). With a Klunk Score of 97/100, it earns a "Smooth Ride" rating. If you're shopping for a Audi S3, consider the 2020 model year which has 92% fewer complaints.

Safe Bet

The 2020 has 92% fewer complaints

View the 2020 Audi S3 dashboard →

97

Klunk Score: Smooth Ride

This vehicle year has significantly fewer complaints than average. A reliable choice.

How is this calculated?

The Klunk Score ranks this vehicle year against all others in our database based on total owner complaints filed with NHTSA. 100 = fewest complaints (top tier), 0 = most complained-about. Scores above 60 are better than average; below 40 means more problems than most.

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Under the Hood

Each number is a complaint. Darker = bigger problem.

YearBodyBrakesElectricalEngineTransmission
20153033106
2016201020
201730501
201800122
201900200
202010000
202411000

By Category

Electrical
10
Body
2
Engine
2

By Severity

1
6
2
8

Worst Problems

Complaints

Body 2

Sunroof Exploded while driving

3mo ago
Body 1

N/A

6mo ago
Electrical 1

Received notice for safety recall to have PODs system repaired or replaced free of charge by Audi. Took my vehicle in for the recall. Audi wanted to charge me to complete this safety recall and refused to complete the recall if I didn't pay. This was bluegrass motorsports in Louisville ky. They also damaged my vehicles door trim and stole money from my glove box(my fault for leaving money inside). Filed a complaint on the dealers website and was never reached out to. This is why safety recall remains open on my vehicle.

27mo ago
Engine 2

Where do I start? We have taken this car into the Audi dealership four times due to the engine. Overheating and being almost stranded in the middle of nowhere with it because oil was needing to be added to the engine all the time and after charging us hundreds and hundreds of dollars to do to plug in Their service computer system they finally realized that the car third high-pressure fuel pump leaking was leaking fuel into the crank case causing a hard start and fuel trim codes we spent and this is just the warrants $911.67 another time my husband was backing out of our brand, new home and This car did not sense that he was too close and essentially the front right part of his tire where the tire is doc Benton and he ruined the right side of our garage and these are just one of the 20 issues that have been always going to the RV dealership and I really think that it’s time for some reimbursement. My husband won’t go and do anything about it because he used to work at the dealership but I’m sick of it and we’ve been charged hundreds and hundreds of dollars and then they finally just fixed. They finally just found the problem there that’s an issue and it’s a safety issue to because when I was driving down the highway all the sudden the over the engine overheated and that wasn’t on that was on several occasions, we brought it into the Audi dealership. They couldn’t find anything wrong with it Several please call me back or contact my husband who owns a car I’m getting sick of this. I think they also replaced the water pump as well.

41mo ago
Electrical 1

1. PASSENGER AIRBAG HAS BEEN OFF FOR 2 WEEKS. 2. oN THE iNFORMATION SCREEN THERE HAS BEEN A SYSTEM MALFUNCTION EVER SINCE. 3. CAR HAS BEEN TAKEN FOR REPAIR TO DEALERSHIP FOR 3 TIMES AND THE ISSUE KEEPS COMING BACK.

59mo ago
Electrical 1

CAR HAD NO ISSUES PRIOR TO RECALL 69Z4. AFTER AUDI DEALERSHIP PERFORMED WORK TO SATISFY RECALL 69Z4 (NHTSA 19V474), THE AFFECTED SYSTEM (PODS) NOW DOES NOT FUNCTION AT ALL. THIS RENDERS THE PASSENGER SEAT AIRBAG INOPERABLE REGARDLESS OF WHETHER IT IS OCCUPIED. AUDI WILL NOT COVER THE ADDITIONAL REPAIR TO THE SYSTEM THAT WAS PERFECTLY FUNCTIONAL UNTIL THEIR RECALL REPAIR WAS PERFORMED. THIS APPEARS TO BE A WIDESPREAD ISSUE AFFECTING SIMILAR A3/S3 MODEL YEARS.

67mo ago
Electrical 1

POD WHICH CONTROLS THE PASSENGER AIR BAG

67mo ago
Electrical 2

AIRBAG ISSUE ON THE PASSENGER SIDE. A RECALL WAS DONE IN DECEMBER 2019 AND THE ISSUE PERSISTED AND NOW THE DEALER WANTS MORE THAN $1,300 TO FIX THE ISSUE.

68mo ago
Electrical 2

AFTER BRINGING IN MY VEHICLE FOR SERVICE, THE DEALER INFORMED ME OF A NECESSARY RECALL REPAIR THAT WOULD PREVENT POTENTIAL PASSENGER AIRBAG FAILURE. I AUTHORIZED THE REPAIR, ALTHOUGH I HAD NOT ENCOUNTERED ANY ISSUES PRIOR. HOWEVER ABOUT A MONTH AFTER THE REPAIR, I BEGAN TO RECEIVE A FLASHING WARNING ON THE DASH WHILE DRIVING AND SOMETIMES IMMEDIATELY AFTER STARTING THE CAR WHILE STATIONARY WHICH READ "SAFETY SYSTEM: SYSTEM FAULT! SEE OWNER'S MANUAL", "PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF" AND "AUDI PRE SENSE: SYSTEM FAULT!". I NOW RECEIVE THE WARNING EVERY TIME I START THE VEHICLE. I CONTACTED THE DEALER AND INFORMED THEM OF THE ISSUE. THEY SET AN APPOINTMENT FOR AN INSPECTION AND POSSIBLE REPAIR, HOWEVER UPON INSPECTION THEY FOUND THE REPAIR WAS NOT COVERED UNDER THE RECALL AND THUS I WOULD BE CHARGED $1700 TO HAVE THE PODS UNIT REPLACED IN THE PASSENGER SEAT. AFTER RESEARCHING AND SPEAKING WITH OTHER OWNERS, IT SEEMS THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM, AS MANY OTHERS HAVE ENCOUNTERED THE ISSUE, AND THE REPAIR IS NOT COVERED UNDER THE RECALL. THIS IS CLEARLY AN ISSUE WITH AN INAPPROPRIATE/INEFFECTIVE RECALL REPAIR. AUDI MUST FIX THIS ISSUE.

69mo ago
Electrical 2

PASSENGER FRONT AIR BAG SEAT SENSOR WAS REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY YET THE PROBLEM WASN'T FIXED. SEAT WONT DETECT PASSENGER AND PASSENGER AIRBAG WONT DEPLOY BECAUSE OF IT. AUDI SAYS THE WHOLE SENSOR NEEDS TO BE REPLACED AND IS A WEAR AND TEAR PART, WHICH IT IS NOT! THE NHSTSA MUST HOLD AUDI ACCOUNTABLE FOR A FULL FIX NOT A HALF FIX. DO YOUR JOBS!! LOOK INTO THIS PROBLEM ITS DANGEROUS!

70mo ago
Electrical 2

DASHBOARD WARNING LIGHTS INDICATING AIR BAG IS OFF EVEN WHEN PASSENGER SEAT IS OCCUPIED. UNDER WARRANTY SERVICE WAS PERFORMED AND FAILED TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE, WAS TOLD BY DEALER THAT THE REPAIR WOULD BE $1400 DESPITE SAFETY RECALL AND INADEQUATE EFFORT MADE TO REPAIR VEHICLE SAFETY ISSUE UNDER WARRANTY. AUDI OF GRAPEVINE, TEXAS APPEAR TO BE CROOKS.

72mo ago
Engine 2

VERY SIMILAR TO THE RECALL FOR THE 2017-2018 AUDI A3, THE ENGINE COMPLETELY SHUTS OFF WHILE DRIVING AT SLOW SPEEDS SHORTLY AFTER STARTING THE CAR. THE CAR STARTS NORMALLY, SHIFTS INTO GEAR (DRIVE OR REVERSE) ACCELERATES NORMALLY, BEFORE THE ENGINE DIES (RPM GAUGE DROPS TO 0). THE CAR FORCES ME TO PUT IT IN PARK BEFORE STARTING NORMALLY WHEN PUSHING THE START/STOP BUTTON. IT HAS HAPPENED 15+ TIMES IN THE LAST TWO WEEKS. I'VE TAKEN IT TO THE MECHANIC AND NO ERROR CODES APPEAR. WE HAVE TESTED TO SEE IF IT ONLY HAPPENS WHEN THE GAS TANK IS BELOW HALF (WHICH WOULD INDICATE A FUEL PUMP ISSUE) HOWEVER, IT HAS HAPPENED ON A FULL TANK AS WELL. IT IS NOT BAD GAS-- I HAVE FILLED UP AT A VARIETY OF GAS STATIONS SINCE THIS ISSUE BEGAN. THIS IS DANGEROUS AS IT POTENTIALLY COULD HAPPEN IN TRAFFIC, SINCE IT DIES WHILE IN MOTION AND REQUIRES THE CAR TO BE IN PARK BEFORE IT WILL START BACK UP. I'VE SEEN SEVERAL FORUMS ONLINE ABOUT SIMILAR COMPLAINTS AND I'M ESPECIALLY CONCERNED BASED ON THE EXACT SAME RECALL FOR THE 2017-2018 A3.

79mo ago
Electrical 1

FRONT AIRBAG RECALL WAS JUST COMPLETED BUT THE CAR KEEPS TOGGLING THE FRONT AIRBAGS ON AND OFF WHEN DRIVING. I ALSO GET A MESSAGE THAT SAYS AUDI PRE-SENSE SYSTEM FAULT. PIC ATTACHED.

79mo ago
Electrical 2

FRONT PASSENGER AIRBAG KEEPS SHUTTING OFF AND ON WHEN WHILE DRIVING AND WITH A PASSENGER SITTING ON THE SEAT. CAR WAS REPAIRED ONCE BEFORE FOR THE SAME ISSUE BUT THE ISSUE KEEPS SHOWING AGAIN. A RECALL HAS BEEN ISSUED RECENTLY FOR THIS ISSUE.

80mo ago
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