The Used Car Index

2020 Audi Q3 problems

NHTSA lists 65 complaints for the 2020 Audi Q3, 2 of them mention a crash and 0 mention a fire. 0 complaints mention an injury, with 0 injuries and 0 deaths reported.

Data build 2026-10-08.

NHTSA lists this vehicle as AUDI Q3.

At a glance

Complaints
65
With crash
2
With fire
0
With injury (complaints)
0
Injuries
0
Deaths
0
Recalls
3
Do not drive recalls
0
Park outside recalls
0
Recall potential units (maximum)
208,724
Investigations
0
Open investigations
0
Manufacturer communications
907

Complaints per 100k sold unavailable. No sales source is available for this record.

Where the complaints are

Top systems
SystemComplaintsShare of this vehicle's complaints
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM2233.8%
ENGINE2030.8%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER1827.7%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM1015.4%
STEERING1015.4%
POWER TRAIN69.2%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL69.2%
SERVICE BRAKES57.7%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING46.2%
STRUCTURE46.2%
Top subsystems
SystemSubsystemComplaints
STRUCTUREBODY4
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLINGENGINE1
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCEAUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING1
LANE DEPARTUREWARNING1
TIRESMARKINGS1

One complaint can name several systems, so shares can add to more than 100 percent.

Model-generated complaint tags

These labels are model-generated, not NHTSA data.

Failure modes
LabelCountShare of taggedMean confidence
loss of control2741.5%0.81
electrical electronic1624.6%0.79
fluid or fuel leak1116.9%0.63
mechanical failure69.2%0.70
unclear23.1%0.77
noise or comfort11.5%0.93
restraint or airbag11.5%0.99
structural or corrosion11.5%0.58
Severities
LabelCountShare of taggedMean confidence
moderate5584.6%0.86
low812.3%0.65
high23.1%0.97

Model: typesafe/jev-1.13-20260917; schema version: tag-v1. 65 tagged complaints of 65 complaints (100.0%).

Confidence is the model's own probability for the label it chose (0 to 1), not accuracy.

Model-generated labels on tagged complaints only. Model years 2013 and newer are tagged in full; 2012 in part (see tagged_share); earlier model years have no tags. NHTSA's own flags remain separate in the complaints block.

Recalls

See new recalls and investigations this week.

3 recalls.

26V590000

Date: 2026-09-11. Systems: STEERING.

Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018 Tiguan, 2018-2019 Atlas, and 2019-2021 Audi Q3 vehicles. One of the bolts that attaches the steering rack to the subframe may corrode and break. If this happens, the steering rack housing can break.

Consequence: A broken steering rack housing can result in a loss of steering control, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the right-side steering rack mounting bolt, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed November 10, 2026. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 48LG and 48VT. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on September 16, 2026.

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

20V786000

Date: 2020-12-16. Systems: SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC.

Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2020 Audi Q3 vehicles. The brake pedal plate can bend or detach under the pressure applied during sudden stopping.

Consequence: A bent or detached brake pedal plate decreases the contact area for the driver's foot and increases the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Audi will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the weld between the brake pedal and the brake pedal plate and, as necessary, replace the entire brake pedal, free of charge. The recall began January 12, 2021. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 46i7.

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

20V644000

Date: 2020-10-19. Systems: SEATS.

Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling one 2020 Audi Q3 vehicle. The driver's seat frame may have incorrectly been bolted to the seat rail.

Consequence: The incorrect bolt connection could fail, increasing the risk of injury in the event of a crash.

Remedy: Audi will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the bolt connection and, as necessary, replace the seat structure, free of charge. The recall began November 10, 2020. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 72L4.

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

Investigations

0 investigations; 0 open.

Manufacturer communications

907 manufacturer communications.

Communications by system
SystemCount
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM252
EQUIPMENT245
STRUCTURE106
UNKNOWN OR OTHER103
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING55
STEERING47
SUSPENSION42
VISIBILITY41

11038027

Date: 2026-09-25. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.

This bulletin provides information for reporting safety related information to the manufacturer.

11038130

Date: 2026-09-25. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.

This bulletin states that technicians are required to report to the manufacturer when a vehicle has flooded, and specify the height to which the vehicle has been flooded.

11038024

Date: 2026-09-22. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: VISIBILITY/WIPER.

This bulletin provides service information regarding exterior glass cleaning.

11038042

Date: 2026-09-22. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: STEERING.

This bulletin provides information about vibrations and rotational steering vibrations.

11038032

Date: 2026-09-18. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.

This bulletin provides information when the rear parking sensor sometimes does not work, rear parking sensor loose, rear parking sensor fault message.

11038056

Date: 2026-09-18. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: STRUCTURE.

This bulletin provides information about billing for a broken sunroof glass panel.

11038025

Date: 2026-09-15. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.

This bulletin provides information when the license plate mounting bracket threded inserts are stripped.

11038143

Date: 2026-09-09. Type: Other. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.

This special notice is to inform dealers to return the parts listed if it meets the criteria provided.

11038026

Date: 2026-09-08. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.

This bulletin provides infomraiton abou the Audi frequency analysis application, which is available in the App Store for Android and Apple phones.

11038033

Date: 2026-09-08. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: STRUCTURE.

This TSB describes a corrosion issue due to outside influence and the prohibition of warranty in these cases.

Notes on this record

  • Complaints from the API and bulk file are merged and deduplicated by ODI number; the API alone misses records.
  • System and subsystem counts are numbers of distinct complaints, recalls or communications that name them. One record can name several systems, so shares across systems can add to more than 100 percent; a single share never exceeds 100 percent.
  • Recalls are counted once per campaign, investigations once per action and manufacturer communications once per NHTSA id, even when NHTSA lists several model names for the same record.
  • A sales denominator is a calendar-year proxy, not the population of vehicles still in use. Rates are copied from verified pipeline output.

Other names NHTSA uses

None listed.

Matched NHTSA models

Matched labels and complaints
NHTSA model labelComplaints
Q365

Same model, other years

All model years | All Audi models

Other Audi models, 2020

Sources

Get this record as JSON

The free rate-limited demo needs no key.

curl "https://api.theusedcarindex.com/v1/demo/vehicle_risk?make=Audi&model=Q3&year=2020"

Paid endpoint: https://api.theusedcarindex.com/v1/vehicle_risk. MCP endpoint: https://api.theusedcarindex.com/mcp.