The Lemon Index
Transmission complaints owners filed with the U.S. government (NHTSA) for each model year, per 100,000 cars sold. A complaint counts when it's filed under the transmission, or under the power train and the owner describes the transmission (shifting, slipping, gears, CVT). It's an owner's report, not a confirmed defect, and older years have had longer to collect complaints.
What owners describe
Share of this model's transmission complaints that mention each symptom. One complaint can mention several.
In owners' words
Tranmission issues. 51,000 miles and transmission is stuck in 1st gear. Driving normally one minute and it down shifts automatically to 2nd gear. Was driving normal on a local highway and was cruising until it suddenly started downshifting and transmission light comes on. All services have been completed per audi.
2015 Audi A3 owner · NHTSA complaint
While driving the transmission goes out of gear completely leaving me sometimes stranded in the middle of a multilane highway unable to even move the car to a safe area. Sometime when I go to reverse out of a parking spot the reverse gear doesn't even engage, leaving me stuck for minutes at a time trying to turn the car on and off until it decides to go into reverse.
2015 Audi A3 owner · NHTSA complaint
Quick answers
Which Audi A3 years have transmission problems?
By transmission complaints filed with NHTSA per car sold, the worst Audi A3 years are 2017, 2016, 2015.
What are common Audi A3 transmission problems?
Owners most often describe stuck in gear or limp mode, delay or hesitation, hard or jerky shifting.
Which Audi A3 years have the fewest transmission complaints?
Since 2010, the Audi A3 years with the fewest transmission complaints per car sold are 2015, 2016, 2017.
See every problem, not just the transmission: Audi A3 reliability by year. How we count