Of the 9 A3 model years with a verified US sales figure (2008–2012 and 2015–2018), only one drew enough complaints to be ranked against the others.
Median across these years: 0.70 per 1,000 sold in the first three years. A model year well above its own nameplate’s median is the signal worth acting on.
Only one year has enough complaints to rank on its own. Grouped by generation, they can be compared: owners filed the most complaints about the 2004–2013 generation (1.51 per 1,000 sold) and the fewest about the 2015–2020 generation (0.57).
| Generation | Model years rated here | Per 1,000 | Complaints |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004–2013 | 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 | 1.51 | 42 |
| 2015–2020 | 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 | 0.57 | 64 |
Each generation’s complaints filed in its model years’ first three years, divided by those years’ US sales. Generation years as Wikipedia gives them for North America.
Each model year with a verified denominator. Follow a year for what owners reported about it.
| Model year | Per 1,000 | Complaints | Most-reported part |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 3.07 | 16 | Fuel System 27% |
| 2008 | 2.94 | 14 | Air Bags 52% |
| 2011 | 1.07 | 7 | Air Bags 39% |
| 2015 | 1.00 | 29 | Air Bags 34% |
| 2009 | 0.70 | 3 | Air Bags 34% |
| 2016 | 0.47 | 16 | Air Bags 31% |
| 2017 | 0.44 | 12 | Air Bags 27% |
| 2018 | 0.33 | 7 | Air Bags 41% |
| 2012 | 0.29 | 2 | Air Bags 65% |
Safety complaints owners filed with NHTSA in each model year’s first three years on the road, divided by how many were sold, so a year that sold twice as many cars is not penalised for it.
Too few owners filed complaints about them to rank them. Few reports is not the same as a good year, so those years are left out of best and worst.