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What 16 owners told NHTSA about the 2020 Audi A3 Cabriolet

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (16)Crash / fire / injury (1)Airbags (9)Transmission & drivetrain (2)Electrical system (1)Engine (1)Seat belts (1)Speed control (1)Tires (1)Wheels (1)

2 of 16 complaints match · Transmission & drivetrain · clear filters

Apr 12, 2025Transmission & drivetrain

Car has 50,000 miles and vehicle has a bulletin on the vehicle from Audi, where the vehicle goes into limp mode and only shift through certain gears, rendering the vehicle, unable to drive and creating a safety hazard due to the fact that it can’t drive at Highway speed and or jolt and skips gears. Code for the P173600 known issue by Audi, went into mode while merging onto freeway and a lost control of vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11654220

Feb 21, 2025Transmission & drivetrain

The contact owns a 2020 Audi A3. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the transmission malfunction warning light was displayed, and the vehicle failed to shift into reverse. The vehicle was driven to the local dealer who diagnosed that the transmission mechatronics had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted regarding the failure. The failure mileage was 17,525.

NHTSA ODI 11644062

Working with the data? Download all 16 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 20, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2020 Audi A3 Cabriolet verdict →