Installed two brand new batteries. The new batteries won't stay charged. The car cut off suddenly while I was driving. Many codes started flashing rapidly. The brake makes a clicking when trying to restart the car. The car wouldn't start.
Audi A3 won't start problems
10 of the 735 owner complaints about the Audi A3 describe won't start, most of them for the 2010 model year.
- owner complaints
- 10
- worst model year
- 2010
- typical mileage
- 34,300
Is there a fix? No recall or service bulletin covers this area of the car yet.
By model year
- 20221
- 20171
- 20131
- 20113
- 20104
Often reported together
Fuel pump 6Loss of power 4Stalling 2Engine failure 2Check engine light 2
Trouble codes mentioned
P2884 1
What owners say
Car throws P2884 and the internal combustion motor will not start. The issue is gone into detail here: [XXX] recommendation is swapping out mechatronic unit for the upgraded unit. Since the unit is prone to failure this really should be a recall. It happens on all cars 2016/2017 years right around 60k miles. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
I was at the tail end of a 400 mile trip-all freeway driving. After exiting the freeway, the car was slowly losing power. The glow plug light came on. Car stalled after 1/2 mile. I tried to restart it. It would not start. The glow plug and check engine light were on. Towed to dealership to find the high pressure fuel pump send metal into my fuel system and engine. I have just over 50,000 miles on the car. The repair is covered due to the faulty part. Audi should have to take the car back because they knew about this problem. Instead of doing a recall, they allowed the car to be driven and now my engine is affected. I tried to arrange a trade-in at a local subaru dealership and they offered me low blue book minus $10,000. My car is not only undesirable, but worthless.
Purchased used 2013 audi a3 tdi 3 months ago. Only use diesel fuel. Driving onto i80 west when I heard/felt car hiccup, lost power. Coasted to stop sign, tried multiple time but would not start. Towed to dealer who informed me that fuel pump (hpfp) had come apart spewing metal shards into system and that entire system had to be replaced. Research showing documented failures in vw tdi (same engine) hpfp in 2010, 2011 and 2012. Is system safe?
My a3 2011 audi 2.0 tdi diesel would not start in a parking lot. Not the battery: towed to the dealer. The dealer in honolulu,hi says I need the entire fuel system ( tank,lines, 2 fuel pumps ) replaced due to 'glitter like' particles in the fuel line. Fuel is being sent for analysis. I am using the recommended brand of diesel fuel ( shell ) . Fortunately I was not moving. Several other complaints list sudden engine failure due to fuel pump failure. Also fortunately, it is still under warranty.
Car started but made horrible rattling sound then died and would not start again. Car left me stranded over 60 miles from home on a sunday night on the memorial day weekend with a young child. The car had to be towed to dealership in austin. Due to the late hour and holiday, no way to rent a car to get home, so I had to have someone come and get us. I was told by the dealership the fuel pump went out and basically exploded sending metal fibers into engine and other systems. Given estimate of $7,500.00 to fix the car. Service department acknowledged that this has happened before but refused to pay for the repair since my extended warranty ended at 100,000 miles, and my car was out of warranty by 4,600 miles. It is a design flaw, that if the fuel pump goes bad in a diesel engine that it will do so much damage to the engine.
Was driving along at highway speeds when glow bulb indicator came on immediately followed by loss of power to accelerator. Was able to get off the highway after about 4 miles and car then experienced complete engine failure and was rolled to the side of the road. Engine would not turn over after two attempts to restart the engine. Car was towed to local service at audi dealership. Service department from local dealership described the cause of engine failure was due to metal filings found throughout the fuel system caused either by fuel pump failure, or bad batch of diesel fuel.
Engine dangerously and without prior symtoms lost power on the highway in morning traffic; would not start again. Power loss effected both the braking and the steering, making difficult to control the vehicle while it coasted to a stop. Called #77 state police in va, transfered to fairfax county police, officer called tow service. Towed to dealership (audi of chantilly). Service department first said a possible bad fuel filter, then said "non-combustible fuel" and then said "kerosene" in the tank. Service department manager provided no emperical evidence of fuel quality and refused to do so stating "we don't do that." towed to independent mechanic; damage confirmed. Independent shop owner stated that his contact within audi confirmed 5 cases of such issues. This being the first case where audi and the dealer dodged the warranty. It appears that the fuel injector cannot handle the full variance of fuels that qualify as astm standard specification fuels. True for both q7 and a3 models. The fuel injector basically disintegrated and destroyed the turbo charger. The diagnostic cannot continue until the turbo charger is replaced, but it's likely the engine is also damaged and will need repair or replacement. Audi of chantilly blames me and "bad fuel" as the cause without chemical analysis on the fuel. Mechanic flushed the tank will fresh diesel, removing whatever fuel was orginally in the tank, and any evidence of bad fuel. Vehicle drove 384 miles on that fuel since the previous fuel. Fuel distribution manager for that station confirmed there is no kerosene on site. Contacted audi of america, customer service representative repeated what the service department said and stated "we will not be providing resources."
In 30-35 MPH traffic, glow-plug light began flashing. I pulled over, checked the manual, and called the dealership. I was told the car was safe to drive, and was given a service appointment for the following morning. Upon restarting the car, I noticed not only the flashing glow-plug light, but the check-engine light, which had come on as well. Also, when I pulled out, power seemed limited and acceleration difficult. Now on a two lane country road with no shoulder, I called the dealership again, and was told to stop the car immediately and have it towed in. Since I was close to home, and unable to find a good place to stop, I drove home. The following morning, the car would not start, and audi sent a tow truck. The car was not looked at for 24 hours (tdi-trained mechanics in a meeting or some such), but on thursday I got a report. The fuel pump had failed catastrophically, sending metal debris throughout the fuel system. Total replacement of the fuel system was required, including the fuel tank. The first-suspected cause -contaminated fuel- had been ruled out. I was told the failure was a 1-in-100,000 fluke, but nothing about the fact that there had been over 100 complaints to the federal safety agency as of early 2011, prompting an the federal safety agency investigation. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6)
2010 audi a-3 tdi (diesel) stalled while driving on freeway. Will not start. Towed to stevens creek audi, ca.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the Audi A3 won't start
Which Audi A3 years have won't start problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2010 (4 complaints), 2011 (3 complaints) and 2013 (1 complaints).
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