2018 Audi Q3 Problems

On 5/18/2026 my wife left home to run an errand in our newly purchased 2018 Audi Q3. About 1-2 miles away from home, she experienced a strange sound coming from the engine bay, the car lost accelerating power, and the car displayed a warning message that the oil pressure was low and to stop operating the car. The power briefly returned, and she was able to safely return home. Thankfully, she hadn't gotten onto the highway, where the power loss could have caused loss of control of the car resulting in a crash that could have harmed her or others, perhaps fatally. After she returned, I used a consumer-level reader to get the code, which indicated there was catastrophic failure to one of the engine's cylinders. We had it towed to a nearby Audi dealership, where the service department confirmed one of the cylinders had failed and the car needed a new engine. The car had given numerous signals prior to this. First, the night we purchased the car, we experienced the exact same warning light and loss of power. We had it towed then to the same Audi dealership, who said it only needed an oil change. During that conversation, the Audi tech told me that the car had a head gasket replacement the prior year (2025), at around 55k mi, and that the previous owner reported other oil-related warnings. I was then told the oil sensors are sensitive, the car was fine, just be mindful of oil levels. In the proceeding weeks after that (and prior to the engine failure), we experienced moments when the same oil pressure warning flickered on-and-off. The failure on 5/18 was less than 45 days after our first indicator experience.

The contact owns a 2018 Audi Q3. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was restarted; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed as a failure with the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed as a carbon build-up in the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be repaired. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure The failure mileage was approximately 42,000.

The entire air conditioning system had to be replaced at the tune of $2422. The car is only 5 1/2 years old and it was not covered under warranty. I have researched this issue online and there are numerous people complaining about this very same issue. Why haven't a recall been campaigned? air /heat air compressor, condenser and A/C kit had to be replaced.

The contact owns a 2018 Audi Q3. The contact stated while driving approximately 60 MPH, the steering wheel hand activated controls ceased functioning. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to control of the vehicle however, the contact was unsure if the air bags would deploy in the event of a crash. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent at first but had become constant with the air bag warning light remaining illuminated. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a dealer or independent mechanic to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 103,000.

Steering wheel clicking and accessories and functions not working along with airbag (malfunction) light illuminated on 2018 Audi Q3 with 66,000 miles.

The contact owns a 2018 Audi Q3. The contact stated while driving approximately 60 MPH, the steering wheel hand activated controls ceased functioning. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to control of the vehicle however, the contact was unsure if the air bags would deploy in the event of a crash. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent at first but had become constant with the air bag warning light remaining illuminated. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a dealer or independent mechanic to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 103,000.

The contact owns a 2018 Audi Q3 equipped with Continental Tires, Tire Line: Conti ProContact, Tire Size: 255/40/19, DOT Number: (NA). While driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact experienced a blowout. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and replaced the tire. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. However, upon inspection, the contact found a hole the size of a quarter on the tire. The contact stated that on a separate occasion, while driving approximately 20-30 MPH, the rear driver’s side tire sustained a blowout. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and changed the tire. However, upon inspection, the contact found a hole the size of a quarter on the tire. Most recently, upon inspection, the contact found a bubble on the passenger’s side front tire. The tire was not replaced. Upon further inspection, the contact noticed that all four tires had about 6/16th tread left. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure; however, no assistance was offered. The vehicle and tire failure mileage was approximately 7,000.

The contact owns a 2018 Audi Q3 equipped with Continental tires, Tire Line: ContiproContact, Tire Size: P225/40R/19, DOT Number: AF5WWA46 1717. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 30 MPH, the tire pressure monitor indicated that the driver’s side rear tire pressure was low. The contact also had heard a humming noise coming from the rear of the vehicle. The contact pulled off the road into a service station and noticed that the rear driver’s side tire only had 20 PSI. The contact inflated the tire to 35 PSI and continued to his destination. The vehicle was taken to a tire dealer who reported that while dismounting the tire, the inner sidewall had a 3-inch gash large enough that the technician could fit his hand through the gash. The tire was replaced. The passenger’s side rear tire was inspected and showed a 10-inch gash that had separated from the inner sidewall. The tire was also replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate vehicle failure mileage was 33,000. The tire failure mileage was unknown.

The contact owns a 2018 Audi Q3. The contact stated that on numerous occasions, the check engine warning light intermittently illuminated. The contact then stated that while driving at undisclosed speed, the vehicle hesitated and stalled. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the gas cylinder, fuel needed to be flushed and two unknown parts needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the fuel needed to be flushed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 62,352.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 AUDI Q3. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THERE WAS A FAILURE WITH THE DIMENSION OF THE TIRES PERTAINING TO A CASTER DIAGNOSIS. THE COLOR GREEN DISPLAYED IF THE TIRES WERE BALANCED AND ALIGNED CORRECTLY WHEN INSTALLED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE TIRE INSPECTION CASTER TESTING REMAINED IN THE RED WITHIN LESS THAN 100 MILES OF OWNING THE VEHICLE. THREE DIFFERENT DEALERS WERE CONTACTED: AUDI NORTH AUSTIN (12971 POND SPRINGS RD, AUSTIN, TX 78729, (844) 473-2985) AUDI DOMINION (21105 I-10, SAN ANTONIO, TX 78257, 1-(888) 478-2089), AND AUDI NORTH PARK (15670 I-35, SELMA, TX 78154, (210) 960-6000). THE DEALERS SERVICED THE VEHICLE, BUT FAILED TO PROVIDE A PERMANENT SOLUTION. THE VEHICLE WAS UNABLE TO BE DRIVEN SAFELY DUE TO SEVERAL ALIGNMENTS, TIRE SERVICING, AND TIRE REPLACEMENTS. TWO DIFFERENT INDEPENDENT TIRE TECHNICIANS PROVIDED FURTHER DIAGNOSTIC TESTING AND DETERMINED THAT THE CASTER WAS NOT AVAILABLE FROM THE MANUFACTURER AS PROPRIETARY INFORMATION. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 100. *BF *TR

In 2020, Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. extended the warranty on its transfer case for 2011 - 2018 Porsche Cayenne and Macan models. This was in response to what one article described as “[m]any Porsche Cayenne and Macan owners have experienced recurring problems with their 4wd transfer case. We have the issues and the symptoms, such as vibrations under acceleration, highlighted in our common problems section.” Porsche and Audi share vehicle architecture for SUV models. In an April 2017 press release, Porsche touted the fact that Audi and Porsche share architecture with respect to the two brands’ SUVs noting “Audi, VW and Porsche have worked together successfully for many years in the area of SUVs, and with the new development cooperation, Porsche and Audi are positioning themselves for the next decade. In the coming months, joint teams will prepare the specific areas of cooperation and define the roadmap as far as 2025. The focus is on the joint development of shared vehicle architectures, modules and components.” My 2018 Audi experiences a “jerk” during gear shifts feeling like an interruption during acceleration with a slight vibration. This jerky shifting is especially prominent when driving uphill. The issue persists today despite two service professionals trying to diagnose and correct the issue. I cannot speak to the safety risks this issue may present to myself and my passengers other than to say the “jerking” and surprise hard-shift may cause passengers to react in an unsafe manner when traveling at high-speeds. I am submitting this matter as I believe the issue that existed with the Porsche SUVs that motivated Volkswagen, i.e., the Parent Company’s, decision to extend the transfer case warranty, exists with the same model year Audis and may present a safety risk. More Audi’s exist than Porsche models making it more expensive for Volkswagen to correct this for Audi. Correcting this for only high-end models and not lower-end is worth reviewing.

The steering wheel started to make a weird noise while turning the airbag light then came on the steering wheel buttons stopped working. Took the car to dealer and the clock spring was defective non working. This is a safety issue I paid 821.57 to fix this issue out of pocket. My car only has 50 k in mileage and the airbag would have not deployed if I was in an accident. This sounds like a safety issue needing a recall for this vehicle

THIS PARTICULAR MODEL OF AUDI Q3 HAS POOR QUALITY BREAK PADS AND ROTORS, IF YOU LIVE NEAR THE OCEAN LIKE ME IN MIAMI BEACH, THE BREAKES GET DAMAGED AT ONLY 8,000 MILES INTERVALS AND THEY CAN FAIL CAUSING AN ACCIDENT. I REPORTED THE ISSUE TO DEALER AND MANUFACTURER, AND THEY HAVE FULLY WASHED THEIR HANDS. THEY ARE AWARE OF THE ISSUE, AND HAVE NOT ISSUED A RECALL. I AM IN THE PROCESS OF RETAINING CLASS ACTION COUNSEL TO PURSUE CLASS ACTION LITIGATION.