What don't you like about your A3

I must admit I'm beginning to wonder why some of you purchased the A3 in the first place. The Audi badge perhaps. Most of what people are saying they don't like I found out about long before I purchased the car. If I had a list as long as some I would never have purchased a current A3. Also quite a lot of the problems I don't suffer from because of the model I chose, a Sport with only the options I wanted rather than an the more common S-Line.
 
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veeeight said:
In the UK, badge counts for a lot :p
:undwech:
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I beginning to think so. A bit like BMW a few years ago.

I just hope that Audi don't go the same way as BMW in the UK. That is becoming so common on the road that they loose there appeal. It's getter a lot closer to that now than when I purchased my first A3 back in 1998 shortly after they first came out.
 
h5djr said:
I must admit I'm beginning to wonder why some of you purchased the A3 in the first place. The Audi badge perhaps. Most of what people are saying they don't like I found out about long before I purchased the car. If I had a list as long as some I would never have purchased a current A3. Also quite a lot of the problems I don't suffer from because of the model I chose, a Sport with only the options I wanted rather than an the more common S-Line.
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I knew some of them before purchase but not all as some take weeks or longer to notice. Nevertheless a car comes as a package and whilst it may have some niggles, it doesn't mean they are deal breakers, otherwise people would sell up and move on to something else. Some have done so and that's their choice. For the masses, the pros greatly outweigh the niggles (as per your 1st post)

Good thread idea BTW.

John.
 
Snibo said:
5) Have to keep your finger on the Roof Button instead of one-flick action (presume this is a safety feature)
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Agreed. One touch up/down would be much better.

Snibo said:
9) Cruise Control remains visible when switched on / off until the car is stopped / key removed.
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Push the entire stalk into is nearest-the-dash position then pull it back towards you one notch, it cancels the cruise.
 
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I'm unbelievably fussy when it comes to my cars and of the many I have owned only a very few have I been completely happy with. I am 99% happy with my a3 - a SB S line TDI 184 Quattro S tronic. The only annoying thing is the number of little trim rattles and buzzes. I think it's completely unacceptable in a premium brand car that cost £34.5k
 
PembsA3 said:
I'm unbelievably fussy when it comes to my cars and of the many I have owned only a very few have I been completely happy with. I am 99% happy with my a3 - a SB S line TDI 184 Quattro S tronic. The only annoying thing is the number of little trim rattles and buzzes. I think it's completely unacceptable in a premium brand car that cost £34.5k
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Mine is almost the same model as yours except for the S-Line. My is a Sport with SE suspension and like you I hate any minor rattles but so far I've not had any at all. Perhaps the softer SE suspension makes a difference.
 
Not a lot to be honest.

Too much road noise and vibration on rough surfaces on the standard Contis and Dunlops. It's a lot better on the Nokian winter tyres though.

I'd prefer the driving position if I could get the driver's seat to drop down another inch or so and increase the angle of the tilt.
 
1. The woeful interior storage space, lack of bins, small door pockets, tiny glovebox without shelf etc.

2. The ride quality of the suspension - secondary ride isn't as good as it could be, in certain situations it's "bouncy", "fidgety" and "unsettled" depending on road surface. But not "harsh" or "crashy" like the 8P S-line suspension. I think this can be cured with better rebound/compression settings on the dampers.

3. Standard Sports Seats aren't that supportive laterally

4. Very hard to get a comfortable/natural driving position quickly. The steering wheel rake angle tilts the top of the wheel too far towards the front of the car. Very difficult to get a decent reach and height adjustment to suit all positions of the wheel.

5. Steering feel/feedback is just "meh". Better than that 8P, but not great

6. Unresolved coolant loss issues
 
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veeeight said:
The steering wheel rake angle tilts the top of the wheel too far towards the front of the car. Very difficult to get a decent reach and height adjustment to suit all positions of the wheel.
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I noticed the steering wheel rake in the pictures & reviews but I managed to find a good seating/steering position before buying mine so that's fine.
The mirror heating/reversing function is a bit bonkers though, why set it up like that?
All-in-all I'm pleasantly surprised by the car and it would still be my 1st choice at the moment.
 
I agree with v8 about the unsettled suspension on certain road surfaces. Pushing 0.95 leptons on a dead straight but poorly surfaced b road and I just had to back right off as the car was all over the place. Then again, something lower might have bottomed out.

Other than that, theres not much I dont like, love the car, but what car is without its faults?

Oil temp sensor is a bit of a pain, non dimming passenger mirror. Minor niggles really.
 
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Yeah, forgot about the oil temp display as I've got it enabled in the DIS with VCDS but that should be there 'out the box'.
 
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Martinbanshee said:
Yeah, forgot about the oil temp display as I've got it enabled in the DIS with VCDS but that should be there 'out the box'.
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I really need to find someone in the northwest with vcds.
 
h5djr said:
I must admit I'm beginning to wonder why some of you purchased the A3 in the first place.
If I had a list as long as some I would never have purchased a current A3
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If you don't want to see a load of posts about "What don't you like about your A3", then why start a Thread about "What don't you like about your A3".
:think:

There's pros and cons with all cars - don't be so sensitive :jester:

Bought mine cos I think it's one of the best looking Cabrios around - particularly over the previous A3 version.
Thought the electrics / goodies would have moved on since my 2003 A3 Hatchback.
Disappointed on this front, although the positives gained once that roof is down vastly outweigh the negatives.


h5djr said:
That is becoming so common on the road that they loose there appeal.
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Wrong model - that's the TT by a country mile :moa:
 
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1) - Poor high speed damping. Does not inspire confidence at high speeds.

2) - Steering weighting - at low speeds can go from heavy to light with out warning. Hate it. No happy medium and a bit lifeless.

3) - No air conditioned glove box

4) - Brightness of standard MMI screen. It could be brighter.

5) - White stitching on the steering wheel. 1700 miles in seven months and getting a bit stained in places. Maybe I should just wash my hands a bit more :salute:

Otherwise I LOVE it......:arco:
 
The hold assist can sometimes be jerky on steep hills, sounds like you're revving the nuts off the car then it will release.

I also personally think that projector style headlights should be standard, they don't have to have xenons fitted but my £10,000 Fiesta has halogen projectors and they make night time driving a nicer experience.

The heated wing mirror button is in a stupid place, and it could do with a heated windscreen.

I do really love my car though and would happily buy one again
 
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Smaller fuel tank, squeaking interior and fog lights not being fully recessed flush in bumper
 
Few things I've noticed -
1) The starard stero is awful and embarrassing for Audi
2) Some of the cheaper options should be standard on s-line/s models eg. mono.pur and ILP
3) Fog light bulbs look naff with xenon lights
4) No integration for Spotify, Soundcloud and other popular music streaming apps

However, saying that I don't think there is another car on the market that suits my needs more for a similar price.
 
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I love my A3, but have noticed a couple of things I would change:
- can't get the time on all DIS displays (eg digital speedo)
- can't see if the lights are on without peering down
- no inside hand grip on boot lid - not nice now the boot lid gets dirty on the outside
- and actually I would prefer the MMI screen to be fitted in the dash rather than popup
 
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OliJ said:
I really need to find someone in the northwest with vcds.
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veeeight is in the north west and has vcds. ;)

RichardT said:
- no inside hand grip on boot lid - not nice now the boot lid gets dirty on the outside
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This must be a saloon thing as my hatchback has interior boot lid handles.

I like mine, only a few grumbles:
- Fuel tank is on the small side.
- Rattly windows (need to go round with the gummi pflege again).
- Lack of rim protectors on standard fit tyres.
- It gets dirty too fast.
 
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I could not stand the squeak the doors made over bumps in the road when the car has been sat in the rain!
 
Snibo said:
If you don't want to see a load of posts about "What don't you like about your A3", then why start a Thread about "What don't you like about your A3".:think:
There's pros and cons with all cars - don't be so sensitive :jester:

Wrong model - that's the TT by a country mile :moa:
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I'm not being sensitive, just surprised that there are so many things that people don't like...

As far as the TT being more common that A3 - certainly not where I live...
 
- Mirrors should be dimming as standard on a 30K car!
- Fuel tank a tad small - I had a 60L one in my old TT TDI
- Lack of interior colour choice at S-Line level - unless I paid stupid money for exclusive interior (which I didn't)
- Sat Nav should be standard on a car of this quality especially if cars which cost far less are offering it..
- Insufficient display on the DAB radio
- No oil temperature/clock on DIS.
- More colour/wheel choice! - I would have loved the alloys available on the sport (the throwing star style), but not allowed..

Otherwise I'm pretty happy with the car on the whole
 
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95% happy with mine. Few things I have noticed over the past two years though which need improving:

- woeful software on the radio. I only have FM (No DAB) and I can't believe the radio text isn't displayed by default on the acres of empty screen under the station name. Its three button presses to get it displayed and then it resets on car restart. Just had an A7 2014 courtesy car with DAB, was staggered to see its exactly the same!
- Crackling on B&O when using SD cards on high frequency sections of music.
- interior light pack should be standard.
- Now on my 4th MMI unit, might start a separate thread on this as its concerning me how many have failed in two years (and that they are £4k each!)

But, still puts a big grin on my face driving it and I love it!
 
h5djr said:
Mine is almost the same model as yours except for the S-Line. My is a Sport with SE suspension and like you I hate any minor rattles but so far I've not had any at all. Perhaps the softer SE suspension makes a difference.
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My 8V 'sport' suspension is a lot softer than my previous 8P S line setup and the 8P had absolutely no squeaks or rattles. Relative suspension stiffness shouldn't make any difference when the bodyshell of the 8V is supposed to be so stiff. The 8V interior build quality IMHO isn't as good as in the 8P.
 
h5djr said:
I must admit I'm beginning to wonder why some of you purchased the A3 in the first place. The Audi badge perhaps. Most of what people are saying they don't like I found out about long before I purchased the car. If I had a list as long as some I would never have purchased a current A3. Also quite a lot of the problems I don't suffer from because of the model I chose, a Sport with only the options I wanted rather than an the more common S-Line.
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Well as the thread is entitled 'what don't you like about your car' do you not think it would falsely show a bias? As far as I am concerned Audi offered one of the best looking saloon's in the small family car range and be unique on the road.
 
Was actually considering VW Golf and Audi A3 Sedan.
Ended up choosing A3 Sedan. You got to admit it is one of the best looking in its class.

Having clocked about 1000km, these are the things i don't quite like about the A3:
1. Car start to vibrate if you drive at low speed (in gear 1 and 2) because its a manual gearbox at the end of the day
2. The seats are not the most comfortable
3. FM Radio volume drops for unknown reason... brought it back to the dealer but said there was nothing wrong mechanically... Apparently it has to do with it switching between stereo and mono when reception becomes poor or somthing.
 
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Love the car and there's nothing out there that comes close but if I've got to nit-pick:

  • Turbo lag - where's my nice V6...
  • High speed suspension damping - far too much rebound. I can see it throwing you off the road in certain circumstances (however, it would probably involve considerable speed, an uneven road and a sharp bend!)
  • Understeer - even with the nice new Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 tyres on, there's still too much understeer on damp roads (although I've not had a chance to really test this). I'm beginning to wonder if there's something wrong with my car but it's fine in the dry...
  • Crazy sat nav thinks the ford down the road from me is a good route to take... at 2+ foot deep, I think not!
  • Music/radio coming on every time I start the car, even when I had it turned off
 
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Don76 said:
Seats in the s-line are awful on long journey. I find the bolsters on the base are too angled and that I end up squashed. Andbim only 5' 8 and 10 stone so by no means a big unit.
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Sorry must disagree, we are all different , but I find the s-line seats the most comfortable I have sat in and often do 6 hour drives

Agree with
  • No interior button to 'pop' the boot.
  • Boot doesn't physically open on key release like the saloon does.
  • Lack of clock display when displaying digital speedo on DIS
and one new one....

Front wiper jets being 3 spray type, hate these and would prefer mist type

and one no one can do anything about.....

Even after 16 months of ownership the number of idiots who still want to tailgate and race you at every opportunity
 
RichardT said:
I love my A3, but have noticed a couple of things I would change:
- can't get the time on all DIS displays (eg digital speedo)
- can't see if the lights are on without peering down
- no inside hand grip on boot lid - not nice now the boot lid gets dirty on the outside
- and actually I would prefer the MMI screen to be fitted in the dash rather than popup
Click to expand...
There is an internal hand grip on the right inside of the boot lid.
 
Yes, there are a number of minor issues, clock display being one, but the one thing that really annoys me is the intrusive tyre noise, and I have standard suspension with 17" wheels and Dunlop tyres.
 
Love my S3 to bits, two minor niggles
- first that Audi don't fit lumbar support as standard (even "mechanical" which you get on other versions of the A3 - I suppose becuase they want to charge you £150 for an electric version which you continually have to adjust becuase it deflates over time - give me mechanical every time!)
- second that there is no storage place in the centre console - I don't class the circular holes for the ash tray thing as storage.

But every car has its foibles, if that's the worst for the S3, then its no real issue as far as I'm concerned
 
Don't think I have ever had a car which didn't have a light showing when the mirror demister was on!
 
I put my phone in the cupholder and it smacks back and forth.

I'm aware of bluetooth and the phone and key holder I can buy, still annoying, it would sit nicely in my 8P.
 
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My bad points:
MMI sometimes 'forgets' my settings, especially when using an SD card
MMI does not remember additional station info option when changing radio stations
Interior rear view mirror is a bit small
Tyre noise, even though I'm on SE suspension, 17" wheels & Dunlop tyres
Front tyres seem to throw a lot of dirt up the sides of the car
 
A3_Rider said:
I put my phone in the cupholder and it smacks back and forth.

I'm aware of bluetooth and the phone and key holder I can buy, still annoying, it would sit nicely in my 8P.
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This! It does my nut in! I put my phone in the door instead. I have a cloth in there so it won't roll about
 
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