There are 4 owner-reported electrical system complaints for the 2011 Audi A3in NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
answering questions above: -body control module fuse, possibly engine comopartment fuse box itself -intermittent exterior lighting outages -no dealer / independent service center has inspected -not been inspected by anyone -no warnings, just bulb-out warnings once the issue started longform description: Last week, I was experiencing intermittent light outages on the right side of my car (2011 audi a3 TDI) . It started wednesday 3/22, during my morning commute to work, when I was exiting highway and turned on my right turn signal all the exterior lights on the right side of my car started flickering, and stopped. Same thing happened the next morning, except worse, applying my brakes would disable my right headlight. I stopped driving until the weekend when I drove over to get my car scanned for errors by a buddy of mine who has a diagnostic tool. It pointed to the body control module. With the car on, he gave the body control module fuse a light wiggle, and smoke started pouring out. He turned the car off and took out the fuse, one of the contacts melted into two pieces, and the plastic housing the fuse is full of bubbles. It seems that the engine fuse box for this car is poorly designed, and audi knows this as they've updated the part, but no recall was started. A recall was initiated for a similar issue on Tiguans manufactured around the same time (Recall no. 13V569000). Crazy to think that while I was driving around, there could have been smoke pouring out of my engine compartment fuse box, seems pretty dangerous. And I'm not the only one as people online call this the "infamous audi/vw melted fuse box issue".
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 AUDI A3. WHILE DRIVING 40 MPH AT NIGHT, THE EXTERIOR LIGHTING POWERED OFF INTERMITTENTLY. THE CONTACT COASTED THE VEHICLE OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND POWERED OFF THE ENGINE. THE VEHICLE WAS RESTARTED AND WAS ABLE TO DRIVE NORMALLY. THE FAILURE RECURRED THREE TIMES. IN ADDITION, MULTIPLE ELECTRICAL WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED AND BOTH TURN SIGNALS, BRAKE LIGHTS, AND THE PASSENGER SIDE HEADLIGHT STOPPED WORKING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AUDI OF MISSION VIEJO (LOCATED AT 28451 MARGUERITE PKWY, MISSION VIEJO, CA 92692, (949) 359-4053), WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE PLASTIC BODY OF FUSE F16 MELTED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURES. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 75,000.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 AUDI A3. WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE HEADLIGHTS SUDDENLY SHUT OFF AND THE SERVICE VEHICLE SENSOR LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO DISCOVERED THAT A FUSE PANEL HAD OVERHEATED AND MELTED. THE CONTACT ALSO INDICATED THAT THE VEHICLE EXPERIENCED FUEL LEAKING WITHIN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 75,000.
SAME ISSUE AS CAMPAIGN 97Z9 ON THE VW TIGUAN WITH FUSE F16 ON THE FUSE PANEL IS MELTING. THE PART NUMBER IS THE SAME AS THE TIGUAN'S. 1K0937125D. *TR
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on May 4, 2026