There are 6 owner-reported fuel system complaints for the 2011 Audi A3in NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
MY SON WAS DRIVING MY 2011 AUDI A3 TDI TO THE GYM AT NIGHT WHEN HE CALLED ME THE CAR WOULD NOT ACCELERATE AND HAD A WARNING LIGHT COME ON. I TOLD HIM TO GOOGLE IT AND HE FOUND OUT IT WAS A GLOW PLUG INDICATOR. I TOLD HIM TO CONTINUE DRIVING IT IN THE LIMP MODE. THE CAR DIED WHILE MOVING AND MY SON WAS ABLE TO COAST INTO A PARKING LOT. THIS COULD OF BEEN A DIFFERENT STORY ON A BUSY INTERSTATE. I HAD TO PICK HIM UP AND HAD THE CAR TOWED IN THE MORNING. TO FIND OUT THIS CAR IS NOTORIOUS FOR CATASTROPHIC HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP FAILURE AND THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED. WHEN I SAY CATASTROPHIC, METAL IS SHREDDED AND GOES INTO THE INJECTORS AND CONTAMINATES EVERYTHING THAT CARRIES FUEL. IT IS ABOUT A 7K TO 8K REPAIR. I HAVE USED NOTHING BUT LOW SULFUR DIESEL. IT'S RIDICULOUS A RECALL HASN'T BEEN ISSUED TO PREVENT THIS ISSUE. SINCE THIS HAPPENED I HAVE FOUND COMPLAINTS SCATTERED THROUGHOUT THE INTERNET.
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. *TR
FUEL PUMP IMPLODED AND SENT SHRAPNEL THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE FUEL SYSTEM. EVERYTHING HAD TO BE REPLACED. *TR
CAR STALLED DUE TO DEBRIS CLOGGING THE FUEL LINE AND FUEL COULD NOT GET TO THE ENGINE. I AM TOLD CAVITATION OCCURRED, RESULTING IN METAL SHARDS DAMAGING THE FUEL DELIVERY SYSTEM. ENTIRE FUEL SYSTEM NEEDED REPLACEMENT AFTER THE TANK. DEALER CHALLENGED WARRANTY COVERAGE FOR THE $10K REPAIR, SAYING THE STANDARD SERVICE ON THE FUEL FILTER DID NOT APPEAR TO HAVE BEEN PERFORMED. THE WARRANTY GOES TO 50K MILES, CAR WAS AT 48.5K MILES. THE OWNER'S WARRANTY BOOKLET DID NOT HAVE THE SAME SERVICE AS THE DEALER SAID SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE--IT WAS A LESS FREQUENT INTERVAL. *JS
I OWN AN AUDI A3 2011, TDI. I HAD TWO SIMILAR INCIDENTS WITH THE FUEL INJECTION SYSTEM WITH THIS TDI. THE FIRST TIME IT HAPPENED WHEN THE CARS JUST PASSED THE WARRANTY PERIOD OF 50,000 MILES. I DROVE THIS CAR IN CITY STREET AND THE ?GLOW-PLUG? INDICATOR LIGHT CAME ON. I BARELY MADE IT TO THE AUDI SERVICE. THEY TOLD ME THAT I CONTAMINATED WITH UNLEADED FUEL. I TOLD THE SERVICE MANAGER THAT IS NOT THE CASE BECAUSE I ONLY USE ONE GAS STATION AND USUALLY, I USED THE SAME DIESEL PUMP. AFTER AUDI DEALER TALK TO THE AUDI OF AMERICA, THEY DECIDED TO PAY FOR THE REPAIR, APPROXIMATELY $8,000. THEN THIS IS THE SECOND SIMILAR INDECENT. I STARTED THE ENGINE AND HEAR UNUSUAL CLANKING NOISE FROM THE ENGINE. I CONTINUED TO DRIVE THE CAR IN CITY STREET TO MY HOME. THEN SUDDENLY THE ?GLOW PLUG? LIGHTS MOMENTARILY FLASHES. THE ENGINE DIES IMMEDIATE RIGHT AFTER. I COAST THE CAR TO THE CURB. I TOOK THE CAR INTO THE DEALER, AND AFTER A DAY, THE SERVICE MANAGER AGAIN TOLD ME THAT THE FUEL SYSTEM WAS CONTAMINATED WITH UNLEADED FUEL. I ASSURED YOU THAT THIS IS NOT THE CASE BECAUSE I AM THE ONLY ONE WHO DROVE THIS CAR. THE SERVICE MANAGER TOLD ME THAT AUDI DID THE ANALYSIS AND IT INDICATED THAT THE FUEL GOT CONTAMINATED, BUT CONTINUED TO DENY THE ACCUSATION BECAUSE I AM VERY CAREFUL IN USING THE ?ULTRA-LOW SULFUR DIESEL? FOR MY CAR. THE FIRST INCIDENT I ONLY POUR MY DIESEL GAS FROM SHELL STATION, BUT SINCE THE FIRST INCIDENT HAD HAPPENED, I CHANGED TO CHEVRON STATION. AFTER ONE WEEK, I CALLED THE SERVICE MANAGER AND ASK HIM FOR THE ANALYSIS OF THE CONTAMINATION, AND HE SAID THAT HE HAD SENT TO AUDI IN GERMANY FOR REPORT. THEN I SAID I WANTED THE OLD INJECTION SYSTEM BACK SO I CAN DO AN INDEPENDENT ANALYSIS, HE ALSO TOLD ME HE SENT THE OLD PARTS BACK TO GERMANY FOR FURTHER ANALYSIS. I SERIOUSLY DOUBTED THAT THE AUDI DEALER SERVICE DEPARTMENT DID ANY ANALYSIS. *TR
1) NORMAL DRIVING. 2) FUEL PUMP FAILURE RESULTING IN TOTAL FUEL SYSTEM FAILURE. 3) FUEL PUMP AND ENTIRE FUEL DELIVERY SYSTEM REPLACED. *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 Apr 26, 2026