There are 3 stored owner reports matching the powertrain & transmission leading-label group for the 2011 Audi A3 in our NHTSA-sourced dataset. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
This group counts stored reports whose component label starts with one of this site's matching prefixes, ignoring case. Each matching report counts once within the group. Components mentioned later in the label or only in the narrative are not searched. How component counts work
Loaded 3 of 3 matching reports.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)VEHICLE DOES NOT SWITCH GEARS PROPERLY. ONCE DRIVE GEAR IS SELECTED THEN THE GEAR INDICATOR FLASHES (EX. THE D FLASHES OR P FLASHES). VEHICLE DOES NOT SWITCH GEARS UNTIL 5500 RPM IS REACHED. AND VEHICLE DOES NOT ENGAGE R GEAR ONCE CAR HAS BEEN IN DRIVE. HAVE TO TURN VEHICLE OFF AND BACK ON TO GET TO R. VEHICLE IS PRETTY MUCH NOT DRIVABLE IN CURRENT CONDITION AS IT NEEDS TO BE SHUT OFF AND TURNED ONE MULTIPLE TIMES JUST TO PARK THE CAR. SOMETIMES BEHAVES NORMALLY FOR SHORT BURSTS.
THE CAR IS JERKING IN BETWEEN 1ST AND SECOND GEAR. SEEMS THE TRANSMISSION CANT DECIDE TO STAY IN 1ST OR SECOND. ALSO- THE CAR SHIFTS DOWN TO 1ST INAPPROPRIATELY QUICKLY. *TR
PURCHASED A NEW 2011 AUDI A3 TDI LAST SATURDAY. THE FOLLOWING FRIDAY WHILE PULLING OUT INTO AN INTERSECTION THE DSG TRANSMISSION BRIEFLY WENT INTO NEUTRAL AND I SAW THE TACHOMETER NEEDLE SHOOT UP AND HEARD THE ENGINE WHINE. I WAS IN MANUAL MODE AT THE TIME. I DOWN SHIFTED AND LET OFF THE GAS AND IT RE-ENGAGED. THE FOLLOWING DAY (TODAY) THE SAME THING HAPPENED AGAIN. THIS TIME I WAS ALSO IN MANUAL MODE AND WAS AGAIN PULLING OUT INTO TRAFFIC FROM AN ALMOST COMPLETE STOP. I WILL BE CALLING THE DEALER MONDAY, BUT IN THE MEANTIME I HAVE SINCE LEARNED THAT THIS IS AN ONGOING AND KNOWN ISSUE WITH VW / AUDI DSG TRANSMISSIONS. *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.
NHTSA source checks for this vehicle year
Checks are recorded separately for each dataset, not for the whole page. Dates use UTC. A missing check date does not mean no records exist.
Vehicle import recorded: Aug 31, 2026. This is the stored import date, not confirmation that every source was successfully refreshed.