2020 Audi Q3 Reliability Report

The engine stalls while the car is moving, sometimes at 50 mph on busy roads, leaving only the lights and media working. A drive system malfunction warning can appear, and the car will not accelerate until it is shut off and restarted. Several stalls happen at low speed after auto start/stop, with the steering wheel locked during a turn. Dealers blame software and say an update is pending, with no loaner offered in some cases. Hard shifting between first and second gear, high revs, and rough idle are also reported.

The brake pedal pulsates and the car shudders when braking at highway speed, and some owners feel shaking above 50 mph. Several blame warped rotors and report rotor and pad work at low mileage, with complaints continuing after new rotors went on. Rear brakes make an unusual noise from delivery, which dealers call normal, and one owner found the same noise on other 2020 test cars. A separate report describes the car stopping on its own during a turn with a braking system message at about 10,000 miles. The dealer pointed to a software update.

Limp mode sets in and the car will not accelerate past a crawl, usually right after an auto start/stop restart or while speeding up to merge onto a freeway. Warning lights come on, and turning the car off and back on clears the fault. Being stuck at about 20 mph in front of fast freeway traffic or partway through a left turn creates a serious collision risk. Another report describes the engine surging and pushing the car forward while stopped at a light.

The car stops running or goes into limp mode on busy roads and will not go faster than a few mph. One report puts this at 2000 miles, and a dealer loaner Q3 did the same thing. Turning off auto start/stop while slowing can set off a cruise control error, the engine warning light, and shuddering. Dealers call it a known start/stop software problem, and some cars received a software update as the repair. Higher fuel use afterward is also mentioned.

Water comes into the cabin through the overhead console near the front reading lights during heavy rain. The wet lights turn on by themselves while driving and often will not stay off, which makes night driving unsafe. Water also drips onto the infotainment screen and center stack controls, and one report adds a leak at the driver door. These complaints match the sunroof leak pattern filed under other categories.

The car stalls while driving, in one case at about 40 mph, and shows a drive line malfunction message as the accelerator stops responding. It restarts after a pause or after shifting into park. One dealer found an internal control module fault code, said no fix was known, and told the owner to disable auto start/stop at every startup. Another owner had the fuel pump replaced for low flow, then had both the high and low pressure pumps replaced after stalling returned.

In one crash, the airbags did not deploy after thieves drove a stolen car into a telephone pole. A separate complaint says the front passenger airbag turns off when the passenger sits on a cushion or blanket, and the dealer calls this intended design. The same owner reports the car suddenly speeding up on its own at parking lot speeds, from 4-5 mph to 9-10 mph. There are only 2 complaints here, so no broad pattern is clear.