2016 Audi A3

Rearview backup camera is intermittently inoperative. Cannot use camera to see what is behind the car. Dealer inspected, duplicated and confirmed problem. Dealer at first ignored. Once out of warranty, dealer duplicated problem. It is a known problem. Manufacturer issued Technical Service Bulletin: 91 16 87 2045730/1 November 7, 2016.

While driving the message “Vehicle Electronic System Malfunction Shift Car to Park Before Exiting Vehicle.” The car can fail to shift into gear, or change gears while the vehicle is in motion. The mechanic that I usually take my car to said that’s he’s seen the same message in some of his other customers cars. Sometimes it pops up when the car is started, other times is comes up when the car is in motion. I’ve parked the car and turned it off, and the message came back on after restarting the car.

I was sold a vehicle with a manufacturer recall that I was ensured was no big deal and would be fixed but there isn't currently a solution for the recall on the vehicle. The recall was issued in March of 2021 and it is now September 2021. I should have not been sold a faulty vehicle especially one with no foreseeable solution to the recall.

On August 30th 2021 around 12:45pm driving to work I experienced something I did not realize was possible. I was in the fast lane going 70-75mph when my steering wheel began to shake profusely, I felt like something was under my car and hitting/whipping the right passenger side of my vehicle. I lost control of my car, almost flipped and thought it was a blowout, while trying to come to a stop on the highway and nowhere to pullover. 18wheelers all around me and I had no choice but to stop on left small shoulder. At this time we realized that my tire had not blown, but ALL the Tread had separated from the tire. It had separated and this caused roughly 6feet of extreme whipping of tread while separating from the tube part of tire was beating my car in multiple areas under the car, damaged and took off half of my bumper, tore up the passenger side back and front door while causing large dents. I called a tow truck while my daughter called my husband to help us. Tow driver stated he hadn’t seen that happen and we were very lucky something catastrophic didn’t happen, Myself and my daughters life was in great risk!! We almost flipped the car due to tire separation, and we could’ve caused a multi car accident! My car had to go to the collision center ( Caliber Collision ) which is a vendor my insurance company works with - they have taken multiple photos of the damage. I have also taken multiple photos of damage. It has not been inspected by authorities etc… yet. No warning lights representing tire pressure, concerns etc….were alerting me of anything to be concerned of. The interior passenger airbag light was stating airbag was off - which caused for more concern ( I am driving a 2016 Audi A3 with a National recall & no fix!! ) with if we would’ve crashed, rolled, wrecked into someone/something that the airbags would’ve potentiality not gone off to protect my daughter or myself!

I have filed multiple complaints with you all regarding my concern for safety and anxiety each time I get behind the wheel of my car. I contacted Audi, National, local dealer and no help with National safety recall. My car has been presenting random electrical concerns. It has shown numerous check engine lights telling me to shut engine down immediately, my AC will shut off, my speed declines at times and becomes almost as if I’m losing control of the car. It has done this at a stop and also on the highway going 75. I have had to pullover many times. I am so scared something is going to happen. I took to Audi after calling numerous times about recall and how the electrical has got to be a part of this National recall and they stated “ yes, that’s cannot be ruled out “ but they would not fix under recall more could they fix anything with the National recall they’ve had for years! They have stopped making all A 3’s and pulled them all off the lots! This is huge and tells me it is VERY serious and something has to be done!!! I recently got my car back from a collision center from driving to see a patient going 75 in the fast lane when we feel the car shaking out of control, I’ve lost control of the vehicle and we are in the far left lane with nowhere to go but into a 18wheeler! We had nowhere safe to go! It happened so fast that I’m screaming snd praying God please take the wheel!! My tire tread completely separated from my right rear side and caused about 6feet of tread whipping the car underneath and along the passenger side doors, windows etc… it was horrific and I’m terrified to drive!! My daughter was in the passenger seat and the air bag was not working when we were able to come to a stop on the shoulder! We had to be towed and tread was everywhere! I didn’t know at that time what happened! I thought it was a blowout, it was the tread came completely off the rubber! We almost flipped! My fear!!! We could’ve died - I cannot wait for next time!!

AUDI BATON ROUGE INFORMED ME THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH COOLANT MIGRATION AT COOLANT TANK CONNECTOR (COOLANT COULD LEAK INTO WIRE HARNESS) AND CAUSE SEVERE DAMAGE TO ELECTRICAL SYSTEM WANT $300 +_ TO REPAIR. SINCE THIS IS NOT SOMETHING CAUSED UNDER NORMAL CONDITIONS OR NEGLIGENCE ON MY PART I DO NOT FEEL I SHOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR COST OF REPAIR, SHOULD BE A RECALL ON AUDI

Audi has not responded to this Recall in a prompt manner. I was in the process of selling my Audi A3 but I cannot due to this. I took my car in to have this issue addressed in December 2019 and now I am learning that there is still a problem with the Passenger Occupant Detection System (PODS) and Audi has no solution. They have known about this issue since March 2021.

There has been a National recall on my VIN with no known fix at this time. My car has stalled, would not cool off, it will read error codes that don’t make any sense. It goes from speed, to shut engine off now, immediately exit and turn off vehicle, saying it’s too Hot, oil leaking, airbag lights coming on/off randomly, the air conditioner won’t cool off when the dash lights are reading multiple codes and I’ve had to stop my car multiple times on the highway and when just running to the store a few miles away. It’s very strange and concerning. It’s becoming for frequent and I drive every day all day for work, along with having children in my car. I purchased this brand new from Audi of Fort Worth Texas in 2016. All routine maintenance has always been done. My concern for myself and children has increased over the last few months and each time I have to get in my car I have a fear that overwhelms me! I’ve contacted the Audi dealership multiple times and they’ve said I need to be patient, there is no fix at this time and they don’t know if/when there will be one. This is not acceptable and is putting our lives at risk on a daily basis. I would like to know my options and their legal responsibility to help the situation. I will notate the most recent date of occurrence below. The pictures I’ve uploaded are from the most recent experience when leaving a Sam’s grocery club and had just turned from a red light on a main road. I had to stop my vehicle, shut off the engine and remain in a center lane dangerously fast traffic all around me and had to call my son to pick me up.

The contact owns a 2016 Audi A3. The contact received recall notifications for NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V474000 (Air Bags) and 21V198000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and a case was filed. The manufacturer referred the contact to the dealer for assistance. The contact stated that when the vehicle was started, the hood ajar warning light was illuminated. The contact inspected the hood and became aware that the hood was securely closed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a faulty hood switch. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 31,300. VIN tool confirms parts not available.