2026 Audi A3
The 2026 Audi A3 is sold in the U.S. as a gas compact sedan. The most efficient version, the A3 quattro, is EPA-rated at 28 mpg combined. NHTSA lists no recall campaigns for this model year so far (Safety Signal A). Owners have filed 2 complaints, most often about the electrical system. Manufacturer pricing runs from $40,100 to $40,100 across 1 trims.
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| Trim | Powertrain | Drive | MSRP | HP | Torque | MPG comb | Seats | Cargo (2nd row) | Wheels |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A3 quattro | Gas | AWD | $40,100 | 201 hp | 236 lb-ft | 28 mpg | 5 | 8.3 cu-ft | 17 in |
| S3 | Gas | AWD | $52,000 | 328 hp | 295 lb-ft | 26 mpg | 5 | 8.3 cu-ft | 18 in |
| RS 3 | Gas | AWD | $66,100 | 394 hp | 369 lb-ft | 23 mpg | 5 | 8.3 cu-ft | 19 in |
MSRP excludes destination. Audi files one press kit for the A3 family (RS, S3 and the A3); the table lists all of it, and the prices quoted for the 2026 A3 elsewhere on this page are the A3 trims only. Open a trim for the complete spec sheet and standard/optional equipment. Have the car in front of you? Decode its VIN to see which of these trims it is and what it was priced at.
Specs & fuel economy
Source: EPA fueleconomy.gov| Configuration | Powertrain | Drive | Engine / motor | City | Hwy | Comb | Annual fuel* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A3 quattro | Gas | AWD | 2.0L 4-cyl turbo | 24 | 34 | 28 | $2,950 |
*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year at EPA reference fuel and electricity prices. fueleconomy.gov record ids: 49789.
The cheapest ownership win
Insurers price the 2026 A3 very differently, and the gap between the best and worst quote on the same car and driver is usually larger than any option you are weighing on this page.
How to compare cover →Affiliate disclosure: some links on this page are affiliate links. If you request a quote or buy through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Nothing on this page changes because of it.
Recalls (0)
Source: NHTSA recall databaseNo NHTSA recall campaigns are on file for the 2026 Audi A3. New campaigns appear here within a week of NHTSA posting them.
These are vehicle campaigns — the ones the automaker filed against this model. NHTSA also records equipment recalls, filed by a parts maker against a component (a tyre, a child seat, an aftermarket part), and those are not listed here or counted above. nhtsa.gov/recalls shows both for a VIN.
Hear about a recall before the letter does
The manufacturer’s letter is the last step of a recall: it has up to 60 days after filing to mail owners, at the address on the registration. We email you the day NHTSA posts a recall on the 2026 Audi A3, with what to do next. Nothing else, ever — no newsletter, no marketing, one-click unsubscribe in every message.
Parts & accessories for the 2026 Audi A3
Search by fitment on eBay Motors — OEM take-offs, aftermarket, and the trim pieces dealers no longer stock. The listing and the price are the seller's.
Find parts for this A3 →Owner complaints
Source: NHTSA complaint database0 involved a crash · 0 a fire · 0 injuries · 0 deaths reported
3.5 per 10,000 built · Audi reported 5,789 A3 built (its Early Warning production report to NHTSA)
Filed per year: 2026: 2
Most-cited components
In owners' own words
Filed with NHTSA by the people who own these cars, one per problem area. Quoted as written, with anything identifying removed.
My Audi automatically applies the brakes while reversing. When this happens, I’m unable to immediately drive the vehicle. This is an ongoing problem that has not been resolved, and I’m increasingly concerned about the safety implications.just recently experienced while making a U turn
The central locking system in my 2026 Audi A3 fails, causing the vehicle to physically unlock itself after I lock it and leave it parked. The myAudi app sends “Vehicle unlocked” and “Vehicle not fully locked” alerts.
Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.
Crash ratings
Source: NHTSA NCAPNHTSA has not published 5-Star crash ratings for this model year.
Service bulletins & campaigns
Source: NHTSA manufacturer communicationsMost often about: Electrical System, Unknown Or Other, Structure, Service Brakes, Visibility/Wiper.
- TSB_2083409_1 Service bulletin2026-09-25 · Unknown Or Other
- This bulletin states that technicians are required to report to the manufacturer when a vehicle has flooded, and specify the height to which the vehicle has been flooded.
- TSB_2052680_2 Service bulletin2026-09-25 · Unknown Or Other
- This bulletin provides information for reporting safety related information to the manufacturer.
- TSB_2074846_5 Service bulletin2026-09-22 · Steering
- This bulletin provides information about vibrations and rotational steering vibrations.
- TSB_2020552_15 Service bulletin2026-09-22 · Visibility/Wiper
- This bulletin provides service information regarding exterior glass cleaning.
- TSB_2078648_4 Service bulletin2026-09-18 · Structure — Body
- This bulletin provides information about billing for a broken sunroof glass panel.
- TSB_2081074_2 Service bulletin2026-09-15 · Electrical System
- This bulletin provides information when the front assist intervenes.
- TSB_2030471_9 Service bulletin2026-09-15 · Unknown Or Other
- This bulletin provides information when the license plate mounting bracket threded inserts are stripped.
- TSB_2081476_3 Service bulletin2026-09-14 · Electrical System
- This bulletin provides information regarding driver assist systems: emergency assist intervention.
A service bulletin is the manufacturer telling its dealers how to diagnose or repair a known condition. It is not a recall, not a finding that the vehicle is defective, and the work is not automatically free — though a bulletin is often what a dealer works from when you describe a symptom, so quoting the document number can save a diagnosis. The count is every communication filed; the list shows the most recent, one entry per campaign, because a single campaign is usually filed as several documents on the same day. The summaries are NHTSA's; the full documents come from the manufacturer.
Compare the 2026 A3 with
Any vehicle, your weights →| Head-to-head | Verdict | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 Mercedes-Benz C-Class · Compact Sedan · grade A | A3 +6.6 | |
| 2026 Toyota Corolla · Compact Sedan · grade A | Corolla +25.8 | |
| 2026 Volkswagen Jetta · Compact Sedan · grade B | Jetta +15.5 | |
| 2026 Genesis G70 · Compact Sedan · grade A | G70 +28.4 |
A3 by model year
all years, side by side →Common questions about the 2026 A3
Source: EPA, NHTSA and manufacturer press kitsHow much does the 2026 Audi A3 cost?
The manufacturer lists $40,100 for the A3 quattro AWD. Those are MSRPs from the manufacturer's own press material; they exclude destination, options, taxes and whatever the dealer adds. Every trim and price is listed above.
Does the 2026 Audi A3 have any recalls?
No NHTSA recall campaigns are on file for the 2026 Audi A3. New campaigns appear here within a week of NHTSA posting them, and a clean sheet on a recent model year often just means the vehicle is new.
How safe is the 2026 Audi A3?
NHTSA has not published a crash-test rating for the 2026 Audi A3 yet. On the recall record WhichTrim grades it A (100/100), which measures open and severe recalls rather than crash protection.
What is the fuel economy of the 2026 Audi A3?
For the 2026 Audi A3, the best EPA combined figure is 28 mpg. Figures are the EPA's own, per configuration, and every one is listed above.
What do owners complain about on the 2026 Audi A3?
Owners have filed 2 complaints with NHTSA about the 2026 Audi A3, most often about electrical system, service brakes. Complaints are unverified owner reports, so treat the pattern as a signal and the individual report as an anecdote.
Are there service bulletins for the 2026 Audi A3?
The manufacturer has filed 183 service bulletins and related communications with NHTSA for the 2026 Audi A3, most often covering electrical system, unknown or other, structure. The most recent is dated 2026-09-25. A bulletin is not a recall: it is the repair procedure a manufacturer sends its dealers for a condition it knows about, and the work is not automatically paid for. It is still worth knowing — if the symptom matches, quoting the bulletin number at the service desk can save a diagnosis. The document numbers and summaries are listed above.
Is the 2026 Audi A3 better than the 2026 Mercedes-Benz C-Class?
The Audi A3 wins clearly, 91.5 to 84.9, on tech & comfort, price. The Mercedes-Benz C-Class is ahead on space & cargo and performance. We publish a full side-by-side of the 2026 Audi A3 against the 2026 Mercedes-Benz C-Class — specifications by family, equipment feature by feature, safety record and ownership costs. You can re-weight what matters to you and the verdict recalculates.
What we hold, and what an empty row means
Paid vehicle-history reports will not tell you the difference between “nothing happened to this car” and “we never received that record” — both of the big two say as much in their own help pages. Most of what is on this page comes from complete federal registers, so we can tell you which is which, row by row.
| Data | Held | Source | What it covers — or what empty means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fuel economy & configurations | 1 configurations | EPA certification records | Every configuration the EPA certified for sale, with its own test figures. |
| Emission certificates | none | EPA emission certificates | The EPA published no certificate we could match to a configuration on this page. |
| Recalls | none | NHTSA recall campaigns | No campaign has been filed. Because the register is complete, an empty row here means there is nothing to find — not that we are missing it. |
| Owner complaints | 2 | NHTSA complaint database | Also complete, but unverified: these are reports owners filed, not findings. Counts scale with how many were sold. |
| Crash ratings | none | NHTSA NCAP | NHTSA has not tested this model year. Cars are selected for testing, so untested is not unsafe. |
| Service bulletins | 183 | NHTSA manufacturer communications | Everything the manufacturer told its dealers about a defect or malfunction, short of a recall. |
| Investigations | none | NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation | No defect investigation has been opened. |
| Driver-assist crash reports | none | NHTSA Standing General Order 2021-01 | No report has been filed. Only entities named in the order report, and only crashes they hear of — so this is also what an unequipped car, or a manufacturer without telematics, looks like. |
| Specifications filed with NHTSA | none | NHTSA vPIC, decoded from VIN patterns | We had no VIN pattern to decode for this model year, or the manufacturer filed nothing usable. |
| Trims, pricing & equipment | 3 trims | Manufacturer press kit | Transcribed from the manufacturer's own press material, every value carrying the document it came from. |
Rebuilt nightly; this page was generated 2026-10-26. Every figure above is traceable to the source named beside it, and the JSON for this page carries the same values with their identifiers.
Sources & method
Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). The most serious recall counts in full and each further one counts 85% of the one before, because a vehicle sold in millions is recalled more often than a rare one without being more dangerous — and because a flat subtraction bottomed the scale out, scoring a vehicle with 22 recalls within a point of one with six. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Read it as what it counts: recall campaigns on the federal record, weighted by severity. The damping reduces the sales bias by roughly 40% but does not remove it: like our complaint counts, this is not normalized by how many were sold, so a best-seller still scores somewhat worse than an obscure model with the same real risk. NHTSA crash ratings, do-not-drive and park-outside advisories, and the crash, fire, injury and death counts in owner complaints are reported separately on every page and never blended into the letter — a vehicle can hold five stars and a poor letter at once, and where that happens we say so rather than leave you to notice. Because the scale subtracts from a clean sheet, a model year too new to have been recalled, complained about or bulletined scores full marks on an empty record; we label those grades provisional rather than present them as earned.
EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records. Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed nightly. Trim-level specifications and pricing are transcribed from the manufacturer's official press kit; every value carries its source in the data file.