PatrickW

Since my last post in May, the problems with my A3 became more frequent, with the MMI screen going blank every few minutes on some journeys, and in one case not coming on at all. Other problems included the trip meter resetting to zero on random occasions, and switching radio stations at random - eventually it ‘forgot’ all my presets. After delaying for seemingly as long as they could, VW/Audi finance finally agreed that I could reject the vehicle, and it was collected last Friday, and I now await a refund of my deposit. Bizarrely, the car was collected by British Car Auctions, and I see from the Audi app on my phone (which I haven’t deleted yet) that it is currently parked in their car park at Camberley, presumably awaiting auction. So (unless they declare the fault which I doubt), it is going to end up with some unsuspecting dealer or private buyer.

If you are getting the SOS warning, then I would go back to the dealer with it if I were you. I have now had Audi finance come back to me and they have acknowledged my complaint and I expect to have the car taken back in a week or so. I have to wonder, what happens to these rejected cars, because mine is certainly not the only one - do they use them as demonstrators perhaps?

Did you buy second hand? Pressing the drive select button should bring up the five options on the MMI screen; if it doesn’t then I reckon something must be wrong. As to the satnav, I thought that came as standard, but there may be a subscription issue - I know mine came with a three year subscription which includes free map updates and live traffic info. Even so if the subscription runs out you should still get satnav, but the map will gradually become more and more out of date. To give credit where it’s due, the Audi satnav is in my opinion pretty good and it is one area where Honda lags behind. And as to the lack of a CD player, I think these began to disappear from new cars several years ago, and now they are not even available as an optional extra on most models.

Since I originally posted this topic, I managed to get just over 50mpg on one long motorway journey (London to Manchester and back) but normally in the South London suburbs I seem to average around 25mpg. Anyway the car is basically a lemon due to the frequent SOS error messages and the MMI screen almost daily going blank whilst “loading user settings” or some such. This is apparently a ‘known issue’ which VW/Audi are unable to fix, so I have formally notified Audi Finance that I wish to reject the vehicle and have my money back, or most of it anyway. This was the first time I have owned a German car, and I guess it will probably be the last. Previously I owned various Honda models for over 20 years and they were pretty much 100% reliable so once I’ve got rid of the A3 I’ll be looking at a Japanese car again.

The navigation system that is built into the latest A3s and presumably other models is on the whole quite good, but occasionally it tries to direct me down a road that has been closed either permanently, or temporarily due to roadworks. There doesn’t seem to be a way of notifying the system of such closures and it keeps trying to direct me back to the same spot unless I drive so far off in another direction that it is forced to re-route. This isn’t rocket science and several years ago I had a Tomtom standalone satnav where you just had to press one button when you came to a closed road and it instantly found an alternative route. if I’m missing something please let me know but I have’s found anything in the handbook or online.

I have so far driven 627 miles in my 1.5litre A3 which I took delivery of a month ago. I don’t seem to be achieving anything like the fuel consumption quoted by the manufacturer or in the reviews online. Allegedly I should be getting 40 to 60 mpg depending on conditions. Today I went for a leisurely drive in the Surrey countryside, mostly cruising at 50mph with very few stops, and the car’s dashboard only showed around 38 mpg. Surely these driving conditions should have produced 50 to 60 mpg if the official figures be believed? In urban conditions I am only getting around 20 to 25mpg. I previously had a 1.5litre Honda Civic Sport for 3 years (which I now wish I had kept, given the SOS fault and related software issues with the A3) which regularly achieved 55+ mpg on extra-urban trips and 30-35 mpg around town. just wondered what other people’s experience of fuel consumption has been with the current A3? Incidentally I have the ‘economy’ drive mode selected.

Seems that this problem is more widespread and has been affecting many models in the VW/Audi group range. https://www.theguardian.com/money/2021/may/01/vw-audi-and-skoda-owners-angry-over-fault-in-sos-warning-system I wish I’d known about this because I would not have got an Audi if I’d known. Should have stayed with Honda I guess.

Latest update, my A3 was booked in at the dealership (incidentally my dealer in Bromley is offering courtesy cars) for tomorrow, bu the dealer telephoned me today and cancelled the appointment. They advised that Audi are aware of the issue, which is software related, and they are currently working on a software update which will be rolled out when it’s ready, and affected owners will be contacted in due course. So fingers still crossed. As to whether they are still shipping them with this fault, I cannot say. I can tell you that I ordered mine in late February and was promised a July delivery, but in the event it arrived in April, so mawaudi444 yours might arrive sooner than you expect.

OK so I contacted the dealer today, and apparently the faulty SOS is a known issue and the MMI going blank is linked to it. The car is booked in later this month so fingers crossed . . .

Hi I took delivery of a new A3 a fortnight ago and have used it daily since then. I’ve had the SOS warning twice, and the pre-sense apply the brakes once for no reason, but on almost every journey, at least once, the MMI goes blank for 30 seconds or so and shows the message ‘please wait, updating user information’. i haven’t gone back to the dealer yet, but having read your post I guess I’d better.