There are 5 owner-reported tires & wheels complaints for the 2016 Audi A3in NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
225/45r17 Dry rot on all four tires less than three years old - and actually used for fewer than 18 months as alternated with winter tires - crack runs entire circumference of tire - deep - at joining of sidewall to tread. Nokian has said that this is “cosmetic sidewall cracking” - there is nothing cosmetic about it and each tire dealer I have visited reports that the tires are unsafe and need to be replaced. This is also supposedly a known issue that Nokia has acknowledged but not provided any extra coverage for.
The contact owns a 2016 Audi A3. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the vehicle drove over a massive pothole in the roadway. The contact pulled over to assess the vehicle and discovered that the front passenger’s rim had detached the vehicle. Additionally, the oil pan was punctured, causing oil to leak from the vehicle. Due to the failure, the contact had the vehicle towed to his residence where it remained in his possession. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 63,000.
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!
CONTINENTAL PROCONTACT 225/45R17 91H DOT AF7RWBRD4615 RIGHT FRONT TIRE SIDEWALL BLEW OUT AFTER GOING OVER SMALL DRIVEWAY CURB AT VERY LOW SPEED VEHICLE 2016 AUDI A3 ETRON
SINCE PURCHASING MY AUDI A3 ON 3/26/2016 I HAVE A FLAT TIRES IN 6 DAYS ON 4/2/16. CAR TIRES ARE OEM AND ARE CONTIPROCONTACT 225/40 18 92H. TIRE FAILURES HAD HAPPENED AT LOW SPEED (20-30 MPH) GOING OVER A POTHOLE. HOWEVER, I HAVE DRIVEN ON THESE SAME CANTON ANN ARBOR ROADS FOR 5 YEARS AND NEVER HAD TIRE DAMAGE FROM A POTHOLE BEFORE. I CONTACTED SEVERAL COMPANIES FOR TIRE REPLACEMENT AND ALL OF THEM SAID THAT THEY DON'T HAVE THESE TIRES IN STOCK AND THESE ARE DISCONTINUED TIRES. I ALSO FOUND THESE TIRES ON CLEARANCE AT SEARS. I DECIDED TO FILE A COMPLAIN AFTER I SEARCHED ONLINE AND FOUND OUT THAT OTHER PEOPLE ARE FACING THE SAME ISSUE WITH THE SAME BRAND AND SIZE. HTTP://M.CARCOMPLAINTS.COM/AUDI/A3/2015/WHEELS_HUBS/WHEELS.SHTML THERE IS A RECALL IN CANADA ON THESE TIRES HTTP://WWWAPPS.TC.GC.CA/SAF-SEC-SUR/7/VRDB-BDRV/SEARCH-RECHERCHE/DETAIL.ASPX?LANG=ENG&MK=7041&MD=0&FY=0&TY=9999&FT=&LS=0&SY=0&RN=2015313&CF=SEARCHRESULT&PG=0 DEALERSHIP IS NOT OFFERING ANY SOLUTIONS. I AM SCARED TO DRIVE MY CAR.
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.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026