Audi S3 Reliability

[carterbourassa]

Hello,

Seriously considering buying a used S3 in the next couple months. I test drove the car and fell in love.

I was ideally shooting for one with under 50k miles, but one in the absolute exact spec I was searching for just popped up from a private seller. It's a 2015 and has 70k miles. The seller bought it from a friend who was the original owner. He has it listed at a really fair price, all the maintenance is current and has been done at the original dealer of purchase, clean title, and he's proved its been well taken care of (will still get a PPI regardless, just in case).

The CPO expires this summer (he had it CPO'd when he bought it from his friend), and I just want to make sure that it won't cause me too much trouble out of warranty. I plan to hold on to it for about 2 years, and drive about 10k per year, so I'll be just under 100k when I let it go.

What are some common issues people have run into, and how are the cars at higher mileages? My parents have had a few A3's in the past, and they were solid up until the 100k mark when they traded them in. Hoping it's the same for the early S3s.

[o1turbo30v]

Water pump leakage and rear differential/Haldex pump failures are things to look out for on the 15's. There's a big thread on what part number is the newest revision.

[Johnaudia3]

I’m now at 145,000 miles on my a3 have not had one issue all service I have done my self is just wear and tear like breaks and coolant nothing requiring a shop


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[hev702]

I have a 2015, got it at the end of October at 31k miles. Audi warranty has expired.

Issue with the sound system, was only getting sound from the front left door. Audio Express refused to look at the car. Another local shop claimed it needed a new sound processor and amplifier and I was quoted $1600. The Audi dealer claimed it was a software error code and the issue was completely fixed for $150.

At 32k miles, the water pump was leaking. Replaced that and thermostat. Around $750-800.

Now at 35k miles to discover the haldex pump and rear differential are failing. Car can not launch and there were metal shavings in the fluid. Bought the haldex repair kit off ECS, and after labor to diagnose, take everything apart, replace fluids and do the bevel box, I paid right under $600. Still need to scrape together around $1300 more to get the differential and all the labor taken care of.

Even with everything mechanically sound, there is still very noticeable interior rattles. If I hadn't already invested so much into the car with the adjustable springs and ECU/TCU tune, I would definitely be considering trading it in.

[Johnaudia3]

Forgot to mention it’s a 2015 a3 8v 1.8t


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[j17avil]

I have a 2015 coming up on 80K soon, Reliability has been solid. Regular maintenance and wear and tear items are all I've had to deal with

[Spinnetti]

80k+ 15' S3 nothing to report of merit. Pretty happy with it.

[S3NICK]

Well, you may want to plan for DSG and Haldex fluid service. I would not take it to the dealer for those. While you're in there, you might as well do the Haldex pump ($150 parts cost).

You should check to see if a carbon cleaning has been done. Mine had not. The valves were pretty gummed up. At 70k, you may be due if it's never been touched.
There is a chance the injectors may or may not need to be replaced at the same time. The Golf R parts are much less expensive and the same thing. No guarantee you'll need to do injectors unless you start misfiring, etc. after the clean.

Others have mentioned the water pump.

Besides all of that, I suppose the car should be ok. I think a set of spark plugs would make sense too.

[carterbourassa]

Well, you may want to plan for DSG and Haldex fluid service. I would not take it to the dealer for those. While you're in there, you might as well do the Haldex pump ($150 parts cost).

You should check to see if a carbon cleaning has been done. Mine had not. The valves were pretty gummed up. At 70k, you may be due if it's never been touched.
There is a chance the injectors may or may not need to be replaced at the same time. The Golf R parts are much less expensive and the same thing. No guarantee you'll need to do injectors unless you start misfiring, etc. after the clean.

Others have mentioned the water pump.

Besides all of that, I suppose the car should be ok. I think a set of spark plugs would make sense too.

DSG Fluid was done at 35k service. No word on the Haldex pump and fluid or carbon cleaning, but I'll have a dealer take a look at the car before I buy.

[sjeanbart]

2016 A3 Quattro 2.0t.
100 000km (~60k miles).
Only regular maintenance + front brakes. I do my oil change every 6000 miles using a fluid extractor pump.
Car drives like it's new.

[liljonny16]

2015 S3
Water Pump and Passenger Seat Airbag sensor/bladder replaced around 30K miles under warranty
Haldex issues around 40K miles. Dealer denied warranty. Said it would cost $2500 to replace. Did the troubleshooting myself and it ended up just being the Haldex controller, $100 off of Ebay.
At 50K miles with 0 issues, at the moment.

[S3NICK]

DSG Fluid was done at 35k service. No word on the Haldex pump and fluid or carbon cleaning, but I'll have a dealer take a look at the car before I buy.

I would do the DSG and Haldex fluids again just to be safe. You are due based on the mileage. Throw in the Haldex pump, if you want. I bought OEM new @ $150 online. It's right there and easy to replace. Sometimes dealers/shops don't clean out the Haldex filter, so why not just save the hassle and replace the whole thing? It's part of the pump.

If you don't try and negotiate it into the deal, I would buy the fluids and parts yourself and find a decent Indy willing to cut you a deal. It should be easy given our coronavirus situation. Shops need the business.

Carbon cleaning is important, IMO, but it doesn't need to be done the second you buy the car unless you're misfiring.