Brand New 8Y RS3 Problems

[one2four5three]

Hello friends,

I recently got a 2023 RS3 after wanting to get one for many many years. Unfortunately, I am having issues with the car and it is under 500 miles.

A brief rundown of the situation;

On going issue for the past few months:

I got the car when it was still warmer out and I was driving it consistently once or twice a week for a few months with no apparent issues. Once the weather started to drop, one day on a cold start I noticed an unusual whining sound as soon as the motor started. Being new to this platform, I initially thought it might be attributed to the weather and proceeded to let the car idle, then went for a light cruise. The whining sound did not seem to be going away, and can be heard increasing in volume as the revs go up, however it is much less noticeable at higher rpms/speeds. When the hood is popped and the sound is present at idle, it sounds like it is coming from near the radiator on the drivers side. This issue kept happening on and off again, with usually always happening on cold starts after a few days of sitting in the garage. Lately, the sound has been pretty consistent, and is there pretty much on every drive. There was also one instance when on a cold start, as soon as the motor turned over there was a loud pop/bang that sounded like it came from the transaxle/tcase area underneath the center console. This only happened once, a few weeks ago and never happened again. All fluids are perfect and the car has never had a CEL.

New issue that started today:

During a lightly spirited cruise on two separate occasions today with a mixture of city and highway cruising, the car alerted that the transmission was getting hot and to adjust driving. Both times the car was put into auto immediately and cruised until RS monitor indicated trans had cooled off. Keep in mind this was without launching the car more than once and in extremely cold outside temps.


Conclusion:

I am extremely disappointed and concerned with everything that has happened with this car so far, as no other 8Y RS3s in the States I have heard of are having any issues. Although I did not initially think the whining sound would be a major concern, after the popping sound and the recent transmission overheating issues, I am very concerned it might very well be a Trans pump or Tcase issue. I did hear of some overseas 8Ys having Tcase issues from one of the guys at Ostar. I would appreciate any and all input on this as this is very unlike Audi and I've never had any issues with any VAG car I've ever owned especially not my new ones. I really want to avoid dropping it off to the dealer and having them rip it apart to track these issues down but it seems like at this point it is the only option.

Link to the whining sound:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/xJqjhnGeJAw

[Shelby3]

I would imagine the assembly went down hill during covid, my '22 S3 already started having engine problems at 3000k miles. Luckily the Audi dealer ignored my phone calls and emails, once I was able to get a hold of someone they said it would be 2-3 months before they could look at it :(

[Rod Paine]

one2four5three,

Sorry to hear that such RS 3 issues are occuring, and I certainly hope you are
able to get this problem fixed... correctly!

Our 2019 Audi RS 3 now at 44,188 miles, of which 31,803 miles have been fast
country back road runs 10am-2pm Tues, Weds and Thurs only, which is when
a minimal number of other vehicles are on these country back roads, that
we've been running the past 15 years or so,

The only changes we made to the RS 3 was the installation of 245/40/18
Michelin Pilot Sport AS3+ on Neuspeed RSe10 18/8.5 wheels, which made
a MAJOR difference in the Audi's fast country back road performance
with respect to cornering, raod surface stability and reduced 'pot-hole'
issues with their much latger tire sidewall height!

Will be putting Michelin All Season 4 on very soon, as our current tires are now
down to 3mm tread depth and are a bit 'slipperey' now. Their have been no issues
at all with our RS 3 since day one and as someone who has been driving fast
automobiles since 1957, I certainly would know when something wasn't functioning
PROPERLY.

Our RS 3 fortunately, has showed no signs of having any issues other than
its original 235/35/19 tire performance, which was totally UNACCEPTABLE
based on my 65 years of autoimobile performance driving to date.

Mileage updated 2/21/23 as shown above in this message.

FYIW.

My Photo Gallery has current pics.

[one2four5three]

The dealership is very rude and unfriendly towards me. That is why I am bringing it to a different dealership most likely. What were your engine problems and are you looking into any lemon laws for your state to get a settlement? 2-3 months is an very long time for them to have your car and well past lemon law limits FYI.

[Shelby3]

The dealer I bought the car from was in Georgia and pretty friendly, however, the local dealer is pretty horrid which is why I went to Georgia to buy the car. Unfortunately doesn't make sense to drive 8 hours everytime I need service.

It seems the intake flapper sensor has gone bad, I am *guessing* the hot temps in the Florida summer might have burnt it out, I even changed the sensor already and told them they only had to recode it, but they didn't seem to want to listen to anything I said.

We will see what happens after this. I had a TTS and never had any issues, but it was a pre-covid car :)

[one2four5three]

I might abandon ship and jump into a g80 M3 Comp .... this is a nightmare

[one2four5three]

Even a Golf R might have been a better option, this is one of the top line cars for Audi and this build quality is just very poor it seems

[TheContrarian]

The video you posted, there's no sound.

[o1turbo30v]

If you hop over into the RS3 specific forum, another forum member had an issue with the transmission coolant flange on his 8Y which destroyed the trans, Audi replaced it under warranty. Every car company is having quality issues, supply chains are having to get resourceful, and when that happens.......you can end up some some shody parts and or suppliers

https://www.audizine.com/forum/forum...-RS-3-Specific

[one2four5three]

Your link in not opening that thread. The video does have sound im not sure why you can barley hear it I would try opening the link on your phone. I will try to put up a better video as well.

[one2four5three]

Quick update for anyone who cares:

Car was brought into dealership. The car is scheduled for a new Mechatronic unit, however the lead time for that part is unknown and it is not known if there is anymore damage to the Trans or drivetrain at this time.

The car sits at 650 miles. What a nightmare. For anyone looking into buying a new RS3 ... Reconsider it. ..

[993140]

For anyone looking into buying a new RS3 ... Reconsider it. ..

Why? How widespread is this problem and who knows if it will persist? That said, sorry you're going through this but, in the end, you might actually enjoy this car.

[one2four5three]

How widespread it is is still unclear due to there being such few on the road. I definitely had one of the first ones in my area for sure, it is a lovely machine and I did enjoy it a lot when it was functioning properly for the first 300 miles. I would definitely be hesitant to buy one now if I knew of this possible issue going into the purchase, or I would consider a 8v for much cheaper. I was also really disappointed with the 8Y a3 loaner they gave me.

With that being said, I still would love to keep the car but a case is now opened with Audi America for a rebuy/replacement process.

[ramo7769]

Sorry about your luck. I am here because I snatched up a dealer allocated car when my Mk8 Golf R was at the dealership for an engine replacement at 2,000 miles. That car got sold and a Lemon Law settlement was paid to me (the car sat over a month at the dealer). Learn the lemon laws. If you get it back, functioning normally, but you don't want to look at it anymore (like me with my R) you should be able to get out with minimal losses. Good luck.

[GTItoS4]

Link to the whining sound:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/xJqjhnGeJAw

I had the EXACT same whining sound and same diagnosis around 600 miles as well. It's a failing DSG pump. However, my dealer went ahead and replaced the entire DSG. We were lucky to find a new DSG a couple states away. The whole thing only took a couple weeks to resolve. No issues since and now have ~1800 miles on the car. You should ask if they can replace the entire transmission and not just the mechatronic. Might be faster.

[Zmr2015]

I have a 2023 RS3 and had the same issues. Mechatronic was replaced in November. Two months later Transmission started acting weird and the dealer was going to do another replacement but called me two weeks ago saying they will swap out the entire transmission. I’m not sure how I feel. Part of me wants to proceed with a buyback but I love the car. Any luck or response about how the buyback works?

[GTItoS4]

I think it's a little different in every state, depending on your local lemon laws. It's worth reading up and seeing how long you're protected and what the criteria is for a lemon. My state is very generous, but you do have to give Audi a chance to fix it, assuming it's less than 30 days of downtime.

It now seems like a bad batch of these pumps made it out the door. It's unfortunate, but shit happens. Audi and my local dealer really stepped up and did a great job on the turning my car around.

A transaxle swap isn't all that complicated. I'd give them the chance to correct it, and if you're still not happy, buyback/lemon should be available to you.

[CXSnail]

From what I hear about lemon laws, it's expensive and time consuming. You may think you just wash your hands from the car, but it isn't that simple. I'd recommend letting Audi correct the issue. Whether that is done in one dealer visit or multiple. Eventually it will be fixed and you'll be without a car for less time than If you pursue lemon law.

[one2four5three]

I have a 2023 RS3 and had the same issues. Mechatronic was replaced in November. Two months later Transmission started acting weird and the dealer was going to do another replacement but called me two weeks ago saying they will swap out the entire transmission. I’m not sure how I feel. Part of me wants to proceed with a buyback but I love the car. Any luck or response about how the buyback works?

Wow.. This is extremely disappointing to hear. It looks like mine is on the same boat, I assume that the transmission gets damaged from inadequate cooling, even in a few hundred miles as mine has already overheated twice while barley getting on the car.

As far as the lemon laws go, they vary state to state however they generally all have the same stipulations. I choose to take my car home because I did not want my brand new garage kept RS3 to get hailed and snowed on outside while waiting for a part with no timetable on when it will arrive, as no dealership said they would be able to accommodate the vehicle indoors, so I am not sure how mine would qualify for being at the dealership for a certain amount of time. I think the much better option is to file a claim with Audi as I did for a buy back or replacement.

To directly address one of the previous comments: There is no reason why you should have to suffer having your brand new RS3 worked on and "getting right" or "making it right". Any number of things can happen to the car while being worked on which you would really have no way of knowing or proving, and in my book it is not a new car anymore but a repaired car. No new car owner should have to deal with this let alone a brand new performance vehicle owner, no matter how much you love the car and want to keep it, and trust me I do.