I get asked questions about the car quite often, so I decided to write a post with answers to the most common ones.
What are the car’s technical specifications?
- Engine: 1.4 TFSI
- Transmission: DQ400e (analogous to DQ250)
- Power: 204 hp
- Battery capacity: 8.8 kWh
- Fuel tank capacity: 40 l
- Concept: plug-in hybrid
What’s the fuel consumption and range?
The car has several modes. The pre-facelift has 4, the facelift has 3.
- Pure electric (EV): up to 50 km (for a new car). My car is from 2017, and the most I’ve ever seen on the dash is 47 km, and that’s with consumers and the AC off. In practice it would probably manage around 35 km.
- Hybrid: consumption drops to about 2 l / 100 km, but the charge in this mode lasts for about 100 km.
- Pure ICE (Battery Hold): 4-5.5 l / 100 km on the highway, about 8 l / 100 km in the city. The battery is still used, but very economically.
- Battery Charge – this mode only exists on the pre-facelift; on the facelift it’s merged with Battery Hold. Essentially it’s the pure-ICE mode.
On a full tank and a full charge you can cover around 600-700 km on the highway.
How do you start the ICE while parked?
You need to select Battery Hold mode, fasten your seatbelt (!), start the car as usual, and briefly press the accelerator all the way down.
How long does the car take to charge?
Whether from a home outlet or a public charger at 220V and 16A, it charges in 2.3 hours, accepting a maximum of 3.5 kW per hour. Usually, charging the battery from zero adds about ~7 kWh.
What type of charging connector does it use?
If the car is from the US, it’s Type 1; if from Europe, it’s Type 2.
Is there regenerative braking?
Not in the classic sense, but there is still a bit of it. “Regen” works hardest in Sport mode. The battery is also charged by the ICE – you can simply sit parked with the engine running and the battery will charge up a little. You can’t fully charge the battery via regen or the ICE alone; charging stops once it’s past halfway.
What are the car’s weak points?
Below I’ve split the list into weak points of the e-tron version of the A3 and the issues inherited from the regular A3.
On the e-tron version:
- Mechatronic unit – I’ve often come across people whose mechatronic unit failed, specifically on the e-tron version of the A3. The dealer only offers replacement, but it seems only the valve/solenoid can actually be repaired.
- Battery won’t fully charge – several people I know have complained that they can’t charge the battery all the way, with one bar on the gauge missing at the top. It’s not entirely clear what causes this; one person had a recall campaign requiring the BCM module to be flashed to the latest version. Others had no such recall, so the battery itself may have already degraded.
You can check for a recall campaign on your car on the Audi US website.
On the regular A3:
- Passenger occupancy mat – the most common issue on US Audi A3s. There’s a mat built into the front passenger seat (looks like a sheet of foil), and it fails very often and very quickly – kneeling on the seat is enough to break it. The problem can appear at any mileage. As a fix you can replace the mat (though again, it doesn’t last long) or take it to specialists who’ll replace it with a custom-made occupancy sensor, after which the problem stops bothering you. If the mat is faulty, the dash will show a message that PreSense isn’t working along with an airbag icon. The fault may not show up immediately, but only, for example, after driving on a rough road. A faulty mat can mean the passenger airbag won’t deploy in a crash.
- Panoramic roof trim cracking – also a fairly common problem; due to temperature and physical stress, part of the panoramic roof trim cracks. As a fix, you can glue it and wrap it in film, or replace the trim, but the part alone starts at around $500.
- Windshield defroster not working – a fairly common problem that shows up right before the cold season, when you need to warm up the car and defrost the windshield. The issue is in the HVAC blower motor. It gets replaced with a new one, adapted, and everything works again.
- Low oil pressure – this issue applies more to the regular A3 with the 1.8 and 2.0 engines. It’s especially common on pre-facelift cars with the CNTC engine. The camshaft carrier there was the first revision, which wore out too quickly. The fix is replacing the camshaft carrier with the newer revision, provided the car wasn’t driven with this fault for too long – otherwise nothing will help anymore.
What infotainment units were fitted to the A3 e-tron?
On the pre-facelift I’ve only come across MIB1 High; on the facelift you’ll find MST2 Delphi and MHI2 Harman.
MIB1 High only had Russian. MST2/MHI2 can have Russian and Ukrainian. CarPlay and Android Auto are only available on MHI2.
What trims were available for the Audi A3 e-tron in the US? Which one is best to get?
In the US the trim levels are: Ultra, Premium, Premium Plus and Prestige.
- Ultra – the most basic trim. Usually on 17″ wheels, with the simplest infotainment and instrument cluster. Ultra’s distinguishing feature is that the ICE can deactivate cylinders to save fuel.
- Premium – also considered a “bare-bones” trim, especially on the facelift. No Virtual Cockpit, basic infotainment, 17″ wheels. No S-Line elements. Everything else is optional.
- Premium Plus – this is where things get interesting. 18″ wheels, Virtual Cockpit in most cases, sport seats, top infotainment, S-Line elements, driver assists, and so on. My car is this trim.
- Prestige – the top trim. On top of everything in Premium Plus, it adds a windshield-mounted camera (for lane keeping and sign recognition) and mirrors that auto-fold. Very rare in the US.
You can read more about the US trims, options and how they’re built here:
- Audi A3 e-tron: https://chefranov.name/audi-a3-etron/etron-packages/
- Audi A3 Sedan: https://chefranov.name/audi-a3/a3-packages/
Of the trims, I’d only consider Premium Plus and Prestige – the others aren’t worth getting. And that applies not just to the Audi A3, but to other Audi models too.
Does Audi Connect and the myAudi app work for a US-market car in Europe?
Short answer: no. myAudi doesn’t work because of the telematics module, which is US-spec, and swapping it for a European one isn’t straightforward. Audi Connect could theoretically work, but you can’t buy a license renewal. In the MIB you can reflash the LTE chip to a European one, and then the MIB will be able to get online.
You can read more here: https://chefranov.name/audi-a3-etron/audi-connect/
It’s possible to get Audi Connect partly working by buying access to a private server.
I’m restoring the car after an accident – do body parts from the sedan fit?
The Audi A3 comes in several body styles: hatchback (3-door), Sportback (5-door), sedan and cabriolet.
A distinguishing feature of the hatchback and Sportback is aluminum fenders, unlike the sedan and cabriolet. In most cases the body panels also differ in shape: bumper, fenders, doors. The only body panel that might fit is the hood, but it visually differs between the Sportback and the sedan, and it’s aluminum on all body styles.
Where can I read more about the Audi A3 e-tron’s technical side?
There’s an official Audi dealer training program
Questions and answers will keep being added as they come up. You’re also welcome to ask your questions in the comments on this post.