Audi A3 1.9 TDI 3dr

particular filter lights keep appearing, was not made aware at time of purchase that the car was not ment for short trips, dont really drive on the motorway, however when the filter light came on was told by the garage to drive on high speed for approx 20 mins of motorway, so my husband has been driving the car on the motorway once a week as he works further away from me, the filter lights keep coming on, took it back to the garage and they made out that its my fault as i drive short distance, so this is not fit for purpose, a car should be driven whenever required. would not recommend the audi to no one... all i can say is dont make the same mistake!!!!!!!

Hey folks,

Bought my A3 Sept 09 - it's a 1.9TDIe.

Basically the particulate filter light comes up anytime I drive not on the motorway for more than 15mins. It comes on a regular basis, it has even lost power and I had to take it to the garage as the particulate filter issue caused the engines emission system and exhaust system to stop working properly which resulted in lost power! Audi tried to charge me £1400 for a new filter and only when I kicked up a fuss and refused to pay did they mysteriously find a solution to the problem and managed to clean the filter, suffice to say the light has been back on a number of times.

The car is NOT fit for purpose - I drive on the motorway everyday to work which is what saves the A3. If I didn't then the particulate filter light would constantly be on, the service manager at the garage even said the vehicle is NOT built to be driven in city style driving for extended periods of time -I say it's a car and it's built to be driven!

I will definitely be getting a refund via the trading standards as this issue was not highlighted before I purchased the vehicle!

Audi have let me down

I also have a problem with the Audi A3 TDIe vehicle particulate filter warning light. The vehicle has been in and out of the delarership that many times over the past 12 months and Audi cannot find the fault (in excess of 30 days). There has also been major problems with the air conditioning and other warning light keeps coming on. I am currently in discussions with Audi, as they have agreed to buy the vehicle back from me, but it looks like I am going to be the one who will absorb all the depreciation in value. To be honest I will be relieved to see the back of this Audi A3 whatever the personal cost, and I will put this one down to experience. Don't be fooled by the fancy showrooms and the 'exclusive service'.....the Audi brand is certainly not the quality product that they will have you buy into, and I will not be making the same mistake twice!

This Audi A3 has been a dreaful experience. Audi have told me that the car may not be suitable for anyone using it for short, stop- start journeys due to the diesel particulate filter system. I would add that I certainly was not made aware of this prior to getting the car. I don't actually do many short journeys but drive mainly on motorway and use the car for my job. The result is that every 4 days (200 miles) the filter blockage warning light goes on and I have to drive for upwards of twenty minutes on the motorway in third gear. If I am lucky the warning light will go off, although it often doesn't. Nightmare car, if I had the chance again I wouldn't touch it with a barge poll.

Vorsprung durch teknik... translated means very disappointing technology, I think Audi were really good cars once but they've just lost the plot quality wise!