Whilst I agree the frustration with the way Audi are dealing with this I would repeat that after installing the updates on the AudiConnect app my Q2 no longer has this problem.  A coincidence?  Maybe, but mine is fine now.  Just saying

I have suffered this exact same issue since I bought my A3 new in October 2024.  I was told it was a stall and this issue was not known about by any other of Newcastle Audi customers. 
 

I was told to turn off the stop start and I advised the dealer that had not worked for a while.  A replacement battery sorted the stop start. I was also informed that they had suddenly found a technical bulletin and I was advised not to use automatic in Drive Select.  I have selected Dynamic for the last 2 weeks and so far I’m not yet sure if this has worked around the issue.  Pleased to find others are aware of this issue too.  It would be good to read this technical bulletin for myself.  
 

The way Audi has dealt with my concerns and the time it took to authorise a replacement battery. 3 trips to Newcastle and the car left overnight, has really made me question if I’d buy another Audi  

 

 

 

Edited November 9, 2025Nov 9 by Najdurham
Typos

1 hour ago, Najdurham said:

was told to turn off the stop start and I advised the dealer that had not worked for a while.  A replacement battery sorted the stop start.  

Note that failure of the stop/start system is a common first sympton of a dying battery. It's not a definitive symptom, but is in indication that the battery needs to be tested before investigating other causes for the problem.

Hello Cliff.  Newcastle Audi replaced the battery under warranty and the stop start now works.  
 

I’m more concerned about the engine intermittently cutting out when slowing to junctions or roundabouts.  Sometimes it’s dangerous when I have entered the roundabout only to find the engine has stopped. Embarrassing at lights when I’ve not noticed the engine has cut out and I have to manually turn off the ignition and restart the engine. I’m now running the car in Dynamic mode rather than Automatic to see if that works around the engine cut out issue. 

On 11/7/2025 at 1:14 PM, Oldnuff said:

Whilst I agree the frustration with the way Audi are dealing with this I would repeat that after installing the updates on the AudiConnect app my Q2 no longer has this problem.  A coincidence?  Maybe, but mine is fine now.  Just saying

Were the updates you carried out purely related to the satnav? If so, do you have any inkling as to how they would cause the engine cutouts to stop?

Regards

John.

1 hour ago, Najdurham said:

Hello Cliff.  Newcastle Audi replaced the battery under warranty and the stop start now works.  
 

I’m more concerned about the engine intermittently cutting out when slowing to junctions or roundabouts.  Sometimes it’s dangerous when I have entered the roundabout only to find the engine has stopped. Embarrassing at lights when I’ve not noticed the engine has cut out and I have to manually turn off the ignition and restart the engine. I’m now running the car in Dynamic mode rather than Automatic to see if that works around the engine cut out issue. 

That's an interesting point about the battery. Recently my wife was left sitting in the car whilst I attended an appointment. I left the ignition switched on so she could listen to the radio. When I returned about 45 mins later, she told me a message had been displayed briefly about a weak battery. I mean, the car started fine, so would sitting with the ignition on for 45 mins normally produce a weak battery message? Also my auto stop/start hasn't been working for about 8 months now, but I put that down to doing mainly short journeys. 

52 minutes ago, Disgruntled Driver said:

Were the updates you carried out purely related to the satnav? If so, do you have any inkling as to how they would cause the engine cutouts to stop?

Regards

John.

I may have answered my own question. It would appear that one of the systems that the cars Efficiency assist accesses is the navigation system, so I guess if the maps are out of date, that could lead to issues. Having said that, how out of date could the maps be on an 11 month old car? Also the cutouts started not long after the car was delivered, but put down to getting used to a new car.

6 hours ago, Disgruntled Driver said:

That's an interesting point about the battery. Recently my wife was left sitting in the car whilst I attended an appointment. I left the ignition switched on so she could listen to the radio. When I returned about 45 mins later, she told me a message had been displayed briefly about a weak battery. I mean, the car started fine, so would sitting with the ignition on for 45 mins normally produce a weak battery message? Also my auto stop/start hasn't been working for about 8 months now, but I put that down to doing mainly short journeys. 

My stop start hadn’t worked for several months too.  I wasn’t too bothered about it until they asked me to turn it off to see if the engine cut off issues were linked to stop start.  The car always started despite them telling me the battery was only 60% charged.  Newcastle Audi had the car 5 days over 3 60 mile round trips to Newcastle before they fully diagnosed a faulty battery and got authorisation from Audi to replace the battery.  Rather annoying they didn’t identify a battery issue when the car had its first service in September and they were supposed to be investigating the cut out issue.  Makes me wonder if they had actually ran any diagnostic testing.  I like the car but I’m seriously thinking to replace it in the spring.   This one is my third A3 from new and the only one to give me problems.  I actually rejected the car I took delivery of in September 2024 because of problems with the MMI and my current car is the replacement. Interestingly the first car also had the cut out issue.  

Some general comments based on experience of stop/start systems on non-Audi vehicles:-

The operation of this (engineering averse) system is dependent on monitoring a number of parameters relating to the battery’s overall efficiency.

A below-par battery will efficiently start the car, but will certainly adversely affect the operation of the S/S system, so if the S/S system doesn’t operate over a period of time, then battery efficiency testing would be my first port of call. Testing with a multimeter is meaningless - it needs to be tested on professional equipment which measures its efficiency under load, and takes in parameters such as cold cranking currents etc. Halfords stores will generally carryout these tests. If a new battery is needed, then getting a replacement there could upset your wallet. 
 

Battery charge condition will also affect the operation of the S/S system, and it may not operate if the vehicle is frequently used on short journeys - for example. 
Radio left on for 45 mins? Lucky, it doesn’t have a built in time-out cut off. With family non Audi vehicles from the same maker, the radio automatically shuts down after 3 minutes! 
 

Replaced batteries will need to be coded to the car on most post c2008 models.

Just an overview which might help.

Regards,

Gareth. 

11 hours ago, Disgruntled Driver said:

That's an interesting point about the battery. Recently my wife was left sitting in the car whilst I attended an appointment. I left the ignition switched on so she could listen to the radio. When I returned about 45 mins later, she told me a message had been displayed briefly about a weak battery. I mean, the car started fine, so would sitting with the ignition on for 45 mins normally produce a weak battery message? Also my auto stop/start hasn't been working for about 8 months now, but I put that down to doing mainly short journeys. 

No, the radio alone did not not kill the battery, but it was the last straw for a battery that had been slowly dying for months. A dying battery often can start an engine perfectly well, hence few owners are aware of a problem, but the cars sensitive electronic systems are affected by internal faults in the battery so they generate some odd faults. One of the first of those faults is the stop/start system.

My suspicion is that there is/will be a spate of this based around Covid, when vehicles were build and ‘stored’ waiting for bits of electronic to be manufactured. Standing unused for months can be the death of batteries.

Regards,

Gareth. 

Interesting comments about battery health.  I’ve talked about updates I did some months ago that “cured” the issue.  I did that, I think, by installing updates, again I think, that I found in “warnings and information” on “AudiConnect”.  I had been looking for updates to the SatNav before a long journey. I can’t say or deny that all 4 updates were for the SatNav.  It was months ago but I think they were just listed as updates. I probably had to use the “refresh” command to find them.  Something worked anyway.  After reading the “battery” comments I can’t rule out the fact that I then did a 300+mile motorway journey that would of course fully charged the battery. Still worth looking at the app though?

Edited November 10, 2025Nov 10 by Oldnuff

On 11/10/2025 at 6:47 PM, Oldnuff said:

Interesting comments about battery health.  I’ve talked about updates I did some months ago that “cured” the issue.  I did that, I think, by installing updates, again I think, that I found in “warnings and information” on “AudiConnect”.  I had been looking for updates to the SatNav before a long journey. I can’t say or deny that all 4 updates were for the SatNav.  It was months ago but I think they were just listed as updates. I probably had to use the “refresh” command to find them.  Something worked anyway.  After reading the “battery” comments I can’t rule out the fact that I then did a 300+mile motorway journey that would of course fully charged the battery. Still worth looking at the app though?

Following on from your comments,I had a look in th MyAudi app, but I couldnt find any updates under the "Warnings and Information" tab. Out of interest I put a multi-meter accross the battery terminals this morning and noted the the "No Load Voltage" was around the 12.0 - 12.1v area. I know that a no load voltage test on a battery is pretty much useless, but that seems a bit low. I then got my wife to start the car whilst I monitored the battery voltage, and it seemed to dip down to about 10.9 - 11.0v. Again I feel this might be a bit low?

I’m not up on battery tech so I can’t comment on that. It sounds odd though.  Does it suggest that the battery is defective or that it just needs charging? 
As regards updates I’ve had another look at the App.  
Under “all functions” there is a “map update” option.  I guess that’s what I used.  Apologies for the misleading info - it’s been months!

Edited November 13, 2025Nov 13 by Oldnuff

Hello John,

’Standing’ battery voltage of 12.1v does not bode well. Expect nearer to 12.4.

’Engine running’ voltage of around 11 volts is totally inadequate (should be c14.5 v) and points to the alternator being inoperative. 

16 minutes ago, Magnet said:

Hello John,

’Standing’ battery voltage of 12.1v does not bode well. Expect nearer to 12.4.

’Engine running’ voltage of around 11 volts is totally inadequate (should be c14.5 v) and points to the alternator being inoperative. 

No, what I meant was that the lowest I saw the voltage drop to when my wife started the car was 10.9 - 11.0v. I'm sure the "running" voltage was higher than this, but i can't recall what it was. I'll have another check in the morning and update.

Edited November 13, 2025Nov 13 by Disgruntled Driver

1 hour ago, Oldnuff said:

I’m not up on battery tech so I can’t comment on that. It sounds odd though.  Does it suggest that the battery is defective or that it just needs charging? 
As regards updates I’ve had another look at the App.  
Under “all functions” there is a “map update” option.  I guess that’s what I used.  Apologies for the misleading info - it’s been months!

It could be that it just needs charged, I'm going to check the voltages again tomorrow for ignition off voltage, starting voltage, and engine running voltage. I had another look at the app, and there was a 2025 maps update package which I have downloaded and will try to install tomorrow.

Cheers

John.

OK John,

All very different now then, but far more clearly explained. 
As has been explained so many times, it is effectively meaningless to attempt to test a battery’s efficiency using a simple multimeter. 
Repeating- it needs to have all its parameters assessed under load with professional equipment. 

1 hour ago, Magnet said:

OK John,

All very different now then, but far more clearly explained. 
As has been explained so many times, it is effectively meaningless to attempt to test a battery’s efficiency using a simple multimeter. 
Repeating- it needs to have all its parameters assessed under load with professional equipment. 

Hi Gareth, yes, I fully appreciate and accept what you are saying. However, if the measured voltages for free standing,  starting drop off, and engine running are all LOWER than you would expect too see, I think it's fair to assume that there's something amiss that needs more detailed examination/testing, and should be highlighted when the car goes into the main dealer next week.

Regards

John.

Fully agree of course John. Just bear in mind that you will be conveying this important detail to a service receptionist for onward transmission to the person who is going to inspect it. I would write this down in a clear fashion and ask them to attach it to the worksheet. 
Otherwise a fair chance of ‘no fault found’.

Regards,

Gareth. 

Right, I re checked the different voltages again just now, and the results are as follows: Standing Voltage with ignition off is 11.96v. The lowest voltage my rudimentary multi meter caught on cranking the engine was 10.47v, and the voltage measured with the car idling was 15.19v - which I think would indicate that the alternator at least appears ok. 

Regards

John.

All of this now points to an ailing battery then.

The longer I have this car, the more I detest it! I now have a situation where the radio is constantly initialising, so wont play. I also have a new red warning lamp/message? that has appeared in the top right of the mmi, which I cant find in the manual. Ive attached a picture of it, so if anyone has any ideas on what it is, please enlighten me. Its the 90degree bent arrow I'm referring to.

John.

Do yourself a favour, throw your meter in the rubbish bin, and then get the battery and alternator professionally tested. Until you can prove that the battery and alternator are in good condition any warning light or message is likely to be false. A defective battery can easily be responsible for all the map and radio problems your car is suffering.

Quick update.  As advised by the dealer. Switching the Drive select from Automatic to Dynamic has not worked around the engine cut-out issue.  My A3 still occasionally cuts out went slowing to junctions and lights. 

The stop/start is still working after the battery was changed