Problems · NHTSA complaints
2002 Audi TT problems
Owners filed 38 complaints about the 2002 Audi TT with NHTSA between Feb 2002 and Jan 2026. The most-cited component is electrical system (18).
Complaints
38
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
1
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
People reported injured
Deaths
0
Reported to NHTSA
Complaints by component
One complaint can cite several components
- Electrical system18
- Power train5
- Exterior lighting4
- Engine and engine cooling4
- Structure3
- Visibility3
- Vehicle speed control2
- Fuel system, gasoline2
- Wheels1
- Engine1
- Latches/locks/linkages1
- Parking brake1
- Service brakes1
- Equipment1
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Oct 31, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
When complaints were filed
Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
1
2
1
2
2
4
11
2
3
1
0
1
2
2
2
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
View as table
| Model year | Complaints filed per calendar year |
|---|---|
| 2002 | 1 |
| 2003 | 2 |
| 2004 | 1 |
| 2005 | 2 |
| 2006 | 2 |
| 2007 | 4 |
| 2008 | 11 |
| 2009 | 2 |
| 2010 | 3 |
| 2011 | 1 |
| 2012 | 0 |
| 2013 | 1 |
| 2014 | 2 |
| 2015 | 2 |
| 2016 | 2 |
| 2017 | 0 |
| 2018 | 1 |
| 2019 | 0 |
| 2020 | 0 |
| 2021 | 0 |
| 2022 | 0 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2024 | 0 |
| 2025 | 0 |
| 2026 | 1 |
Mileage at failure isn’t a structured field in NHTSA complaint data, so we don’t chart it. Some owners mention it in their reports below.
Top problems in owners’ words
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
Electrical system
18 reports
“AUDI TT'S 2002 AND OTHERS ALL HAVE A MAJOR SAFETY PROBLEM. THE DOOR LATCH HAS A DEFECTIVE ELECTRONIC SWITCH THAT FAILS. THUS, MAKING THE DOOR IMPOSSIBLE TO OPEN. THE COMPUTER SENSOR IN THE DOOR HANDLE IS DEFECTIVE. IT'S DANGEROUS. YOU CAN'T EVEN GET OUT OF THE CAR DUE TO AN ACCIDENT. IF YOU GOOGLE AUDI TT DOOR LATCH SENSOR PROBLEMS, YOU WILL SEE NUMEROUS REPORTS OF THIS PROBLEM. GO TO THIS LINK FOR A UTUBE VIDEO OF THE PROBLEM: HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=2LV62SEDY-S AUDI NEEDS TO REPAIR OR REPLACE ALL THESE DEFECTIVE DOOR LATCH ASSEMBLIES IMMEDIATELY. *TT”
Power train
5 reports
“The clutch experienced failure while on the highway and wouldn’t go into gear without being put into neutral first then into second gear . Then while driving one day I couldn’t put it in reverse it’s just gone so now the car will roll slightly even with the emergency brake on but I was put in danger the day it wouldn’t shift gears as it should while on the highway leaving me pretty much in fast motion but unable to continue in gear as it should which caused me to have to drift to the side of the road to then experience the effect of it being in neutral to second to continue driving however the vehicle seems to be high reviving in all gears after this experience happened”
Exterior lighting
4 reports
“THE LED LIGHTS IN THE CENTER OF THE CONSOLE ARE GOING OUT. THERE WAS A RECALL AT ROUGHLY 50K MILES, THE CAR WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER AND REPAIRED AND NOW THE SAME THING IS HAPPENING AGAIN. THESE LIGHTS ARE IMPORTANT AS THEY TELL YOU WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOUR CAR SUCH AS ON OVERHEAT, LOW OIL ETC. *TR”
Engine and engine cooling
4 reports1 related recall
“AUDI TT 2002 DASH POD RECALLED IN IRELAND AND BRITAIN. INTERFERENCE AND ERRATIC PERFORMANCE WITH INSTRUMENT GAUGES AND LIGHTS. I AM HAVING SAME PROBLEM AND VEHICLE ONLY HAS 30K MILES. CAN RESULT IN UNEXPECTED SHUT DOWN ON HIGHWAY. DEALER SAYS CAR COMPUTER DOES NOT INDICATE ANY PROBLEMS AND CUSTOMER, ME, ENDS UP PAYING FOR EACH MALFUNCTIONING COMPONENT AS JUST "NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR". *TR”
Structure
3 reports1 crash
“PARKING BRAKE DISENGAGED ON 3 OCCASIONS: BUTTON POPPED OFF PARKING BRAKE HANDLE, AS IF SHOT FROM A GUN, AND CAR ROLLED BACKWARD. 1ST INSTANCE WAS PRIOR TO AUGUST 2012 BUT NO DAMAGE BECAUSE I WAS STILL IN THE CAR AND STOPPED IT. 2ND INSTANCE IN AUG. 2012 CAR ROLLED BACKWARD INTO ANOTHER VEHICLE IN A PARKING LOT, RESULTING IN DAMAGE TO MY REAR BUMPER AND EXTENSIVE DAMAGE TO OTHER VEHICLE, WHICH WAS PARKED. 3RD INSTANCE ON 5/11/13, CAR ROLLED BACKWARD DOWN DRIVEWAY. I TRIED TO GET IN THE CAR TO STOP IT, BUT WAS NOT ABLE TO STOP IT UNTIL THE DRIVER DOOR WAS CAUGHT AND RIPPED PAST ITS NORMAL MAXIMUM OPENING, EXTENSIVELY DAMAGED. IN AUG. 2012 AFTER THE 2ND INCIDENT, THE EMERGENCY BRAKE WAS CHECKED BY AUDI DEALER, WHO SAID THEY COULD GLUE THE BUTTON BACK ON BUT REPORTED NOTHING WRONG WITH THE PARKING BRAKE APPARATUS. REAR BRAKES WERE REPLACED AS THEY WERE WORN AND DEALER SAID THE PARKING BRAKE ENGAGED THE REAR BRAKES AND THE WORN BRAKES COULD HAVE CAUSED THE FAILURE. CAR HAS RECEIVED ALL REQUIRED MAINTENANCE FROM THE SAME AUDI DEALER. I AM SOLE OWNER OF CAR. AFTER 5/9/13 INCIDENT, DEALER REFUSED TO ACKNOWLEDGE ANY KNOWN DEFECT, DENIED RESPONSIBILITY FOR DAMAGE, DID…”
Visibility
3 reports
“THE REAR GLASS WINDOW FELL OUT OF MY 2002 AUDI TT CONVERTIBLE TOP. *TR”
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Oct 31, 2026
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.