general problems of the 2012 Audi A3

The tail light bulbs melts plastic and can cause fire. My light indicator came on. When I checked the bulb, the internal structure was melted. I ordered exact model from a junk yard. When I received, I noticed it had the same issue and the internal structure was melting from heat of light bulb. Both left and right tail light structures were melting. Potential fire hazard.

After starting the car and moving a short distance, the dash display showed multiple warnings regarding the exterior lights. Approximately 12 exterior lights had all gone out at once. After some research on the issue I checked the fuse box in the engine bay and fuse f16 (30a) had melted with residue on the contact but not failed. The contact on the fuse box also had residue and the surrounding plastic was melted as well. The same exact issue occurred on my 2009-2011 vw tiguan and a recall was issued (NHTSA campaign number: 13v569000 and vw recall number: 97z9/2v). The part recalled in the tiguan is the same exact part used in the 2012 Audi A3 (part #: 1k0937125d). Aoa should recall the part as was done by vw. There are multiple safety issues that are caused by this failure such as loss of exterior lighting while driving at night and possibility of fire caused by overheating. Attached are photos of the melted fuse and fuse box as well as the vw tiguan recall notice.

After starting the car and driving about 50 feet, the vehicle driver display screen signaled that multiple exterior lights had failed simultaneously. Sensing that multiple light bulbs would not fail at once unless there was a larger electrical problem, I promptly made an appointment at the local Audi service center the next day. After diagnosis by Audi technicians, I learned that the fuse box under the hood had melted due to overload of circuits or wiring in the box. Had I not taken the car in for repair, the overload could have caused a fire in the engine bay. I researched this problem online and found other occurrences experienced by Volkswagen/Audi vehicle drivers with the same symptoms. Please add this incident to your record of cases. Thank you.