Known Recalls

Model year record

2019 Audi S3

1 recall campaign on file for this model year. 2 owner complaints on file.

Recalls

Recall campaignNHTSA 21V198000

Air bags: sensor: occupant classification: front passenger

Component
Air bags: sensor: occupant classification: front passenger
Manufacturer
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Vehicles affected
153,152
Reported to NHTSA
2021-03-22
Owners notified
2021-12-23

Defect description

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2015-2020 Audi S3 Sedan, A3 Sedan, 2016-2018 A3 Etron, 2017-2020 RS3 Sedan, and 2015-2019 A3 Cabriolet vehicles. The passenger occupant detection system (PODS) may malfunction and switch off the passenger air bag even when the seat is occupied.

Safety risk

A deactivated passenger air bag increases the risk of injury during a crash.

Manufacturer remedy

Dealers will replace the PODS sensor mat and update the PODS control module, free of charge. Owners letters were mailed December 23, 2021. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 69BY.

Owner complaints

A complaint is one person's report to a federal agency. It is not a finding.

ComponentComplaintsMedian mileage
Air bags2—

The 2018 model has about a quarter as many complaints as this one. The 2020 model has 2 times as many complaints as this one. These figures reflect raw complaint counts, not failure rates. Higher-selling model years naturally receive more complaints.

Safety recall repairs are provided free of charge by franchised dealers, regardless of vehicle age or mileage. This page displays aggregated data for the model year. To check recall status for a specific vehicle, search its VIN at nhtsa.gov.