Air bags: sensor: occupant classification: front passenger
Manufacturer
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Vehicles affected
208,332
Reported to NHTSA
2021-11-10
Owners notified
2022-01-07
Defect description
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2017-2020 A4 Allroad, A4 Sedan, 2018-2019 RS5 Coupe, 2019 RS5 Sportback, 2018-2020 A5 Cabriolet, A5 Coupe, A5 Sportback, S4 Sedan, S5 Cabriolet, S5 Coupe, and Audi S5 Sportback vehicles. The cable connecting the seat heater to the Passenger Occupant Detection System (PODS) may have a contact fault, causing the software to misdiagnose a malfunction and disable the passenger air bag.
Safety risk
A disabled passenger air bag increases the risk of injury in the event of a crash.
Manufacturer remedy
Dealers will replace the connecting cable and either the heating mat or entire seat cover, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 7, 2022. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 74E3. This recall is an expansion of Recall 19V-547 (74D9). Vehicles previously repaired under 19V-547 will need to return for the new remedy.
Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator module
Manufacturer
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Vehicles affected
145,337
Reported to NHTSA
2019-07-24
Owners notified
2019-09-09
Defect description
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Audi RS5 Sportback, 2018 S5 Cabriolet, S5 Sportback, S5 Coupe, S4 Sedan, A5 Cabriolet, A5 Sportback, A5 Coupe, and 2017-2018 A4 Sedan and A4 Allroad vehicles. Oxidation on the Passenger Occupant Detection System (PODS) connecting cable may cause the software to misdiagnose a malfunction and disable the passenger air bag.
Safety risk
A disabled passenger air bag increases the risk of injury in the event of a crash.
Manufacturer remedy
Audi will notify owners, and dealers will install cable ties to the harness, free of charge. The recall began September 9, 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Audi's number for this recall is 74D9.
Owner complaints
A complaint is one person's report to a federal agency. It is not a finding.
Component
Complaints
Median mileage
Engine
13
—
Unknown or other
9
200 mi
Air bags
4
—
Seat belts
3
36,300 mi
Visibility/wiper
3
15 mi
Electrical system
2
10 mi
Parking brake
2
7,000 mi
Power train
2
7,000 mi
Seats
2
—
Electronic stability control (ESC)
1
10 mi
Forward collision avoidance: adaptive cruise control
1
—
Fuel/propulsion system
1
—
Lane departure: assist
1
—
Service brakes
1
14,000 mi
Steering
1
—
Structure: body
1
200 mi
Suspension
1
—
The 2019 model has 5 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.