Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.: Air Bags › Sensor › Occupant Classification › Front Passenger
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. reported this defect to federal regulators on Mar 22, 2021 and put the number of vehicles at risk at 153,152. The repair is free for as long as the recall stands.
The defect
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.
The risk
A deactivated passenger air bag increases the risk of injury during a crash.
The 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.
19 model years covered
Newest first| Vehicle | Complaints | Recalls | Fires | Crashes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 Audi A3 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| 2020 Audi RS 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 Audi S3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 Audi A3 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 Audi RS 3 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 Audi S3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 Audi A3 | 33 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 2018 Audi A3 Sportback E-Tron | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 Audi RS 3 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 Audi S3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 Audi A3 | 44 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 2017 Audi A3 Sportback E-Tron | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 Audi RS 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 Audi S3 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 Audi A3 | 83 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| 2016 Audi A3 Sportback E-Tron | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 Audi S3 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 Audi A3 | 93 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 Audi S3 | 53 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
What this page is, and what to do next
A recall is not an opinion. It is a Part 573 report a manufacturer is required by federal law to file once it decides a defect poses an unreasonable risk to safety, and it commits them to repairing the vehicle at no cost to the owner. The three passages above are the manufacturer’s own wording as published by NHTSA.
This page describes the campaign. It cannot tell you whether one particular car has already been through the shop — that is tracked by VIN, and only the manufacturer knows it. Check yours at nhtsa.gov/recalls or with a franchised dealer, quoting campaign number 21V198000.
Full record for the 2020 Audi A3 → · Recalls carrying a do-not-drive advisory → · Where this data comes from →