Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.: Seat Belts
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. reported this defect to federal regulators on Aug 5, 2021 and put the number of vehicles at risk at 45,496. The repair is free for as long as the recall stands.
The defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Volkswagen ID4, Audi A4 Allroad, A4 Sedan, A5 Cabriolet, A5 Coupe, A5 Sportback, A6 Allroad, A6 Sedan, A7, A8, E-Tron Quattro, E-Tron Sportback Quattro, Q3, Q5, Q5 Sportback, Q7, Q8, RS5 Sportback, RS5 Coupe, RS6 Avant, RS7, RSQ8, S4 Sedan, S5 Cabriolet, S5 Coupe, S5 Sportback, S6 Sedan, S7, S8, SQ5, SQ5 Sportback, SQ7, SQ8, and 2021-2022 S3 Sedan vehicles. The rear seat belt automatic locking retractors may deactivate early, which can prevent the child restraint system from securing properly. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
The risk
An unsecured child restraint system can increase the risk of injury during a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will inspect, and replace as necessary, the middle-rear seat belt assemblies, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 27, 2021. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298 and Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 69CR (VW) and 69CS (Audi).
28 model years covered
Newest first| Vehicle | Complaints | Recalls | Fires | Crashes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 Audi S3 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 Audi A4 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| 2021 Audi A5 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 Audi A5 Cabriolet | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 Audi A6 | 18 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 Audi A6 Allroad | 9 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 Audi A7 | 6 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 Audi A8 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 Audi E-Tron | 36 | 9 | 1 | 0 |
| 2021 Audi Q3 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| 2021 Audi Q5 | 74 | 8 | 0 | 2 |
| 2021 Audi Q7 | 75 | 9 | 0 | 3 |
| 2021 Audi Q8 | 30 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 Audi RS 5 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 Audi RS 6 Avant | 4 | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 Audi RS 7 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 Audi RS Q8 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 Audi S3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 Audi S4 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 Audi S5 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 Audi S5 Cabriolet | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 Audi S6 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 Audi S7 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 Audi S8 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 Audi SQ5 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 Audi SQ7 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 Audi SQ8 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 Volkswagen Id.4 | 339 | 11 | 1 | 28 |
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 21V606000.
Full record for the 2022 Audi S3 → · Recalls carrying a do-not-drive advisory → · Where this data comes from →