Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.: Air Bags › Sensor › Occupant Classification › Front Passenger
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. reported this defect to federal regulators on Nov 10, 2021 and put the number of vehicles at risk at 208,332. The repair is free for as long as the recall stands.
The defect
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.
The risk
A disabled passenger air bag increases the risk of injury in the event of a crash.
The 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.
15 model years covered
Newest first| Vehicle | Complaints | Recalls | Fires | Crashes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 Audi A4 | 128 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| 2020 Audi A5 | 60 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| 2020 Audi S4 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 Audi S5 | 25 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 Audi A4 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 2019 Audi A5 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| 2019 Audi RS 5 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 Audi S4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 Audi S5 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 Audi A4 | 45 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2018 Audi A5 | 38 | 6 | 0 | 2 |
| 2018 Audi RS 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 Audi S4 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 Audi S5 | 26 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 2017 Audi A4 | 57 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
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 21V874000.
Full record for the 2020 Audi A4 → · Recalls carrying a do-not-drive advisory → · Where this data comes from →