Newest first. Many cover only part of a model year, so check your VIN with NHTSA or Audi before booking a repair.
NHTSA · listed for this model year
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.
A deactivated passenger air bag increases the risk of injury during a crash.
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.
21V198000 · 153,152 units in campaign · NHTSA
Applies only if the manufacturer confirms your VIN · repair by an authorized dealer
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2015-2016 Audi S3 Sedan, 2015-2019 A3 Sedan and A3 Cabriolet, 2016-2018 A3 e-tron, and 2017-2019 RS3 vehicles. An improper electrical contact may cause the Passenger Occupant Detection System (PODS) to falsely detect a malfunction and deactivate the passenger air bag.
A deactivated passenger air bag increases the risk of injury during a crash.
Audi will notify owners, and dealers will replace the connector and reroute the cable, free of charge. The recall began September 12, 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 69Z4.
19V474000 · 138,896 units in campaign · NHTSA
Applies only if the manufacturer confirms your VIN · repair by an authorized dealer
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018 Audi A3 sedan and RS3 vehicles. The latching pins for the center rear seat head restraint may be missing.
In the event of a crash, the head restraint may detach and cause injury to the vehicle occupants.
Audi has notified owners, and dealers will inspect the head restraints, replacing any that are missing pins, free of charge. The recall began on March 7, 2019. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 72I8.
19V095000 · 3,326 units in campaign · NHTSA
Applies only if the manufacturer confirms your VIN · repair by an authorized dealer
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018 Volkswagen e-Golf and Golf R vehicles, and Audi A3 Sedan and RS3 vehicles. The rear seat frame head restraint guide sleeves may be incorrectly welded to the seat frame.
If the guide sleeves are incorrectly welded, in the event of a crash, the rear seat head restraints may have reduced stability, increasing the risk of injury.
Volkswagen and Audi will notify their owners, and dealers will inspect the guide sleeves for incorrect welds, replacing the rear seat frame, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began December 28, 2018. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298 or Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 72H8 (VW) and 72H9(Audi).
18V803000 · 169 units in campaign · NHTSA
Applies only if the manufacturer confirms your VIN · repair by an authorized dealer
Canadian records (Transport Canada) · 5
These are Transport Canada campaigns for 2018 Audi RS 3 vehicles sold in Canada. A Canadian campaign may have no US counterpart, or one under a different number covering different vehicles. For a vehicle sold in the United States, go by the NHTSA listing above and NHTSA's VIN lookup.
Issue: On certain vehicles, the passenger occupant detection system (PODS) may not work properly. This could cause the airbag system to turn off the passenger-front airbag even when a person is seated in the front passenger seat. Note: This problem would cause an error message to display on the instrument panel and a warning chime to sound. The airbag indicator light would also display "passenger airbag off". Safety Risk: An airbag that is turned off when it should be turned on could increase the risk of injury to a passenger in a crash. Corrective Actions: Audi will notify owners by mail. The corrective actions for this recall are under development. To reduce the safety risk, Audi recommends that if the PODS in your vehicle is not working properly, you should contact an Audi dealer for assistance right away and not transport a person in the front-passenger seat until the PODS has been repaired.
2021169 · 18,204 units in campaign · Transport Canada
Applies only if the manufacturer confirms your VIN · repair by an authorized dealer
Issue: On certain vehicles, when switching the distance display setting from kilometers to miles, the speedometer displays the vehicle speed in miles per hour (mph) only. Canadian regulations require that speed be displayed in either kilometers per hour (km/h) or in both km/h and mph. Safety Risk: This small error does not affect vehicle safety. Corrective Actions: This is not a recall. Volkswagen has made changes to ensure that all new vehicle speedometers display mph and km/h when the display distance is set to miles.
2020499 · 4,030 units in campaign · Transport Canada
Applies only if the manufacturer confirms your VIN · repair by an authorized dealer
Issue: On certain vehicles, there could be a loose wiring connection for the passenger occupant detection system (PODS). This could cause the airbag system to turn off the passenger-front airbag even though the seat may be occupied. Note: This problem would cause an error message to display on the instrument panel and a warning chime to sound. The airbag indicator light would also display "passenger airbag off". Safety Risk: An airbag that is turned off could increase the risk of injury to a passenger in a crash. Corrective Actions: The company will notify owners by mail and instruct them to take their vehicle to a dealer to install a new connector for the passenger occupant detection system. The wiring will also be re-routed under the seat.
2019308 · 15,723 units in campaign · Transport Canada
Applies only if the manufacturer confirms your VIN · repair by an authorized dealer
Issue: On certain vehicles, the center-rear seat head restraint may detach in a crash. Safety Risk: If the head restraint detaches in a crash, it could increase the risk of injury to occupants. Corrective Actions: The company will notify owners by mail. Owners will be instructed to take their vehicle to a dealer to have the center-rear seat head restraint inspected. If the latching pins are missing, the head restraint will be replaced.
2019068 · 1,105 units in campaign · Transport Canada
Applies only if the manufacturer confirms your VIN · repair by an authorized dealer
On certain vehicles, the rear seat head restraint guides may not have been properly welded to the seat frame. In a crash, the rear seat head restraints may not remain in place, increasing the risk of injury to vehicle occupants. Correction: Dealers will inspect the rear seat frame, and if the head restraint guide sleeve welds are found to be insufficient, it will be replaced.
2018626 · 305 units in campaign · Transport Canada
Applies only if the manufacturer confirms your VIN · repair by an authorized dealer
2018 Audi RS 3 recall questions
NHTSA lists 4 recalls for the 2018 Audi RS 3 model year. That counts campaigns naming this model year, not recalls on your vehicle: many cover only a VIN range or production window. Transport Canada lists 5 Canadian campaigns for the Canadian-market model, shown separately.
Enter your VIN in NHTSA's recall lookup or Audi's own, or call a Audi dealer with your VIN. Cardog uses your VIN only to find the model year; the recalls shown here are listed for that model year and are not matched to your VIN.
Not necessarily. Transport Canada campaigns cover vehicles sold in Canada. For a vehicle sold in the United States, go by the NHTSA listing and NHTSA's VIN lookup.
Safety recall repairs are normally done at no charge by an authorized Audi dealer. The manufacturer's notice for each campaign sets out the remedy and any conditions, so confirm with the dealer when you book.
Once Audi's lookup or a dealer confirms a recall applies, book the repair with an authorized Audi dealer and bring your VIN. If the manufacturer's notice says not to drive the vehicle or to park it outside, follow that instruction. Parts can take time, so book early.
Follow the manufacturer's notice for that recall. Most allow normal driving until the repair; some tell owners to stop driving or to park outside until it is fixed. Cardog does not grade recalls by severity: the manufacturer's notice and your dealer are the source.
Manufacturers must notify owners they have on record. If you bought the vehicle used or have moved, update your details with Audi so notices reach you, and check NHTSA's lookup from time to time.
Related recall checks
Compare recall listings with alternatives to the 2018 Audi RS 3.