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Audi S3 Recalls & Complaints by Model Year

NHTSA lists 12 safety recalls and 88 owner complaints across 10 model years of the Audi S3 (2015–2024). The most-complained-about year is 2015.

12
safety recalls, all years
88
owner complaints, all years
2022
year with most recalls
2015
year with most complaints

Pick your Audi S3 model year

Model yearRecallsComplaints
2024 Audi S302
2023 Audi S310
2022 Audi S372
2021 Audi S310
2020 Audi S311
2019 Audi S312
2018 Audi S315
2017 Audi S329
2016 Audi S3314
2015 Audi S3253

What Audi S3 owners complain about

Across all model years, owners have filed 88 complaints with NHTSA. The 2015 model year has the most, with 53.

All Audi S3 recalls (12)

Every NHTSA safety campaign that lists a Audi S3, most recent first, with the model years each one covers.

  1. Labels (equipment)

    NHTSA 22V901000 Reported 297 vehicles potentially affected Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

    Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2023 Audi S3, RS3, and A3 vehicles. The Safety Certification label on the B-pillar is missing weight capacity information. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of 49 CFR Part 567, "Certification."

    Remedy: Audi dealers will install an overlay label, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed February 27, 2023. Owners may contact Audi's customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 50ZZ.

    Model years: 2023

  2. Display function (back over prevention)

    NHTSA 22V823000 Reported 2,607 vehicles potentially affected Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

    Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2022 Golf R A8, Audi S3, RS3 Sedan, Q4 E-Tron SUV, A3 Sedan, and 2022-2023 Volkswagen Golf GTI, and ID4 vehicles. The rearview camera image may be blank or unresponsive when the vehicle is placed in reverse gear or when the park function is manually activated. As such,…

    Remedy: Dealers will replace the rearview camera, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed to Audi owners February 14, 2023. Volkswagen owners will receive an owner notification letter once remedy parts become…

    Model years: 2022

  3. Video (touch)screen/monitor/unit (equipment) and display function (back over prevention)

    NHTSA 22V806000 Reported 6,076 vehicles potentially affected Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

    Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2021-2022 AUDI A8, A6 Allroad, E-TRON Quattro, 2022 S3, RSQ8, RS7, RS6 Avant, Q8, Q7, Q3, E-TRON Sportback Quattro, S5 Cabriolet, E-TRON GT, S5 Sportback, A7, A6, A5 Sportback, A5 Cabriolet, A4, A4 Allroad, A3, S8, SQ7, SQ8, S6, and S4 vehicles. The infotainment main unit may…

    Remedy: Dealers will replace the infotainment main unit, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 6, 2022. Owners may contact Audi's customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 91Ei.

    Model years: 2022

  4. Air bags: frontal

    NHTSA 22V652000 Reported 4,117 vehicles potentially affected Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

    Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2022 Audi S3, A3, and RS3 vehicles. The front passenger air bag may have been folded incorrectly.

    Remedy: Dealers will replace the front passenger air bag module, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 13, 2022. Owners may contact Audi's customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this…

    Model years: 2022

  5. Inflator module (air bags)

    NHTSA 22V543000 Reported 1,216 vehicles potentially affected Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

    Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2016 Audi TT Roadster, TT Coupe, S3 Sedan, R8 Coupe, A3 Sedan, A3 Etron, A3 Cabriolet, 2016 Golf Sportwagen, Golf R, Golf GTI, Golf A7, and E Golf vehicles. During air bag deployment, the front passenger air bag may explode or deploy improperly.

    Remedy: Dealers will replace the front-passenger air bag module, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 16, 2022. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Audi's customer…

    Model years: 2016

  6. Pretensioner (seat belts)

    NHTSA 22V515000 Reported 2,584 vehicles potentially affected Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

    Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2022 Audi S3 and A3 sedans. The retention force of the seat belt tensioner on the driver and front passenger seats may be inadequate to properly restrain the occupants during a crash.

    Remedy: Dealers will replace the driver and front passenger seat belt assemblies, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 15, 2022. Owners may contact Audi's customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's…

    Model years: 2022

  7. Vehicle latch anchor (child seat)

    NHTSA 22V224000 Reported 466 vehicles potentially affected Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

    Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2022 A3 Sedan and S3 Sedan vehicles. The child seat anchorage fitting sleeves are incorrectly marked with a different symbol than the one described in the owner's manual. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard…

    Remedy: Dealers will replace all four fitting sleeves, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May24, 2022. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 72M7.

    Model years: 2022

  8. Camera (back over prevention)

    NHTSA 21V825000 Reported 2,857 vehicles potentially affected Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

    Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2021 Audi A8 and S8, 2022 Audi A5 Sportback, A4 Sedan, E-Tron GT, Q3, Q5, RS6 Avant, A3 Sedan, S5 Sportback, Q5 Sportback, Q7, Q8, RSQ8, SQ7, SQ8, and S3 Sedan vehicles. A software error may prevent the rear-view image from initially displaying when the vehicle begins to…

    Remedy: Dealers will update the infotainment unit parameters, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 9, 2021. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall…

    Model years: 2022

  9. Seat belts and retractor (seat belts)

    NHTSA 21V606000 Reported 45,496 vehicles potentially affected Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

    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,…

    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…

    Model years: 2021, 2022

  10. Air bags: front passenger and on-off switch assembly (air bags)

    NHTSA 21V198000 Reported 153,152 vehicles potentially affected Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

    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.

    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…

    Model years: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020

  11. Occupant classification (air bags)

    NHTSA 19V474000 Reported 138,896 vehicles potentially affected Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

    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.

    Remedy: 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…

    Model years: 2015, 2016

  12. Occupant classification (air bags)

    NHTSA 17V196000 Reported 11,618 vehicles potentially affected Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

    Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2017 Audi A3 and S3 Sedan vehicles. In a lower-speed crash situation, the air bag control unit software may deploy the passenger frontal air bag improperly if the front seat passenger is sitting on the edge of the seat or is laying in the seat with the seat reclined. As…

    Remedy: Audi will notify owners, and dealers will update the air bag control module software, free of charge. The recall began April 20, 2017. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for…

    Model years: 2017

Other Audi models

Source: NHTSA recall and complaint databases and EPA fuel economy data, October 2026. Complaint counts are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. Recall counts are safety campaigns that list this model year; whether a particular car was already repaired depends on its VIN. How this data is compiled.