Is your car affected?
Check by VIN to confirm the
exact model and see every recall for it.
Recalls are issued for a make, model and model year. Whether the repair has already been done on one specific car is known only to its manufacturer and dealers. Check your vehicle's official status at nhtsa.gov/recalls or with a dealer.
US recalls (1)
Air bags: sensor, occupant classification
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.
Risk and remedy
Risk: A deactivated passenger air bag increases the risk of injury during a crash.
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.
Canadian recalls (1)
Show 1 Canadian recall
Airbag
2021-03-22 · campaign 2021-169
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.
Owner complaints (5)
Owners filed 5 complaints with NHTSA about the 2018 Audi S3. Among 8 model years of this model, it ranks #4 for the most complaints (median 5).
| Most-reported problem | Complaints | |
|---|
| Power train | 2 | |
| Fuel/propulsion system | 2 | |
| Visibility/wiper | 1 | |
| Unknown or other | 1 | |
| Air bags | 1 | |
Crash test ratings
NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings for the 2018 Audi S3.
| Version | Overall | Frontal | Side | Rollover |
|---|
| 2018 Audi S3 4 DR AWD | 5★ | 4★ | 5★ | 4★ |
Fuel economy
EPA ratings for each 2018 Audi S3 version.
| Version | City MPG | Highway MPG | Combined | Yearly fuel cost |
|---|
| S3 2.0 L Automatic (AM-S7) | 22 | 28 | 25 | $3,300 |
Need this data in your app?
Recalls, complaints, crash ratings and fuel economy as a JSON API. Decode up to 50 VINs per call and get a daily feed of new recalls.
Explore the API →Sources: NHTSA recalls, complaints and 5-Star Safety Ratings, US EPA fuel economy and Transport
Canada's Vehicle Recalls Database (contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada).
Recalls updated 2026-10-30.