- Vehicles
- 153,152
- Built between
- Not published
- Models
- 4
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- Manufacturer
- Owners notified
- 23 December 2021
- Repaired
- 67%
- Unrepaired
- 49,485
Does this affect my vehicle?
The manufacturer did not publish a build-date range for this recall, so the model and year list below is the only way to tell whether your vehicle is covered.
- 2015-2020 Audi A3
- 2016-2018 Audi A3 Sportback E-Tron
- 2017-2020 Audi RS 3
- 2015-2020 Audi S3
Repair progress
49,485 of 153,152 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q2 2024.
67% repaired — 102,216 of 153,152 reported
- Owners not reachable
- 1,437
- Scrapped or exported
- 14
Manufacturers file these figures with NHTSA each quarter. Vehicles the manufacturer could not trace, or that have been scrapped or exported, are counted separately and are not included in the unrepaired figure.
What the defect is
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.
What could happen
A deactivated passenger air bag increases the risk of injury during a crash.
What gets fixed
Dealers will replace the PODS sensor mat and update the PODS control module, free of charge. Owners letters were mailed December 23, 2021.
Parts involved
- Repair kit for passenger seat occupant detection8V0898522Repair kit for passenger seat occupant detection
Part numbers are as filed by the manufacturer and are listed for reference. Your dealer will confirm the correct part for your vehicle.
Timeline
- Recall reported to NHTSA22 March 2021
- Owners notified23 December 2021
- Latest repair reportQ2 2024 — 67% repaired
Your rights
A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.
That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 22 March 2021.
To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.
Manufacturer contact
Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 69BY.
Official source
- Manufacturer's recall number
- 69BY
- Recalling manufacturer
- Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
- Safety standard
- FMVSS 208
- Recall initiated by
- MFR
Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Additional notes
Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.
Check your own vehicle
This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.
A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.