Audi had a recall on my 2018 A3 for a Passenger Occupant Detection System. in July 2023, Audi replaced the PODS Sensor mat. Recently, the same car has encountered the same issue. The PODS light indicates the airbag is off even if a passenger is sitting in the seat. There has been not repair work since July 2023, that would impact the PODS. And the warning lights reappeared after a period of normalcy. I feel this is an incomplete recall remedy and Audi is now wanting to charge me for the repair
2018 Audi A3 airbags problems
17 complaints (52% of all complaints for this car). 1 crash reported.
- owner complaints
- 17
- of this car's complaints
- 52%
- crashes
- 1
- recalls
- 1
Which part fails
Owners did not name a specific part.
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
Audi A3 airbags problems in other years
Related recalls
Air bags: sensor: occupant classification: front passenger
- What is wrong
- 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
- 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.
Recall number 21V198000 · Recall details
What 2018 Audi A3 owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
My Audi a3 got the recall for PODS done 5/2022 which the sensors and air bag in the passenger side weren’t working and I got the same lights come up 2 weeks ago. My Dealership says since this was a recalled item and is a massive safety concern and should be covered by AUDI USA. Instead they want to charge me $1400. I have 3 kids and one sits in the front, and need my car to take them to school and so forth so big safety feature I need. This is a huge safety issue and Audi needs to take accountability
appointment Aug2022 to take car for recall work of the PODS sensor mat & to update the PODS control module but was told the part was out of stock due to logistics. Why they scheduled appointment without confirming the part was in stock. I was then told before I left that there was a couple hundred cars needing this recall and that there would be a waiting list for recall work and that I would get a call to be put on a waiting list, never received a call. Then 6 months later in Feb 2023, I received another letter from Audi informing me again of the recall 69BY & a new recall item 24Wi. I called Audi & was told the part(s) were out of stock. I called today 16AUG2023 after waiting another six months & a service advisor informed me that the recall work was already performed on my vehicle. According to the invoice(s) from Audi of El Paso the recall work for PODS was completed on 05DEC2020 for Audi Action Code 69Z4 and 23AI . But according to a letter from Audi of America dated May 2021, it stated that a interim safety recall notice was issued but a recall repair is not yet available for Audi Action Code 69BY. It was still being under investigation and a solution was still being developed. In Dec 2021, I received a letter from Audi stating that there was a solution to fix the recall/defect 69BY & it says “to correct this defect, your authorized Audi dealer will replace the passenger occupant detention system (PODS) sensor mat & update the PODS control module.” I called Audi of El Paso after receiving the letter & was told part was on backorder due to demand. I inputted the VIN of my vehicle into Audi USA recall webpage [XXX] ). I also ran VIN into the federal safety agency database. Both Audi & the federal safety agency state that recall(s) work 69BY & 24Wi on my vehicle have not been fixed. But according to Audi of El Paso all the recall work was done in 2020. Air bags turn off with wife in car have airbag problems since 2019. Current Mileage 34k INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Audi Dealership is not co-operating to perform the recall issued on my vehicle, i have been trying to schedule the part replacement for more than a year now and every time they say the part is not available. i also attached my service request to Audi but after a phone call to confirm they said the part not available and they do not know when they will have the part. below is recall info: Mar 22,2021 Manufacturer Recall Number: 69BY the federal safety agency Recall Number: 21V198
I have not been able to fix the problem. I had an appointment with a local Audi dealership earlier in the year to address this recall and the day before they cancelled my appointment because they had not received the parts. I was rescheduled to drop off the car in April 2022 since the dealer had received the parts. The car was at the dealership for 2 days when they called me to have the car picked up and inform me that they ran out of parts at the dealership while the car was there and that I would have to wait for further notice to have the recall performed. It is August 21, 2022 and still no notice and my local dealer still has not received the parts. It is going to be 1 year since the recall notice was sent and my vehicle has not been able to be serviced.
On 4 Jan 2022 I received my notification of the PODS recall from Audi for my 2018 A3. I called the dealer and they informed me they did not have the part and would not schedule me for the repair until they had they part. They also indicated they had no control over when the part would be available and suggested I call Audi Customer Care for information on when the part might be available. I did as suggested and got a supreme runaround and sent back to the dealer. The service manager indicated to me they would put me on the list and call when they received the part. Unfortunately, they could not schedule me for repairs as they did not have a delivery date for the part from Audi. My system is intermittently showing the airbag is not working. This has been going on for a couple of months. I should be able to schedule my car for repair but cannot as Audi is slow rolling the delivery of the part for this recall. I want to inform the federal safety agency that Audi is not offering a timely response to this recall. After being notified of the problem several months ago, you would think they could start the manufacturing process to deliver parts in a timely manner. And to send a letter to me and advise that I should schedule the repair only to discover the parts aren't available and I can't get my Audi A3 repaired is very bad on Audi's part.
The passenger airbag stays on off mode even when a passenger is sitting in the seat with their seatbelt on. I have taken my car to Audi dealership two times and they tell me I would have to pay $900.00 for a new airbag pod which may not even fix it. Audi also told me it’s not covered with my warranty. I’ve been trying to avoid driving with passengers but it’s my only vehicle and can’t always avoid it.
The car informed me the passenger airbag is turned off. This recall was first noticed 7 months ago. Surely that’s enough time for Audi to come up with a fix? If the fix is going to be expensive (new seats and sensors) then that sucks for Audi. But what about the tens of thousands of us driving without airbags while Audi “investigates” for 7 months?
Airbag light reads off while my husband is sitting in the seat
My wife was impacted on the drivers side very hard by another vehicle, enough to total the car, and the side airbags did not deploy
Questions about the 2018 Audi A3 airbags
Does the 2018 Audi A3 have airbags problems?
Owners have filed 17 complaints about the airbags of the 2018 Audi A3, 52% of all its complaints, more than any other problem.
At what mileage do 2018 Audi A3 airbags problems start?
Not enough complaints include the mileage to tell.
Was there a recall on the 2018 Audi A3 airbags?
Yes, 1 recall: 21V198000. Check your VIN to see if your car still needs the free repair.
What year does the Audi A3 have bad airbags?
The Audi A3 model years with the most airbags complaints are 2006 (56 complaints), 2015 (45 complaints) and 2016 (37 complaints).
Other 2018 Audi A3 problems
Fuel system 5Electrical 4Engine 4Transmission 4Tires 3Seats 2Driver assistance 1Lights 1Seat belts 1
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