The contact owns a 2017 Audi S3. The front passenger seat air bag warning light failed to illuminate whether there was a passenger seated in the seat or not. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 21V198000 (Air Bags). The dealer was contacted and the contact was informed that the part was not available. Several months later an appointment was scheduled; however, later the contact was informed that the part was not available. The contact stated that he rescheduled the appointment for 5/11/2022 and before going to the dealer he called to confirm however, he was informed that parts were not in stock and that the recall was closed due to parts not being available. The dealer stated that there was no time frame for parts availability. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall remedy. The case was closed due to an appointment being made. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The approximate failure mileage was 49,500.
Audi S3 airbag light comes on
12 of the 88 owner complaints about the Audi S3 describe airbag warning light, most of them for the 2015 model year.
- owner complaints
- 12
- worst model year
- 2015
- typical mileage
- 58,450
By model year
- 20171
- 201511
What owners say
The contact's husband owns a 2015 Audi S3. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, an abnormal beeping sound would emit from the passenger’s side occupant detection system while the passenger’s side seat was vacant. The passenger’s side air bag warning light would remain illuminated at start-up. The contact stated that she would either buckle the seat belt or place a heavy object in the passenger’s seat to stop the beeping. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed her that the vehicle was included in the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 21V198000 (Air Bags) however, the part was not yet available. The manufacturer had been notified of the issue. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The failure mileage was unknown. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
The contact owns a 2015 Audi S3. The contact stated while his wife was driving 50 MPH, the airbag warning light and the seat belt warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The contact received a recall notification for the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 21V198000 (Air Bags) however, the dealer informed the contact that the part for the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provide no assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000. VIN tool confirms parts are not available.
Passenger side air bag light came on and off even with not passenger on the vehicle PODS
Passenger Air bag light that indicates it is OFF and pre sense safety system failure . This has been occurring for years on my 2015 A3 . How long does the manufacture have to repair said problem ?
I had the pods recall 19v47400 done and noticed about 2 months ago that the airbag light came on saying audi pre sense system fault, and safety system: system fault, where the passenger seat will think someone is in it and then when someone is in it, the airbag will stay off and occasionally come on but turn back off quickly after, all while the airbag light and errors stay on the dash
Audi recall 69z4 messed up my passenger airbag and seatbelt warning sign. Had no issue until after the recall, so I called audi immediately after and they claimed I had to replace some sensor that had 'nothing' to do with the sensor they 'fixed' from the recall. When the car starts the passenger seatbelt warning sign keeps blinking with the airbag light on when there is no passenger. When there is a passenger and the car starts there is no seatbelt warning sign and the passenger airbag is turned off. These issues never existed until after the recall and audi is charging $1200 to replace the sensor that should not be a wear-and-tear product.
The passenger bag safety light goes on and off intermittently, and has done for some time. The problem occurs sometimes when someone is sitting in the seat, but mostly it will occur when the passenger seat is unoccupied. The yellow dash light comes on near the passenger and the airbag light on the instrument panel illuminates. The information panel on the dash will simultaneously report "safety system: system fault! See owner's manual" and "passenger airbag off" and "audi pre sense: system fault!" this started to happen right after the recall for the passenger side airbag wiring . I was only 2 miles down the road from the audi dealership when it started. Dealer said it was unrelated to the recall and $980 to fix it.
The passenger occupancy detection sensor in the front passenger seat is malfunctioning. This is even after the recent recall for the vehicle. Audi states that this is just wear and tear on the car and say it will cost $1300 to fix. In the meantime, the airbag light is on and airbags are not functioning.
There was a recall on the seatbelt sensor going off if there was no passenger on seat and passenger airbag being off despite a passenger sitting on the seat. (campaign number: 19v474000) I took my car to the dealership for the recall where they replaced the faulty wire/connector and exchanged it for a more sturdy connector. This fixed the problem for a few months after taking it in and then the same problem occurred again randomly going to work, and since then has not gone away! The passenger airbag light is always on and the seatbelt alarm goes off even if there is no passenger, if there is a passenger, the passenger airbag light is still off. The dealership told me it's not the wire/connector and they will have to replace the whole sensor system on the seat which the warranty is not going to cover since they don't cover safety things which now they will charge around 1000 dollars. I went ahead with the repair because this is a liability issue, and I cannot have passengers in my vehicle when the vehicle is saying the passenger airbag is off even if a person is sitting there. Please investigate this as the faulty wire/connector replacement is only a temporary fix and they need to replace the whole sensor system in the seat to get this problem fixed! Thank you.
Related recalls
Air bags: frontal
- What is wrong
- 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.
- Risk
- An incorrectly folded air bag can tear, prohibiting it from deploying properly during a crash, increasing the risk of an injury.
- 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 recall is 69DZ.
Recall number 22V652000 · Recall details
Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator module
- What is wrong
- 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.
- Risk
- An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking occupants, resulting in serious injury or death. An improper air bag deployment may not properly restrain the occupant, increasing their risk of injury in a crash.
- 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 service at 1‑800‑253‑2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69DY and 61C1.
Recall number 22V543000 · Recall details
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
Air bags: sensor: occupant classification
- What is wrong
- 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.
- Risk
- A deactivated passenger air bag increases the risk of injury during a crash.
- 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 number for this recall is 69Z4.
Recall number 19V474000 · Recall details
Air bags: sensor: occupant classification
- What is wrong
- 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 such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
- Risk
- If the air bag deploys with more force than intended, it can increase the risk of injury.
- 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 this recall is 69Q3.
Recall number 17V196000 · Recall details
Questions about the Audi S3 airbag light
Why does the airbag light come on in the Audi S3?
Owners who report it most often also describe no other single symptom.
Which Audi S3 years have airbag warning light problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2015 (11 complaints) and 2017 (1 complaints).
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