— Audi passenger airbags may deactivate even when occupants are in the passenger seats of more than 171,000 of these vehicles.
- 2015-2020 Audi S3 Sedan
- 2015-2020 Audi A3 Sedan
- 2016-2018 Audi A3 Etron
- 2017-2020 Audi RS3 Sedan
- 2015-2019 Audi A3 Cabriolet
According to Audi, the passenger occupant detection system may malfunction and turn off the passenger airbag. However, the automaker hasn't determined the root cause of the problem or what dealers will do to repair the vehicles.
The passenger airbag recall is an expansion of a June 2019 Audi recall, and all vehicles allegedly repaired during that recall must return to dealers for new repairs.
A driver should see a warning light, hear a warning sound and see a "passenger airbag off" message that activate at the same time if the airbag is deactivated.
Audi says customers can continue driving these vehicles, but if passenger airbag warnings appear, passengers shouldn't be in the seats and owners should get the vehicles to dealers.
"Due to the ongoing investigation of the root cause, the remedy program is not yet determined. Audi continues to work intensively on the identification of the root cause and the remedy with the supplier." — Audi
The U.S Audi recall includes 153,152 vehicles and in Canada more than 18,200 vehicles are recalled.
Interim recall notices will be mailed beginning May 21, 2021, then second notices will be mailed when dealers are ready to perform repairs.
Audi owners with questions should call 800-253-2834 and use recall reference number 69BY.
