Audi S3 Recalls

The Audi S3 has 18 recalls covering the 2015–2023 model years, with the most serious being a 2016 front passenger airbag inflator that can explode during deployment and send metal fragments into the cabin, posing a risk of serious injury or death.

The 2022 model year carries a notable cluster of safety equipment issues. The front passenger airbag may have been folded incorrectly during assembly, causing it to tear rather than inflate properly in a crash. Separately, the seatbelt pretensioners on both front seats may not generate enough force to hold occupants during a collision. The rear seatbelt retractors on 2021–2022 models can fail to properly secure a child restraint system. The 2022 model also has multiple rearview camera software faults where the image fails to appear when the vehicle is shifted into reverse, reducing rear visibility while backing up. A mislabeled child seat anchor on 2022 vehicles uses a symbol that does not match the owner's manual, which can lead to incorrect installation of a child seat.

The 2023 model year has a compliance recall for a missing weight capacity entry on the B-pillar certification label, which could contribute to unintentional overloading.

On the airbag sensor side, the passenger occupant detection system has been a recurring concern across multiple years. On 2015–2020 models, the system can falsely detect a fault and switch off the front passenger airbag even when someone is seated there, leaving that occupant without airbag protection in a crash. The 2017 model year has an additional airbag control software issue where the passenger airbag can deploy with excessive force if the passenger is sitting on the edge of the seat or reclined, and a separate concern where the airbag control module may misclassify an out-of-position passenger and deploy with more force than appropriate. The 2015 model year has a loose wiring connection in the occupant detection system that can similarly cause the passenger airbag to shut off.