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NHTSA safety recall

Recall 21V198000: AIR BAGS:ON-OFF SWITCH ASSEMBLY; AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION:FRONT PASSENGER

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. · Reported to NHTSA Mar 22, 2021

Recalls apply to specific vehicles, not to every vehicle of a model year. Check your VIN with NHTSA or your manufacturer's dealer to confirm whether a recall affects your vehicle.

Check a VIN on NHTSA.gov
Units potentially affectedThe manufacturer's own estimate of how many vehicles or items of equipment may contain the defect. It is not a count of failures, and not every unit in the range is necessarily affected.
153,152
Model years coveredModel years in our database that NHTSA matched to this campaign. Whether an individual vehicle is covered still depends on its VIN.
19
Models covered
4
Grouped from the model years above
Reported to NHTSA
Mar 22, 2021

What this recall covers

NHTSA's campaign record, quoted as published

The defect

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.

The risk

A deactivated passenger air bag increases the risk of injury during a crash.

The 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.

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.

A safety recall is issued when a manufacturer or NHTSA determines that a vehicle has a safety-related defect or does not comply with a federal motor vehicle safety standard. Recall repairs are free. Whether a specific vehicle is covered depends on its VIN — a recall listed for a model year does not necessarily apply to every vehicle of that year.

Campaign details

Identifiers and dates as filed with NHTSA

Manufacturer
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Manufacturer's campaign number
69BY
NHTSA campaign number
21V198000
Units potentially affected
153,152
Report received
Mar 22, 2021
Production range
Not recorded
Campaign type
Vehicle
Federal safety standard (FMVSS)
208

Vehicles covered

19 model years across 4 models

Recalls apply to specific vehicles, not to every vehicle of a model year. Check your VIN with NHTSA or your manufacturer's dealer to confirm whether a recall affects your vehicle.