2018 Audi A3 owner complaints

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

The contact owns a 2018 Audi A3. The contact received a recall notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V198000 (Air Bags) however, the dealer informed the contact that the parts for the recall repair were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not notified of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts are not available.

The contact owns a 2018 Audi A3. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V198000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer and it was confirmed that the part was not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts are not available.

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

Tl* the contact owns a 2018 Audi a3. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 19v474000 (air bags). The contact stated that Audi grapevine (located at 1260 e state hwy 114, grapevine, tx 76051, (817) 354-2834) exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and stated that the part was not available for the repair. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

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

Recall StatusRecall Incomplete, remedy not yet available. The passenger occupant detection system (PODS) may detect a malfunction and switch off the passenger airbag even though the seat may be occupied. I have been waiting for the recall on my vehicle to be fixed since 03/22/2021. It has been 6months and the manufacture still doesn't have a remedy to fix my vehicle. I can't sale my vehicle or even rent it out because of the recall.

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 NHTSA Recall Number: 21V198

Tl* the contact owns a 2018 Audi a3. The contact received a recall notice for NHTSA campaign number: 19v474000 (air bags). After contacting the dealer (Audi of tyson, 8598 leesburg pike, vienna, va) and the manufacturer, the contact was informed that the parts needed to repair the vehicle were not available. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

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.

Takata Recall. The contact owns a 2018 Audi A3. The contact received notification for NHTSA Recall Number: 21V198000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was contacted and informed the contact that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 34,400. The incorrect VIN was provided.

Transmission module! Started jerking when switching gears, to not switching gears at all and this happened while driving so I was on the road stalled with no gear changes! Car is inoperable, due to this and it’s still being paid for yet not able to be driven from practically the day I bought it! The manufacturer knows this is an issue and we are still out here in unsafe non gear changing cars! Very dangerous

On February 19, 2022, I drove from my home in San Francisco to the Home Depot in Colma/Daly City. This is a 7 Mile drive one way on the freeway. When I was leaving the parking lot at the Home Depot, I put the car in reverse and all of a sudden it would not move. The car stopped. I turned the ignition off. Then on. There were NO warning lights. I put the car in reverse again, and now it was bucking and stopped. It would not move. I had the car towed to my house on Saturday February 19, and again on Monday February 21 to the Audi Of San Francisco service department. The dealer told me that the problem was with the TCM (Transmission Control Module). It needed a SOFTWARE UPGRADE. Wow. This is really dangerous. Imagine if I was on the highway going 65 MPH and the TCM decided it needed

Wife was driving and the tire suddenly lost pressure and she almost lost control. The tire sidewall had blown out and this is the second tire with the same problem.

225/45-R18 DOT(17/22) On September 6, 2025, I purchased a 2018 Audi A3 (VIN [VIN], 56,634 miles) delivered by Carvana. Within days, I had the vehicle inspected at multiple independent repair shops. Each shop documented that all four tires showed dry rot and cracking and advised immediate replacement due to risk of tire failure. On September 10, 2025, I contacted Carvana and followed their warranty claim process. After escalation, on September 18, 2025, I was informed that Carvana determined “the tires are not bad enough” and denied replacement. The vehicle was delivered with unsafe tires that pose a serious risk of blowout or loss of vehicle control, endangering both the driver and others on the road. DOT date codes and photos of the cracks confirm the condition of the tires at the time

Hi, I bought an Audi a3 2018 on november 2017 from Audi of rochester hills, michigan.since then I have had issues with the original pirelli tires in the car. Two incidents happened within a span of 1 year where the tire was damaged on the side wall and and it was irreplaceable so I had to get a new tire within few months of buying the car. On dec 15, 2018 I lost tire pressure while driving in shelby township, michigan and when I took the car to the dealer I was told that there was sidewall damage. On may 31, 2018 I went over a pothole at the intersection of hurontario & eglinton in mississauga ontario, where one of the tire got punctured (complaint filed with city of mississauga, transport canada and picture attached). I took it to a mechanic shop and they said that I'll have to replace th

The contact owns a 2018 Audi A3. The contact stated while driving in a parking lot, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that the battery was drained, and the vehicle failed to restart. The contact jumpstarted the vehicle. The battery was replaced. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the alternator needed to be replaced. The dealer informed the contact that the part was on backorder. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was called, but there was no response. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.

Dealer (Audi of Palo Alto) has failed to notify us of this safety recall or make arrangements to fix it.