NHTSA lists 14 complaints for the 2016 Audi S3, 0 of them mention a crash and 0 mention a fire. 0 complaints mention an injury, with 0 injuries and 0 deaths reported.
Data build 2026-10-07.
NHTSA lists this vehicle as AUDI S3.
At a glance
Complaints
14
With crash
0
With fire
0
With injury (complaints)
0
Injuries
0
Deaths
0
Recalls
3
Do not drive recalls
0
Park outside recalls
0
Recall potential units (maximum)
153,152
Investigations
1
Open investigations
0
Manufacturer communications
631
Complaints per 100k sold unavailable. No sales source is available for this record.
Where the complaints are
Top systems
System
Complaints
Share of this vehicle's complaints
AIR BAGS
11
78.6%
SEATS
4
28.6%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
2
14.3%
BACK OVER PREVENTION
1
7.1%
ENGINE
1
7.1%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
1
7.1%
SEAT BELTS
1
7.1%
VISIBILITY/WIPER
1
7.1%
Top subsystems
System
Subsystem
Complaints
BACK OVER PREVENTION
WARNINGS
1
One complaint can name several systems, so shares can add to more than 100 percent.
Confidence is the model's own probability for the label it chose (0 to 1), not accuracy.
Model-generated labels on tagged complaints only. Model years 2013 and newer are tagged in full; 2012 in part (see tagged_share); earlier model years have no tags. NHTSA's own flags remain separate in the complaints block.
Defect: 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.
Consequence: 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.
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.
Consequence: 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.
Defect: 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.
Consequence: 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.
Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.
Investigations
1 investigations; 0 open.
RQ23007
Opened: 2023-12-12. Closed: 2024-07-01.
Fuel Leak due to Suction Jet Pump Failure within Fuel Tank (Remedy Effectiveness of Recall 16V647)
On December 12, 2023, the Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) opened RQ23-007 to investigate the remedy repair effectiveness and scope of Volkswagen (VW) recall 16V-647. Recall 16V-647 was issued on September 2, 2016, for a defective suction jet pump (SJP) inside the fuel tank. Failure of the SJP could lead to a fuel leak from the vehicle. This recall covered certain model year (MY) 2015-2016 V
Date: 2026-09-25. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.
This bulletin provides information for reporting safety related information to the manufacturer.
11038130
Date: 2026-09-25. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.
This bulletin states that technicians are required to report to the manufacturer when a vehicle has flooded, and specify the height to which the vehicle has been flooded.
11038024
Date: 2026-09-22. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: VISIBILITY/WIPER.
This bulletin provides service information regarding exterior glass cleaning.
11038042
Date: 2026-09-22. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: STEERING.
This bulletin provides information about vibrations and rotational steering vibrations.
11038025
Date: 2026-09-15. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.
This bulletin provides information when the license plate mounting bracket threded inserts are stripped.
11038026
Date: 2026-09-08. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.
This bulletin provides infomraiton abou the Audi frequency analysis application, which is available in the App Store for Android and Apple phones.
11038033
Date: 2026-09-08. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: STRUCTURE.
This TSB describes a corrosion issue due to outside influence and the prohibition of warranty in these cases.
11036917
Date: 2026-08-26. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.
This bulletin provides information when the horn sound quality is poor.
11036907
Date: 2026-08-24. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: SUSPENSION.
This bulletin provides informaiotn when there are rattling/grinding noises reported from the front end.
11036911
Date: 2026-08-21. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: SERVICE BRAKES.
This bulletin provides information for all models regarding brake sounds.
Notes on this record
Complaints from the API and bulk file are merged and deduplicated by ODI number; the API alone misses records.
System and subsystem counts are numbers of distinct complaints, recalls or communications that name them. One record can name several systems, so shares across systems can add to more than 100 percent; a single share never exceeds 100 percent.
Recalls are counted once per campaign, investigations once per action and manufacturer communications once per NHTSA id, even when NHTSA lists several model names for the same record.
A sales denominator is a calendar-year proxy, not the population of vehicles still in use. Rates are copied from verified pipeline output.