NHTSA Complaint #11329785 — 2015 AUDI A3

MY 2015 AUDI A3 HAS ONLY 11,200 MILES ON IT. THE PASSENGER BAG SAFETY LIGHT GOES ON AND OFF INTERMITTENTLY, AND HAS DONE FOR SOME TIME. THE PROBLEM OCCURS MOSTLY WHEN SOMEONE IS SITTING IN THE SEAT, BUT OCCASIONALLY IT WILL OCCUR WHEN THE PASSENGER SEAT IS UNOCCUPIED. THE YELLOW DASH LIGHT COMES ON NEAR THE PASSENGER AND THE AIRBAG LIGHT ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL ILLUMINATES. THE INFORMATION PANEL ON THE DASH WILL SIMULTANEOUSLY REPORT "SAFETY SYSTEM: SYSTEM FAULT! SEE OWNER'S MANUAL" AND "PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF" AND "AUDI PRE SENSE: SYSTEM FAULT!". THIS FAULT OCCURRED APPROXIMATELY 8-10 TIMES DURING A 1,000 MILE TRIP MY WIFE AND I TOOK DURING MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND IN 2020. I HAD MY WIFE TRY ADJUSTING THE ANGLE OF THE SEAT, RAISING THE FRONT PORTION HIGHER TO TRY TO APPLY MORE BODY WEIGHT TO THE SEAT. MY THINKING WAS THAT IT WAS A SENSOR ISSUE. THE SYSTEM IS DESIGNED TO SHUT OFF IF A PASSENGER DOES NOT WEIGH ENOUGH FOR THE AIRBAG TO SAFELY DEPLOY. THE SYSTEM FAULT ACTS LIKE IT DETECTS SOME WEIGHT THERE, BUT NOT ENOUGH TO ENGAGE THE AIRBAG SAFELY. MY BEST GUESS IS THAT THE WEIGHT SENSOR IS NOT REGISTERING THE WEIGHT CORRECTLY OR MAINTAINING A CONSISTENT READING THAT WOULD KEEP THE AIRBAG ENGAGED OVER TIME. THE PICTURE ATTACHED TO THIS REPORT WERE TAKEN ON MAY 25, 2020 DURING OUR TRIP, BUT THIS HAPPENS ON A REGULAR BASIS. AFTER GETTING ONLINE TO GOOGLE FOR ANSWERS, I CAN SEE THAT MANY OTHERS ARE DESCRIBING THE SAME PROBLEM I AM EXPERIENCING. I SEE THAT THE 2015 MODEL MAY HAVE BEEN LEFT OUT OF A RECALL TO FIX THIS ISSUE AND I WOULD LIKE TO ADD MY INPUT TO ALL OTHERS THAT THIS IS A SIGNIFICANT SAFETY ISSUE AND SHOULD BE RECONSIDERED FOR MODEL YEAR 2015 AUDI A3 SEDANS (AND POSSIBLY OTHER AUDI MODELS). *TR