2016 AUDI S3 — Problems, Recalls & Safety Data

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5/5

★★★★★

Safety Rating

21

Owner Complaints

3

Recalls

ACTIVE RECALL

27

Service Bulletins

0

Investigations

Overview of the 2016 AUDI S3

The 2016 AUDI S3 has received a total of 21 safety complaints filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). It earned an overall safety rating of 5 out of 5 stars in NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program crash tests. There have been 4 recall campaigns affecting this vehicle, covering issues with AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE, AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION:FRONT PASSENGER, AIR BAGS:ON-OFF SWITCH ASSEMBLY. 27 technical service bulletins have been issued by Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. for this model year. The most commonly reported problems involve the Air Bags (11 complaints), Seats (4 complaints), and Unknown Or Other (2 complaints).

Recalls for the 2016 AUDI S3

NHTSA has recorded 4 recalls for the 2016 AUDI S3, potentially affecting up to 446,416 vehicles.

Recall 22V543000 — AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

| 1,216 vehicles affected

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...

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Recall 21V198000 — AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION:FRONT PASSENGER

| 153,152 vehicles affected

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.

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Recall 21V198000 — AIR BAGS:ON-OFF SWITCH ASSEMBLY

| 153,152 vehicles affected

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.

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Recall 19V474000 — AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION

| 138,896 vehicles affected

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.

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Owner Complaints for the 2016 AUDI S3

21 complaints have been filed with NHTSA for the 2016 AUDI S3. Below is a breakdown by vehicle component.

Most Recent Complaints

#11710500 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | | N/A miles
N/A
#11582791 | AIR BAGS | | N/A miles
Received notice for safety recall to have PODs system repaired or replaced free of charge by Audi. Took my vehicle in for the recall. Audi wanted to charge me to complete this safety recall and refused to complete the recall if I didn't pay. This was bluegrass motorsports in Louisville ky. They also damaged my vehicles door trim and stole money from my glove box(my fault for leaving money inside). Filed a complaint on the dealers website and was never reached out to. This is why safety recall remains open on my vehicle.
#11582791 | SEATS | | N/A miles
Received notice for safety recall to have PODs system repaired or replaced free of charge by Audi. Took my vehicle in for the recall. Audi wanted to charge me to complete this safety recall and refused to complete the recall if I didn't pay. This was bluegrass motorsports in Louisville ky. They also damaged my vehicles door trim and stole money from my glove box(my fault for leaving money inside). Filed a complaint on the dealers website and was never reached out to. This is why safety recall remains open on my vehicle.
#11582791 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | | N/A miles
Received notice for safety recall to have PODs system repaired or replaced free of charge by Audi. Took my vehicle in for the recall. Audi wanted to charge me to complete this safety recall and refused to complete the recall if I didn't pay. This was bluegrass motorsports in Louisville ky. They also damaged my vehicles door trim and stole money from my glove box(my fault for leaving money inside). Filed a complaint on the dealers website and was never reached out to. This is why safety recall remains open on my vehicle.
#11505674 | AIR BAGS | | N/A miles
Where do I start? We have taken this car into the Audi dealership four times due to the engine. Overheating and being almost stranded in the middle of nowhere with it because oil was needing to be added to the engine all the time and after charging us hundreds and hundreds of dollars to do to plug in Their service computer system they finally realized that the car third high-pressure fuel pump leaking was leaking fuel into the crank case causing a hard start and fuel trim codes we spent and this is just the warrants $911.67 another time my husband was backing out of our brand, new home and This car did not sense that he was too close and essentially the front right part of his tire where the tire is doc Benton and he ruined the right side of our garage and these are just one of the 20 issues that have been always going to the RV dealership and I really think that it’s time for some reimbursement. My husband won’t go and do anything about it because he used to work at the dealership but I’m sick of it and we’ve been charged hundreds and hundreds of dollars and then they finally just fixed. They finally just found the problem there that’s an issue and it’s a safety issue to because when I was driving down the highway all the sudden the over the engine overheated and that wasn’t on that was on several occasions, we brought it into the Audi dealership. They couldn’t find anything wrong with it Several please call me back or contact my husband who owns a car I’m getting sick of this. I think they also replaced the water pump as well.

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Safety Rating for the 2016 AUDI S3

The 2016 AUDI S3 received an overall safety rating of 5 out of 5 stars from NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program (NCAP).

Test Category Rating
Overall Rating ★★★★★ (5/5)
Frontal Crash ★★★★ (4/5)
Side Crash ★★★★★ (5/5)
Rollover ★★★★ (4/5)

Safety ratings are based on controlled crash tests conducted by NHTSA. A 5-star rating indicates the highest level of occupant protection.

Technical Service Bulletins for the 2016 AUDI S3

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. has issued 27 technical service bulletins (TSBs) for the 2016 AUDI S3. TSBs are notices sent by manufacturers to their dealers describing a known issue and the recommended repair procedure.

TSB_2042920_2 — FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

This bulletin provides information when there is corrosion on the exhaust tail pipes.

A6923012059201_7 — EQUIPMENT:ELECTRICAL

This bulletin provides information for when high beam assist or traffic sign detection limited, DTC 12B3FD may be stored in the DAS control module.

A9122752024323_9 — ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:ADAS:PARKING ASSIST:SENSORS

This bulletin contains technical information regarding when the parking aid sporadically warns of obstacles that don't exist or it is inoperative/constant warning.

A6922762065720_1 — SEAT BELTS

This bulletin recommends installing a felt mat to mitigate noises caused by the front seat belt rubbing the seat cover.

A9720742043968_5 — STRUCTURE

This bulletin provides instructions for replacing damaged rear lid wiring harnesses.

A911950 20423742 — ENGINE

This bulletin contains repair instructions to dampen vibrations in the engine compartment.

A401993 2047758- — SUSPENSION:FRONT:SHOCK ABSORBER

This bulletin contains instructions for proper lubrication of the shock absorber to prevent cracking noises or spring jumps when steering.

A401993 2047758- — EQUIPMENT:OTHER:OWNERS/SERVICE/OTHER MANUAL

This bulletin contains instructions for proper lubrication of the shock absorber to prevent cracking noises or spring jumps when steering.

A401879 2047758- — SUSPENSION:REAR:SHOCK ABSORBER

This bulletin contains instructions for proper lubrication of the shock absorber to prevent cracking noises or spring jumps when steering.

A011874 2051384- — ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:SOFTWARE

This bulletin contains a software update for when the MIL is on and there are one or more DTCs logged in the ECM (DTCs P030000, P030100, P030200, P030300, and/or P030400).

Showing 10 of 27 technical service bulletins.

NHTSA Investigations for the 2016 AUDI S3

There are no NHTSA defect investigations on record for this vehicle.

Other Model Years of the AUDI S3

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Other AUDI Models

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