2017 Audi S3 problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Air Bags (4) · Visibility/Wiper (1) · Structure:body (1)
Safety recalls (2)
Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification:front Passenger 2021-03-22 · campaign 21V198000 · 153,152 vehicles
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.
Risk: A deactivated passenger air bag increases the risk of injury during a crash.
Fix: 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.
Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification 2017-03-22 · campaign 17V196000 · 11,618 vehicles
Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2017 Audi A3 and S3 Sedan vehicles. In a lower-speed crash situation, the air bag control unit software may deploy the passenger frontal air bag improperly if the front seat passenger is sitting on the edge of the seat or is laying in the seat with the seat reclined. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
Risk: If the air bag deploys with more force than intended, it can increase the risk of injury.
Fix: Audi will notify owners, and dealers will update the air bag control module software, free of charge. The recall began April 20, 2017. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69Q3.
Service bulletins (620)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Unknown Or Other 2026-09-25 · TSB_2083409_1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
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.
Unknown Or Other 2026-09-25 · TSB_2052680_2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin provides information for reporting safety related information to the manufacturer.
Steering 2026-09-22 · TSB_2074846_5 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin provides information about vibrations and rotational steering vibrations.
Visibility/Wiper 2026-09-22 · TSB_2020552_15 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin provides service information regarding exterior glass cleaning.
Structure:body 2026-09-18 · TSB_2078648_4 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin provides information about billing for a broken sunroof glass panel.
Unknown Or Other 2026-09-15 · TSB_2030471_9 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin provides information when the license plate mounting bracket threded inserts are stripped.
Showing the 6 most recent of 620 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2024-06-12 · Power Train“transmission failed after going over a small pothole at 20mph, after which engine revved up than slammed into high gear and jerked the car forward, car has been towed to dealership for inspection, transmission light came on…”
2022-09-13 · Air Bags“i have contacted audi dealerships in my area with regard to manufacturer recall number 69by nhtsa recall number 21v198. but they say they do not have the parts to fix the recall and have no idea when they can fix it…”
2022-05-23 · Air Bags“the contact owns a 2017 audi s3. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 21v198000 (air bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. the dealer was made aware of the issue and the contact was notified that parts were not yet available. the manufacturer had been notified of the issue. the contact stated …”
2022-05-09 · Air Bags · 49,500 mi“the contact owns a 2017 audi s3. the front passenger seat air bag warning light failed to illuminate whether there was a passenger seated in the seat or not. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 21v198000 (air bags). the dealer was contacted and the contact was informed that the part was not available. several months later an…”
2022-02-17 · Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification · 35,000 mi“the contact owns a 2017 audi s3. the contact received nhtsa campaign number: 21v198000 (air bags). the owner contacted a local dealer to set up a recall appointment. the contact set the appointment and was told by the dealer that the parts would be ordered and that the dealer would contact the owner. the owner waited over one month and had to re-co…”
2020-04-07 · Air Bags · 22,718 mi“seatpod sensor for passenger air bag fault messages. had this repaired done 4 times since purchased new. i don't feel save driving in this car. please help. bbb cant help me.…”
2019-10-25 · Unknown Or Other · 44,000 mi“under normal driving conditions, highway speed of 65-75, the car vibrates. i attempted to reach out to other drives and this seems to be a common issues all across the board. not local and not select year. under further homework, many others have complained about this online. many others show the work that has been done to fix this issue, with out …”
2019-09-25 · Visibility/Wiper · 18,000 mi“after purchasing a 2017 audi s3 i immediately encountered horrible chattering of the wiper blades in my very first drive in the rain. i have subsequently taken my car to the audi dealership to address this issue 10+ occasions. this chattering and skipping of the wiper blades is so bad that i and many other a3 / s3 owners no longer use our wipers …”
2018-04-17 · Structure:body · 6,703 mi“i was driving on the freeway at 70 mph when my sunroof exploded for no apparent reason. i was very fortunate to have not had an accident as it sounded like a gun had gone off in my car. i spoke with my insurance agent and he told me to call audi because it is a known problem. audi did fix the car which was had a ton of damage because the g…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.