2018 Audi Rs 3 problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Lane Departure: Blind Spot Detection (2) · Fuel/Propulsion System (2) · Air Bags (2)
Safety recalls (4)
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 2019-06-19 · campaign 19V474000 · 138,896 vehicles
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.
Risk: A deactivated passenger air bag increases the risk of injury during a crash.
Fix: 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.
Seats:mid/Rear Assembly 2019-02-13 · campaign 19V095000 · 3,326 vehicles
Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018 Audi A3 sedan and RS3 vehicles. The latching pins for the center rear seat head restraint may be missing.
Risk: In the event of a crash, the head restraint may detach and cause injury to the vehicle occupants.
Fix: Audi has notified owners, and dealers will inspect the head restraints, replacing any that are missing pins, free of charge. The recall began on March 7, 2019. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 72I8.
Seats:mid/Rear Assembly 2018-11-14 · campaign 18V803000 · 169 vehicles
Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018 Volkswagen e-Golf and Golf R vehicles, and Audi A3 Sedan and RS3 vehicles. The rear seat frame head restraint guide sleeves may be incorrectly welded to the seat frame.
Risk: If the guide sleeves are incorrectly welded, in the event of a crash, the rear seat head restraints may have reduced stability, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: Volkswagen and Audi will notify their owners, and dealers will inspect the guide sleeves for incorrect welds, replacing the rear seat frame, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began December 28, 2018. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298 or Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 72H8 (VW) and 72H9(Audi).
Service bulletins (551)
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 551 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-06-13 · Unknown Or Other“fuel tank may fail or charcoal canister within. causing you not to be able to fill up the car and if it overflows it’ll spill. coolant will also miraculously evaporate, even while car is sitting due to [xxx] water pump. information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6) …”
2025-11-05 · Fuel/Propulsion System“i attempted to add gas to a 3/4 full fuel tank (given that i had a long drive that day and needed a full tank). fuel would not enter the tank, no matter how slow i seemed to pump the gas. i had filled up a few days prior and driven the car about 100 miles since. after calling the dealer and taking the car in for service the next day, the deale…”
2024-01-18 · Unknown Or Other“for several months each time i refuel my vehicle, i experience fuel spit back and refueling shutoff at any rate of fuel delivery. i have also experienced a strong fuel odor in my garage immediately after refueling which persists for a week or more. i am concerned that a fuel leak near a hot exhaust pipe could cause a fire or an explosion. at hom…”
2023-12-22 · Engine“water pump failure at 27,500 miles. causing coolant leak that progressively got worse. the seal or pump itself failed and is letting coolant escape…”
2022-11-01 · Fuel/Propulsion System“the suction pump located in the fuel tank failed, causing fuel to back up into the evaporation canister and out of the vent tube in the rear passenger wheel well, which is a potential fire hazard. this is the exact same part a recall was issued for in nhtsa campaign numbers 16v647 vw and 16v647 audi…”
2022-10-20 · Electrical System“unknown if passenger airbag actually works. airbag warning light on, passenger seat belt warning on. "passenger airbag off" illuminated constantly. causes every electrical system to occasionally report failure.…”
2022-09-01 · Air Bags · 42,000 mi“the contact owns a 2018 audi rs3. the contact stated that the passenger air bag off warning light had remained illuminated with an occupant seated in the passenger’s side seat. the contact then received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 21v198000 (air bags). the dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available…”
2022-03-04 · Seat Belts“ audi pre sence kicked in on an empty street at 30mph. it was daylight on a straight road. the seat belts tightened up with no warning and the car applied hard breaks. luckily there was no one behind me at the time or i would have definitely been rear ended. …”
2021-10-20 · Lane Departure: Blind Spot Detection“the vehicle has frequent intermittent failure of the airbag systems, safety systems, and blind spot monitoring systems. i receive frequent "safety system: malfunction! see owner's manual." as-well as "audi pre sense: currently restricted. see owner's manual." messages appear on my dashboard. i have contacted audi service departments numerous times …”
2021-06-18 · Air Bags“the passenger occupant detection system does not work correctly, and it fails to activate when detecting a passenger in the passenger front seat. this problem has been on going through audi since 2018, and they have yet to remedy it. no fixes or remedies have been available and this round of recalls was issued march 22, 2021 but no remedy has been …”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.