NHTSA Campaign Number

21V198000

AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION:FRONT PASSENGER

Reported to NHTSA: March 22, 2021

Key Takeaways

Recall 21V198000 currently maps to 16 tracked vehicle-year pages across 1 make.
This page summarizes the official defect description, safety consequence, and remedy text published by NHTSA for this campaign.
This is a campaign-level lookup, not a VIN-level clearance result. Use a VIN lookup before assuming your specific vehicle is still open.

Useful Next Steps

Check a VIN for an open recall Read what to do after a recall notice Browse more air bags recalls Open an affected vehicle page

Defect Description

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.

Safety 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.

What This Recall Page Shows

This page summarizes a single NHTSA recall campaign, including the defect description, safety consequence, and manufacturer's remedy. The affected vehicles listed below are the make/model/year combinations tracked in our database — this is not a VIN-specific result. To check whether your individual vehicle is covered by this recall, enter your 17-digit VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Click any vehicle below to view its full safety profile.

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Affected Vehicles (16)

Year	Make	Model
2015	Audi	A3
2016	Audi	A3
2017	Audi	A3
2018	Audi	A3
2019	Audi	A3
2020	Audi	A3
2017	Audi	RS3
2018	Audi	RS3
2019	Audi	RS3
2020	Audi	RS3
2015	Audi	S3
2016	Audi	S3
2017	Audi	S3
2018	Audi	S3
2019	Audi	S3
2020	Audi	S3

Browse Affected Vehicles

Related Air Bags Campaigns

These campaigns share the same broad recall component family, so they are useful if you want to compare how similar issue types appeared across other vehicles and time periods.

26V254000AIR BAGSHyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2025 Elantra N, 2026 Tucson, Tucson Hybrid, Tucson Plug-In Hybrid Electric (PHEV), and Elantra vehicles. The B-pillar impact se…2 tracked vehicle pages · Apr 21, 2026 26V230000AIR BAGSNissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2009-2010 Cube vehicles. The driver’s air bag inflator may detach from the steering wheel during air bag deployment.2 tracked vehicle pages · Apr 10, 2026 26V227000AIR BAGSHonda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018-2022 Odyssey vehicles. A software programming error can cause the side and side curtain air bags to deploy unexpectedly.5 tracked vehicle pages · Apr 9, 2026 26V201000AIR BAGSFord Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2025-2026 Bronco Sport and Maverick vehicles. The Occupant Classification Sensor (OCS) unit may fail to correctly detect the presence…4 tracked vehicle pages · Mar 31, 2026

This recall information is from NHTSA campaign 21V198000. This site is not affiliated with NHTSA. Contact your dealer or call NHTSA's Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 for more information.

Data synced from NHTSA on May 4, 2026