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2022 Audi RS 3 Recalled to Address Airbag Issue, S3 and A3 Also Affected

On March 4th, while performing a conformity of production test for the instrument panel at low temperature, Audi discovered that the front passenger airbag was torn after deployment. The Volkswagen Group’s premium brand met up with the supplier of the airbag, Autoliv Airbags Poland, to repeat the conformity test eight times to pinpoint the root cause.
2022 Audi RS 3 49 photos
Photo: Audi
2022 Audi RS 3 Sedan for the U.S. market2022 Audi RS 3 Sedan for the U.S. market2022 Audi RS 3 Sedan for the U.S. market2022 Audi RS 3 Sedan for the U.S. market2022 Audi RS 3 Sedan for the U.S. market2022 Audi A3 sedan2022 Audi A3 sedan2022 Audi A3 sedan2022 Audi A3 sedan2022 Audi A3 sedan2022 Audi A3 sedan2022 Audi A3 sedan2022 Audi A3 sedan2022 Audi A3 sedan2022 Audi A3 sedan2022 Audi A3 sedan2022 Audi A3 sedan2022 Audi A3 sedan2022 Audi A3 sedan2022 Audi A3 sedan2022 Audi A3 sedan2022 Audi A3 sedan2022 Audi A3 sedan2022 Audi A3 sedan2022 Audi A3 sedan2022 Audi A3 sedan2022 Audi A3 sedan2022 Audi A3 sedan2022 Audi A3 sedan2022 Audi A3 sedan2022 Audi A3 sedan2022 Audi A3 sedan2022 Audi A3 sedan2022 Audi A3 sedan2022 Audi A3 sedan2022 Audi A3 sedan2022 Audi A3 sedan2022 Audi A3 sedan2022 Audi A3 sedan2022 Audi A3 sedan2022 Audi A3 sedan2022 Audi A3 sedan2022 Audi A3 sedan2022 Audi A3 sedan2022 Audi A3 sedan2022 Audi A3 sedan2022 Audi A3 sedan2022 Audi A3 sedan
None concluded with airbag failure. Production data didn’t suggest any sort of deviation in the production process of the suspect component, but after checking 120 airbags for issues, Audi and Autoliv identified “deviations within the folding of the airbag.” As a result, the German automaker from Ingolstadt instructed Autoliv to implement an additional monitoring step.

From the month of May through July, a testing program was carried out with airbags that were deliberately not folded according to specification. Audi used different-sized dummies and varying positions within the seat for these tests, and the results weren’t particularly good. The Audi Product Safety Committee decided that a recall is of utmost importance, and thankfully, the carmaker isn’t aware of any warranty or customer claims.

Documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration state that the front passenger airbag module carrier part number 8Y1880204 D, exactly the same as the replacement module. The only difference between suspect and correct airbag modules is the additional monitoring step, designed to eliminate any error in the folding process of the airbag.

Owner notification letters will be sent on or before October 28th, the day authorized retailers will be informed of this recall. A grand total of 4,117 vehicles are called back in the United States of America, starting with 16 examples of the 2022 model year Audi RS 3 Sedan. The S3 numbers 420 units, and the A3 completes the tally with no fewer than 3,681 examples.

Suspect RS 3s were manufactured this year between March 23rd and April 28th, suspect S3s between July 8th last year and March 22nd this year, and suspect A3s between July 26th last year and April 26th this year. The four-ringed automaker told the U.S. federal watchdog that 39 percent of these vehicles are believed to feature airbags that haven’t been folded properly.
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 Download: Audi A3, S3, RS 3 airbag recall (PDF)

About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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