The 2017 Audi A3 Sportback E-Tron has 2 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 292,048 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 2 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the electrical system. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
AIR BAGS21V1980002021-03-22153,152 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.
AIR BAGS19V4740002019-06-19138,896 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…
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.
Complaints by component
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
1
WHEELS
1
Total complaints2
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“Right front tire flattened twice in 6 months, from slow driving on a rough road. In the prior 7 years with another car, this never happened. Dealer denies any problem. The car has been sitting in the garage for 6 months; I cannot risk being stranded on a remote road, at night, with no cell service…”
“We are worried about a dangerous deficiency in the portable evse/charger for our a3 sportback e-tron. It gets very hot during standard 12- volt charging and it might cause a fire. I discovered in the owner's manual, that its operating range has a maximum of 95 degrees f. Our average summer…”
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2017 Audi A3 Sportback E-Tron as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
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