The 2015 Audi A3 has 2 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 414,409 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 131 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the air bags. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain front-wheel drive 2015-2020 Audi A3 Sedan, 2015-2019 Audi A3 Cabriolet, 2019-2020 Volkswagen Jetta GLI, 2018 Golf Sportwagen GP, 2018-2019 Golf Sportwagen A7, 2015-2017 Golf Sportwagen, 2015-2020 Golf GTI, and 2015-2020 Golf A7 vehicles. Due to a…
Consequence
A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source increases the risk of a fire.
Remedy
Dealers will replace the suction pump, free of charge. Final owner notification letters for Audi owners were mailed on July 25, 2024. Final owner letters for VW owners were mailed on August 13, 2024. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298 or Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. …
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.
Complaints by component
AIR BAGS
45
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
17
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
10
SEAT BELTS
10
SEATS
10
ENGINE
8
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
8
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
8
POWER TRAIN
5
STEERING
2
Total complaints131
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“The contact owns 2015 audi a3. The contact stated while parked and when attempting to input fuel into the vehicle the fuel hose sprayed fuel into the contact's clothing and shoes and began to leak under the vehicle near the rear tires. An independent mechanic was contacted. The contact mention the…”
“Safty issue with standard equipment, backup camera stopped working. Safty feature now unavailable. Told by dealer that it's a common issue. Will fail massachusetts inspection because the camera is standard safety equipment. Told I need a new 5f module and they are back ordered at audi which tells…”
“The contact owns a 2015 audi a3. The contact stated that when filling the fuel tank, fuel leaks out of the vehicle. The failure would occur as soon as the contact filled the tank with about $ 3 worth of fuel. The contact recalled that previously, they struggled to open the fuel cap. The vehicle…”
“The jet fuel pump is on the recall list for front wheel drive audi a 3 cars - they are only including vin numbers for that type of car - mine is all wheel drive and even though I have the same faulty part in my car they will not take responsibility for it - which is why there is a class action law…”
“Smelt like something was burning and the smell was coming out of vents. Looked online and found that people have been having issues with the auxiliary heater for the hvac to help the car warm up faster. I check mine and found that the connector was staring to melt. Seems like it could be a…”
“Airbag pressure sensing fault in passenger seat. Fix is $1,800”
“Airbag pressure sensing fault in passenger seat. Fix is $1,800”
“Subject: complaint regarding refusal to perform recall repairs outside the u.s. – vin [xxx] dear nhtsa office of defects investigation, I am the owner of an audi a3, model year 2015, vin [xxx] . According to the nhtsa database, my vehicle is subject to two open recall campaigns: – 69by /…”
Defect investigations
InvestigationRQ23007 Opened 2023-12-12 · closed 2024-07-01
Fuel Leak due to Suction Jet Pump Failure within Fuel Tank (Remedy Effectiveness of Recall 16V647)
On December 12, 2023, the Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) opened RQ23-007 to investigate the remedy repair effectiveness and scope of Volkswagen (VW) recall 16V-647. Recall 16V-647 was issued on September 2, 2016, for a defective suction jet pump (SJP) inside the fuel tank. Failure of the SJP could lead to a…
InvestigationRQ23007 Opened 2023-12-12 · closed 2024-07-01
Fuel Leak due to Suction Jet Pump Failure within Fuel Tank (Remedy Effectiveness of Recall 16V647)
On December 12, 2023, the Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) opened RQ23-007 to investigate the remedy repair effectiveness and scope of Volkswagen (VW) recall 16V-647. Recall 16V-647 was issued on September 2, 2016, for a defective suction jet pump (SJP) inside the fuel tank. Failure of the SJP could lead to a…
InvestigationRQ23007 Opened 2023-12-12 · closed 2024-07-01
Fuel Leak due to Suction Jet Pump Failure within Fuel Tank (Remedy Effectiveness of Recall 16V647)
On December 12, 2023, the Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) opened RQ23-007 to investigate the remedy repair effectiveness and scope of Volkswagen (VW) recall 16V-647. Recall 16V-647 was issued on September 2, 2016, for a defective suction jet pump (SJP) inside the fuel tank. Failure of the SJP could lead to a…
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2015 Audi A3 as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.