2017 Audi RS 3
Gas Compact car
The 2017 Audi RS 3 is sold in the U.S. as a gas compact car. The most efficient version, the RS 3, is EPA-rated at 22 mpg combined. NHTSA lists 2 recall campaigns for this model year, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of B. Owners have filed 1 complaints, most often about visibility/wiper.
Specs & fuel economy (EPA)
| Configuration | Powertrain | Drive | Engine / motor | City | Hwy | Comb | Annual fuel* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RS 3 | Gas | AWD | 2.5L 5-cyl turbo | 19 | 28 | 22 | $3,500 |
*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year and EPA reference fuel/electricity prices. Source: fueleconomy.gov vehicle records.
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Recalls (2)
Air Bags
highProblem: 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
highProblem: 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.
Owner complaints
1 complaints filed
0 involved a crash, 0 a fire, 0 injuries, 0 deaths reported by owners.
Filed by year — 2020: 1
Most-cited components
- Visibility/Wiper — 1
Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.
Crash ratings
NHTSA has not published 5-Star crash ratings for this model year.
Other RS 3 model years
Sources & method
Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). Floor 35. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Complaint counts and NHTSA crash ratings are shown separately and are not blended into the grade.
EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records (ids 38966). Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed weekly.