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2018 Audi RS 3

Gas

Subcompact Cars
1 EPA-rated configurations
Data refreshed 2026-10-26

Safety Signal

75 / 100 from the NHTSA recall record

RecallsNHTSA campaigns 4

Complaintsnone reporting a crash, fire or injury 13

Crash ratingnot rated by NHTSA —

Fuel economybest combined, EPA 22 mpg

2018 2017

The 2018 Audi RS 3 is sold in the U.S. as a gas compact sedan. The most efficient version, the RS 3, is EPA-rated at 22 mpg combined. NHTSA lists 4 recall campaigns for this model year, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of C. Owners have filed 13 complaints, most often about the air bags.

Audi RS3 — photograph via Wikimedia Commons — Audi RS3 · Photo: Alexander Migl · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Specs & fuel economy

Source: EPA fueleconomy.gov

Configuration	Powertrain	Drive	Engine / motor	City	Hwy	Comb	Annual fuel*
RS 3	Gas	AWD	2.5L 5-cyl turbo	19	28	22	$3,750

*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year at EPA reference fuel and electricity prices. fueleconomy.gov record ids: 38773.

Emissions & certification

Source: EPA emission certificates

Configuration	Smog rating	Emission standard	Where it can be sold new	SmartWay
RS 3	3 / 10	California LEV-III ULEV125 / Federal Tier 3 Bin 125	All 50 states (federal, all altitudes); California and states following California standards	—

Certified for all fifty states, so it can be registered new anywhere in the U.S.

The smog rating scores tailpipe pollutants other than greenhouse gases, 1 (worst) to 10 (best), and is comparable only within a model year. The standard is the federal bin or California tier the configuration was certified to. Both come from the EPA certificate behind the window sticker.

Specifications filed with NHTSA

Source: NHTSA vPIC

Dimensions Exterior

Body style	Sedan/Saloon
Doors	4
GVWR class	Class 1: 6,000 lb or less (2,722 kg or less)

Engine Basics

Cylinders	5
Displacement	2.5 L
Engine configuration	In-Line

Engine Output

Horsepower

400 hp

Fuel Economy

Fuel	Gasoline

Seating

Seat rows	2
Seating capacity	5 seats

Transmission

Drivetrain	AWD/All-Wheel Drive
Transmission	Automatic

Driver assistance

Standard: Anti-lock brakes, Backup camera, Blind-spot monitoring, Electronic stability control, Forward collision warning, Parking assist

Optional: Adaptive cruise control, Lane keeping assist

Filed by the manufacturer with NHTSA under the federal vehicle-identification rule and decoded from the VIN pattern — not a manufacturer press kit, so it describes one configuration rather than every trim (seen: quattro). Figures for the trim you are looking at may differ.

Dimensions & weight

Source: Transport Canada

Length	176.4 in
Width (body, without mirrors)	70.9 in
Height	55.1 in
Wheelbase	103.5 in
Track, front	61.4 in
Track, rear	60.2 in
Curb weight	3,505 lb
Weight distribution, front/rear	60/40

Measured by Transport Canada for its Canadian Vehicle Specifications database, which covers the North American versions of each model — here one configuration: RS3 Sedan Tfsi Quattro. Where a range is shown, those versions differ. Width is the body without mirrors, which is why it can read narrower than a brochure figure. Before we used it we checked it against the US manufacturer press kits we hold (27 Sep 2026): wheelbase agreed within 1% on every vehicle we could compare, length on 98%, and the curb weight fell inside the manufacturer's range on 96%. Source dataset. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada. Licence.

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Recalls (4)

Source: NHTSA recall database

▲high

Air Bags

69BY

153,152 vehicles 73% reported repaired

Problem 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.

Filed with NHTSADefect report PDF Owner letter PDF Remedy instructions PDF

NHTSA campaign 21V198000 reported Mar 22, 2021 Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. the full filing, and every vehicle covered →

▲high

Air Bags

69Z4

138,896 vehicles 82% reported repaired built Mar 28, 2017 – Jul 13, 2018

Problem 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.

Filed with NHTSAOwner letter PDF Remedy instructions PDF

NHTSA campaign 19V474000 reported Jun 19, 2019 Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. the full filing, and every vehicle covered →

▲high

Seats

72I8

3,326 vehicles 92% reported repaired built Apr 12, 2018 – Jul 2, 2018

Problem Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018 Audi A3 sedan and RS3 vehicles. The latching pins for the center rear seat head restraint may be missing. Risk In the event of a crash, the head restraint may detach and cause injury to the vehicle occupants. Fix Audi has notified owners, and dealers will inspect the head restraints, replacing any that are missing pins, free of charge. The recall began on March 7, 2019. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 72I8.

Filed with NHTSAOwner letter PDF Remedy instructions PDF

NHTSA campaign 19V095000 reported Feb 13, 2019 Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. the full filing, and every vehicle covered →

▲high

Seats

VW 72H8 / Audi 72H9

169 vehicles 87% reported repaired built Jun 9, 2018 – Jul 2, 2018

Problem Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018 Volkswagen e-Golf and Golf R vehicles, and Audi A3 Sedan and RS3 vehicles. The rear seat frame head restraint guide sleeves may be incorrectly welded to the seat frame. Risk If the guide sleeves are incorrectly welded, in the event of a crash, the rear seat head restraints may have reduced stability, increasing the risk of injury. Fix Volkswagen and Audi will notify their owners, and dealers will inspect the guide sleeves for incorrect welds, replacing the rear seat frame, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began December 28, 2018. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298 or Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 72H8 (VW) and 72H9(Audi).

NHTSA campaign 18V803000 reported Nov 14, 2018 Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. the full filing, and every vehicle covered →

These are vehicle campaigns — the ones the automaker filed against this model. NHTSA also records equipment recalls, filed by a parts maker against a component (a tyre, a child seat, an aftermarket part), and those are not listed here or counted above. nhtsa.gov/recalls shows both for a VIN.

NHTSA defect investigations

Fuel System, Gasoline — Fuel Leak due to Suction Jet Pump Failure within Fuel Tank (Remedy Effectiveness of Recall 16V647) closed

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 fuel leak from the vehicle. This recall covered certain model year (MY) 2015-2016 Volkswagen Golf and Audi A3 passenger car vehicles. The recall remedy repair replaced SJP Version 1.0 with an improved version, Version 1.1. The SJP is designed to purge fuel from the evaporative emissions (EVAP) system. VW’s recall filing stated the SJP may have been damaged during assembly, which c

Opened Dec 12, 2023 · closed Jul 1, 2024 · action RQ23007 · the investigation’s page →

Whether any of this applies to one specific RS 3

A campaign covers a build range, not a model year, so two identical-looking cars from 2018 can differ. Both of these check a VIN against the manufacturer’s own list, free, in about ten seconds. Audi publishes its own lookup because federal rule 49 CFR 573.15 requires it to, and to keep it current to within seven days.

NHTSA VIN check →Audi’s own VIN lookup →

Hear about a recall before the letter does

The manufacturer’s letter is the last step of a recall: it has up to 60 days after filing to mail owners, at the address on the registration. We email you the day NHTSA posts a recall on the 2018 Audi RS 3, with what to do next. Nothing else, ever — no newsletter, no marketing, one-click unsubscribe in every message.

Owner complaints

Source: NHTSA complaint database

13complaints filed

0 involved a crash · 0 a fire · 0 injuries · 0 deaths reported

Filed per year: 2017: 2 · 2020: 1 · 2021: 2 · 2022: 4 · 2023: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2026: 1

Most-cited components

Air Bags 5

Fuel/Propulsion System 4

Engine 2

Lane Departure 2

Electrical System 2

Forward Collision Avoidance 2

In owners' own words

Filed with NHTSA by the people who own these cars, one per problem area. Quoted as written, with anything identifying removed.

Unknown if passenger airbag actually works. Airbag warning light on, passenger seat belt warning on. "Passenger airbag off" illuminated constantly. Causes every electrical system to occasionally report failure

Air Bags Oct 20, 2022 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11490118

Fuel tank may fail or charcoal canister within. Causing you not to be able to fill up the car and if it overflows it’ll spill. Coolant will also miraculously evaporate, even while car is sitting due to water pump

Fuel/Propulsion System Jun 13, 2026 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11743909

Water pump failure at 27,500 miles. Causing coolant leak that progressively got worse. The seal or pump itself failed and is letting coolant escape

Engine Dec 22, 2023 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11561433

Audi pre sence kicked in on an empty street at 30mph. It was daylight on a straight road. The seat belts tightened up with no warning and the car applied hard breaks. Luckily there was no one behind me at the time or I would have definitely been rear ended

Forward Collision Avoidance Mar 4, 2022 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11455233

I have a 5yr old daughter who sits in the backseat on a booster. The booster meets all safety standards, and is one without a back or head support. The typical booster seat that many parents have for this height and weight of their child. If you look at the diagram, there is no locking position at the normal position of the headrest.

Seats Nov 7, 2017 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11044149

The contact owns a 2018 Audi RS3. The contact stated that the passenger air bag off warning light had remained illuminated with an occupant seated in the passenger’s side seat. The contact then received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V198000 (Air Bags).

Air Bags at 42,000 miles Sep 1, 2022 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11482415

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

Source: NHTSA NCAP

Configuration	Overall	Frontal	Side	Rollover	Rollover risk
4 DR AWD	not rated	not rated	not rated	★★★★☆	11%

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program.

Service bulletins & campaigns

Source: NHTSA manufacturer communications

Communicationsfiled with NHTSA 549

Most recentmanufacturer date 2026-09-25

Kindsas classified by NHTSA 544 service bulletins, 5 others

Most often about: Equipment, Electrical System, Unknown Or Other, Engine, Structure.

TSB_2083409_1 Service bulletin
2026-09-25 · Unknown Or Other
This bulletin states that technicians are required to report to the manufacturer when a vehicle has flooded, and specify the height to which the vehicle has been flooded.
TSB_2052680_2 Service bulletin
2026-09-25 · Unknown Or Other
This bulletin provides information for reporting safety related information to the manufacturer.
TSB_2074846_5 Service bulletin
2026-09-22 · Steering
This bulletin provides information about vibrations and rotational steering vibrations.
TSB_2020552_15 Service bulletin
2026-09-22 · Visibility/Wiper
This bulletin provides service information regarding exterior glass cleaning.
TSB_2078648_4 Service bulletin
2026-09-18 · Structure — Body
This bulletin provides information about billing for a broken sunroof glass panel.
TSB_2030471_9 Service bulletin
2026-09-15 · Unknown Or Other
This bulletin provides information when the license plate mounting bracket threded inserts are stripped.
SM 39-2026 Other
2026-09-09 · Unknown Or Other
This special notice is to inform dealers to return the parts listed if it meets the criteria provided.
TSB_2051095_12 Service bulletin
2026-09-08 · Unknown Or Other
This bulletin provides infomraiton abou the Audi frequency analysis application, which is available in the App Store for Android and Apple phones.

A service bulletin is the manufacturer telling its dealers how to diagnose or repair a known condition. It is not a recall, not a finding that the vehicle is defective, and the work is not automatically free — though a bulletin is often what a dealer works from when you describe a symptom, so quoting the document number can save a diagnosis. The count is every communication filed; the list shows the most recent, one entry per campaign, because a single campaign is usually filed as several documents on the same day. The summaries are NHTSA's; the full documents come from the manufacturer.

RS 3 by model year

all years, side by side →

Year Safety Recalls Complaints

2018 this page C 4 13 22 mpg 2017 B 2 1 22 mpg

Common questions about the 2018 RS 3

Source: EPA, NHTSA and manufacturer press kits

Does the 2018 Audi RS 3 have any recalls?

NHTSA has posted 4 recall campaigns for the 2018 Audi RS 3. The most serious on file is 21V198000, covering Air Bags. Check your own VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls; a recall applies to specific build ranges, not every car.

How safe is the 2018 Audi RS 3?

NHTSA has not published a crash-test rating for the 2018 Audi RS 3 yet. On the recall record WhichTrim grades it C (75/100), which measures open and severe recalls rather than crash protection.

What is the fuel economy of the 2018 Audi RS 3?

For the 2018 Audi RS 3, the best EPA combined figure is 22 mpg. Figures are the EPA's own, per configuration, and every one is listed above.

What are the dimensions of the 2018 Audi RS 3?

Transport Canada measured it at 176.4 in long, 70.9 in wide (body, without mirrors), 55.1 in tall, on a 103.5 in wheelbase. Curb weight: 3,505 lb. Those are its measurements of the North American versions; every figure is in the table above.

What do owners complain about on the 2018 Audi RS 3?

Owners have filed 13 complaints with NHTSA about the 2018 Audi RS 3, most often about air bags, fuel/propulsion system, engine. Complaints are unverified owner reports, so treat the pattern as a signal and the individual report as an anecdote.

How clean is the 2018 Audi RS 3?

The EPA smog rating for the 2018 Audi RS 3 is 3 out of 10. That score covers tailpipe pollutants other than greenhouse gases, and it only compares vehicles within the same model year. It is certified for all fifty states, so it can be registered new anywhere in the U.S. Its configurations were certified to different standards — California LEV-III ULEV125, Federal Tier 3 Bin 125 — which the table above lists per configuration.

Are there service bulletins for the 2018 Audi RS 3?

The manufacturer has filed 549 service bulletins and related communications with NHTSA for the 2018 Audi RS 3, most often covering equipment, electrical system, unknown or other. The most recent is dated 2026-09-25. A bulletin is not a recall: it is the repair procedure a manufacturer sends its dealers for a condition it knows about, and the work is not automatically paid for. It is still worth knowing — if the symptom matches, quoting the bulletin number at the service desk can save a diagnosis. The document numbers and summaries are listed above.

What we hold, and what an empty row means

Paid vehicle-history reports will not tell you the difference between “nothing happened to this car” and “we never received that record” — both of the big two say as much in their own help pages. Most of what is on this page comes from complete federal registers, so we can tell you which is which, row by row.

Data	Held	Source	What it covers — or what empty means
Fuel economy & configurations	1 configurations	EPA certification records	Every configuration the EPA certified for sale, with its own test figures.
Emission certificates	1 configurations	EPA emission certificates	Smog rating, standard and the sales area that decides where the car can be sold new.
Recalls	4	NHTSA recall campaigns	A complete federal register: every campaign covering this model year, with severity and advisory flags.
Owner complaints	13	NHTSA complaint database	Also complete, but unverified: these are reports owners filed, not findings. Counts scale with how many were sold.
Crash ratings	1 tested	NHTSA NCAP	Only the configurations NHTSA chose to crash-test, which is never all of them.
Service bulletins	549	NHTSA manufacturer communications	Everything the manufacturer told its dealers about a defect or malfunction, short of a recall.
Investigations	1	NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation	Open and closed defect investigations, with the agency's own narrative.
Driver-assist crash reports	none	NHTSA Standing General Order 2021-01	No report has been filed. Only entities named in the order report, and only crashes they hear of — so this is also what an unequipped car, or a manufacturer without telematics, looks like.
Specifications filed with NHTSA	12 fields	NHTSA vPIC, decoded from VIN patterns	What the manufacturer filed under the federal VIN rule — a configuration, not the full trim ladder.
Measured dimensions	7 fields	Transport Canada, Canadian Vehicle Specifications	Length, width, height, wheelbase, track and curb weight, measured on the North American versions.
Trims, pricing & equipment	none	Manufacturer press kit	We have not transcribed a press kit for this model year yet. This is our gap, not the manufacturer's — the one row here where an empty cell means we are behind.

Rebuilt nightly; this page was generated 2026-10-26. Every figure above is traceable to the source named beside it, and the JSON for this page carries the same values with their identifiers.

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). The most serious recall counts in full and each further one counts 85% of the one before, because a vehicle sold in millions is recalled more often than a rare one without being more dangerous — and because a flat subtraction bottomed the scale out, scoring a vehicle with 22 recalls within a point of one with six. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Read it as what it counts: recall campaigns on the federal record, weighted by severity. The damping reduces the sales bias by roughly 40% but does not remove it: like our complaint counts, this is not normalized by how many were sold, so a best-seller still scores somewhat worse than an obscure model with the same real risk. NHTSA crash ratings, do-not-drive and park-outside advisories, and the crash, fire, injury and death counts in owner complaints are reported separately on every page and never blended into the letter — a vehicle can hold five stars and a poor letter at once, and where that happens we say so rather than leave you to notice. Because the scale subtracts from a clean sheet, a model year too new to have been recalled, complained about or bulletined scores full marks on an empty record; we label those grades provisional rather than present them as earned.

EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records. Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed nightly.

JSON for this page · API

2018 Audi RS 3

Specs & fuel economy

Emissions & certification

Specifications filed with NHTSA

Dimensions Exterior

Engine Basics

Engine Output

Fuel Economy

Seating

Transmission

Driver assistance

Dimensions & weight

Factory warranty running out?

Recalls (4)

Air Bags

Air Bags

Seats

Seats

NHTSA defect investigations

Whether any of this applies to one specific RS 3

Hear about a recall before the letter does

Parts & accessories for the 2018 Audi RS 3

Owner complaints

Most-cited components

In owners' own words

Crash ratings

Service bulletins & campaigns

RS 3 by model year

Common questions about the 2018 RS 3

Does the 2018 Audi RS 3 have any recalls?

How safe is the 2018 Audi RS 3?

What is the fuel economy of the 2018 Audi RS 3?

What are the dimensions of the 2018 Audi RS 3?

What do owners complain about on the 2018 Audi RS 3?

How clean is the 2018 Audi RS 3?

Are there service bulletins for the 2018 Audi RS 3?

What we hold, and what an empty row means

Where to go next

Sources & method