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2022 Audi S3

Gas Compact car

2026202520242023202220202019201820172016
Specs & fuel economyRecallsComplaintsCrash ratings
F
Safety Signal
44 / 100
FSafety Signal · 44 / 100
7Recalls · NHTSA campaigns
2Complaints · owner reports
Crash rating · NHTSA overall
27 mpgFuel economy · best combined

The 2022 Audi S3 is sold in the U.S. as a gas compact car. The most efficient version, the S3, is EPA-rated at 27 mpg combined. NHTSA lists 7 recall campaigns for this model year, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of F. Owners have filed 2 complaints, most often about seat belts.

Specs & fuel economy (EPA)

ConfigurationPowertrainDriveEngine / motorCityHwyCombAnnual fuel*
S3GasAWD2.0L 4-cyl turbo233227$2,850

*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year and EPA reference fuel/electricity prices. Source: fueleconomy.gov vehicle records.

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Recalls (7)

Back Over Prevention

high
2,607 vehicles

Problem: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2022 Golf R A8, Audi S3, RS3 Sedan, Q4 E-Tron SUV, A3 Sedan, and 2022-2023 Volkswagen Golf GTI, and ID4 vehicles. The rearview camera image may be blank or unresponsive when the vehicle is placed in reverse gear or when the park function is manually activated. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."

Risk: An inoperative rearview camera display can reduce the driver's rear visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.

Fix: Dealers will replace the rearview camera, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed to Audi owners February 14, 2023. Volkswagen owners will receive an owner notification letter once remedy parts become available. Owners may contact Volkswagen's customer service at 1-800-893-5298 and Audi's customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are (Volkswagen) 91EK and (Audi) 91EL.

NHTSA campaign 22V823000 · reported Nov 2, 2022 · Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

Back Over Prevention

high
6,076 vehicles

Problem: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2021-2022 AUDI A8, A6 Allroad, E-TRON Quattro, 2022 S3, RSQ8, RS7, RS6 Avant, Q8, Q7, Q3, E-TRON Sportback Quattro, S5 Cabriolet, E-TRON GT, S5 Sportback, A7, A6, A5 Sportback, A5 Cabriolet, A4, A4 Allroad, A3, S8, SQ7, SQ8, S6, and S4 vehicles. The infotainment main unit may become damaged internally when the vehicle is shut off, resulting in an inoperative rearview camera display the next time the vehicle is started. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."

Risk: An inoperative rearview camera display reduces the driver's rear visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.

Fix: Dealers will replace the infotainment main unit, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 6, 2022. Owners may contact Audi's customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 91Ei.

NHTSA campaign 22V806000 · reported Oct 26, 2022 · Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

Air Bags

high
4,117 vehicles

Problem: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2022 Audi S3, A3, and RS3 vehicles. The front passenger air bag may have been folded incorrectly.

Risk: An incorrectly folded air bag can tear, prohibiting it from deploying properly during a crash, increasing the risk of an injury.

Fix: Dealers will replace the front passenger air bag module, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 13, 2022. Owners may contact Audi's customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 69DZ.

NHTSA campaign 22V652000 · reported Aug 29, 2022 · Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

Seat Belts

high
2,584 vehicles

Problem: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2022 Audi S3 and A3 sedans. The retention force of the seat belt tensioner on the driver and front passenger seats may be inadequate to properly restrain the occupants during a crash.

Risk: Improperly restrained occupants have an increased risk of injury during a crash.

Fix: Dealers will replace the driver and front passenger seat belt assemblies, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 15, 2022. Owners may contact Audi's customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 68i2.

NHTSA campaign 22V515000 · reported Jul 20, 2022 · Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

Child Seat

high
466 vehicles

Problem: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2022 A3 Sedan and S3 Sedan vehicles. The child seat anchorage fitting sleeves are incorrectly marked with a different symbol than the one described in the owner's manual. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 225, "Child Restraint Anchorage Systems."

Risk: An incorrectly marked child restraint anchorage may cause confusion during child seat installation, resulting in a child seat being improperly secured and increasing the risk of injury during a crash.

Fix: Dealers will replace all four fitting sleeves, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May24, 2022. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 72M7.

NHTSA campaign 22V224000 · reported Apr 6, 2022 · Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

Back Over Prevention

high
2,857 vehicles

Problem: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2021 Audi A8 and S8, 2022 Audi A5 Sportback, A4 Sedan, E-Tron GT, Q3, Q5, RS6 Avant, A3 Sedan, S5 Sportback, Q5 Sportback, Q7, Q8, RSQ8, SQ7, SQ8, and S3 Sedan vehicles. A software error may prevent the rear-view image from initially displaying when the vehicle begins to reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."

Risk: A rear-view camera that does not display an image reduces the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash.

Fix: Dealers will update the infotainment unit parameters, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 9, 2021. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 91CR.

NHTSA campaign 21V825000 · reported Oct 20, 2021 · Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

Seat Belts

high
45,496 vehicles

Problem: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Volkswagen ID4, Audi A4 Allroad, A4 Sedan, A5 Cabriolet, A5 Coupe, A5 Sportback, A6 Allroad, A6 Sedan, A7, A8, E-Tron Quattro, E-Tron Sportback Quattro, Q3, Q5, Q5 Sportback, Q7, Q8, RS5 Sportback, RS5 Coupe, RS6 Avant, RS7, RSQ8, S4 Sedan, S5 Cabriolet, S5 Coupe, S5 Sportback, S6 Sedan, S7, S8, SQ5, SQ5 Sportback, SQ7, SQ8, and 2021-2022 S3 Sedan vehicles. The rear seat belt automatic locking retractors may deactivate early, which can prevent the child restraint system from securing properly. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208, "Occupant Cr

Risk: An unsecured child restraint system can increase the risk of injury during a crash.

Fix: Dealers will inspect, and replace as necessary, the middle-rear seat belt assemblies, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 27, 2021. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298 and Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 69CR (VW) and 69CS (Audi).

NHTSA campaign 21V606000 · reported Aug 5, 2021 · Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

Owner complaints

2 complaints filed

0 involved a crash, 0 a fire, 0 injuries, 0 deaths reported by owners.

Filed by year — 2022: 1 · 2026: 1

Most-cited components

  • Seat Belts — 1
  • Air Bags — 1
  • Electrical System — 1
  • Power Train — 1
  • Vehicle Speed Control — 1
“2022 Audi S3 (8Y), ~35,000 miles. Vehicle developed “Gear selector malfunction. You may continue driving.â€� Dealer stated failure would eventually leave vehicle stranded. Gear selector replaced under partial goodwill. Immediately afterward, vehicle began experiencing communication faults U123100 and U123000 gateway …”Feb 6, 2026 · Electrical System · NHTSA owner report
“The contact owns a 2022 AUDI S3. The contact received recall notification of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 22V515000 (Seat Belts) and 22V652000 (Air Bags) however, the parts to do the recall repairs were not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amou…”Sep 28, 2022 · Seat Belts · NHTSA owner report

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 S3 model years

A

2026 S3

0 recalls · 0 complaints

A

2025 S3

0 recalls · 0 complaints

A

2024 S3

0 recalls · 2 complaints

A

2023 S3

1 recalls · 0 complaints

A

2020 S3

1 recalls · 1 complaints

A

2019 S3

1 recalls · 2 complaints

A

2018 S3

1 recalls · 5 complaints

B

2017 S3

2 recalls · 9 complaints

C

2016 S3

3 recalls · 14 complaints

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 44229). Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed weekly.

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