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NHTSA campaign 23V084000 · manufacturer recall 69ET

2022–2023 Audi A8 and 1 other Audi model: air bags recall

In a crash, an incorrectly folded air bag can deploy with too much force, increasing the risk of injury to a child or small person who is seated and unbelted on the front passenger seat and very close to the instrument panel.

high 1,047 vehicles affected FMVSS 208 98% reported repaired

What was reported

Source: manufacturer filing, 49 CFR Part 573
Problem Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2022-2023 S8 and A8 vehicles. During air bag assembly, the front-passenger occupant protection flap of the air bag may not have been folded correctly. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection." Risk In a crash, an incorrectly folded air bag can deploy with too much force, increasing the risk of injury to a child or small person who is seated and unbelted on the front passenger seat and very close to the instrument panel. Fix Dealers will replace the front-passenger air bag module, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed April 14, 2023. Owners may contact Audi's customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 69ET.

Reported to NHTSA Feb 15, 2023 by Volkswagen Group of America, Inc, owners notified Apr 13, 2023.

What that means, in plain English

Source: WhichTrim's reading of the filing above — not NHTSA's wording

An incorrectly folded airbag that deploys with excessive force materially reduces occupant protection in a crash, but it does not take control of the vehicle away from the driver or pose an immediate fire/explosion risk, placing it in the high category.

Written for us by a language model from the manufacturer's filed text, which is quoted in full above. Where the two differ, the filing is the record and this is only our summary of it.

The fix, from the dealer bulletin

Source: NHTSA remedy instructions and dealer notice
Stop-sale Yes: the bulletin says the vehicle may not be sold or delivered until repaired
Remedy Instructions filed: the dealer bulletin exists

Parts named

Part numberDescriptionQty
4N0-880-204-HAIRBAG VIN to Order

Special tools

  • Pry lever -80-200-
  • (or equivalent) Wedge Set -T10383-
  • (or equivalent) Trim Removal Wedge -3409-

Torque

  • • Torque new bolts <1> and <3> to 8 Nm

The advisory, as filed: “New Vehicles in Dealer Inventory: It is a violation of federal law for a dealer to deliver a new motor vehicle or any new or used item of motor vehicle equipment (including a tire) covered by this notification under a sale or lease until the defect or noncompliance is remedied.”

Read from NHTSA’s copy of the manufacturer’s dealer documents (manufacturer campaign 69ET). The procedure itself is in the bulletin; a franchised dealer has the current copy on the manufacturer’s portal, and that copy governs. Working a lot or a fleet? Recall Watch carries this line on every VIN it checks: remedy status, hours, stop-sale.

Which vehicles are covered

Source: NHTSA campaign 23V084000
Model yearClassSafety SignalRecalls on file
2022 Audi A8Large SedanB3
2023 Audi A8Large SedanB2
2022 Audi S8Large SedanB3
2023 Audi S8Large SedanB2

Those are the model years inside WhichTrim's range, 2016 onward. The campaign may cover others outside it, and the only thing that settles whether one specific vehicle is included is its VIN.

How much of it has been fixed

Source: manufacturer quarterly report, 49 CFR 573.7
Reported repaired 98%

of the campaign

The final figure: the six quarters of reporting that 49 cfr 573.7 requires have closed.

This is the manufacturer's own cumulative count of vehicles it has inspected and repaired, divided by the vehicles the campaign covers. It files that count with NHTSA every quarter for six consecutive quarters, starting from the quarter in which owners were told a remedy was ready, and then the obligation ends — so a figure on an older campaign is where the count stopped, not where it stands today.

It rarely reaches 100%, and not because the work was not done. The same report asks manufacturers to count vehicles they could not reach at all — exported, stolen, scrapped, or simply never located — and those stay in the denominator. A low number means a lot of these vehicles are still out there unrepaired; it does not tell you which ones.

The federal paperwork

Source: nhtsa.gov

Check one specific vehicle

A recall applies to a build range, so year, make and model cannot settle it. Type the VIN and the WhichTrim recall report checks this campaign’s build window and engine against it.

Campaign 23V084000 · the manufacturer calls it 69ET

Own one, or run a fleet? Recall Watch checks each VIN against every new NHTSA campaign and emails you when one lands, this one's expansions included. Or take a free one-line alert by model year.

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A recall covers a build range. Only your VIN settles it.

Check it with the WhichTrim recall report now, or have us check it every night and email you when something new is filed.

Photo: Taiga Miyamoto / Unsplash

Common questions

Source: NHTSA, 49 CFR Part 573

Is 69ET the same recall as 23V084000?

Yes. 69ET is the number Volkswagen Group of America, Inc uses for this campaign in its own paperwork and in the letter it sends owners. 23V084000 is the number NHTSA files it under. One recall, two references — dealers and service departments generally quote the manufacturer's.

Does this recall repair cost anything?

No. Federal law requires the manufacturer to remedy a safety defect or a compliance failure at no charge, for vehicles up to 15 years old measured from the date of first sale. A dealer that asks you to pay for a recall repair is in the wrong.

How do I know whether my vehicle is included?

By VIN, not by model year. The manufacturer files a build range with NHTSA and only vehicles inside it are covered, so two identical-looking cars from the same year can differ. NHTSA's own lookup checks a VIN against the manufacturer's list.

What if the repair is not available yet?

It happens, and often. Manufacturers must notify owners when a defect is found even if the parts or the software are not ready, then notify them a second time once the remedy exists. The remedy filed for this campaign is described above.

What did the manufacturer say was wrong?

The problem, risk and fix quoted on this page are the manufacturer's own words as filed with NHTSA under 49 CFR Part 573. WhichTrim does not paraphrase them.

Who started this recall?

NHTSA's record credits the manufacturer. A recall can begin with the manufacturer's own testing, with a defect investigation, or with a compliance test against a Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard.