Problems · NHTSA complaints
2018 Audi RS3 problems
Owners filed 13 complaints about the 2018 Audi RS3 with NHTSA between Nov 2017 and Jun 2026. The most-cited component is air bags (5).
Complaints
13
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
0
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
People reported injured
Deaths
0
Reported to NHTSA
Complaints by component
One complaint can cite several components
- Air bags5
- Fuel/propulsion system4
- Engine2
- Electrical system2
- Lane departure2
- Seat belts1
- Forward collision avoidance1
- Back over prevention1
- Power train1
- Vehicle speed control1
- Seats1
- Other / unknown2
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Nov 10, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
When complaints were filed
Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
2
0
0
1
2
4
1
1
1
1
View as table
| Model year | Complaints filed per calendar year |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 2 |
| 2018 | 0 |
| 2019 | 0 |
| 2020 | 1 |
| 2021 | 2 |
| 2022 | 4 |
| 2023 | 1 |
| 2024 | 1 |
| 2025 | 1 |
| 2026 | 1 |
Mileage at failure isn’t a structured field in NHTSA complaint data, so we don’t chart it. Some owners mention it in their reports below.
Top problems in owners’ words
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
Air bags
5 reports1 related recall
“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.”
Fuel/propulsion system
4 reports
“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 [XXX] water pump.”
Engine
2 reports
“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”
Electrical system
2 reports
“The vehicle has frequent intermittent failure of the airbag systems, safety systems, and blind spot monitoring systems. I receive frequent "Safety system: malfunction! See owner's manual." as-well as "Audi pre sense: currently restricted. See owner's manual." messages appear on my dashboard. I have contacted Audi Service departments numerous times and have been told that they wont take a look at the issue and while knowing it exists, have said they cant do anything to help. I have been advised that my airbags do not work and as such I should not have any passengers in the vehicle. This is not just dangerous, but insulting and comical for spending so much money on a vehicle, with the purpose of transporting multiple individuals. I fear for my safety all whilst having no viable options for a fix or any recourse. This has been going on for years now.”
Lane departure
2 reports
“IN MAY OF 2018 THE VEHICLE WAS BROUGHT IN FOR THE PODS RECALL, ONLY PROMPTING SAFETY SYSTEM AND AIRBAG MALFUNCTIONS TO HAPPEN WITH INCREASED OCCURRENCE. FROM MAY OF 2019 TO APRIL OF 2020 THE VEHICLE WAS BROUGHT IN SOMETHING LIKE FOUR TIMES TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE, AGAIN ONLY MAKING THE ISSUE WORSE. OVER THE LAST 6 MONTHS THE VEHICLE HAS GOTTEN TO THE POINT WHERE IT ALMOST ALWAYS HAS "SAFETY SYSTEM MALFUNCTION" "PRE SENSE: CURRENTLY RESTRICTED" AND AN AIRBAG DASH LIGHT WHENEVER THERE IS A PASSENGER IN THE CAR. THE CARS AIRBAGS AND OTHER SAFETY SYSTEMS DO NOT WORK. AUDI HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO FIX THIS ISSUE. ALL DESPITE COUNTLESS SERVICE VISITS, AND COUNTLESS TIMES BEING TOLD NOTHING IS WRONG OR IT HAS BEEN FIXED. EVERY-TIME I HAVE GOTTEN THE VEHICLE BACK IT IS EVEN WORSE, AND MORE UNSAFE. THE LAST ATTEMPT TO FIX IT (10/27/2020), UPON GETTING THE VEHICLE BACK THE MOMENT A PASSENGER SAT IN THE PASSENGER SEAT ALL THE AIRBAGS BECAME DISABLED AND THE DASH LIT UP. THE ISSUE HAPPENS WHILE DRIVING AND WHILE STATIONARY. IT HAPPENS BOTH WITH JUST THE DRIVER AS-WELL AS WITH PASSENGERS IN THE VEHICLE. SOMETIMES IT IS INTERMITTENT, WHILE OTHER TIMES IT PERSISTS THROUGHOUT THE DRIVE.”
Seat belts
1 report
“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.”
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 10, 2026
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.