Summary:
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 Crash Protection."
What should you do:
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).
"One month after purchasing my car, I found a plastic undercarriage guard piece hanging slightly from the bottom of the vehicle, so I popped it back in to place. I had to continue doing so about every 2-3 weeks, but after about the fifth time I just pulled the whole thing off. When I searched the issue online to see if removing it might cause issues, one Reddit user said the first thing Audi owners should do is throw the piece in the dumpster. The comment had around 100 upvotes, so Id venture to say its a common problem."
Anonymous A., TX (2021 Audi A5 2.0T 2.0-L 4 Cyl turbo)