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2019 Audi A4 Recalls & Complaints

1

open safety recall on record

Serious

16 owner complaints filed · Severity Index 1.00 · updated 2026-08-07

The recalls

Serious21V874000

Seats

disabled passenger air bag raises the risk of injury in the event of a crash.

Remedy & full details

Dealers will replace the connecting cable and either the heating mat or entire seat cover, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 7, 2022. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 74E3. This recall is an expansion of Recall 19V-547 (74D9). Vehicles previously repaired under 19V-547 will need to return for the new remedy.

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2017-2020 A4 Allroad, A4 Sedan, 2018-2019 RS5 Coupe, 2019 RS5 Sportback, 2018-2020 A5 Cabriolet, A5 Coupe, A5 Sportback, S4 Sedan, S5 Cabriolet, S5 Coupe, and Audi S5 Sportback vehicles. The cable connecting the seat heater to the Passenger Occupant Detection System (PODS) may have a contact fault, causing the software to misdiagnose a malfunction and disable the passenger air bag.

Complaint volume

16 this model-year 14 median, same year

Volume alone is not a fault rate — popular vehicles attract more reports. Read it next to the severity mix below.

Complaints filed16
Reporting a crash4
Reporting a fire0
Injuries reported2
Deaths reported0
Severity Index1.00

Severity Index weights each complaint's reported outcome (death ×10, injury ×4, fire ×3, crash ×2) and divides by total complaints. It measures how severe reports are, not how often faults occur.

What owners report most

  1. Electrical System — 3 reports
  2. Unknown Or Other — 3 reports
  3. Engine — 2 reports
  4. Forward Collision Avoidance: Warnings — 1 reports
  5. Back Over Prevention: Warnings — 1 reports
  6. Air Bags — 1 reports
  7. Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking — 1 reports
  8. Fuel/Propulsion System — 1 reports
  9. Fuel System, Gasoline — 1 reports
  10. Service Brakes — 1 reports

What to do

  1. Find your 17-character VIN on the driver's door jamb or the base of the windscreen.
  2. Check it against NHTSA's official lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls — the authoritative record for your exact car.
  3. Book the repair with any franchised dealer. Safety recall work is free, with no time limit and regardless of who owns the car now.

Other model years

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Questions

Does an open recall mean the car is unsafe to drive?

Not usually. NHTSA issues a "do not drive" or "park outside" advisory when a defect is dangerous enough to keep you out of the car — those are flagged Critical above. Everything else should be repaired promptly but is not an immediate stop-driving order.

Do I pay for recall repairs?

No. Federal law requires the manufacturer to fix a safety recall free of charge, including parts and labour, whether or not you are the original owner.

Why are there complaints but no recalls?

Complaints are unverified reports filed by owners. They can prompt an investigation, but many never become recalls — either the fault isn't safety-related or it isn't widespread.