Placed my backpack with laptop on the passenger seat and the passenger seat sensor went all wonky. "Audi presense system fault" appeared on the dash.

Took it into the dealer for the 45k service, replaced under warranty.

Below is what they wrote in my invoice:

THE CUSTOMER REPORTS AN ERROR APPEARS THAT SAYS AUDI PRESENSE SYSTEM FAULT. NO OTHER WARNING LIGHTS, DOES NOT NOTICE SYMPTOMS

CAUSE: PRESENCE FAULT 69561951 Seat-occupied sensor remove+reinstall 144688 W 1 8V0-898-522-J REP.KIT 23 N-015-261-2 CLAMP 74131950 Front seat cover remove+reinstall 144688 W 72011900 Front seat remove+reinstall 144688 W FC: 695616002002 PART#: 8V0-898-522-J COUNT: CLAIM TYPE: 110 AUTH CODE: 695619 PARTS: 0.00 LABOR:0.00 OTHER:0.00

Verified complaint, connected charger and scanned vehicle fault memory, found faults in airbag for B12251B 1 Seat occupied recognition sensor mat Resistance too high B102229 1 Passenger occupant detection system control module Implausible signal cause pre-sense to not function. followed test plan for passenger seat recognition, per test plan replace seat occupancy detector. followed instructions to remove seat and then removed leather cover by cutting hog rings and remove seat occupancy detector and control unit. replaced foam with occupancy detector and installed leather. after replacement performed basic settings and test drove vehicle. checked faults after drive cycle, airbag light no longer present and pre-sense now working properly

Let me start by saying I've had two 2015 Audi A3's: one Prestige and one Premium Plus. I totaled the Prestige but that's beyond the point... The point is that I had this same issue happen to BOTH vehicles with the same trigger: putting my backpack on the passenger seat with my laptop in it. Once I did that, the passenger seat sensor went wonky triggering "Audi Pre-Sense Malfunction" on the dash along with the passenger airbag being disabled.

My first A3, happened around 40k miles, was still under warranty, didn't worry about it. My second, around 85k miles, is not under warranty. My second has already had the PODS recall done to it and Audi was not willing to fix this. I paid $230 for their diagnosis to be they found “fault B12251B passive detection system mat resistance too high. Performed test plan and traced cause to internal malfunction of the Passenger Occupant Detection System. Recommend starting off with replacing the Passenger Occupant Detection system”. Quoted around $1200 to fix....