in a dilemma since audi canada won't help and transport canada said they can't do anything. here's the rundown (leaving out the timeframes):

vehicle showed seat belt sign and 'safety system malfunction' error in console, took to dealer for diagnosis.
dealer repaired the fault by securing the airbag module under passenger seat with cable ties. repairs were not covered under warranty. dealer removed seat to perform repairs.

came home and searched the fault mentioned in service invoice B1225F1, found that a TSB was issued in US. TSB mentions seat need not be removed. found the corresponding recall in canada 2019-361.
phoned audi canada but they said that VIN was not covered by recall.

so, phoned transport canada to ask why the VIN was not covered despite having exactly the same issue and repairs as mentioned in the TSB. they said they will raise issue with audi canada.
upon requesting an update from transport canada, was informed that audi canada informed them that repairs were done related to the recall in jan 2020 (why did they say earlier that VIN was not covered then?). so transport canada said that since recall repairs were performed and issue resurfaced, it comes under regular repairs and not recall repairs anymore.

vehicle was not owned by me in jan 2020 but dealer had provided service history. repairs related to the recall are not mentioned in the service history anywhere.
phoned transport canada again that no related service was found, they said they cannot ask audi to present proof of repairs and that they have to believe that audi did repairs because they said so.

phoned audi canada and they said they cannot release proof of service history since vehicle was owned by another person during the recall repairs and that the service history is confidential. however, one can buy vehicle history reports from 3rd party services, why does confidentiality not come into play there?

looking for guidance to help understand this confusion, something is definitely fishy here. also looking for steps forward to address this issue for good.
happy to answer questions.

 

***issue resolved***

complained to local authorities (consumer protection, business bureau, etc.) and MAGICALLY the repairs, which initially did not qualify for warranty, are now covered under warranty.

not sus at all, not sus at all...

 

thanks for sharing