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2017 Audi A4

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2017 Audi A4 do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 76.5.

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How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

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Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.

What owners reported most

All reported categories

Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

Limited mileage data: 11 of 55 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Engine. Review the 22 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Air Bags. Review the 13 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 6 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

2 crash reports0 fire reports0 injury reports

Engine complaints

22 reports
Clear category filter
Mileage unknown · Aug 11, 2022
Electrical SystemEngineUnknown Or Other

Engine light on Dealership found a rodent nest in the engine space in the car. Dealership considers that fluids used to coat Audi engine wiring attract rodents. Dealership considers this to be a health and safety issue. Dealership considers it essential to replace the Audi air filter. Dealership is checking wires to assess any…

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Engine light on Dealership found a rodent nest in the engine space in the car. Dealership considers that fluids used to coat Audi engine wiring attract rodents. Dealership considers this to be a health and safety issue. Dealership considers it essential to replace the Audi air filter. Dealership is checking wires to assess any gnawed damage. I need the engine to be power-washed and the nest area treated w/bleaching agents. I do not have the total estimate on this but it will be greater than $1,000.

NHTSA ODI #11478719

Mileage unknown · Mar 23, 2022
Engine

My 2017 Audi A4 Quattro is now five years old. There is only 26,000 miles on the vehicle. Mostly local miles. I noticed drops of red fluid on the garage floor under the engine compartment. My mechanic investigated and found the issue to be leaking coolant from the thermostat/pump housing. It is obvious that the leak has…

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My 2017 Audi A4 Quattro is now five years old. There is only 26,000 miles on the vehicle. Mostly local miles. I noticed drops of red fluid on the garage floor under the engine compartment. My mechanic investigated and found the issue to be leaking coolant from the thermostat/pump housing. It is obvious that the leak has been occurring for awhile as there is dried white residue all around this area. The engine cover under the engine compartment was all wet with coolant. The coolant reservoir was also low. The car's information system did not indicate an issue, but I am sure it would have eventually (at probably a very inconvenient time and location ! ). I've noticed several other Audi owners complain about this same issue. This will no doubt be an expensive repair which is totally unacceptable for a car like this with such low mileage.

NHTSA ODI #11457993

Mileage unknown · Dec 14, 2021
Engine

Coolant leakage and pump problem for engine cooling. Unit was replaced.

NHTSA ODI #11443772

Mileage unknown · Nov 2, 2021
Engine

This car has a KNOWN issue with the water pump housing leaking well before the expected lifespan of said part/gasket and Audi has not issued a TSB regarding it. It's unacceptable that a luxury car needs such a major repair with few miles (many users are experiencing this well before 40k miles) and if you are out of the original …

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This car has a KNOWN issue with the water pump housing leaking well before the expected lifespan of said part/gasket and Audi has not issued a TSB regarding it. It's unacceptable that a luxury car needs such a major repair with few miles (many users are experiencing this well before 40k miles) and if you are out of the original warranty, you're stuck with a $1k+ bill. My car with just about 47k miles on it has been slowly leaking from this part for about a year now and will need to be fixed soon as my coolant level is dropping steadily.

NHTSA ODI #11439022

Mileage unknown · Nov 2, 2021
Engine

Significant leaking from water pump and thermostat housing.

NHTSA ODI #11439007

Mileage unknown · Jun 9, 2021
EngineFuel/propulsion System

While driving on the highway, there was a message that flashed on the dashboard about the coolant system, within a couple minutes, I felt like the car was shutting down while going 65 miles per hour. So I pulled over on the shoulder of the Turnpike Southbound in Miami. This cased a great safety problem for me, as this happened …

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While driving on the highway, there was a message that flashed on the dashboard about the coolant system, within a couple minutes, I felt like the car was shutting down while going 65 miles per hour. So I pulled over on the shoulder of the Turnpike Southbound in Miami. This cased a great safety problem for me, as this happened while I was driving on the highway then I had to be on the right shoulder of the highway and had to call for road ranger. When the road ranger came to inspect the car, he tried to add coolant and realized that there was a fuel leak, the car would not start, the coolant drained completely out of the car. I then had to call AAA to get the car towed.

NHTSA ODI #11420291

Mileage unknown · May 7, 2021
Engine

CAR LEAKING COOLANT THROUGH THERMOSTAT HOUSING OR COOLANT PUMP

NHTSA ODI #11415546

26,257 miles · Apr 22, 2021
Engine

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 AUDI A4. THE CONTACT STATED THAT HER VEHICLE WAS LEAKING OIL. THERE WAS NO WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO STEVEN CREEK AUDI (751 SOUTH WINCHESTER BLVD, SAN JOSE, CA 95128, (408)551-4870) TO BE DIAGNOSED. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THERE WAS AN ENGINE OIL LEAK LEADING TO THE TURBO CH…

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 AUDI A4. THE CONTACT STATED THAT HER VEHICLE WAS LEAKING OIL. THERE WAS NO WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO STEVEN CREEK AUDI (751 SOUTH WINCHESTER BLVD, SAN JOSE, CA 95128, (408)551-4870) TO BE DIAGNOSED. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THERE WAS AN ENGINE OIL LEAK LEADING TO THE TURBO CHARGER. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE HOWEVER, NO ASSISTANCE WAS PROVIDED. THE VIN WAS NOT UNDER RECALL. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 26,257.

NHTSA ODI #11413446

23,000 miles · Feb 4, 2021
EngineFuel/propulsion System

MY VEHICLE IS LEAKING COOLANT. EVERY 8-10K MILES IT GOES BELOW NORMAL LEVEL IN RESERVOIR . THERE IS A DISTINCT ODOR OF COOLANT EACH TIME I GET OUT OF THE VEHICLE. I HAVE HAD AUDI LOOK AT IT 5 TIMES. THEY CONFIRM THE COOLANT LEVELS ARE LOW AND THEY REFILL IT SAYING THEY CAN'T FIND A LEAK. I AM CONCERN THAT THIS IS A FIRE HAZARD.

NHTSA ODI #11394694

59,000 miles · Nov 27, 2020
Engine

COOLANT RESERVOIR WAS REALLY LOW. FILLED IT RIGHT AWAY BUT IT WENT LOW AGAIN A MONTH AFTER. CONFIRMED FROM OTHER OWNERS EXPERIENCING THE SAME ISSUE.

NHTSA ODI #11376749

Official recalls

1

21V874000 · Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification:front Passenger; Seats

Nov 10, 2021

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.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A disabled passenger air bag increases the risk of injury in the event of a crash.

Remedy: 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.

Additional source detail variants (2)

Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification:front Passenger

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.

Consequence: A disabled passenger air bag increases the risk of injury in the event of a crash.

Remedy: 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.

Seats

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.

Consequence: A disabled passenger air bag increases the risk of injury in the event of a crash.

Remedy: 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.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.