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2012 Audi S4

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Limited comparison data

There is not enough comparable history to draw a useful model-year comparison.

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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: 19 of 22 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.

  • Power Train. Review the 14 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Fuel/propulsion System. Review the 5 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 3 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

0 crash reports2 fire reports0 injury reports

Power Train complaints

14 reports
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98,000 miles · Sep 27, 2019
Power Train

CIRCUIT BOARD ON THE MECHATRONICS UNIT FAILED AND CAR IS UNDER 100K MILES. SUDDEN SHAKING AND BANGING ON THE HIGHWAY WHEN GIVING IT GAS ABOVE 30. FREQUENT JOLTS, DANGEROUS TO DRIVE...

NHTSA ODI #11258596

64,000 miles · Aug 24, 2019
Power Train

THE DSG TRANSMISSION IN MY AUDI S4 EXPERIENCES ABRUPT JERKING FROM 2ND TO 1ST GREAT WHILE DECELERATING. IT ALSO JERKS AND FEELS LIKE IT IS BEING HIT WHILE SHIFTING FROM 1ST TO 2ND WHEN ACCELERATING NORMALLY.

NHTSA ODI #11246180

107,592 miles · Jan 29, 2019
Power Train

THE GEARBOX MALFUNCTION SCREEN ON THE DASH SHOWED UP OUT OF NOWHERE THEN FOLLOWED BY A PARKING BRAKE MALFUNCTION THEN THE CAR GOES INTO NEUTRAL AND JUST SITS THERE REVVING THE ENGINE. I TRY TO PUT IT IN NEUTRAL THEN DRIVE BUT THE LEVER GETS STUCK AND I CANT MOVE TO DRIVE. THIS FIRST HAPPEN IN THE HIGHWAY AND I COULDN'T DO ANYTHI…

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THE GEARBOX MALFUNCTION SCREEN ON THE DASH SHOWED UP OUT OF NOWHERE THEN FOLLOWED BY A PARKING BRAKE MALFUNCTION THEN THE CAR GOES INTO NEUTRAL AND JUST SITS THERE REVVING THE ENGINE. I TRY TO PUT IT IN NEUTRAL THEN DRIVE BUT THE LEVER GETS STUCK AND I CANT MOVE TO DRIVE. THIS FIRST HAPPEN IN THE HIGHWAY AND I COULDN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT AND I KNOW THIS CAR HAS HIGH MILEAGE BUT LOOKING AT IT THIS TRANSMISSION HAS PROBLEMS ALL THE WAY TO THE 2016 MODELS. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE LOOKED AT BECAUSE THIS IS A POTENTIAL HAZARD AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS

NHTSA ODI #11172981

102,000 miles · Sep 17, 2018
Power Train

WHILE DRIVING TODAY ON THE HIGHWAY MY 2012 AUDI S4 EXPERIENCED THE COMMON DSG GEARBOX MALFUNCTION ALERT ALONG WOTH THE TPMS FAULT LIGHT. ON THE HIGHWAY LOOSING ALL POWER AND CAUSING THE VEHICLE SLOW DRASTICALLY WHILE IN TRAFFIC NEARLY CAUSING AN ACCIDENT. THE AMOUNT OF COMPLAINTS ON THIS SAME ISSUE IS ASTONISHING THAT AUDI HAS N…

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WHILE DRIVING TODAY ON THE HIGHWAY MY 2012 AUDI S4 EXPERIENCED THE COMMON DSG GEARBOX MALFUNCTION ALERT ALONG WOTH THE TPMS FAULT LIGHT. ON THE HIGHWAY LOOSING ALL POWER AND CAUSING THE VEHICLE SLOW DRASTICALLY WHILE IN TRAFFIC NEARLY CAUSING AN ACCIDENT. THE AMOUNT OF COMPLAINTS ON THIS SAME ISSUE IS ASTONISHING THAT AUDI HAS NOT TAKING CARE IF THIS YET. THIS MALFUNCTION CAN CAUSE A SERIOUS ACCIDENT, ITS TIME TO RECALL THE DSG TRANSMISSION AND FIX THE ISSUE!!!!!! AS WELL AS REIMBURSEMENT FOR ALL THE PEOPLE WHO SPEND THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TRYING TO DIAGNOSE THE ISSUE, AUDI WILL TRY TO MAKE YOU PAY UPWARDS OF $5,000 TO $10,000 IN REPAIRS RATHER THAN DO THE RIGHT THING AND FIX THE PROBLEM.

NHTSA ODI #11130019

67,000 miles · May 18, 2018
Electrical SystemPower TrainUnknown Or Other

WHILE DRIVING IN TRAFFIC, MY CAR DROPPED INTO LOWER GEARS AND STOPPED MOVING, AND TWO ERROR CODES POPPED UP "GEARBOX MALFUNCTION" AND "TPMS MALFUNCTION". LOOKING THIS UP ONLINE AND DISCUSSING WITH MY MECHANIC, THIS IS SOMETHING HAPPENING IN A LOT OF THE CARS THAT ARE THIS MAKE & MODEL AND HAVE THE SAME TRANSMISSION.

NHTSA ODI #11096667

61,000 miles · Apr 8, 2018
Power Train

AT ~61,000 MILES THE 2012 AUDI S4 STARTED DRIVING ROUGH IN LOW GEARS. THE CAR HAS HESITATION ISSUES FOLLOWED BY & JERKY ACCELERATION/DECELERATION IN LOW GEARS OUT OF & INTO A STOP. THE REVERSE GEAR HAS SIMILAR HESITATION & JERKY ACCELERATION. CAR THEN STARTED PERIODICALLY DISPLAYING THE MESSAGE: GEARBOX MALFUNCTION: YOU CAN …

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AT ~61,000 MILES THE 2012 AUDI S4 STARTED DRIVING ROUGH IN LOW GEARS. THE CAR HAS HESITATION ISSUES FOLLOWED BY & JERKY ACCELERATION/DECELERATION IN LOW GEARS OUT OF & INTO A STOP. THE REVERSE GEAR HAS SIMILAR HESITATION & JERKY ACCELERATION. CAR THEN STARTED PERIODICALLY DISPLAYING THE MESSAGE: GEARBOX MALFUNCTION: YOU CAN CONTINUE DRIVING DEALER DIAGNOSED THE ERROR CODE AS P179E - DRIVE POSITION SENSOR ELECTRICAL ERROR, WHICH IS TSB 2032211/1

NHTSA ODI #11083899

86,000 miles · Jan 3, 2018
Power Train

"TAKATA RECALL" I WAS DRIVING MY CAR WHEN I GOT THE 'GEARBOX MALFUNCTION" ON MY DASH AND A CHECK ENGINE LIGHT. IT THEN SAID THAT REVERSE WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE CAR WENT LIMP AND WHEN SHIFTING INTO 2ND GEAR FROM 1ST GEAR WOULD REV TO VERY HIGH RPMS AND THEN FINALLY SHIFT. I WOULD NOT GO ABOVE 40 MPH AND WAS SLOW TO MOVE FROM A …

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"TAKATA RECALL" I WAS DRIVING MY CAR WHEN I GOT THE 'GEARBOX MALFUNCTION" ON MY DASH AND A CHECK ENGINE LIGHT. IT THEN SAID THAT REVERSE WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE CAR WENT LIMP AND WHEN SHIFTING INTO 2ND GEAR FROM 1ST GEAR WOULD REV TO VERY HIGH RPMS AND THEN FINALLY SHIFT. I WOULD NOT GO ABOVE 40 MPH AND WAS SLOW TO MOVE FROM A STOP. I TOOK IT TO THE AUDI DEALERSHIP AND THEY TOLD ME IT WAS THE MECHATRONIC UNIT. I WAS INFORMED THAT IT COST $5,400.00 DOLLARS FOR THEM TO REPLACE THE UNIT. I AM JUST BAFFLED AS TO WHY A CAR THAT IS ONLY 6 YEARS IN AGE AND HAS ONLY 86,000 MILES ON IT HAS AN ELECTRICAL PART THAT IS GOING OUT SO SOON. AUDI CLAIMS TO MAKE THE BEST DSG TRANSMISSION IN THE EUROPEAN PLATFORM, YET MANY HAVE HAD THIS ISSUE WITH THE MECHATRONIC UNIT AND YET AUDI HASNT CHOSEN TO WARRANY IT OR EVEN GIVE THE OPTION TO COVER THE DRIVETRAIN AS A WHOLE. A CAR THAT IS $40,000.00 RETAIL NEW SHOULD NOT HAVE THIS KIND OF ISSUE WITHIN ITS EARLY LIFETIME. AND IF THIS IS A MECHANICAL ITEM THAT IS GOING TO FAILURE SO SOON THEN WHY NOT ATLEAST COVER IT OR ASSIST WITH AN ALTERNATIVE TRANSMISSION EXTENDED WARRANTY.

NHTSA ODI #11058266

76,000 miles · Nov 16, 2017
Power Train

WHILE DRIVING APPROACHING A STOPLIGHT, I RECEIVED A "GEARBOX MALFUNCTION. OK TO CONTINUE DRIVING WITH LIMITED FUNCTIONALITY" ERROR. THE CAR THEN BARELY ACCELERATED AND I COULD NOT GO MORE THAN 20MPH (I WAS ON A BUSY ROAD SPEED LIMIT 35MPH BUT EVERYONE GOES ABOUT 50). I WAS ABLE TO FINALLY GET IT TO DRIVE WELL ENOUGH TO GET IT …

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WHILE DRIVING APPROACHING A STOPLIGHT, I RECEIVED A "GEARBOX MALFUNCTION. OK TO CONTINUE DRIVING WITH LIMITED FUNCTIONALITY" ERROR. THE CAR THEN BARELY ACCELERATED AND I COULD NOT GO MORE THAN 20MPH (I WAS ON A BUSY ROAD SPEED LIMIT 35MPH BUT EVERYONE GOES ABOUT 50). I WAS ABLE TO FINALLY GET IT TO DRIVE WELL ENOUGH TO GET IT TO THE DEALER. DEALER SAID IT NEEDS A NEW CIRCUIT BOARD WHICH IS NOT COVERED BY ONLY THE POWER TRAIN WARRANTY, AS IT IS CONSIDERED AN ELECTRONIC COMPONENT.

NHTSA ODI #11046617

76,000 miles · Jul 6, 2017
Power Train

PREMATURE TRANSMISSION MECHATRONIC FAILURE. CAR UNABLE TO REVERSE DURING A 3 POINT TURN IN A ROADWAY ACROSS TRAIN TRACKS. SINCE NEW THE CAR HAD A CLUNKY TRANSMISSION. IT PROGRESSIVELY GOT WORSE BUT WHEN BROUGHT TO THE DEALER IT WAS ALWAYS, "OPERATING WITHIN MANUFACTURER'S SPECIFICATIONS" THIS IS THE 2ND AUDI IN A ROW THAT HAS…

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PREMATURE TRANSMISSION MECHATRONIC FAILURE. CAR UNABLE TO REVERSE DURING A 3 POINT TURN IN A ROADWAY ACROSS TRAIN TRACKS. SINCE NEW THE CAR HAD A CLUNKY TRANSMISSION. IT PROGRESSIVELY GOT WORSE BUT WHEN BROUGHT TO THE DEALER IT WAS ALWAYS, "OPERATING WITHIN MANUFACTURER'S SPECIFICATIONS" THIS IS THE 2ND AUDI IN A ROW THAT HAS BEEN BROUGHT IN MULTIPLE TIMES FOR A PROBLEM THAT THE DEALER CLAIMS ISN'T A PROBLEM AND IS "OPERATING IN SPECS OF THE MANUFACTURER".

NHTSA ODI #11003525

39,000 miles · Jun 14, 2017
Power Train

DSG TRANSMISSION IS SHIFTING VERY ROUGH AND SOMETIMES SLIPS. ALSO LURCHES FORWARD SUDDENLY FROM A STOP CAUSING THE CAR TO LUNGE FORWARD.

NHTSA ODI #10995256

Official recalls

1

15V019000 · Fuel System, Gasoline:fuel Injection System:fuel Rail

Jan 20, 2015

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 Audi S4, S5, Q7, 2012 Audi A6, Volkswagen Touareg Hybrid, and 2012-2013 Audi A7 vehicles. In the affected vehicles the fuel injection system may experience a fuel leak.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A fuel leak in the injection system in the presence of an ignition source, increases the risk of a fire.

Remedy: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel rails and corresponding seals, free of charge. The recall began on March 17, 2015. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-822-2834 or Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 24AP for Audi customers and 24BK for Volkswagen customers.

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.