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2013 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

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

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

29 reports with mileage · 4 unknown

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.

  • Steering. Review the 19 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Power Train. Review the 9 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Engine. Review the 4 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 reports0 fire reports0 injury reports

What owners actually said

33 reports
38,500 miles · Nov 8, 2016
Power Train

THE PROBLEMS STARTED BY A WARNING ON MY DISPLAY SAYING TO PULL OVER GEAR BOX OR TRANSMISSION FAILURE. YOU HAVE SECONDS TO PULL OVER BEFORE THE CAR NO LONGER FUNCTIONS. EVEN THOUGH YOU ARE IN GEAR ALL THAT HAPPENS IS THE ENGINE REVS AND YOU GO NO WHERE. MY CAR HAS ONLY 38,500 MILES ON IT AND IS OUT OF WARRANTY BY A COUPLE OF MONT…

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THE PROBLEMS STARTED BY A WARNING ON MY DISPLAY SAYING TO PULL OVER GEAR BOX OR TRANSMISSION FAILURE. YOU HAVE SECONDS TO PULL OVER BEFORE THE CAR NO LONGER FUNCTIONS. EVEN THOUGH YOU ARE IN GEAR ALL THAT HAPPENS IS THE ENGINE REVS AND YOU GO NO WHERE. MY CAR HAS ONLY 38,500 MILES ON IT AND IS OUT OF WARRANTY BY A COUPLE OF MONTHS. I HAD THE CAR TUNED ADDING SOMEWHERE AROUND 100 HP 6,000 MILES BEFORE THIS HAPPENED AND AUDI SAYS THIS IS WHAT CAUSED THE ISSUE. TO FIX THE SENSOR ERROR CODE P179E00 WAS AROUND $5,000. 00 EVEN THOUGH THERE HAS BEEN A SERVICE BULLETIN OUT FOR THIS PROBLEM FOR MORE THAN A YEAR. AFTER LOOKING AROUND DECIDED TO HAVE AUDI DO THE REPAIR BUT WITHIN AN HOUR OF LETTING THEM KNOW TO GO AHEAD WITH REPAIRS THEY CALLED ME BACK AND TOLD ME THAT IT COULD BE THE WHOLE TRANSMISSION WHEN THEY TESTED THE FLUID IT CAME BACK WITH SOME METAL SHAVING IN IT. THIS WOULD BE A $12,000.00 REPAIR. THE SAFETY OF THIS TRANSMISSION IS IN QUESTION FOR THE FACT THAT THERE HAS BEEN A SERVICE BULLETIN OUT FOR THIS TRANSMISSION EVEN THOUGH AUDI OF AMERICA DENIES THAT MY VIN IS PART OF THE SERVICE RECALL. IT IS PRETTY SCARY WHEN YOU DRIVING AND THE TRANSMISSION JUST SHUTS DOWN AND YOU AND YOU CAR ARE JUST STUCK IN TRAFFIC AS CARS DODGE YOU AND FLY BY YOU AND YOU DEAD CAR.

NHTSA ODI #10924986

48,000 miles · Mar 21, 2016
Steering

VEHICLE WILL NOT DRIVE STRAIGHT WHEN STEERING WHEEL IS CENTERED. THERE APPEARS TO BE A "NOTCH" AT THE CENTER, REQUIRING CONSTANT ADJUSTMENT TO MAINTAIN A STRAIGHT PATH AT HIGHWAY SPEED. THIS APPEARS TO BE A COMMON ISSUE. I HAVE HAD MULTIPLE ALIGNMENTS PERFORMED TO ATTEMPT TO CORRECT THE ISSUE. THE DEALER HAS REPRODUCED THE I…

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VEHICLE WILL NOT DRIVE STRAIGHT WHEN STEERING WHEEL IS CENTERED. THERE APPEARS TO BE A "NOTCH" AT THE CENTER, REQUIRING CONSTANT ADJUSTMENT TO MAINTAIN A STRAIGHT PATH AT HIGHWAY SPEED. THIS APPEARS TO BE A COMMON ISSUE. I HAVE HAD MULTIPLE ALIGNMENTS PERFORMED TO ATTEMPT TO CORRECT THE ISSUE. THE DEALER HAS REPRODUCED THE ISSUE AND HAS STATED THAT THIS IS NORMAL.

NHTSA ODI #10850727

21,000 miles · Mar 4, 2016
Steering

MY 2013 AUDI S4 IS EXPERIENCING A STEERING ISSUE WHERE IT HAS 'ON CENTER FLOATING'. BASICALLY THE STEERING WHEEL FEELS LIKE THERE ARE NOTCHES TO THE STEERING WHEN THE WHEEL IS CENTERED. I HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS ISSUE MANY TIMES, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT IS COLD OUT, BUT HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO REPRODUCE THE ISSUE AT AN AUDI DEALERSHIP. …

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MY 2013 AUDI S4 IS EXPERIENCING A STEERING ISSUE WHERE IT HAS 'ON CENTER FLOATING'. BASICALLY THE STEERING WHEEL FEELS LIKE THERE ARE NOTCHES TO THE STEERING WHEN THE WHEEL IS CENTERED. I HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS ISSUE MANY TIMES, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT IS COLD OUT, BUT HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO REPRODUCE THE ISSUE AT AN AUDI DEALERSHIP. BASED ON THE RESEARCH I HAVE DONE, THIS IS A COMMON ISSUE ON THE 2013 AUDI S4 BUT AUDI IS NOT ACKNOWLEDGING THE ISSUE. THE ISSUE HAD BEEN SO BAD THAT IT POSED A SAFTEY RISK WHEN DRIVING IN SNOW. THE RESOLUTION SEEMS TO BE THE LATEST STEERING RACK THAT IS AVAILABLE, BUT THE DEALERSHIP, AND AUDI OF AMERICA, REFUSE TO REPLACE IT UNITL THE DEALER IS ABLE TO REPRODUCE THE ISSUE.

NHTSA ODI #10839919

34,105 miles · Sep 20, 2015
Steering

STEERING WHEEL SLIPS CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO VEER RIGHT OR LEFT WITHOUT MOVEMENT OF THE STEERING WHEEL. CONSTANT ADJUSTMENTS MUST BE MADE JUST TO KEEP THE CAR ALIGNED IN A STRAIGHT POSITION. GETS WORSE WHEN GOING AROUND LONG TURNS. VERY SCARY AND UNREALIABLE TO DRIVE. WOULD NEVER LET ANYONE I CARED ABOUT DRIVE THE CAR. WHAT A WAS…

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STEERING WHEEL SLIPS CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO VEER RIGHT OR LEFT WITHOUT MOVEMENT OF THE STEERING WHEEL. CONSTANT ADJUSTMENTS MUST BE MADE JUST TO KEEP THE CAR ALIGNED IN A STRAIGHT POSITION. GETS WORSE WHEN GOING AROUND LONG TURNS. VERY SCARY AND UNREALIABLE TO DRIVE. WOULD NEVER LET ANYONE I CARED ABOUT DRIVE THE CAR. WHAT A WASTE OF 70K. DEALERSHIP CLAIMS THEY HAVE NEVER HEARD OF THE PROBLEM YET IT IS ALL OVER THE INTERNET WITH COMMON PROBLEMS AND SOME PEOPLE GETTING IT FIXED WHILE OTHERS CANT. SCARED TO DRIVE THE CAR ABOVE 35MPH. TERRIBLE STEERING ISSUE.

NHTSA ODI #10765724

12,000 miles · Aug 18, 2015
Steering

RATHER THAN A SMOOTH LINEAR FEEDBACK THE STEERING WHEEL FEELS AS IF IT HAS NOTCHES IN IT. THE WHEEL AT TIMES CAN BE HARD TO MAINTAIN CENTERED AND KEEPING THE CAR ON A STRAIGHT TRACK REQUIRES CONSTANT ADJUSTMENT FROM ONE SIDE OF A NOTCH TO ANOTHER. THE DEALER REFUSES TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE PROBLEM.

NHTSA ODI #10749588

9,500 miles · Dec 7, 2014
Steering

THE STEERING OF MY 2013 AUDI S4 HAS TWO PROBLEMS THAT MAKE DRIVING VERY DANGEROUS: 1) THE STEERING SLIPS AT THE CENTER POSITION EITHER A LITTLE BIT TO THE LEFT OR TO THE RIGHT, SO THE CAR WILL NOT GO STRAIGHT ON HIGHWAY SPEEDS. THE CAR REQUIRES CONSTANT STEERING CORRECTIONS TO GO STRAIGHT. 2) THE STEERING FEELS NOTCHY BETWE…

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THE STEERING OF MY 2013 AUDI S4 HAS TWO PROBLEMS THAT MAKE DRIVING VERY DANGEROUS: 1) THE STEERING SLIPS AT THE CENTER POSITION EITHER A LITTLE BIT TO THE LEFT OR TO THE RIGHT, SO THE CAR WILL NOT GO STRAIGHT ON HIGHWAY SPEEDS. THE CAR REQUIRES CONSTANT STEERING CORRECTIONS TO GO STRAIGHT. 2) THE STEERING FEELS NOTCHY BETWEEN 10 O'CLOCK AND 2 O'CLOCK POSITIONS. IT IS LIKE THE STEERING IS OBJECTING THE DRIVER'S INPUT. BOTH ISSUES ARE VERY COMMON WITH ALL THE NEW AUDIS (2013+ MODELS) THAT HAVE THE NEW ELECTRIC STEERING ISSUE. THE FOLLOWING IS A LIST OF SIMILAR NHTSA COMPLAINS, ALL FOR AUDI MODELS WITH THE NEW ELECTRIC STEERING. 10505438 10503937 10503501 10499877 10499851 10498547 10498541 10498470 10498457 10498341 10495010 10545446 10509971 10503726 10503217 10501368 10501365 10500833 10495057 10573003 10572699 10548120 10543784 10524655 10509530 10507320 10507134 10503907 10502189 10499530 10497799 10495251 10494775 10562801 10574487 10569246 10556552 10543625. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10662688

25,000 miles · Aug 4, 2014
Power Train

THIS VEHICLE IS KNOWN FOR HAVING A FAULTY MECHATRONICS UNIT. THE MECHATRONICS UNIT DOES NOT WORK CORRECTLY, AND CAUSES JERKING AND INSTABILITY TO THE DSG TRANSMISSION. I HAVE ALMOST REAR ENDED OTHER VEHICLES AT RED LIGHTS BECAUSE THE TRANSMISSION WILL JERK FORWARD UNEXPECTEDLY AND LUNGE ME FORWARD TOWARD THE VEHICLE AHEAD. TH…

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THIS VEHICLE IS KNOWN FOR HAVING A FAULTY MECHATRONICS UNIT. THE MECHATRONICS UNIT DOES NOT WORK CORRECTLY, AND CAUSES JERKING AND INSTABILITY TO THE DSG TRANSMISSION. I HAVE ALMOST REAR ENDED OTHER VEHICLES AT RED LIGHTS BECAUSE THE TRANSMISSION WILL JERK FORWARD UNEXPECTEDLY AND LUNGE ME FORWARD TOWARD THE VEHICLE AHEAD. THIS IS NOT ONLY AN ISSUE THAT A PRESTIGIOUS NAME LIKE AUDI SHOULD NOT HAVE, BUT IT IS A HUGE SAFETY ISSUE. AUDI OF AMERICA IS AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM, BUT CHOOSES TO IGNORE IT FOR THE SAKE OF NOT HAVING TO COVER REPAIRS FOR ALL THE VEHICLES REPORTING THIS ISSUE. A SIMPLE GOOGLE SEARCH WILL YIELD RESULTS OF JUST HOW COMMON AND WIDESPREAD THIS ISSUE IS. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10618528

5,160 miles · Jun 24, 2014
Steering

MY 2013 AUDI S4 WENT INTO THE DEALERSHIP FOR ITS FIRST FREE OIL CHANGE. WITHOUT MY PERMISSION THEY INSTALLED AN UPDATE ON MY POWER STEERING(48K8) AND NOW MY CAR VEERS FROM ONE LANE TO ANOTHER. MY STEERING WHEEL DOES NOT MOVE YET MY CAR GOES FROM THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE ROAD TO THE OTHER. THE DEALERS "ACT" LIKE THEY HAVE NEVER HEAR…

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MY 2013 AUDI S4 WENT INTO THE DEALERSHIP FOR ITS FIRST FREE OIL CHANGE. WITHOUT MY PERMISSION THEY INSTALLED AN UPDATE ON MY POWER STEERING(48K8) AND NOW MY CAR VEERS FROM ONE LANE TO ANOTHER. MY STEERING WHEEL DOES NOT MOVE YET MY CAR GOES FROM THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE ROAD TO THE OTHER. THE DEALERS "ACT" LIKE THEY HAVE NEVER HEARD OF THIS PROBLEM, YET IT IS ALL OVER THE INTERNET. AUDI COMMONWEALTH AND AUDI NEWPORT REFUSE TO HELP OR SAY THEY CAN'T DO ANYTHING. AUDI USA, LIKE THE DEALERSHIPS, CLAIM THEY HAVE NEVER HEARD OF THIS PROBLEM. I HAVE SINCE BROUGHT THE CAR BACK THREE TIMES AND NOTHING CHANGED EACH TIME. THEY GAVE MY CAR AN ALIGNMENT AND CHAMBER CHECK AND STILL NOTHING CHANGED. THEY ALSO LOOSED, BOUNCED AND RESET FRONT LOWER CONTROL ARMS, ROAD TESTED, AND STILL WONDERED. THEY PERFORMED A FEW OTHER RANDOM THINGS, INSPECT I SHAFT U JOINTS(WHICH WERE FINE), G85 STEERING ANGLE SENSOR BASIC SETTINGS PERFORMED(DIDN'T HELP), POWER STEERING END LOCK ADAPTATION PERFORMED(DIDN'T HELP). SHOP FOREMAN ROAD TESTED AND VERIFIED THE VEHICLE IS NOW OPERATING NORMAL COMPARED TO LIKE VEHICLE, OTHER VEHICLES HAVE THIS SAME PROBLEM, I DON'T WANT MY CAR TO DRIVE LIKE OTHER CARS, I WANT MY CAR TO DRIVE LIKE IT DID BEFORE COMMONWEALTH AUDI PERFORMED A SERVICE I DID NOT ASK FOR OR OK. I AM THE ONLY PERSON TO EVER DRIVE MY CAR, I KNOW HOW IT DROVE BEFORE AND AFTER THE UPDATE, NOT THE SHOP FOREMAN. THIS IS EXTREMELY UNSAFE FOR CARS TO BE WONDERING THE ROAD LIKE THIS. *TR UPDATED 03/11/15. *JB

NHTSA ODI #10605609

580 miles · Jun 20, 2013
Steering

THE POWER STEERING IN MY NEW 2013 AUDI S4 FAILED WHILE DRIVING 4 DAYS AFTER PURCHASE. I COULDN'T TURN THE WHEEL AND NEEDED LOT OF EFFORT TO TURN IT. I LUCKILY MANAGED TO GET BACK HOME. THE POWER STEERING MALFUNCTION SHOWED UP ON CONSOLE WHEN I WAS GOING AT 35MPH AND I PANICKED BUT MANAGED TO CONTROL THE CAR. I COULDN'T EVEN PAR…

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THE POWER STEERING IN MY NEW 2013 AUDI S4 FAILED WHILE DRIVING 4 DAYS AFTER PURCHASE. I COULDN'T TURN THE WHEEL AND NEEDED LOT OF EFFORT TO TURN IT. I LUCKILY MANAGED TO GET BACK HOME. THE POWER STEERING MALFUNCTION SHOWED UP ON CONSOLE WHEN I WAS GOING AT 35MPH AND I PANICKED BUT MANAGED TO CONTROL THE CAR. I COULDN'T EVEN PARK THE CAR.AS I TOOK THE CAR FROM A DEALER WHO IS 40MILES AWAY FROM MY PLACE I HAD TO CALL THEM BUT THEY MENTIONED THAT THEY CANT TOW THE CAR 40MILES AND GAVE A NEARBY SERVICE ADDRESS. WHEN I CALLED THE NEARBY SERVICE THEY SAID THAT THEY DON'T HAVE ANY LOANERS AND CANT HELP. MY PURCHASE DEALER FINALLY SENT A TOW TRUCK AND I HAD TO GO ALONG WITH THEM AT 9 PM TO THE SERVICE CENTER AND EVEN THEY MENTIONED THAT THEY DON?T HAVE LOANERS AVAILABLE. LUCKILY A LADY THEN JUST DROPPED HER LOANER CAR WHICH WAS GIVEN TO ME. THE SERVICE CENTER MENTIONED THAT THE POWER STEERING MODULE FAILED AND NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. I WAS SHOCKED TO SEE STEERING FAILURE ON A 4 DAYS OLD AUDI I CLEARLY MENTIONED THE DEALER THAT I WONT BE TAKING THE OLD CAR AND ASKED FOR A NEW ONE. ITS BEEN MORE THAN A WEEK AND THE AUDI RESPONSE WAS SOO SICK THEY CANT FIND A SIMILAR CAR FOR ME. IF THE COLOR MATCHES THEN THE OPTIONS I PREFERRED WOULDN'T OR IF THEY MATCH THE COLOR WOULDN'T. I AM SOO FRUSTRATED THAT EVEN THE SO CALLED PREMIUM BRAND CANT EVEN SATISFY THEIR CUSTOMER WITH WHAT THEY WANT? THEY DECIDED WHAT CAR I SHOULD BE TAKING BY GIVING ME VERY FEW OPTIONS WHICH DOESN?T SATISFY WHAT I WANT EVEN AFTER SPENDING A LOT. THE STEERING FAILURE IS SUCH A LIFE HAZARD AND WOULD HAVE CAUSED AN ACCIDENT. SOME SERIOUS ACTION NEEDS TO BE TAKEN ON THIS BUT DON'T KNOW WHOM TO CONTACT. I DON'T KNOW IF THERE ARE ANY REGION WISE HEAD FOR AUDI WITH WHOM I DEFINITELY WANT TO TALK BUT THE ADVOCATE SAYS THAT THEY CANT HELP. THIS IS THE MOST SCARED AND FRUSTRATED EXPERIENCE OF OWNING A PREMIUM BRAND LIKE AUDI. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10520960

1,000 miles · Jun 5, 2013
Electrical SystemEngine

THE VEHICLE WILL NOT START. NOT WITH THE "KEY" OR THE BUTTON STARTER. AUDI SERVICE CLAIMS ITS THE BATTERY BUT WHEN THE ROADSIDE SERVICE SHOWS UP ITS NOT THE BATTERY, SO NOW A TOW TRUCK HAS TO BE CALLED. THIS CAN HAPPEN AT ANYTIME AND ANY PLACE. AUDI DENIES IT IS A COMPUTER ISSUE BUT YET THE VEHICLE COMPLETELY SHUTS DOWN AND …

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THE VEHICLE WILL NOT START. NOT WITH THE "KEY" OR THE BUTTON STARTER. AUDI SERVICE CLAIMS ITS THE BATTERY BUT WHEN THE ROADSIDE SERVICE SHOWS UP ITS NOT THE BATTERY, SO NOW A TOW TRUCK HAS TO BE CALLED. THIS CAN HAPPEN AT ANYTIME AND ANY PLACE. AUDI DENIES IT IS A COMPUTER ISSUE BUT YET THE VEHICLE COMPLETELY SHUTS DOWN AND NOTHING IS AVAILABLE - ELECTRONICALLY OR MORE IMPORTANTLY MANUALLY. DON'T BE OUT LATE AT NIGHT OR YOU MIGHT BE A VICTIM TO MORE THAN A BROKEN DOWN VEHICLE. BY THE WAY THIS VEHICLE IS LESS THAN ONE MONTH OLD. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10515323

Official recalls

1

14V667000 · Air Bags

Oct 24, 2014

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Audi A4 and S4 vehicles manufactured February 16, 2012, to October 21, 2014, and 2013-2015 Audi Allroad vehicles manufactured March 12, 2012, to October 21, 2014. Due to an improper algorithm in the air bag control module, if a crash necessitates deployment of the side air bags, a second impact to the front of the vehicle may not command the front air bags to also deploy.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: If the front air bags do not deploy in the event of a secondary impact to the front of the vehicle, there is an increased risk of occupant injury.

Remedy: Volkswagen will notify owners, and Audi dealers will update the air bag control unit software, free of charge. The recall began on November 14, 2014. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-822-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69K5.

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.