2013 Audi A4 Recalls, Ratings & Complaints

Incident: February 2, 2026 · Filed: March 25, 2026

After run collant pump caught fire and damaged the engine wiring harness. I reported it to progressive insurance and they came and inspected it at a body shop. They concluded it was due to an open recall on the vehicle so insurance refuses to cover it. Had car towed to Audi dealership and they reported it to Audi USA. They came back and told me that because of the mileage and year of the vehicle that they wouldn't cover it.

Incident: September 1, 2024 · Filed: September 28, 2024

Component that failed is a/an electric coolant pump for turbo. Yes, it is available for inspection. Safety was compromised due to increased risk of fire. Yes, the issue has been confirmed by Audi Service Department. Yes the vehicle has been inspected by Manufacturers local service department. Yes, the check engine light and ECU light were illuminated on the dash of vehicle 3 weeks before car was taken in for service.

Incident: June 9, 2024 · Filed: June 25, 2024

The contact owned a 2013 Audi A4. The contact stated that his grandson was driving at an undisclosed speed when he heard a loud unidentified sound coming from the engine compartment. Suddenly, white smoke and flames were emerging from the engine compartment. The vehicle was successfully pulled to the side of the road by the contact's grandson. After the grandson managed to exit the vehicle, a short while later the vehicle caught fire. A bystander came over and assisted in extinguishing the fire. No one was injured during the incident. The fire department arrived and extinguished the remaining flames. There was no police or fire department report filed. The vehicle was towed and the insurance company determined the vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 127,000.

Incident: December 24, 2022 · Filed: February 10, 2023

My Audi A4 failed to start on the coldest day of the year when my daughter was out doing errands and left it for an extended time parked outside. When she returned and tried to start the car, she got an error message: "Steering defective! Do not drive vehicle!" She re-tried over a dozen times, leaving the vehicle and returning to try again....to no avail. It was extremely cold so she retreated into the building and searched the internet and found others who had had this same problem. She finally called a friend who came to pick her up and take her home. I called Audi, and they confirmed that it's a know problem that occurs in extreme cold and there's no way to get it started until things warm up. We waited until later in the day before my son and I drove over and successfully got the car started. Luckily my daughter could get warm refuge in a nearby building. But it is easy to imagine other circumstances, say, someone who lives in the country who stops at the side of the road for whatever reason and might freeze because the car won't start. Although Audi has known about the problem, they have chosen not to issue a recall but instead an extended warranty that had expired a month or so before this incident. Surprisingly, they refuse to fix the problem because it is beyond that extension date even though we brought the car to the dealer and they confirmed the error was recorded 18 times which might match my daughter's desperate but failed attempts to start the car. This is not an optional fix. It is a danger that should be addressed by recall. This is the first time we had this problem or even knew to be concerned. Furthermore, the notice for extended warranty (see attached) was not even addressed to me but, instead, to my teenage son who clearly didn't understand how important it was to get it fixed.

Incident: December 12, 2022 · Filed: December 12, 2022

I purchased this vehicle on 10/16/2022 and the very next day took it back and informed them that it was leaking oil. It was repaired and from that point on it was telling me to add a quart of oil once every week. Was diagnosed by the Audi dealership of the pistons needing to be replaced and that my car fell under the lawsuit that has yet to be settled. Was told I could spend the 9k to fix the car and be reimbursed. Audi really needs to be fixing all vehicles with these issues. That is just insane to pay 9k to fix a vehicle when I just got it and have barely been able to drive it.

Incident: May 23, 2022 · Filed: July 27, 2022

I have a 2013 Audi A4 2.0. I was driving home at night close to my home and the car started puttering and wouldn’t go and I found out that the timing chain had “jumped” and caused sudden engine failure. I later found out that same issue is the subject of class action lawsuits for the second time around because Audi didn’t properly take action after the first suit and repair the issue, which is apparently a major problem with my model and other class vehicles and instead continue to let people unknowingly buy and drive these cars.

Incident: August 24, 2021 · Filed: December 6, 2021

August of 2021. It was raining out and I drove through a puddle and my electric steering shut down. This has been a known defect for at least 10 years with Audi and NHTSA has done NOTHING about it.

Incident: August 20, 2021 · Filed: October 15, 2021

2013 Audi A4 with a 2.0 turbo engine approximately 62.5K miles and up to date with all services. I was driving on the highway at highway speeds when the engine suddenly started to misfire with a partial loss of power making the car difficult to steer. At that time the check engine light was not illuminated. I was able to get off the highway and drive home about 2 miles away from when the misfires first occurred. The police did not get involved as I was able to return home. The following week the car was towed to my mechanic where it was diagnosed that cylinder 3 had a problem. At that time the check engine light illuminated. He recommended that I tow my car to the Audi dealership as they have better availability of parts. The dealer took apart the engine and diagnosed a broken piston ring which destroyed many other parts of the engine. The engine had to be replaced with a new one from the factory. Audi should be held accountable for catastrophic engine failures that may result in injury to others due to poor engine design.

Incident: September 26, 2021 · Filed: September 30, 2021

Two of my four kids were in the rear seat. My 7 year old panicked because her seatbelt came unbuckled and she couldn’t get it back. My initial reaction was to hit the breaks and slow down. My daughter was ejected from her seat into the passenger seat head first and then landed on the floor with her booster seat on top of her. I pulled over and checked the seat belt and it would not latch. I had to drive her home unrestrained!! A few days later, different child experienced a similar situation with the middle seat. This is a concern because if the seatbelts failed during a car accident, my children’s lives were at risk. Repeated risk of the lives of children by ignoring this common issue. How many lives will it take to be protected? Minus the fear of being unable to afford repairs, or to get the vehicle in to the repair shop? As this has happened to 2/5 buckles in a matter of days, how do I know all of the buckles are not defective? Why are we repeatedly waiting for the tally marks on lives lost before we protect our children? When is it worth a single life EVEN HARMED because the life saving device has failed to keep us safe? Our family is so strict about seatbelt safety, how can this even be a gamble that anyone is willing to take? Furthermore, how do I explain to my children that this “very important” seatbelt that I check every time they kids get into a vehicle.. how am I supposed to explain that this very important piece of equipment may or may not be there when you need it and they still must wear it?I have read hundreds of forums reporting the same failures in both Audi and VW. I have contacted Audi Denver and am waiting on a quote. I am a nurse and my husband is unemployed due to the economy downturn. We are financially stretched to our absolute limits, raising children and we will not have the means to fix the failed seat belt buckles. Any safety failure like this or with airbags should be 100% under manufacturers warranty for the LIFE of the vehicle.

Incident: June 18, 2021 · Filed: July 8, 2021

Coolent migration from the coolant valve through the wire into the connection to ecu. This caused corrosion which in turn caused an unsafe driving condition by shutting the throttle pedal control to the engine off. This has been recalled on many other models and is quite prevalent in the a4 with manual transmission as mine is.