2008 Audi A4 problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Air Bags (111) · Power Train (11) · Exterior Lighting (9)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Audi A4 model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
72 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (4)
Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module 2018-06-22 · campaign 18V427000 · 237,947 vehicles
Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2005-2008 Audi A4 Sedan, A4 Avant, S4 Avant and S4 Sedan, 2007-2008 RS4 Sedan, 2004 RS4 Cabriolet, 2007-2009 A4 Cabriolet and S4 Cabriolet, 2005-2011 A6 Sedan, 2006-2011 A6 Avant, and 2007-2011 S6 Sedan vehicles. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployme
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Audi has notified owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag with an alternate remedy part, free of charge. The recall began June 29, 2018. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69R7. Note: This recall supersedes recalls 16V382, 17V032 and 18V004 and includes vehicles that may have had their air bag previously replaced under one of those campaigns.
Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module 2017-01-11 · campaign 17V032000 · 33,421 vehicles
Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2009 Audi A4 Cabriolet, S4 Cabriolet, A6 Avant, A6 Sedan and S6 Sedan vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, or "Zone B." Additionally, unless included in "Zone B" above, Volkswag
Risk: An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Audi will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began March 30, 2018. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Note: This recall has been superseded by recall number 18V427.
Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module 2016-06-01 · campaign 16V382000 · 194,453 vehicles
Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2004-2008 Audi A4, and 2005-2011 Audi A6 vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands, or "Zone A." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" above, Volkswagen is recalling certain model year 2004-2008 Audi A4, and 20
Risk: An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Audi will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 28, 2017. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-822-2834.
Air Bags:frontal:sensor/Control Module-Inactive 2016-05-27 · campaign 16V376000 · 8,381 vehicles
Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (VW) is recalling certain model year 2008-2009 Audi A4, A5, and Q5 vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the air bag control units may corrode and fail.
Risk: If the air bag control unit fails, the air bags may not deploy in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of occupant injury.
Fix: Audi will notify owners, and dealers will replace the air bag control unit, free of charge. The recall began October 2016. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69O1.
Service bulletins (452)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Equipment:electrical:navigational System(Global Positioning System) 2024-02-07 · A9124632044694_3 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin provides information pertaining to mmi navigation database concerns.
Electrical System:adas:parking Assist:software 2023-12-21 · A912306202432310 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin provides information when the parking assistance provides false warnings.
Electrical System: Instrument Cluster/Panel 2023-11-16 · A9023562032113_8 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin provides general information about the outside air temperature reading.
Equipment 2023-11-07 · A0023812070568_2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin provides information on the vas 611 015 pico-nvh tool for professional noise analysis.
Exterior Lighting:tail Lights 2023-10-30 · A9423672071954_1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin provides information pertaining to when there are foreign objects inside of a headlight or taillight.
Equipment:other:labels 2023-10-25 · A7423262071893_1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin provides damage assessment guidelines for textile seat covers.
Showing the 6 most recent of 452 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-04-20 · Air Bags · 140,000 mi · 💥 crash“the contact owns a 2008 audi a4. the contact received an unknown recall notice related to the air bags. the contact scheduled an appointment at a dealer and had the recall serviced. the contact then stated that while idle in the parking lot of a hospital, a speeding vehicle clipped the front end, driver's side of her vehicle, which caused the entir…”
2026-02-02 · Air Bags“audi is wanting me and another driver to drive 2.5 hours to their dealer drop off the car for repairs, then drive back. then after the repairs are complete make that trip again. they want us to spend 20 man hours driving, plus gas, food, and mileage. none of this is reimbursed. i have called and written audi several times with the same answer. this…”
2025-01-11 · Unknown Or Other“while i was driving on the highway the sunroof (just the window) flew off. i had the sliding roof door closed and only heard a gust of wind initially thinking it just became ajar somehow, but nope the entire window was gone, like the adhesive deteriorated i assume. the sunroof mechanism works perfectly fine. fortunately if was really early in the…”
2024-06-20 · Fuel/Propulsion System“bought this car from a guy add said car runs great has smog, reg ,ac works great (not )my boyfriend before i could say anything gave guy money and i signed the bill of sale i said should test drive it so drove to my mechanic in vista ca and he said a german car oh boy and i said ouch so he said to bring it back by after checking it out so he could …”
2023-07-21 · Engine“overheating in traffic replaced water pump, gasket. radiator , fan control module, thermostat, and hoses. happens every summer!!!!! no fluid leakage. could this be the same problem as the 2013 model recall…”
2022-10-23 · Power Train“2021 i brought an audi a4 quattro 2.0 2008 after having a test drive and haven't looked over the mechanic just said it was the fuel pressure high pressure sensor that was not a big deal after an hour buying it it took it to see my mom and it quit on me i had to have it towed home it would not start i took it to the mechanic and the mechanic said th…”
2022-08-15 · Air Bags · 💥 crash“i was in a pretty bad car accident, the car was totaled but the air bags didn’t deploy and i slammed my head on my steering wheel, i got side swiped and the driver door wasn’t able to be opened i had to kick it open and the front of the car hit a concrete pole going roughly 35 mph or more. …”
2021-05-13 · Wheels · 1,567 mi“i had just put $35 in gassed the car still said i needed gas and that i had zero miles left of gas i made a trip that was about 45 miles in distance. my car was then parked and turned off for about 3 to 4 hours then it had trouble starting at first but turned on and i proceeded onto the freeway which was across the street from the parking lot i par…”
2020-01-08 · Air Bags“i have called my dealership and reached out to the vehicle manufacturer on their website numerous times over a 10 year period (at the very least since audi announced agreed to the repairs). i keep on receiving notice postcards from audi to have this scheduled with my local dealership. when i call they keep telling me to be patient, they will call …”
2019-08-19 · Exterior Lighting“left dipped headlight flickers , dies out. while in motion or stationary , the left dipped headlight will flicker repeatedly and die out. turning the headlights off and back on fixes the issue for a very short period of time before the flickering starts up again and every 5 minutes the left dipped headlight goes out again. this issue …”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.