2011 Audi S4 problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Power Train (21) · Vehicle Speed Control (1) · Suspension (1)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Audi S4 model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
26 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (1)
Fuel System, Gasoline:fuel Injection System:fuel Rail 2015-01-20 · campaign 15V019000 · 26,008 vehicles
Defect: 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.
Risk: A fuel leak in the injection system in the presence of an ignition source, increases the risk of a fire.
Fix: 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.
Service bulletins (776)
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.
Power Train:automatic Transmission 2913-04-01 · 35 13 09 2028085 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
speed s-tronic, leaks from transmission
Unknown Or Other 2026-09-25 · TSB_2052680_2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin provides information for reporting safety related information to the manufacturer.
Steering 2026-09-22 · TSB_2074846_5 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin provides information about vibrations and rotational steering vibrations.
Unknown Or Other 2026-08-26 · TSB_2074436_3 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin provides information when the horn sound quality is poor.
Service Brakes 2026-08-21 · TSB_2069904_3 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin provides information for all models regarding brake sounds.
Service Brakes 2026-08-21 · TSB_2069078_4 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin provides information on the zirconium insercts in the brake piston (ceramic brakes only).
Showing the 6 most recent of 776 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2021-04-09 · Power Train · 70,177 mi“car has developed a transmission problem in the mechatronic unit. car gives a gearbox malfunction display in the car. reverse will not working and the car will repeatedly go into neutral at any speed. sometimes then it will jerk back into gear very violently.…”
2019-10-01 · Power Train · 20 mi“this vehicle is known for the transmission issues that can be extremely dangerous at times due to the vehicle making sudden and unexpected movements.…”
2019-02-21 · Power Train · 85,000 mi“transmission blew up on the highway at cruising speed. has to get a tow and pay 12000 for a new transmission…”
2018-03-26 · Unknown Or Other · 110,000 mi“my car is having jerky shifting whenever the vehicle is driver, especially once the engine gets hot. i have had felt the car jerk forward a countless amount of times and have gotten whiplash a couple times where i've been in pain. transmission on my audi s4 is giving the same issues as many others have encountered on audizine.com and audiworld.com,…”
2018-02-08 · Power Train · 40,612 mi“my 2011 s4 started getting the "transmission malfunction continue driving" light at about 40,612 miles. at the same time my vehicle would jerk when stopping and acceleration. when shifting down the gears make a clunking noise specially from 3rd and 2nd gear. i was able to use my extended warranty that i bought because audi didn't want to cover my v…”
2018-02-06 · Unknown Or Other · 110,000 mi“driving on the highway at 25 mph, car randomly shows 'gearbox malfunction' and 'tpms' simultaneously. car drove in limp mode for a few minutes until i was able to come to a standstill and put it in park and turn it back on to drive. 'tmps' sign is still showing. possibility of being a mechatronic issue, which is very well known as an issue with the…”
2018-01-30 · Power Train · 80,000 mi“i was exiting off of the interstate and the car began to sputter. i had to cut 3 cars off to pull onto to the shoulder, where the car continued to lose power and eventually died. a gearbox malfunction warning light came on, but said it was still safe to drive. i was able to get me car into park and start . after sitting for a few minutes i went on …”
2017-08-15 · Power Train · 120,000 mi“driving under normal conditions (~30 mph, city street) and the dsg auto transmission slipped from gear and gave a warning that there was a malfunction, no reverse gear available. after driving to the nearest parking lot to stop and try to diagnose, found research that stated the mechatronic unit in these transmissions are prone to fail. it appear…”
2017-04-10 · Vehicle Speed Control · 10 mi“gearbox malfunction warning and the tpms malfunction came on at same time. continued to drive in limp mode for about 1 mile and the car shut completely off. start the car back up and still showing warnings. get it home and attempt to put into reverse and the car won't engage. i just happened to start the car again and all lights were gone. car went…”
2016-12-29 · Power Train · 71,000 mi“dec 5 2016, while pulling out of my driveway in route to a scheduled service appointment at audi of asheville, my 2011 audi s4 lurched and several warnings came up including "dsg failure, no reverse, tpms warning", followed by "you may continue to drive". within 5 miles and at a speed of approx 35 mph the vehicle suffered a catastrophic loss of dr…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.