2018 Audi S4 problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Engine (3) · 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 →
Safety recalls (2)
Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification:front Passenger 2021-11-10 · campaign 21V874000 · 208,332 vehicles
Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2017-2020 A4 Allroad, A4 Sedan, 2018-2019 RS5 Coupe, 2019 RS5 Sportback, 2018-2020 A5 Cabriolet, A5 Coupe, A5 Sportback, S4 Sedan, S5 Cabriolet, S5 Coupe, and Audi S5 Sportback vehicles. The cable connecting the seat heater to the Passenger Occupant Detection System (PODS) may have a contact fault, causing the software to misdiagnose a malfunction and disable the passenger air bag.
Risk: A disabled passenger air bag increases the risk of injury in the event of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the connecting cable and either the heating mat or entire seat cover, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 7, 2022. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 74E3. This recall is an expansion of Recall 19V-547 (74D9). Vehicles previously repaired under 19V-547 will need to return for the new remedy.
Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module 2019-07-24 · campaign 19V547000 · 145,337 vehicles
Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Audi RS5 Sportback, 2018 S5 Cabriolet, S5 Sportback, S5 Coupe, S4 Sedan, A5 Cabriolet, A5 Sportback, A5 Coupe, and 2017-2018 A4 Sedan and A4 Allroad vehicles. Oxidation on the Passenger Occupant Detection System (PODS) connecting cable may cause the software to misdiagnose a malfunction and disable the passenger air bag.
Risk: A disabled passenger air bag increases the risk of injury in the event of a crash.
Fix: Audi will notify owners, and dealers will install cable ties to the harness, free of charge. The recall began September 9, 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Audi's number for this recall is 74D9.
Service bulletins (797)
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.
Unknown Or Other 2026-09-25 · TSB_2083409_1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin states that technicians are required to report to the manufacturer when a vehicle has flooded, and specify the height to which the vehicle has been flooded.
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.
Visibility/Wiper 2026-09-22 · TSB_2020552_15 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin provides service information regarding exterior glass cleaning.
Structure:body 2026-09-18 · TSB_2078648_4 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin provides information about billing for a broken sunroof glass panel.
Unknown Or Other 2026-09-15 · TSB_2030471_9 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin provides information when the license plate mounting bracket threded inserts are stripped.
Showing the 6 most recent of 797 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2025-06-06 · Engine“water pump defect for the 3.0l ea839 turbo engine found across many porsche and audi models. defect causes damage to vacuum lines, thermostat, and can eventually lead to engine failure if not resolved. no way of knowing this is happening until you start to lose coolant (which will throw an engine code), but by that point the damage is done. there…”
2025-03-13 · Engine“ my 2018 audi s4 has a catastrophic engine failure issue and this is common with the ea839 engine. there is a knocking in the motor that is caused by internal engine parts (rocker arms needle bearings) becoming loose and dislodged. the metal shavings travel in the motor oil and destroy the engine from the inside. hendrick audi northlake examined th…”
2024-04-07 · Engine“pcv housing and lines failed. caused pressure to build up thus shooting off the oil cap shooting oil everywhere! in addition to that it is a huge fire hazard considering the turbo is right next to it.…”
2022-12-20 · Suspension“audi dealer inspection revealed rear spring is broken and mounts are deteriorating. dealer states not common and would result in accident if not repaired. research indicates broken springs common with certain audi vehicles (a4/s4, q5 & q7), especially 2018 model year. see audi world forum website. it would appear these springs are defective and w…”
2018-04-09 · Service Brakes · 4,000 mi“the vehicle's pre sense auto-braking and braking alert jolt has been activating erroneously and have almost caused accidents at speed. the system cannot be permanently disabled, it deactivates upon ignition restart. the system has erroneously and aggressively jolted the breaks on several occasions on curves, especially when cresting a hill with v…”
2018-02-15 · Structure:body · 5,800 mi“there are two large "underride guard" panels on the underside of the vehicle that are fastened by small, loose-fitting plastic clips. there is also felt sound-deadening material on the exterior side of this panel. when the vehicle is driven in rain or snow, the panel collects snow or water under normal driving conditions and breaks free unexpectedl…”
2017-11-28 · Vehicle Speed Control · 1,300 mi“when driving in manual mode and transition from on the throttle to off-throttle, there is a 1-2 second delay before the engine stops accelerating and transitions to deceleration. especially in first gear, this means that the vehicle continues to accelerate for that period of time. i drove another model of audi with the same engine/transmission (2…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.