2005 Audi A4 problems
NHTSA has received 267 complaints about the 2005 Audi A4, and 38% of them involve lighting. After that come air bags (21%) and electrical system (9%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 267 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Lighting 38% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 13 and 5
- Injuries and deaths
- 8 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 59,000 miles 203 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 15 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 19 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 70 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 37 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 20 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 22 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 10 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 6 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 3 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Among the 203 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 59,000 miles. For lighting specifically, the median reported mileage is about 59,000 miles (88 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 13 complaints mention a crash; 5 complaints mention a fire; 8 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2005 ranks 6th most-complained-about out of 20 model years of the Audi A4 with enough data (133 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 3 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 audi a4. The contact stated that while driving 10 MPH, another vehicle crashed into the front driver's side of the his vehicle. The air bags did not deploy. The driver and passenger suffered injuries and were taken to a hospital for treatment. The vehicle was towed to an independent repair shop, but the failure was not diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 58,000.
The airbags in our 2005 Audi A4 were recalled. We had the airbag replaced due to the recall in Audi of Stratham, 58 Portsmouth Ave, Stratham, NH 03885 in February 2023. On 12/8/23, my daughter was involved in a serious front-end collation with another vehicle. The airbags in the Audi did not deploy. The other vehicle (which sustained less damage) did deploy. Without the airbags, her face hit the steering wheel, causing a large laceration to her eyelid and significant bruising and swelling to her face.
Dt: the consumer owns a 2005 audi a4. The consumer had an accident on june 21, 2005. The front of his vehicle hit the guardrail and his airbags did not deploy. Audi manufacturer did not seem to be to interested. The speed at time of impact was between 25-30 MPH. There was no pre-impact braking. A large truck came into his lane he steered to the right, struck the end of a guardrail with the front of his vehicle went over a 60 foot embankment and then rolled over.
2005 audi a4 avant is currently still under warranty but the audi dealership and audi of america will not replace a cracked coolant reservoir. The onboard computer came on, indicating a problem, but there was no leak. However, the crack was very visible and will most likely spread further resulting in a leak. The crack was most likely caused from the excessive heat under the engine hood. I believe this was a serious flaw in materials used to manufacture the reservoir.
2005 audi a4 2.0 turbo. The head lights go out and the sensor says "dipped light", need to shut lights off and then put them back on. I have brought it to the dealer 3 times and they say they know that they have a problem on all these cars but, "do not know how to fix it". They cleaned the terminals but it did not work. There are thousands of similar complaints on the lights.