2012 Audi S4 problems
NHTSA has received 27 complaints about the 2012 Audi S4, and 52% of them involve drivetrain & axles. After that come fuel system (19%) and electrical system (11%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 27 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Drivetrain & axles 52% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 0 and 2
- Injuries and deaths
- 0 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 67,000 miles 24 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 | 2 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 4 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 1 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 12 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 2 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 3 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 0 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 24 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 67,000 miles. For drivetrain & axles specifically, the median reported mileage is about 76,000 miles (13 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 2 complaints mention a fire.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2012 ranks 11th most-complained-about out of 11 model years of the Audi S4 with enough data (16 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 1 safety recall campaign.
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.
My coolant pump went out and overheated the car. The coolant leaked out. My car only has 60k miles on it. Audi recently recalled coolant pumps for this very reason on the a4, a5, a6 but havent made the recall for the s class. Please be advised this is a serious issue and placed me and family in harms way.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 audi s4. The contact stated that the vehicle exhibited a fuel leak. The vehicle was towed to the dealer however, the technician was unable to diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but did not offer any assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 10,500 and the current mileage was 14,200.
I own a 2012 audi s4 with a 7 speed DSG transmission and notice hard shifting in 1-2 and 2-1 and also into reverse and drive. I have read about this being a mechtronics unit or whole replacement of the transmission can be needed. After bringing the car into audi 4 times with these issues they finally said that I need to replace the tcu and update software on the ECU. I asked if this will fix the issue and they said that this repair will be the first in an order of parts to be replaced to hopefully fix the problem.
While driving approaching a stoplight, I received a "gearbox malfunction. Ok to continue driving with limited functionality" error. The car then barely accelerated and I could not go more than 20MPH (I was on a busy road speed limit 35MPH but everyone goes about 50). I was able to finally get it to drive well enough to get it to the dealer. Dealer said it needs a new circuit board which is not covered by only the power train warranty, as it is considered an electronic component.
While driving in traffic, my car dropped into lower gears and stopped moving, and two error codes popped up "gearbox malfunction" and "TPMS malfunction". Looking this up online and discussing with my mechanic, this is something happening in a lot of the cars that are this make & model and have the same transmission.