2013 Audi S4 problems
NHTSA has received 35 complaints about the 2013 Audi S4, and 54% of them involve steering. After that come drivetrain & axles (26%) and engine (11%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 35 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Steering 54% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 0 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 0 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 5,000 miles 31 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 | 19 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 8 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 3 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 0 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 1 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 0 |
| 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 31 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 5,000 miles. For steering specifically, the median reported mileage is about 4,000 miles (19 complaints with mileage).
None of these complaints report a crash, fire, injury or death. Its complaints are less severe on average than those of 100% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2013 ranks 6th most-complained-about out of 11 model years of the Audi S4 with enough data (29 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.
Lost all coolant due to radiator leak from road hazard damage caused by bad design of front lower grill. It has no protective mesh and clear openings for rocks to protrude. I found this on audi forum two people now on the vairious boards have thought they lost their water pump, but in fact have had holes punched in their intercooling radiators by errant road debris which strikes the radiator at highway speeds and perforates it.
My 2013 audi s4 exhibits an alarming tendency to weave from side to side without a steering input. This occurs without a change in steering wheel position, vehicle speed, or change in road surface or prevailing wind direction. It is more pronounced at highway speeds and when wheel is centered at 12 o'clock but does occur at all speeds and steering vectors. Audi dealership notes the problem and blames the new electric steering system but states it is a "characteristic" of the system and is not a defect.
Starting around february 2, 2013 my vehicle started displaying intermittent bizarre steering behavior. The issues were two fold. First, while driving at any speed but most commonly over 50 MPH the steering exhibited a "slip and connect feeling" where the steering would feel disconnected (or very loosely connected) to the wheels. Large driver steering inputs resulted in only minor corrections. Only when turning the steering wheel about two inches in either direction would the steering grab and feel normal again.
Audi's electronic assisted steering on my s4 exhibits unpredictable behavior which could result in an accident. It has a "notch" at 12 o'clock where the car usually does not respond to wheel inputs until you turn it more than an inch in either direction. When it does finally react, it often overcompensates. It does not always happen however. Sometimes the notchiness is present, sometimes it's not even on the same steering settings/same speed. I can not keep the car going straight at times.
The problems started by a warning on my display saying to pull over gear box or transmission failure. You have seconds to pull over before the car no longer functions. Even though you are in gear all that happens is the engine revs and you go no where. My car has only 38,500 miles on it and is out of warranty by a couple of months. I had the car tuned adding somewhere around 100 hp 6,000 miles before this happened and audi says this is what caused the issue. To fix the sensor error code p179e00 was around $5,000.