CSR

Audi · NHTSA safety record

2010 Audi S4

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

60

Complaints

2

Crashes

0

Fires

0

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2010 Audi S4 have filed 60 safety complaints with NHTSA between August 2010 and September 2025. The most complained-about system is the power train, named in 42 of them (70%). The typical failure was reported at 58,950 miles, the median across the 54 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

No recall campaign was matched to this year, make and model. That is not the same as a clean vehicle: recalls are issued against production ranges, and the only reliable check is your own VIN.

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 60.

POWER TRAIN 42 70%
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 11 18%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 6 10%
ENGINE 4 7%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 2 3%
SERVICE BRAKES 2 3%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2 3%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 3%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 2%
STEERING 1 2%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2016 at 12.

2010 2016 2025
2010 to 2025

In owners' own words

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

SERVICE BRAKES

crash · 68,000 miles

AUDI S4 2010, ELECTRONIC PARKING BREAK RANDOMLY DISENGAGED WHILE PARKED IN A SLOPED PARKING LOT. CAR ROLLED BACK INTO ANOTHER VEHICLE CAUSING 1800 DOLLARS OF DAMAGE.

NHTSA complaint 10894981. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES

crash · 68,000 miles

FOLLOW UP ON AUDI S4 2010: ELECTRONIC PARKING BRAKE DISENGAGED WHILE PARKED IN SLOPED PARKING LOT. CAR ROLLED BACK INTO ANOTHER PARKED VEHICLE CAUSING 1800 DOLLARS WORTH OF DAMAGE. CALLED THE AUDI DEALERSHIP ABOUT THIS ISSUE AND THEY CLAIM "THEY HAVE NEVER HEARD OF IT. " I DID SOME RESEARCH AND APPARENTLY THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN REPORTED BY APPROXIMATELY 6 OTHER PEOPLE ON AUDI FORUMS SUCH AS AUDIFORUM.COM

NHTSA complaint 10894986. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
Unknown

NHTSA complaint 11688973. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
ONCE CAR IS PUT INTO REVERSE IT LAUNCHES BACK ? ALSO IN FIRST ONE PUT IN COST IT WANTS TO MOVE PRACTICALLY FORWARD .

NHTSA complaint 11320167. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN

102,998 miles

CAR SLAMMED INTO DIFFERENT GEAR, WASN'T ABLE TO SHIFT INTO 2ND AND THREW GEARBOX MALFUNCTION AND TPMS ERRORS. THANKFULLY I WAS NEAR HOME AND ABLE TO MAKE IT THERE WITHOUT AN ACCIDENT OR BEING STRANDED, BUT MY CAR IS NOW IMMOBILE. I SPOKE WITH AUDI AND THEY SAID IT WILL LIKELY BE A $4K REPAIR (MECHATRONICS UNIT). AFTER RESEARCHING THIS MORE, IT SEEMS TO BE A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THESE CARS. IT CAN HAPPEN AT ANY TIME AND CAN BE EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. THERE'S ALSO A PENDING CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT TO GET AUDI TO DO THE RIGHT THING AND RECALL THESE CARS AND FIX THEM.

NHTSA complaint 11320125. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

99,000 miles

MY CAR FLASHED GEARBOX MALFUNCTION WHILE DRIVING DOWN INTERSTATE I-264 IN LOUISVILLE KY. CAR SEAMED FINE FOR ABOUT 2 MILES AND THEN SUDDENLY WENT LIMP AND I HAD NO GEARS. HAD TO HIT FLASHERS AND COAST INTO MEDIAN. WAS ALMOST HIT BY SEMI TRUCK. REPAIR SHOP COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG. HAPPENED AGAIN 1 DAY AFTER GETTING IT BACK FROM SHOP. TAKING IT TO AUDI NOW. I HAVE READ THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM.

NHTSA complaint 11270568. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN

79,000 miles

MECHATRONIC ISSUES.

NHTSA complaint 11251998. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN

72,000 miles

THE WHOLE CAR JERKED WHEN GOING TO 2ND GEAR AND THEN THETPMS, NO REVERSE, AND GEAR MALFUNCTION LIGHTS COMES ON. 2ND, 4TH, 6TH, AND REVERSE GEAR ARE GONE. RESTARTING THE CAR CLEARED THE WARNING AND DROVE FINE FOR 10 MILES BEFORE IT HAPPENS AGAIN. TRY RESTARTING AGAIN TO CLEAR THE WARNING BUT LIGHT WILL COME BACK ON WHEN GOING TO 2ND OR REVERSE.

NHTSA complaint 11232383. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Audi S4

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2020 16 3
2014 17 1
2013 32 1
2012 22 1
2011 26 1

Other 2010 Audi models

Every Audi on this site — 147 vehicles, 216 recall campaigns and 0 open investigation s.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst