Audi · NHTSA safety record

2011 Audi A4 Avant

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

Owners have filed 32 safety complaints about the 2011 Audi A4 Avant with the US government. Of those, 2 mention a fire and no death is recorded. No recall campaign has been matched to this year, make and model.

The most complained-about system is the engine, named in 17 complaints, 53% of the total. The typical failure was reported at 59,000 miles, the median across the 25 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers September 2013 to December 2021 · How this is counted

What is on file

32 complaints on file

Complaints

Describe a crash

Mention fire

People injured

Deaths

A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.

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.

Which system owners named

Complaints naming each system

ENGINE 17 · 53% 17 53%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER 6 · 19% 6 19%

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 4 · 13% 4 13%

POWER TRAIN 4 · 13% 4 13%

STEERING 4 · 13% 4 13%

AIR BAGS 2 · 6% 2 6%

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 2 · 6% 2 6%

EXTERIOR LIGHTING 2 · 6% 2 6%

ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 · 3% 1 3%

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 1 · 3% 1 3%

STRUCTURE 1 · 3% 1 3%

SUSPENSION 1 · 3% 1 3%

0 8 15

One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 32.

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2016 at 9.

12 9 6 3

13 2013 14 2014 15 2015 16 2016 17 2017 18 2018 19 2019 21 2021

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2013 to 2021.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA crashes a car into a barrier and a pole and measures what happens to the dummies inside. This is what it awarded the 2011 Audi A4 AVANT, and it is a separate question from what owners report going wrong later.

Test	SW AWD
Overall
Frontal crash
Frontal, driver
Frontal, passenger
Side crash
Side barrier
Side pole
Rollover
Chance of rollover	9.9%

Stability control standard Forward collision warning standard Lane departure warning standard

A dash means NHTSA did not rate that test for this vehicle.

In owners’ own words

Quoted from the complaint file

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

ENGINE Filed February 21, 2014

fire · 40,000 miles

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 AUDI A4. THE CONTACT STATED THAT AFTER THE AIR CONDITIONER WAS ACTIVATED, THE CONTACT NOTICED A BURNING ODOR INSIDE THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED AND TWENTY MINUTES LATER, THE FRONT END OF THE VEHICLE BECAME ENGULFED IN FLAMES. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WAS CALLED TO THE SCENE AND EXTINGUISHED THE FIRE. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED AT THE SCENE. THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INSPECTED TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 40,000.

NHTSA complaint 10565286. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STRUCTURE:BODY Filed August 1, 2019

fire · 120,000 miles

CAR WAS PARKED OUTSIDE OUR APARTMENT BUILDING. IT WAS OFF AND HADN'T BEEN DRIVEN IN OVER 20HRS. AT 11AM A FIRE BROKE OUT IN THE REAR DRIVER SIDE SEAT. FIRE DEPARTMENT ARRIVED PUT OUT THE FIRE, SAID IT WAS NOT ARSON BUT RATHER ELECTRICAL ISSUE. THE CAR FRONT DASH WAS PARTIALLY MELTED, REAR SEAT BIG CHAR BLACK SEATING MATERIAL AND SHOWED EXPOSED WIRES.

NHTSA complaint 11241009. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE Filed December 22, 2021

The contact owns a 2011 Audi A4. The contact stated she needed to add 1 quart of oil frequently to the vehicle. The contact stated that the oil warning light was illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer and had the oil consumption test completed twice but was not able to diagnose the failure. The contact stated she continued to add 1 quart of oil frequently, but the failure started to progress. The contact stated that the oil pressure warning light was illuminated and the turn-off engine warning message was displayed. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer and had an unknown sensor replaced. The vehicle was repaired but continued to experience the failure. The

NHTSA complaint 11444742, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE Filed June 27, 2019

60,000 miles

IT APPEARS THAT DUE TO A MANUFACTURING/ENGINEERING DEFECT, THE TIMING CHAIN ON CERTAIN AUDI AND VOLKSWAGEN MODELS FAILS AFTER A CERTAIN NUMBER OF MILES. THIS TIMING CHAIN FAILURE HAS BEEN DETERMINED TO CAUSE SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE TO THE VEHICLE'S ENGINE, IN MANY CASES REQUIRING A COMPLETE ENGINE REPLACEMENT. REGRETTABLY, THIS IS WHAT RECENTLY HAPPENED WITH MY 2011 AUDI A4. IN FACT, THERE WAS A FAIRLY HIGH-PROFILE CLASS ACTION FILED AGAINST VOLKSWAGEN (CIVIL ACTION NO. 16-2765 (JLL)(JAD) THAT WAS RECENTLY SETTLED. (SEE UNFORTUNATELY, THE SETTLEMENT IS EXTREMELY FLAWED AND LEAVES VEHICLE OWNERS INADEQUATELY COMPENSATED IF THEIR VEHICLES ARE ABOVE A CERTAIN NUMBER OF MILES OR IF THE OWNERS MISSED

NHTSA complaint 11222952, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM Filed May 13, 2019

MY VEHICLE WAS BURNING OIL FASTER THAN NORMAL. I HAVE SINCE HAD MY CAR IN THE SHOP SEVERAL TIMES BEFORE OIL CHANGES WERE DUE TO TOP OFF OIL DO TO SEVERAL LIGHTS COMING ON: "MIN OIL", "OIL PRESSURE TOO LOW"

NHTSA complaint 11207326. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE Filed May 6, 2019

92,000 miles

MY VEHICLE WAS BURNING OIL FASTER THAN NORMAL. I HAVE SINCE HAD MY CAR IN THE SHOP SEVERAL TIMES BEFORE OIL CHANGES WERE DUE TO TOP OFF OIL DO TO SEVERAL LIGHTS COMING ON: "MIN OIL", "OIL PRESSURE TOO LOW". I HAVE HAD SEVERAL OIL CONSUMPTION TESTS EACH YEAR AS WELL AS PARTS REPLACED: PRESSURE REGULATING VALVE, CRANKSHAFT DAMPER AND SEAL. HAD A 40 POINT INSPECTION IN 2014 AT 44K MILES AND IN 2015 REQUESTED A MULTI INSPECTION AT 55K MILES. I HAD SEVERAL OIL CONSUMPTION TESTS AROUND THESES DATES: 3/714, 5/7/15, 11/12/15. AFTER THEY CHANGED OUT PARTS I HAD TO CHANGE 4 FUEL INJECTORS IN 2016. TO FAST FORWARD I HAD ALL OIL CHANGES ON TIME AND HAD TO ADD OIL SEVERAL TIMES IN-BETWEEN SERVICES. ON

NHTSA complaint 11205888, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STEERING Filed May 6, 2019

100,220 miles

AS I AM MAKING A TURN ONTO ANOTHER STREET IN TOWN MY STEERING WHEEL LOCKS UP, WHEN I COMPLETE A TURN IT WON'T WALK IT'S WAY BACK AROUND, YOU HAVE TO FORCE IT AROUND. I HAVE NEVER FELT SOMETHING LIKE THIS BEFORE, IT IS DEFINITELY A SAFETY ISSUE.

NHTSA complaint 11205890. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other 2011 Audi models

Q5 143 A3 43 S4 26 Q7 23 A6 21 A8 15 A5 Cabriolet 14 S5 8

Complaints on file, same model year.

Every Audi on this site — 155 vehicles.

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. How many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.

Where these numbers come from

Complaints: NHTSA's ODI complaint file, published October 2, 2026. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.
Recalls: NHTSA's recall campaign API, no campaign on file for this vehicle.
Investigations: NHTSA's ODI investigation file, published October 2, 2026.

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 guarledes
Independent developer and analyst