Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government
holds on this vehicle.
Owners have filed 32 safety complaints
about the 2014 Audi A4 with the US government. Of those, 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 13 complaints, 41% of the total.
The typical failure was reported at 80,000 miles,
the median across the 13
complaints that gave
an odometer reading.
Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files
· Covers November 2019 to August 2026 · How this is counted
What is on file
32 complaints on file
32
Complaints
0
Describe a crash
0
Mention fire
0
People injured
0
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 13 · 41%
13 41%
STEERING 9 · 28%
9 28%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 3 · 9%
3 9%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 3 · 9%
3 9%
POWER TRAIN 2 · 6%
2 6%
SERVICE BRAKES 2 · 6%
2 6%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2 · 6%
2 6%
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 1 · 3%
1 3%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 · 3%
1 3%
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 1 · 3%
1 3%
STRUCTURE 1 · 3%
1 3%
SUSPENSION 1 · 3%
1 3%
0815
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 2020 at 10.
12 9 6 3
192019202020212021222022232023242024252025262026
This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure
happened. The range runs from 2019 to 2026, the last of them a part year, which is why its column is drawn faint.
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 2014 Audi A4, and it is a separate
question from what owners report going wrong later.
Test
4 DR AWD
4 DR FWD
Overall
Frontal crash
Frontal, driver
Frontal, passenger
Side crash
Side barrier
Side pole
Rollover
Chance of rollover
9.9%
9.9%
Stability control standard Forward collision warning standard Lane departure warning standard
A rating belongs to a tested body style and drivetrain, not to the model as a whole, which is why more than one is listed.
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 AND ENGINE COOLING
towed · 82,000 miles
The contact owns a 2014 Audi A4. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, a message advising to stop the vehicle immediately was displayed. The contact pulled into a parking lot, where the contact noticed that coolant was leaking onto the ground. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the coolant pump had failed and needed to be replaced. The local dealer and another dealer, Audi North Atlanta (11505 Alpharetta Hwy, Roswell, GA 30076), were then notified of the failure, but the contact was not informed that the VIN was included in a recall related to the failure. The vehicle was repaired by the independent mechanic. The contact later became aware that …
NHTSA complaint 11601482, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
SERVICE BRAKES
I am reporting severe vehicle safety defects and merchant safety non-compliance regarding a 2014 Audi A4. The vehicle was financed with severe, undisclosed engine defects, specifically extreme oil consumption and catastrophic coolant leaks. When I requested warranty repairs, a dealership representative named Stephen explicitly instructed me in writing via text message to intentionally operate the vehicle with active oil and coolant failures until the engine suffered a total mechanical blowout. Relying on this directive, I operated the vehicle, resulting in a sudden engine seizure inside a high-traffic 4-way light intersection placing my safety in immediate jeopardy. Additionally, the …
NHTSA complaint 11760188, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
ENGINE
The timing chain and tensioner in my 2014 Audi A4 Quattro (VIN: [XXX] ) failed without warning, causing the engine to suddenly stall and become inoperable while in motion. This presented a serious safety hazard. Although my vehicle is slightly outside the settlement mileage and time limit, timing chains are considered a lifetime component and are not a maintenance item, meaning they are not expected to fail and are not listed as requiring inspection or replacement under any Audi maintenance schedule. This failure was sudden, catastrophic, and safety-related. Audi and Volkswagen have already acknowledged this timing chain defect in federal class-action litigation (Opheim et al. v. Volkswagen …
NHTSA complaint 11700399, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
98,000 miles
The contact owns a 2014 Audi A4. The contact stated while at a stop sign and attempting to proceed, the vehicle stalled and failed to return to normal operation. The contact and her boyfriend shifted into neutral and pushed the vehicle to the side of the road for a while until the vehicle eventually restarted. The Electronic power control (EPC) warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was driven back to the residence where the boyfriend used a diagnostic scanner to diagnose the vehicle. The contact was informed that the fuel pump sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was scanned a second time and it was determined that the …
NHTSA complaint 11607526, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
The third brake light intermittently stops working. Being that it is intermittent, it tells me the led and circuitry are working. Also, a warning alert will illuminate on my dash instrument cluster and not when the light is working again. Upon further searching on-line, there is an issue with a solder joint cracking. I believe this is the case because when i jiggle the connector, the light will illuminate. Since this light is required by law, this is a very important safety issue. And a rather expensive one since the replacement part alone is $150-$200.
NHTSA complaint 11579220. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
ENGINE
Heating/ cooling system is not functioning correctly, continues to get warning meage from car heating/coolant warning, and engine coolant is leaking out
NHTSA complaint 11575230. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
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.
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.
G
Compiled and maintained by guarledes Independent developer and analyst