CSR

Audi · NHTSA safety record

2020 Audi S4

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

16

Complaints

0

Crashes

0

Fires

0

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2020 Audi S4 have filed 16 safety complaints with NHTSA between April 2024 and August 2025. The most complained-about system is the electrical system, named in 14 of them (88%).

NHTSA has issued 3 recalls covering this vehicle.

Recalls (3)

TIRES

22V034000 · January 26, 2022

The defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2019-2021 Audi A5 Sportback, RS5 Coupe, RS5 Sportback, S5 Sportback, 2020-2021 A4 Allroad, A4 Sedan, A5 Cabriolet, A5 Coupe, A6 Allroad, A6 Sedan, A7, A8, Q5, S4 Sedan, S5 Coupe, S5 Cabriolet, S6 Sedan, S7, S8, SQ5, 2021 Q5 Sportback, Q7, Q8, RS6 Avant, RS7, RSQ8, SQ5 Sportback, SQ7, and SQ8 vehicles. The rear axle alignment may not have been inspected after the repairs for Recall 21V-295 (42L1) were performed.
The risk
Rear axle misalignment may cause premature or uneven tire wear, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will inspect the rear axle, adjust the alignment as necessary, and replace any prematurely or unevenly worn tires, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 3, 2022. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 42L5.

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. · up to 31,058 vehicles across all model years covered

SEATS

21V874000 · November 10, 2021

The defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2017-2020 A4 Allroad, A4 Sedan, 2018-2019 RS5 Coupe, 2019 RS5 Sportback, 2018-2020 A5 Cabriolet, A5 Coupe, A5 Sportback, S4 Sedan, S5 Cabriolet, S5 Coupe, and Audi S5 Sportback vehicles. The cable connecting the seat heater to the Passenger Occupant Detection System (PODS) may have a contact fault, causing the software to misdiagnose a malfunction and disable the passenger air bag.
The risk
A disabled passenger air bag increases the risk of injury in the event of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the connecting cable and either the heating mat or entire seat cover, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 7, 2022. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 74E3. This recall is an expansion of Recall 19V-547 (74D9). Vehicles previously repaired under 19V-547 will need to return for the new remedy.

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. · up to 208,332 vehicles across all model years covered

SUSPENSION:REAR:AXLE:NON-POWERED AXLE ASSEMBLY

21V295000 · April 26, 2021

The defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2021 Q7, Q8, Q5 Sportback, SQ5 Sportback, RS6 Avant, RS7, RS Q8, 2020-2021 Audi S6 sedan, Q5, A8, S8, A7, A6 Allroad, A5 Cabriolet, A4 sedan, A4 Allroad, SQ5, S7, A6 sedan, S5 coupe, S4 sedan, S5 Cabriolet, A5 coupe, 2019-2021 RS5 coupe, A5 Sportback, S5 Sportback, RS5 Sportback vehicles. The lock nut on the trailing arm of the rear axle may break due to stress corrosion.
The risk
A broken lock nut may misalign the rear axle, causing a loss of control and increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the lock nuts and, if necessary, the associated bolts, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 4, 2021. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 42L1.

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. · up to 40,993 vehicles across all model years covered

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 16.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 14 88%
BACK OVER PREVENTION 9 56%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 5 31%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 6%
LANE DEPARTURE 1 6%
VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 6%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2025 at 15.

2024 2025
2024 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.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
My instrument cluster and its replacements have malfunctioned multiple times. The original instrument cluster/virtual cockpit failed to boot and had a black/blank screen on 4/19/2024 at 29,687 miles and was replaced on 5/15/2024 at 29,923 mi. That replacement one worked fine for a while and then did the same thing on 7/15/2024 at 33,655 miles and on 1/10/2025 at 42,532 miles. The instrument cluster was then replaced again on 2/10/2025 at 43,841 miles. That replacement unit took only a couple of days to act up again with the blank screen on startup on 2/13/2025 at 43,965 miles and once more on 8/1/2025 at 52,673 miles. I'm currently waiting to hear back from the dealer to get the instrument

NHTSA complaint 11679321, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The Audi MMI malfunctions and reboots randomly while driving. Possibly being a software issue. There is a TSB code that the dealer used to reference for me ( TSB 2078437/1), but I cannot find it on the NHTSA website. The reboot issue shuts off all functions associated with it, including, but not limited to: navigation, rearview camera, and parking sensor use. This poses a risk since it can be distracting to pull back your navigation while driving or having your rearview camera cutoff mid mid-use. The issue does not appear as a warning lamp or any type of notification, and there are multiple reports of similar issues on online forums that have not been addressed.

NHTSA complaint 11676957. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The MMI reboots continuously throughout my drive - whether it is 1 minute or an hour. It does this without a Bluetooth connection or wired connection. There is no ability to use hands free calling, listen to the radio, use Apple car play, Bluetooth, navigation, back up camera, parking assistance… It is startling to have your camera black out on your as your backing up (may back up camera works for about 45 seconds before stopping) I have done a hard reset. This is a problem that I am reading over and over and over again on forums I live nearly 2 hours from a dealer who takes weeks to get into and looking at a huge bill Hoping there is a fix soon

NHTSA complaint 11675209. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I am submitting a formal complaint regarding a persistent and dangerous issue with the MMI (Multi Media Interface) system in my 2020 Audi S4. Since February 2025, the system has been spontaneously rebooting both while the vehicle is idling and in motion. When this occurs, the screen goes black and critical safety systems such as the rearview camera, parking sensors, and navigation become unavailable. The system requires driver interaction to restore functionality once it restarts, creating a major distraction. These reboots now occur every few minutes, severely affecting both usability and safe operation of the vehicle. Initially, this issue happened infrequently (about once every two

NHTSA complaint 11674842, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The main infotainment system is stuck restarting every 1-2 minutes. When the car is put into reverse, the rear back up camera will turn off while the vehicle is in motion and not resume.

NHTSA complaint 11674214. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION
The vehicle software (known as Audi MMI) has been continuously rebooting every 30 seconds after the vehicle is started. This causes the entire dashboard (and entertainment screen) to repeatedly reboot which is very distracting while driving. While backing out of a parking spot, the MMI system rebooted which then disconnected my backup camera, blind spot warning, and rear collision warning systems which resulted in me almost hitting a car crossing behind me. There are zero messages anywhere in the car that an issue is present.

NHTSA complaint 11674215. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Audi S4

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2014 17 1
2013 32 1
2012 22 1
2011 26 1
2010 60 0

Other 2020 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.

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