What breaks most · 1992 to 2022 model years
Audi S4 problems by year
Owners have filed 588 safety complaints with NHTSA about the Audi S4 across model years 1992 to 2022. One year stands out: 2000 for electrical system complaints. The quietest years are 1995, 2003 and 2015.
- Years to check closely: 2000
- Fewest complaints: 1995, 2003, 2015
- Complaints on file
- 5881992 to 2022, all trims
- Worst year
- 2000143 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 154 fires · 10 injuries · 0 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 56kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 37Across the years shown
Complaints by model year
Raw filings with NHTSA, not adjusted for how many were sold.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Recalls | Most-reported component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 0 | 2 | Fuel system (3) | |
| 16 | 0 | 2 | Fuel system (10) | |
| 7 | 0 | 2 | Fuel system (6) | |
| 1 | 0 | 2 | Fuel system (1) | |
| 143 | 6 | 1 | Electrical system (49) | |
| 87 | 4 | 1 | Electrical system (47) | |
| 22 | 0 | 1 | Electrical system (10) | |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | Powertrain and transmission (1) | |
| 29 | 0 | 1 | Engine and cooling (12) | |
| 43 | 2 | 2 | Exterior lighting (33) | |
| 30 | 0 | 2 | Exterior lighting (22) | |
| 13 | 1 | 2 | Air bags (8) | |
| 4 | 0 | 2 | Air bags (3) | |
| 60 | 2 | 0 | Powertrain and transmission (42) | |
| 26 | 0 | 1 | Powertrain and transmission (22) | |
| 22 | 0 | 1 | Powertrain and transmission (14) | |
| 33 | 0 | 1 | Steering (19) | |
| 17 | 0 | 1 | Steering (6) | |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | Engine (1) | |
| 7 | 0 | 2 | Engine (4) | |
| 2 | 0 | 1 | Engine (1) | |
| 16 | 0 | 3 | Electrical system (14) | |
| 2 | 0 | 4 | Electrical system (1) | |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | Electrical system (1) |
What fails on the 2000 Audi S4
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical systemAlternators, starters and ignition | 34% |
49 | 0 | Shop electrical system parts for the 2000 Audi S4 |
| Tires | 26% |
37 | 0 | — |
| Brakes (hydraulic)Brake pads, rotors and calipers | 22% |
31 | 2 | Shop brakes (hydraulic) parts for the 2000 Audi S4 |
| Service Brakes, AIR | 7% |
10 | 0 | — |
| Air bags | 4% |
6 | 3 | Check recalls for air bags on NHTSA.gov |
| SteeringPower steering pumps, racks and hoses | 3% |
4 | 2 | Shop steering parts for the 2000 Audi S4 |
| Engine and coolingRadiators, thermostats and cooling | 3% |
4 | 0 | Shop engine and cooling parts for the 2000 Audi S4 |
| Equipment and infotainment | 2% |
3 | 0 | — |
One complaint can name more than one component, so shares add to more than 100%. "Unknown or other" is NHTSA's uncategorized bucket and is shown but never ranked.
In owners' words
Complaint narratives as filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length.
-
Center instrument cluster display does not function. Pixels which display critical vehicle warning information are out and illegible. Problem is permanent and entire cluster has to be replaced to fix problem.
How to read this page
Every figure comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's public complaint database, which holds every safety-related defect complaint filed by owners since 1995. We refresh it monthly and count each complaint once per component it names. Data through September 6, 2026.
NHTSA only accepts safety-related complaints. Rattles, paint, infotainment bugs and other annoyances are under-reported here, so this page is a map of what fails in ways owners consider dangerous, not a full reliability score.
Counts are raw. Use the year-over-year shape and the component mix, not the absolute numbers. Where a component maps to parts we stock, the row links to that category filtered to the year you are viewing. Air bag and seat belt complaints link to the recall checker instead, because those repairs are almost always covered.
Common questions
Which Audi S4 years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 2000 carries the most filings on the Audi S4. The 2000 alone has 143 complaints, led by electrical system.
What is the most common Audi S4 problem?
On the 2000 model year, the most-reported component is electrical system with 49 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do Audi S4 problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all Audi S4 complaints that include mileage is about 56,000 miles. Older model years skew higher; the per-year figure is in the "at a glance" card.
Are these complaints verified?
No. NHTSA publishes complaints as submitted and does not investigate individual filings. Patterns across hundreds of complaints are meaningful; a single one is not.