Audi A4 engine problems

ENGINE

Oil consumption is extremely high this vehicle burns way to much oil in short amount of time. Oil has to be added every 300 to 400 miles and there are no leaks present

NHTSA complaint #11750557 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ENGINE

The vehicle displayed a low coolant warning and the coolant reservoir was low. Audi dealer service records dated on or about 02/14/2025 document the concern as: “client states low coolant warning was on, coolant reservoir is low, diagnose and advise.” The dealer performed coolant-related work involving the thermostat gasket / coolant hoses or connections to the coolant reservoir, ran the vehicle to operating temperature, and rechecked. The concern is being reported because the coolant loss/refill issue continued or remained unresolved afterward. The exact source of coolant loss is unknown, but it may involve the water pump, thermostat, coolant reservoir, coolant hoses/pipes, pressure loss, internal coolant leak, or coolant loss that evaporates before leaving visible residue. This is a safety concern because coolant loss can lead to overheating, warning messages, limp mode, loss of propulsion, engine damage, steam/smoke, or stall risk while driving. No crash, fire, injury, or fatality occurred. The vehicle/component is available for inspection, and Audi service records, coolant-system communications, photos, and water-pump/coolant-related documents are available.

NHTSA complaint #11747808 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ENGINE

The engine oil level has been gradually dropping and has required monitoring and/or adding oil between normal service intervals. The exact source is unknown. It may involve abnormal oil consumption, an external oil leak, internal engine oil consumption, PCV/oil separator issue, turbo-related oil consumption, gasket/seal issue, or oil loss that is not leaving an obvious visible puddle. This is being reported as a safety concern because low engine oil or abnormal oil loss can lead to low oil pressure, warning messages, engine overheating or damage, smoke, oil contacting hot engine/exhaust components, limp mode, stalling, or loss of propulsion while driving. The issue should be inspected rather than treated as normal maintenance unless a proper diagnosis confirms normal operation. No crash, fire, injury, or fatality occurred. The vehicle/component is available for inspection, and oil-level/refill records, repair records, photos, receipts, and service communications are available if requested.

NHTSA complaint #11747848 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ENGINE

My wife drove back home from work around 5:45 PM EST on March 2, 2026 and parked the car in the garage as always. She parked and turned off the car and got out to check the mail from the mailbox across the street. The music stopped when she turned off the car ignition after putting the transmission in park position and opened the door to get out. She walked to the mailbox and heard a loud bang. She turned around and found the car in the swale between our and our neighbor’s property against our neighbor’s tree. The car drove in reverse by itself without anyone inside it. Our car does not have remote start. She ran to the car and got inside it and turned it on to get it out of the swale. She drove it back into the garage and parked again. She turned it off and waited in the car for few minutes to check. She got out of the car keeping the garage door open and waited for few more minutes before closing the garage door.

NHTSA complaint #11728227 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

The contact owns a 2022 Audi A4. The contact stated that while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle stalled in the middle of the roadway and failed to restart. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the used car dealer where it was purchased. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle with engine failure and stated that there was a hole in the engine block. The contact was referred to an Audi dealer for a diagnostic test. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed, and it was determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The contact inquired about the cause of the engine failure, and the contact was informed that a thorough diagnostic test had not been completed. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer submitted a claim for Goodwill Assistance to the manufacturer; however, the claim was denied. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V753000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, neither the VIN nor the model vehicle was included. The failure mileage was approximately 51,155.

NHTSA complaint #11724901 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

The contact owned a 2018 Audi A4. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was fluid leaking from the front of the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact also stated that while the vehicle was parked, there was a puddle of fluid leaking from the front of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed and it was determined that the water pump had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 92,000.

NHTSA complaint #11717605 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

The contact owns a 2015 Audi A4. The contact stated that when the vehicle was started, the coolant warning light illuminated. The vehicle was turned off and restarted after 20 minutes, and the coolant warning light was no longer illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 141,177.

NHTSA complaint #11703017 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

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 Group of America), and my VIN is included in the affected vehicle list. Audi’s own dealership technician confirmed that the timing chain is stretched, the tensioner is fully extended, and the intake camshaft timing is off by a tooth—clearly matching the known defect. The vehicle stalled suddenly while arriving at a repair facility, and it would not restart. Had this occurred on a highway, a collision could have easily resulted. This is a known safety defect, affecting engine timing, power loss, and stall risk. The manufacturer denies responsibility despite known defects, safety implications, and VIN eligibility. I am requesting NHTSA to investigate Audi’s refusal to address a known and documented safety-related defect involving a critical non-maintenance engine component that is expected to last the life of the vehicle. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA complaint #11700399 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ENGINE

The turbocharger wastegate actuator failed suddenly at highway speeds, causing loss of engine power and making it extremely difficult to maintain highway speeds. The warnings that suddenly appeared caused the cruise control to cease working as well. The dealership (Audi Miami South by The Collection) inspected the vehicle and confirmed the wastegate actuator seized, requiring a complete replacement of the turbocharger. The vehicle has 53,000 miles.

NHTSA complaint #11681309 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ENGINE

I leased a 2023 Audi A4 with 0 miles. At ~10,000 miles my car automatically shut down electronically I have photo evidence of this. This happened again recently at ~45,000 miles, I almost got into a severe car accident and possibly died. This happened on the highway driving in the left lane. I tried to remedy this situation before and was ignored by Aud's service center. I am scared I can die on the road and am taking in the car for repeat service tomorrow.

NHTSA complaint #11673447 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ENGINE

The vehicle at 13,xxx miles on the high ways, and during stop & go traffic; vehicle begins to tremble, transmission and floor shakes, rpms are higher than normal, abnormal noises coming from engine (screeching), jerking on acceleration on the first gears, rough idle, happens only on highways after 1hr of driving. Can drive over 40 min without any check engine light turning on. No codes come up, while clearly having issues. After a day of being off, car goes back to normal without those issues, just vibrations and pulsing on idle. -happens on Texas highways where vehicle begins to have trouble with acceleration and transmission shakes yet no check engine or error messages appear. -problem has been shown to one Audi dealer while happening and another Audi dealer was able to reproduce the problem. They even noted how vehicle will do all the issues noted above while not providing any error codes or messages. - vehicle has been inspected but all they do is reset software and hand back keys. While issues are still prevalent. - no warning, no over heat or any codes appear on the vehicle. Issues started at 13,xxx miles. Only on long highway or stop and go traffic does it happens

NHTSA complaint #11652167 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ENGINE

The vehicle has an oil consumption issue whereby I top off the oil in about every 400 miles. The dealership indicated that this is a known problem with Audi. The issue first started with warnings that engine is overheating and with further warnings that oil level is low

NHTSA complaint #11643289 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ENGINE

Spark plug for damaged due to oil seeping into it. This could lead to overheating of engine or cylinders getting damaged potentially leading to vehicle malfunction when I drive. Audi inspected the part and recommended to reseal the top of the engine. There was a warning for check engine which led to identifying the problem

NHTSA complaint #11643290 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ENGINE

Hi My name is [XXX] and I have an 2014 Audi A4 that has been consuming to much oil ever since I bought it . I see the vehicles contained defective pistons that caused excessive oil consumption. Can you please help with this ? INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA complaint #11639781 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ENGINE

The car is completely defective,total engine, gasket,water pump,intake manifold,airbag, transmission,torque,drive shaft, universal joints,all rear axles,wheel bearing,bought at auction Aug 19,2024, $4000, the as is was so small and on the back of a sheet we did not see it,we are senior,

NHTSA complaint #11634360 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ENGINE

No 3 cylinder piston ring failure .Loss of compression.

NHTSA complaint #11629116 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ENGINE

Audi A4 Water pump and Thermostat failure. VW/ Audi USA had a recall on this issue for several models including the Audi A4 models thru 2016. My car was built in 2016 with model year 2017 and according to the recall my car did not qualify. Since then there has been several Class Action Lawsuits for this same issue. I was fortunate I discovered the leak while the car was parked in my garage and wasn't on the freeway. It seems that VW/Audi USA hasn't corrected this issue leaving many people in danger of a possible breakdown and a premature costly repair. In addition, I was denied the Class Action Lawsuit extended warranty by 3 months. So this premature costly repair was on me. Thank you for all you do to keep us safe.

NHTSA complaint #11620159 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ENGINE

Crank case ventilation hose breaks and engine runs poorly part#06C103235B

NHTSA complaint #11619369 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ENGINE

There is a recall for the year after this when many Audi owners of this model have the same issue per the Audi forums. We have the coolant leaking issue as well and it should have been included in the recall

NHTSA complaint #11617631 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ENGINE

Component that failed is a/an electric coolant pump for turbo. Yes, it is available for inspection. Safety was compromised due to increased risk of fire. Yes, the issue has been confirmed by Audi Service Department. Yes the vehicle has been inspected by Manufacturers local service department. Yes, the check engine light and ECU light were illuminated on the dash of vehicle 3 weeks before car was taken in for service.

NHTSA complaint #11617050 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.