audi s4 2013 Complaints

ENGINE

lost all coolant due to radiator leak from road hazard damage caused by bad design of front lower grill. it has no protective mesh and clear openings for rocks to protrude. i found this on audi forum two people now on the vairious boards have thought they lost their water pump, but in fact have had holes punched in their intercooling radiators by errant road debris which strikes the radiator at highway speeds and perforates it. since the engine and supercharger cooling systems share the same overflow container, but are seperate loops, it's only a matter of time before both systems have lost all coolant liquid, due to the one way valve system, the heating and cooling of the coolant and the shared overflow tank. this is not covered by audi warranty, and is considered wear and tear. it also removes the car from service until it parts are obtained and it can be repaired, not to mention the cost and frustration. http://forums.audiworld.com/showthread.php?t=2784308&highlight=nws4guy+mesh&page=22.

Reported in: SAN MARCOS CA || Crash: N || VIN #: WAUKGAFLXDA

STEERING

my 2013 audi s4 exhibits an alarming tendency to weave from side to side without a steering input. this occurs without a change in steering wheel position, vehicle speed, or change in road surface or prevailing wind direction. it is more pronounced at highway speeds and when wheel is centered at 12 o'clock but does occur at all speeds and steering vectors. audi dealership notes the problem and blames the new electric steering system but states it is a "characteristic" of the system and is not a defect. i disagree and feel any direction change in a vehicle without a driver input or a explainable external factor constitutes a potential safety issue.

Reported in: LITTLE ROCK AR || Crash: N || VIN #: WAUKGAFL5DA

STEERING

starting around february 2, 2013 my vehicle started displaying intermittent bizarre steering behavior. the issues were two fold. first, while driving at any speed but most commonly over 50 mph the steering exhibited a "slip and connect feeling" where the steering would feel disconnected (or very loosely connected) to the wheels. large driver steering inputs resulted in only minor corrections. only when turning the steering wheel about two inches in either direction would the steering grab and feel normal again. this phenomenon has resulted in several near miss accidents where the car swerves into the adjacent lane. the second issue is a steering notchiness which occurs at any speed and most apparent during turns. i can best describe this as if the steering, which is electronic, changes from high to low to high boost while turning the steering wheel. although not as much a safety concern as the first issue, it requires vigilant attention to ensure car control. both of these issues have been reported by many audi drivers on several online forums. the following thread has over 850 posts from concerned audi drivers, many with these same issues. http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php/513862-steering-issues-2013.

Reported in: LOS ANGELES CA || Crash: N || VIN #: WAUKGAFL2DA

STEERING

electric power steering (eps) randomly gets a "notchy" feeling and loses its true center. the wheel cannot be held at a perfect "12 o'clock." it is either at 11:57 or 12:03, so going straight down a road requires constant correction on the part of the driver. these notches persist throughout the entire steering wheel. in other words, by making a hard left, the wheel will pass through 8-10 different notches. at some point, the problem will then go away and disappear.

Reported in: LAFAYETTE HILL PA || Crash: N || VIN #: WAUBGAFL1DA

STEERING

my steering is unable to keep a straight line at times. the steering wheel feels like is in notched like a gear would be. my car will start moving towards the left lane like the alignment is off. when i try to correct this the steering makes a non fluid movement to next landing notch to the right, then the car starts moving off to the right lane. i have to move between these two landing notches every few seconds to remain within my lane. this is extremely unsafe and is very concerning! i today started researching this and it appears this is a well known issue with the newer audi's but not fix is being released.

Reported in: KALAMAZOO MI || Crash: N || VIN #:

STEERING

audi's electronic assisted steering on my s4 exhibits unpredictable behavior which could result in an accident. it has a "notch" at 12 o'clock where the car usually does not respond to wheel inputs until you turn it more than an inch in either direction. when it does finally react, it often overcompensates. it does not always happen however. sometimes the notchiness is present, sometimes it's not even on the same steering settings/same speed. i can not keep the car going straight at times. the slightest movement to the right steps it over into what feels like the next groove and i start slightly heading off the road too the right, try to correct and it steps a notch over to the left and i start slowly changing lanes that direction.

Reported in: BOSTON MA || Crash: N || VIN #: WAUBGAFL6DA

STEERING

while driving at a low speed on city roads, the steering became difficult to control. it felt as if the steering wheel was notching/ratcheting as i turned it. i was able to maintain control, but steering felt loose and inaccurate.

Reported in: ROCKVILLE MD || Crash: N || VIN #: WAUBGAFLXDA

STEERING

the steering has a notching just off center to the right and left. feels like the steering falls into a detent position. makes controlling the car awkward. the feel is not progressive. the steering cannot be held in the desired position.

Reported in: YARMOUTH ME || Crash: N || VIN #: WAUDGAFL0DA

STEERING

the steering feels notchy when turning, it also feels like it is floating when centered at freeway speeds, causing the driver to over correct to keep the vehicle straight. when turning there is a slight slip of resistance similar turning a dial with grooves. i do not feel safe with the unknown steering response.

Reported in: LOS ANGELES CA || Crash: N || VIN #: WAUKGBFL6DA

STEERING

the car's steering is extremely notchy and skips over the center entirely. it becomes easy and hard and whips back sometimes. it causes you to swerve in traffic and is a major safety issue. i have contacted audi of america and my dealer several times and they are aware of the issue, but they do not have a fix for it.

Reported in: MIDDLETOWN DE || Crash: N || VIN #: WAUDGAFL9DA

STEERING

car intermittently develops a "notchiness" around the center point and is non-responsive to steering input from center at highway speeds. there are many similar complaints on audi discussion forums.

Reported in: GAITHERSBURG MD || Crash: N || VIN #: WAUBGAFL5DA

STEERING

my 2013 audi s4 exhibits an alarming tendency to weave from side to side without a steering input. this occurs without a change in steering wheel position, vehicle speed, or change in road surface or prevailing wind direction. it is more pronounced at highway speeds and when wheel is centered at 12 o'clock but does occur at all speeds and steering vectors. audi dealership notes the problem and blames the new electric steering system but states it is a "characteristic" of the system and is not a defect. i disagree and feel any direction change in a vehicle without a driver input or a explainable external factor constitutes a potential safety issue.

Reported in: SAN JOSE CA || Crash: N || VIN #: WAUMGAFL7DA

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

found vehicle leaking engine coolant while parked in garage. radiator intercooler was at fault. if all or most coolant lost while driving at highway speeds engine may have catastrophic damage to occur with possible injury or loss of life. vw audi has known of this issue with the intercooler and has a protection screen (8k0-820-746-c) available for purchase. you need to force audi to have this item installed on all models affected before owner(s) cause an incident.

Reported in: FUQUAY VARINA NC || Crash: N || VIN #: WAUKGAFL8DA

ENGINE

the vehicle will not start. not with the "key" or the button starter. audi service claims its the battery but when the roadside service shows up its not the battery, so now a tow truck has to be called. this can happen at anytime and any place. audi denies it is a computer issue but yet the vehicle completely shuts down and nothing is available - electronically or more importantly manually. don't be out late at night or you might be a victim to more than a broken down vehicle. by the way this vehicle is less than one month old.

Reported in: BONSALL CA || Crash: N || VIN #:

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

the vehicle will not start. not with the "key" or the button starter. audi service claims its the battery but when the roadside service shows up its not the battery, so now a tow truck has to be called. this can happen at anytime and any place. audi denies it is a computer issue but yet the vehicle completely shuts down and nothing is available - electronically or more importantly manually. don't be out late at night or you might be a victim to more than a broken down vehicle. by the way this vehicle is less than one month old.

Reported in: BONSALL CA || Crash: N || VIN #:

STEERING

the power steering in my new 2013 audi s4 failed while driving 4 days after purchase. i couldn't turn the wheel and needed lot of effort to turn it. i luckily managed to get back home. the power steering malfunction showed up on console when i was going at 35mph and i panicked but managed to control the car. i couldn't even park the car.as i took the car from a dealer who is 40miles away from my place i had to call them but they mentioned that they cant tow the car 40miles and gave a nearby service address. when i called the nearby service they said that they don't have any loaners and cant help. my purchase dealer finally sent a tow truck and i had to go along with them at 9 pm to the service center and even they mentioned that they don?t have loaners available. luckily a lady then just dropped her loaner car which was given to me. the service center mentioned that the power steering module failed and needs to be replaced. i was shocked to see steering failure on a 4 days old audi i clearly mentioned the dealer that i wont be taking the old car and asked for a new one. its been more than a week and the audi response was soo sick they cant find a similar car for me. if the color matches then the options i preferred wouldn't or if they match the color wouldn't. i am soo frustrated that even the so called premium brand cant even satisfy their customer with what they want? they decided what car i should be taking by giving me very few options which doesn?t satisfy what i want even after spending a lot. the steering failure is such a life hazard and would have caused an accident. some serious action needs to be taken on this but don't know whom to contact. i don't know if there are any region wise head for audi with whom i definitely want to talk but the advocate says that they cant help. this is the most scared and frustrated experience of owning a premium brand like audi.

Reported in: ANN ARBOR MI || Crash: N || VIN #: WAUBGAFL9DA

STEERING

my 2013 audi s4 went into the dealership for its first free oil change. without my permission they installed an update on my power steering(48k8) and now my car veers from one lane to another. my steering wheel does not move yet my car goes from the right side of the road to the other. the dealers "act" like they have never heard of this problem, yet it is all over the internet. audi commonwealth and audi newport refuse to help or say they cant do anything. audi usa, like the dealerships, claim they have never heard of this problem. i have since brought the car back 3 times and nothing changed each time. they gave my car an alignment and chamber check and still nothing changed. they also loosed, bounced and reset front lower control arms, road tested, and still wondered. they performed a few other random things, inspect i shaft u joints(which were fine), g85 steering angle sensor basic settings performed(didnt help), power steering end lock adaptation performed(didn't help). shop forman road tested and verified the vehicle is now operating normal compared to like vehicle, other vehicles have this same problem, i don't want my car to drive like other cars, i want my car to drive like it did before commonwealth audi performed a service i did not ask for or ok. i am the only person to ever drive my car, i know how it drove before and after the update, not the shop forman. this is extremely unsafe for cars to be wondering the road like this.

Reported in: COSTA MESA CA || Crash: N || VIN #:

POWER TRAIN

this vehicle is known for having a faulty mechatronics unit. the mechatronics unit does not work correctly, and causes jerking and instability to the dsg transmission. i have almost rear ended other vehicles at red lights because the transmission will jerk forward unexpectedly and lunge me forward toward the vehicle ahead. this is not only an issue that a prestigious name like audi should not have, but it is a huge safety issue. audi of america is aware of this problem, but chooses to ignore it for the sake of not having to cover repairs for all the vehicles reporting this issue. a simple google search will yield results of just how common and widespread this issue is.

Reported in: BAKERSFIELD CA || Crash: N || VIN #: