2012 Audi S4: owner complaints and recalls

Analysis of 22 owner complaints filed with NHTSA and 1 recall campaigns. Updated 2026-07-25.

22
Complaints
1
Recalls
0
Crash reports
2
Fire reports
0
Injuries
54.5
Severity index

Severity index 54.5 - Medium. This weights crashes, fires, injuries and fatalities per 100 complaints; see methodology.

What actually fails

ComponentComplaintsShare of complaints citing it
POWER TRAIN1463.6%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM522.7%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM313.6%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER29.1%
SERVICE BRAKES29.1%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL14.5%

The single most-reported system is POWER TRAIN, cited in 14 of 22 complaints (63.6%). One complaint can name several systems, so these shares overlap and do not total 100%.

Complaints filed per year

2012: 12015: 32016: 12017: 72018: 62019: 4121516171819
YearComplaints
20121
20153
20161
20177
20186
20194
Complaint volume is rising - the last three years carry 3.4x the filings of the three before them, which usually signals a wear-related defect surfacing with age.

Recall campaigns

CampaignReportedComponentSummary
15V01900020/01/2015FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:FUEL INJECTION SYSTEM:FUEL RAILVolkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 Audi S4, S5, Q7, 2012 Audi A6, Volkswagen Touareg Hybrid, and 2012-2013 Audi A7 vehicles. In the affected vehicles the fuel injection system may experience a fuel leak.
Source. US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration public complaint and recall APIs (api.nhtsa.gov), retrieved 2026-07-25. Complaints are unverified consumer reports; volume is influenced by how many units were sold and how long the vehicle has been on the road. Not affiliated with NHTSA or any manufacturer.