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The worst 2004 Audi A4 problems
Ranked by number of owner complaints. Mileage and cost come from what owners wrote.
Problems by type
Tap a problem to see which part fails, at what mileage and in which other years.
- Fuel system56
- Airbags26
- Engine25
- Acceleration16
- Tires16
- Visibility16
- Electrical15
- Lights14
- Transmission12
- Brakes5
- Body4
- Steering3
- Seat belts1
- Suspension1
Specific symptoms reported on the 2004 Audi A4
Fuel pump 52Stalling 28Headlights 13Airbag light 10Check engine light 9Engine failure 9Loss of power 9Wipers 8Won't start 7
Recalls 2
Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator module
- What is wrong
- Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2004-2008 Audi A4, and 2005-2011 Audi A6 vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands, or "Zone A." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" above, Volkswagen is recalling certain model year 2004-2008 Audi A4, and 2005-2008 Audi A6 vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, or "Zone B." Lastly, unless included in "Zone A" or "Zone B" above, Volkswagen is recalling model year 2004 Audi A4 vehicles originally sold, or registered, in Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules, and used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the front air bags, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
- Risk
- An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy
- Audi will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 28, 2017. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1‑800‑822‑2834.
Recall number 16V382000 · Recall details
Exterior lighting: headlights
- What is wrong
- On certain passenger vehicles, there is a possibility of xenon headlamp coating degradation over time. The luminous transmittance of the headlamp may decrease over a period of time.
- Risk
- This condition could affect a driver's field of view, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the left and right xenon headlamp reflectors free of charge. The recall began on april 11, 2005. Owners may contact audi at 1‑800‑822‑2834.
Recall number 05V096000 · Recall details
See all 2 recalls for the 2004 Audi A4
Defect investigations
Engine stalling - fuel pump failure
In response to odi's information request for pe08-027, volkswagen ag (vw) stated that it believes that the possible causal or contributory factors of the alleged defect in the subject vehicles could result from excessive accumulation of foreign materials in the fuel filter.in rare cases, the fuel filter could become clogged, which can cause increased pressure on the pump.vw indicated that engine stalls resulting from this condition are rare and would be preceded by symptoms such as reduced engine power, noise or hesitation.odi's analysis of complaint and warranty data determined that the rate of engine stall incidents resulting from fuel pump failure is low at approximately 0.2 percent after three years in service. On january 17, 2006, vw submitted a defect information report to odi concerning a safety recall to address a defect in the fuel pumps of approximately 74,000 model year (my) 2003 volkswagen passat (47,000), audi a4 (20,000) and audi a6 (7,000) vehicles built from september 2002 through march 2003 (the federal safety agency recall no. 06v‑017, vw recall nos. M7 for passat and jl for audi a4 and a6).according to vw, a sub-supplier experienced an unknown change in the material composition of the carbon-brush set used in the electric motor in the fuel pump, which could lead to increased wear of the carbon-brush sets, which in turn can lead to an inoperative fuel pump and, ultimately, stoppage of fuel supply to the engine.on july 23, 2007, vw expanded the scope of the recall to include vehicles manufactured from august 2002 through april 2003, adding another 34,358 vehicles to the original recall (24,801 volkswagen passat, 7,436 audi a4 and 2,121 audi a6 vehicles).odi assigned recall no. 07v‑375 to the amended recall report. The my 2004 audi a4 vehicles that are the subject of pe08-027 are not affected by the sub-supplier issue that prompted 06v‑017 and 07v‑375.production of the my 2004 vehicles began four months after the amended production range identified in 07v‑375.the fuel pump failures in the my 2004 vehicles have different causes than the defect identified in the prior recall populations and have occurred at much lower frequencies. Further investigation of this matter would not be an efficient allocation of agency resources.accordingly, this investigation is closed.the closing of this investigation does not constitute a find by the federal safety agency that a safety-related defect does not exist.the agency will continue to monitor complaints and other information relating to the alleged defect in the subject vehicles and take further action in the future if warranted.
PE08027
Technical service bulletins for the 2004 Audi A4 172
Bulletins tell dealers how to fix known problems. A warranty extension means the manufacturer pays for that repair for longer.
- This bulletin provides information on the additional reporting requirements for safety related inquiries.
- This special notice is to inform dealers to return the parts listed if it meets the criteria provided.
- This informational bulletin explains how to order replacement VIN plates, Safety Certification Labels, etc.
- This information bulletin contains instructions for technicans on how to ensure their TAC call goes smoothly.
- Exterior lights, moisture accumulation 2013-2021 A3 Cabriolet, 2016-2018 Sportback, 2004-2005 A4...
- New document 2004-2020 A4 allroad, A6 allroad, A8L, R8 Spyder
- Parts are currently blocked from sale at this time.
- This bulletin contains instructions for additional reporting requirements for safety related inquiries...
- 00 Software Version Management (SVM), operating instructions
- This communication is issued to inform dealers of updated shipping regulations related to lithium ion...
2004 Audi A4 fuel economy
Official EPA estimates in miles per gallon (MPGe for electric). Ranges cover trims that share the same engine.
| Engine | Drive | City | Highway | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.8L 4‑cyl | FWD | 20 | 27-29 | 23 |
| 1.8L 4‑cyl | 4WD | 18-19 | 26-28 | 21-22 |
| 3.0L 6‑cyl | FWD | 18 | 25-26 | 21 |
| 3.0L 6‑cyl | 4WD | 16 | 23-24 | 19 |
What 2004 Audi A4 owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
This took place about a week ago. The car was parked in our driveway when the fire started. My husband had returned home just 15 minutes prior to the fire starting. I noticed there was smoke coming in our living room window. Then I looked at our security camas. And saw smoke pouring out from underneath the hood of my car. We tried to put the fire out with our two hose system set up and it wouldn't go out. So we knew it was electrical. We couldn't get close enough to open the hood so I couldn't pour baking soda on it. Two fire extinguishers later like 10 minutes the firefighters showed up and we're able to put it out. They confirmed that the arch came from the battery terminals /cables. Two of the fireman said they'd never seen anything like this before. Then the car tried to START ITSELF as my husband and the two fireman were standing right in front of the Audi. They had to cut the remaining battery cable that wasn't completely burned through before it stopped. My neighbor has a recording of the whole incident. The engine compartment is destroyed! The engine might be all right but we don't have the finances to do anything but clean up. Oh and for extra fun one of the fireman took an ax the the hood of the A4 cabriolet I have had for maybe a month. Now we have no car and no real means of being able to fix it.
The contact owns a 2004 Audi A4. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the rear windshield became detached from the soft top. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer to be inspected. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and was awaiting a response. The failure mileage was approximately 86,000.
PRNDS appeared in red on my dash and then started blinking. Went on line regarding this and read about a TCM switch or a lever switch malfunction.Have an appt with mechanic on 8/26/21. From what I have read we are looking at a cost prohibitive repair of several thousands of dollars. Does Audi have any responsibility? Apparently it is a common complaint with the A4 model. Felt loss of power when decelerating.
I was driving to jacksonville florida and car had shut off on me on the highway in yulee florida I was stuck on the highway for 7 hrs my car is stuck in florida
I originally had 3 recalls on my vehicle I called in to see about getting them fixed free of charge as explained in the recall tech bulletin .the customer service representative proceeded in getting all of my information then after doing so tells me there are no recalls on my vehicle and proceeded to update my cars info shortly after I went back to the original site of this recall put in my cars info again and all the recalls that was once available for my vehicle was mysteriously gone.I never received a notice and never got it fixed. Now the recall that was originally posted are starting to be noticeable on my vehicle such as the defective water pump, defective headlights and defective airbag situation what can I have done about this issue
When engine is under load with a faulty fuel pump, the engine will stall whilst moving without turning motor off. Only remedy is to turn engine off and on, since the fuel pump will not start itself back on after the stall.
My vehicle started up fine and I was driving to work, I was idling at the red light and my car shut off and signaled the battery light. We tried to jump it thinking it was the battery like it signaled, and it wasnt so we had to tow it. The car still doesnt start. It cranks but wont start and I was in the middle of an intersection, no warning lights before hand at all.
Tl* takata recall. The contact owns a 2004 audi a4. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency campaign number: 18v427000 (air bags); however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. Audi north miami (1995 ne 142nd st, north miami, fl 33181, (305) 952-5900) was contacted and confirmed that the parts were not available for the recall remedy. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and was not able to confirm when the parts were to become available. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
My audi stopped blowing out heat first and then the check engine light came on. When I took it to get the check engine light code tested it read pressure default. Not long after my air bag light came on. Now my car is leaking coolant.
Compare the 2004 Audi A4
A4 vs Mercedes-Benz C300A4 vs BMW 328IA4 vs Cadillac CTSA4 vs Lincoln MKZA4 vs Lexus ES350A4 vs Acura TLX
Other model years
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Questions about the 2004 Audi A4
Is the 2004 Audi A4 reliable?
Owners have filed 189 complaints about the 2004 Audi A4, 3.3 times a typical A4 model year. It is one of the years we flag to avoid.
What is the 2004 Audi A4 year score?
The 2004 Audi A4 scores 31 out of 100 (poor). The score compares it with the other model years of the Audi A4: 75 is a typical year, 50 means twice the usual complaints, and serious complaints and recalls lower it.
What is the most common problem with the 2004 Audi A4?
Fuel and propulsion system, with 56 complaints, typically around 62,000 miles. Next is airbags (26).
How many recalls does the 2004 Audi A4 have?
2 recalls, covering air bags and exterior lighting.
What gas mileage does the 2004 Audi A4 get?
Official estimates for the 2004 Audi A4 range from 19 to 23 mpg combined. The most efficient version (1.8L 4-cyl, FWD) gets 20 city and 27-29 highway.
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