Circuit board on the mechatronics unit failed and car is under 100k miles. Sudden shaking and banging on the highway when giving it gas above 30. Frequent jolts, dangerous to drive...
The worst 2012 Audi S4 problems
Ranked by number of owner complaints. Mileage and cost come from what owners wrote.
- Transmission14
- Fuel system5
- Electrical3
- Brakes2
- Acceleration1
Problems by type
Tap a problem to see which part fails, at what mileage and in which other years.
- Transmission14
- Fuel system5
- Electrical3
- Brakes2
- Acceleration1
Trouble codes owners of the 2012 Audi S4 mention
P179E 2
Recalls 1
Fuel system, gasoline: fuel injection system: fuel rail
- What is wrong
- Volkswagen 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.
- Risk
- A fuel leak in the injection system in the presence of an ignition source, increases the risk of a fire.
- Remedy
- Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel rails and corresponding seals, free of charge. The recall began on March 17, 2015. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1‑800‑822‑2834 or Volkswagen customer service at 1‑800‑893‑5298. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 24AP for Audi customers and 24BK for Volkswagen customers.
Recall number 15V019000 · Recall details
Technical service bulletins for the 2012 Audi S4 800
Bulletins tell dealers how to fix known problems. A warranty extension means the manufacturer pays for that repair for longer.
- Speed S-tronic, leaks from transmission
- This bulletin provides informaiton on the use of the PICO-NVH tool (VAS 611 015).
- This bulletin provides information to aid in diagnosing the vehicle locking system.
- This bulletin provides information when the engine is not runing smoothly; all gas engines.
- This bulletin provides information on VIN plates, Safety Certification labels, and ordering procedures.
- This bulletin provides information for reporting safety related information to the manufacturer.
- This bulletin states that technicians are required to report to the manufacturer when a vehicle has...
- This bulletin provides information about vibrations and rotational steering vibrations.
- This bulletin provides information when the license plate mounting bracket threded inserts are stripped.
- This bulletin provides information when the horn sound quality is poor.
2012 Audi S4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.0L 6‑cyl | AWD | 18 | 27-28 | 21 |
What 2012 Audi S4 owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
The dsg transmission in my audi s4 experiences abrupt jerking from 2nd to 1st great while decelerating. It also jerks and feels like it is being hit while shifting from 1st to 2nd when accelerating normally.
Fuel injector leaking and needs replaced. My car was never on the recall list. Sitting at audi dealer now.
The gearbox malfunction screen on the dash showed up out of nowhere then followed by a parking brake malfunction then the car goes into neutral and just sits there revving the engine. I try to put it in neutral then drive but the lever gets stuck and I cant move to drive. This first happen in the highway and I couldn't do anything about it and I know this car has high mileage but looking at it this transmission has problems all the way to the 2016 models. This is something that needs to be looked at because this is a potential hazard at highway speeds
While driving today on the highway my 2012 audi s4 experienced the common dsg gearbox malfunction alert along woth the TPMS fault light. On the highway loosing all power and causing the vehicle slow drastically while in traffic nearly causing an accident. The amount of complaints on this same issue is astonishing that audi has not taking care if this yet. This malfunction can cause a serious accident, its time to recall the dsg transmission and fix the issue!!!!!! As well as reimbursement for all the people who spend thousands of dollars trying to diagnose the issue, audi will try to make you pay upwards of $5,000 to $10,000 in repairs rather than do the right thing and fix the problem.
Coolant pump blew out causing the engine to overheat.
While driving in traffic, my car dropped into lower gears and stopped moving, and two error codes popped up "gearbox malfunction" and "TPMS malfunction". Looking this up online and discussing with my mechanic, this is something happening in a lot of the cars that are this make & model and have the same transmission.
My coolant pump went out and overheated the car. The coolant leaked out. My car only has 60k miles on it. Audi recently recalled coolant pumps for this very reason on the a4, a5, a6 but havent made the recall for the s class. Please be advised this is a serious issue and placed me and family in harms way.
At ~61,000 miles the 2012 audi s4 started driving rough in low gears. The car has hesitation issues followed by & jerky acceleration/deceleration in low gears out of & into a stop. The reverse gear has similar hesitation & jerky acceleration. Car then started periodically displaying the message: gearbox malfunction: you can continue driving dealer diagnosed the error code as p179e - drive position sensor electrical error, which is tsb 2032211/1
"takata recall" I was driving my car when I got the 'gearbox malfunction" on my dash and a check engine light. It then said that reverse was not available. The car went limp and when shifting into 2nd gear from 1st gear would rev to very high rpms and then finally shift. I would not go above 40 MPH and was slow to move from a stop. I took it to the audi dealership and they told me it was the mechatronic unit. I was informed that it cost $5,400.00 dollars for them to replace the unit. I am just baffled as to why a car that is only 6 years in age and has only 86,000 miles on it has an electrical part that is going out so soon. Audi claims to make the best dsg transmission in the european platform, yet many have had this issue with the mechatronic unit and yet audi hasnt chosen to warrany it or even give the option to cover the drivetrain as a whole. A car that is $40,000.00 retail new should not have this kind of issue within its early lifetime. And if this is a mechanical item that is going to failure so soon then why not atleast cover it or assist with an alternative transmission extended warranty.
Compare the 2012 Audi S4
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Questions about the 2012 Audi S4
Is the 2012 Audi S4 reliable?
Owners have filed 22 complaints about the 2012 Audi S4, 1.3 times a typical S4 model year.
What is the 2012 Audi S4 year score?
The 2012 Audi S4 scores 60 out of 100 (average). The score compares it with the other model years of the Audi S4: 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 2012 Audi S4?
Transmission and drivetrain, with 14 complaints, typically around 76,000 miles. Next is fuel system (5).
How many recalls does the 2012 Audi S4 have?
1 recall, covering fuel system, gasoline.
What gas mileage does the 2012 Audi S4 get?
Official estimates for the 2012 Audi S4 range from 21 mpg combined. The most efficient version (3.0L 6-cyl, AWD) gets 18 city and 27-28 highway.
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