Problems · NHTSA complaints
2020 Audi A4 problems
Owners filed 158 complaints about the 2020 Audi A4 with NHTSA between Mar 2022 and Oct 2026. The most-cited component is electrical system (111).
Complaints
158
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
1
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
People reported injured
Deaths
0
Reported to NHTSA
Complaints by component
One complaint can cite several components
- Electrical system111
- Back over prevention55
- Forward collision avoidance11
- Lane departure7
- Communication2
- Suspension2
- Visibility/wiper2
- Seat belts1
- Seats1
- Wheels1
- Service brakes1
- Engine1
- Exterior lighting1
- Other / unknown68
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Oct 27, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
When complaints were filed
Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
2
2
0
148
6
View as table
| Model year | Complaints filed per calendar year |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 2 |
| 2023 | 2 |
| 2024 | 0 |
| 2025 | 148 |
| 2026 | 6 |
Mileage at failure isn’t a structured field in NHTSA complaint data, so we don’t chart it. Some owners mention it in their reports below.
Top problems in owners’ words
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
Electrical system
111 reports
“My 2020 Audi A4 has an open safety recall campaign. Audi Corporate and my local dealership are formally refusing to perform the recall remedy unless I pay over $2,000 out-of-pocket to replace a broken J949 SOS Telematics Module. The manufacturer claims the module is separate from the recall, but its total failure physically blocks their diagnostic tools from applying the mandatory safety update. Conditioning a federal safety recall on a customer-paid repair violates recall compliance regulations, and has left my automatic emergency crash reporting and vehicle communication systems completely disabled.”
Back over prevention
55 reports
“Shortly after my warranty expired last september ([XXX]) my 2020 Audi A4 Allroad started to experience random episodes of the car's main entertainment touch screen rebooting in the middle of the car being operated. This usually would only happen once or twice during maybe an hour long car ride. Then this spring, starting in mid-March the car started to experience the MMI reboots more often, say 6-7 times over an hour long car ride. This started to happen more often, and then it would be around 4-5 times in a 20 minute car ride. I noticed that when this would happen, it would cause issues with the backup camera (the camera would stop function during the 60 second reboot. Also, if a parking sensor (or cross-traffic warning sensor, incorporated with the backup camera) was detecting something near the car during the reboot and the camera turning off, it would throw a safety system communication error on the Audi Virtual Dashboard. It was clearly a safety issue and it made maneuvering to park on a busy street very dangerous for folks outside the car and inside. I went to the dealership twice to get the MMI reboots fixed, and received two software updates and a 5F…”
Forward collision avoidance
11 reports
“The cars MMI system will loose connection while in Motion making the car systems none functioning /. This can happen while at highway speeds or while backing up .”
Lane departure
7 reports
“MMI system in 2020 Audi A4 keeps blacking out and constantly rebooting while driving. This issue happens while going in reverse, which crashes the backup camera and triggers a safety warning in the car. It also happens while idling, which also triggers a safety warning in the car about the backup camera being inoperable.”
Communication
2 reports
“The contact owns a 2020 Audi A4. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the message SOS module no longer connected was displayed on the instrument panel, and the vehicle failed to shut off. The contact believed that the failure was a safety issue due to the loss of communication, including the hands-free features, mobile phone connectivity, and the regular safety features failing to operate as needed. The vehicle was taken to a dealer to be diagnosed, and it was determined that the communication module failure was the same as the SOS module failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 54,000.”
Suspension
2 reports1 crash1 related recall
“Since I purchase my vehicle I have had to continuously replace my tires on the front. Going through my carfax acct I came across some recalls that showed up that I had no idea of the car may had which was prior to purchase from the dealers. I would think that these issues were fixed prior to reselling. I recently had to pull over on the freeway due to the tire making noises then realized that the tire wear was uneven again but this time shredded apart. I could feel metal poking out which the tires hadn’t been on for long. The loss pressure warning light went off. I later found the missing tire that has came off wrapped around the rotor which the tire shop near me hadn’t seen while replacing with new tires again. The wear on the brake pads were off as well as the rotors which I also ended up having to replace just recently. I’ve made an appointment with a dealer which is out of my way to hopefully have this resolved but needed to make a report of this safety issue.”
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Oct 27, 2026
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.