Problems · NHTSA complaints

2000 Audi S4 problems

Owners filed 143 complaints about the 2000 Audi S4 with NHTSA between Dec 1999 and Aug 2023. The most-cited component is electrical system (49).

Complaints
143
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
6
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
6
People reported injured
Deaths
0
Reported to NHTSA
01 —By component

Complaints by component

One complaint can cite several components
  1. Electrical system49
  2. Tires37
  3. Service brakes, hydraulic31
  4. Service brakes, air10
  5. Air bags6
  6. Equipment5
  7. Engine and engine cooling4
  8. Steering4
  9. Exterior lighting2
  10. Power train2
  11. Seat belts1
  12. Service brakes, electric1
  13. Fuel system, other1
  14. Seats1

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 Nov 13, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
02 —Trend

When complaints were filed

Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
View as table
Model yearComplaints filed per calendar year
19991
200032
20018
20023
20032
200422
200521
20061
200724
200815
20096
20104
20110
20121
20131
20140
20150
20160
20170
20180
20190
20200
20210
20221
20231

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.

03 —Owner reports

Top problems in owners’ words

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first

Electrical system

49 reports
“THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER ON ALL THE AUDI S4S AND ALSO ON VW LOOSE PIXELS ON THE DASH AND IT GOES OUT, IT IS A HAZARD BECAUSE THIS IS A GAUGE THAT DOES A SYSTEM CHECK EVERY TIME YOU START THE VEHICLE, THE CAR TELLS THE DRIVER IF THERE ARE BRAKE PROBLEMS, ENGINE PROBLEMS, ALSO IF LIGHTS ARE OUT I.E. BRAKE LIGHTS TURN SIGNALS, AND ALSO FLUID STATUS OF THE CAR. WHEN THIS INSTRUMENT CLUSTER GOES OUT OR AS AUDI CALLS IT LOSES PIXELS, THE DRIVER DOES NOT KNOW THE STATUS OF THE CAR WHICH COULD CAUSE SAFETY AND HARM TO THE OPERATOR. IT HAS BEEN DOCUMENTED MANY TIMES AND HAS BEEN REPLACED ON MY CAR OVER 4 TIMES AND IS A COMMON OCCURRENCE WITH OTHER AUDI OWNERS. ALSO THE WINDOW REGULATOR CLIP THAT HOLDS THE WINDOW BREAKS AS WELL, AUDI AND VW DID A RECALL VIN SPECIFIC MODELS OF THE BEETLE JETTA AND A4 BUT NOT THE S4, THE CLIP IS THE SAME DESIGN THAT IS USED IN MY VEHICLE. IT ALSO HAS BEEN DOCUMENTED MANY TIMES OF FAILING AND CAUSES ANOTHER SAFETY ISSUE, IF THE CLIP BREAKS THE WINDOW WILL ROLL DOWN UNEXPECTEDLY, I.E. CAUSING THE WINDOW TO BREAK WHICH THROWS GLASS ALL OVER THE OCCUPANTS IN THE CAR AND ALSO EXPOSES LIMBS TO OBJECTS OUTSIDE OF THE VEHICLE WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE. MANY…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Aug 23, 2012Electrical system, Exterior lightingODI 10471969

Tires

37 reports
“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2000 AUDI S4 WITH BRIDGE STONE BLIZZARD WS- 60 TIRES 235/45/R17. HE STATED WHEN DRIVING OVER 50 MPH THE TIRES DO NOT GRIP AND LOSE TRACTION. BRIDGESTONE WAS CONTACTED AND THEY STATED THAT THEY COULD NOT HELP HIM .THIS ISSUE HAS BEEN OCCURRING EVER SINCE HE PURCHASED THE TIRES. HE HAD REPLACED THEM 2 TIMES. THE FAILURE MILEAGE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 80000.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Feb 22, 2010TiresODI 10312747

Service brakes, hydraulic

31 reports2 crashes
“ABS SENSOR FAILURE ON 2000 AUDI S4 QUATTRO. LIGHT CAME ON AT 114,213. LEADING TO THE BRAKE LIGHT TO FLASH ALONG SIDE OF IT AND BEEP EVERY OTHER MINUTE WHEN YOUR DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD. HAVEN'T CORRECTED THE PROBLEM BECAUSE I'VE HEARD IT COST 1,700. SOME PEOPLE DON'T HAVE THAT KIND OF MONEY. MANY OTHER PEOPLE ARE EXPERIENCING THE SAME PROBLEM ON VW'S AS WELL AS THE AUDI IN YEARS FROM 1996-2001. *TR”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Mar 16, 2010Service brakes, hydraulic, Electrical systemODI 10320252

Service brakes, air

10 reports
“ABS COMPUTER MODULE FAILURE. ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL, THE ABS LIGHT CAME ON WHLE THE BRAKE LIGHT WAS FLASHING AND BEEPING. TOOK IT OT THE DEALER AND THE ABS PUMP WITH CONTROLLER WAS/IS BAD. THE PART WITH LABOR IS $1600.00. AFTER SOME RESEARCH, THIS PART GOES BAD ALOT AND IS A MAJOR SAFTY ISSUE. IF YOU BRAKE HARD THE REAR WHEELS WILL LOCK UP AND THE CAR COULD SPIN OUT OF CONTROL.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jun 6, 2005Service brakes, hydraulic, Service brakes, airODI 10124372

Air bags

6 reports3 crashes1 related recall
“The contact owns a 2000 Audi S4. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V056000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. An undisclosed dealer was contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Aug 14, 2023Air bagsODI 11538490

Equipment

5 reports
“I OWN A 2000 AUDI S4. MY INSTRUMENT CLUSTER HAS AN LCD DISPLAY THAT DISPLAYS INFORMATION LIKE OUTSIDE TEMPERATURE, POSSIBILITY OF ICY CONDITIONS WHEN THE TEMPERATURE IS LOW ENOUGH TO WARRANT THESE CONDITIONS, AVERAGE MPG AND OTHER INFORMATION OF THIS NATURE. THIS SCREEN ALSO GIVE SAFETY WARNINGS LIKE BAD HEADLIGHT, TAILLIGHT, LICENSE PLATE LIGHT, WORN BREAK PADS, LOW WASHER FLUID, LOW ENGINE OIL AS WELL AS OTHERS. THIS SCREEN, AS DESCRIBED IN THE OWNERS MANUAL, DOES INDEED PROVIDE CRITICAL SAFETY INFORMATION ABOUT THE AUTOMOBILE. *TR”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Apr 29, 2009Electrical system, EquipmentODI 10267213
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 13, 2026

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.