There are 22 owner-reported engine complaints for the 2012 Audi A4in NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
There is a recall for the year after this when many Audi owners of this model have the same issue per the Audi forums. We have the coolant leaking issue as well and it should have been included in the recall
1) Turbo, not because I'm looking to replace it 2) the car could stall when merging into highway or passing on the left lane 3) Yes 4) No 5) Yes, Check Engine Light came on afterward Check engine light came on after I tried to merge into a lane, while I was stepping on the gas peddle hard there was no acceleration. While the car did not stall, but it was not moving fast enough to provide the distance I need to be safe from the car behind me.
I have continued to notice increasing oil consumption on my 2012 AUDI A4. I have mentioned this to my dealership, however they kept dismissing it as an old car. I noticed that there have been numerous reports of this with AUDI vehicles. I requested for 2 part oil consumption test, which failed. Nonetheless, they keep suggesting that there is nothing to be done. Please advise, if this meets concern similar to other consumers with this issue.
Owned 1 year and just over 120ish miles TIMING CHAIN Jumped Required Head Rebuild and the Timing Replacement. Soon as those were completed and Car back on the road, OIL CONSUMPTION every 150miles with Carbon Buildup regularly on the rear bumper. Low Oil Pressure light soon to appear following up with Water Pump Housing Cracking, Replaced the water pump and low oil pressure is worse than before this repair. Checked Oil Pan for sludge, OIL PAN FULL of METAL, tear down the top end of motor inspection disclosed that both of the BALANCE SHAFTS and SPROCKET were destroyed teeth missing form gears, assuming that in addition to this that piston rings definitely must be fried so they will be replaced with the balance shafts repair. In Addition to this entire ENGINE being a Lemon and needing replaced or rebuilt, 2 smaller issues I’ve had would be Wiper Motor is not even fast enough for major downpours so possibly needs replacement and also the rear backup camera is extremely difficult for viewing as it’s foggy/pixelated/shadowy and during rain completely useless.
TIMING CHAIN BROKE AT APPROXIMATELY 104K MILES.
SEVERAL COMPLAINTS OF FAULTY PISTON RINGS CAUSING OIL CONSUMPTION TO BE 1 QUART EVERY 200/300 MILES FROM AUDI A4 MODELS 2009-2015
I HAVE GONE GONE TO THE DEALER NUMEROUS TIMES VISITS RIGHT AFTER I HAD THE SCHEDULED OIL CHANGES DONE. THE OIL LIGHT / CONSUMPTION ISSUE HAPPENS AFTER I'VE GOTTEN AN OIL CHANGE, BUT 7,000 MILES BEFORE THE NEXT ONE IS DUE. I GET AFRAID THINKING THAT MY CAR IS OUT OF OIL . I DO NOT HAVE ANY OIL LEAKS. OIL IS LEAKING AROUND LADDER FRAME. THIS HAS BEEN A KNOW ISSUE FOR A FEW YEARS THAT I HAVE BEEN HAVING AND AUDI WILL NOT RESOLVE.
There have been wide-spread reports & complaints with Audi A4's starting in 2009. Audi settled a class-action lawsuit in 2015 but it only covered vehicles madein 2009-2011. If you look at any Audi owner blog or any car blog you'll find thousands of complaints about excessive oil consumption resulting in owners needing to replace pistons. In my case, I was given an estimate to replace pistons & timing belt for over $8,000 in 2021. There are additional class-action lawsuits pending against Audi BUT on my own I can do nothing and I have contacted Audi multiple times since they are "clearly" well-aware of that this is a wide-spread problem with their cars. HOW IS IT the NHTSA has no information on this problem? How is it that a recall wasn't instituted years ago? What are you doing to protect consumers from Audi's refusal to help owners? It is impossible that this problem hasn't been previously reported. I need this matter resolved, I need the car repaired & I need Audi to pay for the cost of repair based on their faulty manufacturing. Given that thousands of Audi owners are affected, clearly, this should qualify as a recall.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 AUDI A4. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE RECEIVED AN OIL CHANGE HOWEVER, AFTER DRIVING ONLY 300 MILES, THE MINIMUM OIL LEVEL WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT ADDED TWO QUARTS OF OIL TO THE ENGINE HOWEVER, AFTER SEVERAL HUNDRED MILES OF DRIVING, THE OIL LEVEL WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE FAILURE PERSISTED AND THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AUDI STEVENS CREEK SERVICE (751 S WINCHESTER BLVD, SAN JOSE, CA 95128, (888) 903-4834) TO BE DIAGNOSED. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE PISTONS NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT YET REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 99,000.
MY VEHICLE WAS INCLUDED IN A CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT IN VOLKSWAGEN TIMING CHAIN PRODUCT LIABILITY LITIGATION, CIVIL ACTION NO. 16-2765 (JLL)(JAD). I PURCHASED MY VEHICLE SEVERAL MONTHS AGO AND WAS UNAWARE OF THIS SETTLEMENT AT THE TIME OF PURCHASE. AT MY FIRST SERVICE APPOINTMENT, I WAS INFORMED THAT THE TIMING CHAIN AND TIMING CHAIN VALVE COVERS WERE IN CRITICAL NEED OF REPAIR, AND WAS GIVEN A ROUGHLY $2,000 REPAIR ESTIMATE FOR THE JOB. I PERFORMED RESEARCH MYSELF AND DISCOVERED THIS SETTLEMENT, AND INQUIRED THE SERVICE ADVISOR AS TO WHY I WAS NOT INFORMED OF THE EXTENDED WARRANTY AND WHY I WAS NOT ABLE TO USE IT TO GET MY VEHICLE REPAIRED. THE SERVICE ADVISOR INFORMED ME THAT FOR MY VEHICLE TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE REPAIR AND COVERED UNDER THE WARRANTY, THE TIMING CHAIN WOULD HAVE TO ACTUALLY FAIL. UNTIL THEN, IT WOULD NOT BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE WARRANTY. I THOUGHT THIS WAS RIDICULOUS AS IT BASICALLY FORCES ME TO DRIVE MY VEHICLE WHILE PUTTING MYSELF AND MY PASSENGERS AT RISK. I WAS TOLD BY THE BBB THAT MY CLAIM COULD NOT BE PROCESSED VIA THEIR SYSTEM BECAUSE THE VEHICLE WAS PAST THE TIME LIMIT FOR THEIR REQUIREMENTS, BUT THAT I SHOULD CONTACT THE NHTSA ALONG WITH MY STATE(ILLINOIS) ATTORNEY GENERAL OFFICE. I HAVE DONE THAT.
2012 AUDI A4 QUATTRO USES (BURNS) AN EXCESSIVE AMOUNT OF OIL, CONSTANTLY HAVING TO ADD MOTOR OIL. MUST ADD A QUART OF OIL ON A MONTHLY BASIS AND DRIVING LESS THAN 1,000 PER MONTH.
2012 AUDI A4 HAS HAD ONGOING OIL CONSUMPTION ISUUES. AUDI DEALER PERFORMED CONSUMPTION TEST DONE AROUND 74K (3QTS PER 1000MILES - BASICALLY HAVE HAD TO ADD 1 QT EVERY 300 MILES. WAS TOLD NO RECOURSE - WAS OUTSIDE OF CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT OF 2009-2011 OF SIMILAR ISSUES. NOW AT 133K MILE, ENGINE SEIZED WITHOUT WARNING - EPC LIGHT CAME ON - CAR WAS SERVICED LESS THAN 25K MILES AND HAD ALL 4 FUEL INJECTORS, 4 SPARK PLUGS AND 2 IGNITION COILS REPLACED AND DE-CARB PROCEDURE DONE. I'M AT A LOSS THAT AUDI REFUSES TO ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR FAULTY ENGINE.
WE WERE JUST INFORMED OF A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT INVOLVING TIMING CHAIN AND TENSIONER FAILURE. THIS FAILURE COULD CAUSE CATASTROPHIC ENGINE FAILURE WHILE DRIVING AND CAUSE THE VEHICLE TO STOP POSSIBLY AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS CAUSING AN ACCIDENT AND HARM TO VEHICLE OCCUPANTS. THE LAWSUIT COULD RESULT IN AN EXTENDED PRO-RATED WARRANTY BUT NO RECALL OR REPAIRS MADE TO ANY VEHICLE PRIOR TO ENGINE FAILURE. AUDI IS AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM AND HAS ISSUED A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN TO THE DEALER NETWORK BUT WILL NOT OFFER ANY REPAIRS OUTSIDE OF THE CURRENT WARRANTY. WE BELIEVE ALL AFFECTED VEHICLES SHOULD BE RECALLED AND REPAIRED PRIOR TO A CATASTROPHIC ENGINE FAILURE RESULTING IN LOSS OF LIFE.
EXCESSIVE OIL CONSUMPTION, THIS CAR DRINKS AN EXTRA QUART OF OIL PER MONTH. NO LEAKS ON THE DRIVEWAY OR IN THE GARAGE.
OIL LIGHT KEEP APPEARING ON DASHBOARD EVEN WHEN SERVICED
TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER FAILED CAUSING CHAIN TO SLIP AND IMMEDIATE ENGINE STOPPAGE.
REPLACEMENT OF TIMING CHAIN, TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER, TIMING CHAIN GUIDES & LOWER TIMING COVER WITH PISTON REPAIR
TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER FAILED CAUSING ENGINE DAMAGE AND ALMOST CAUSED A SEVERE ACCIDENT. WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE LOST ALMOST ALL POWER AND DECELERATED TO A 15 MPH PACE ON MAJOR STREET WITH 45 MPH SPEED LIMIT.
I TURNED CAR OFF, WENT INTO A STORE CAME BACK, STARTED CAR AND IT SOUNDED HORRIBLE, AS IF TOTALLY FALLING APART. TURNED IT OFF, TRIED AGAIN AND WOULD NOT START AT ALL. DEALER SAID ENGINE WAS SHOT, SEIZED UP HAS TO BE REPLACED. THEY HAVE BEEN MAINTAINING IT SINCE THE DAY I BOUGHT IT. OIL CHANGES ALL UP TO DATE. 30,000 MILE OUTSIDE OF WARRANTY. DEALER HAS NO UNDERSTAND OF WHAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED. COULD THIS HAVE HAPPENED WHEN I WAS DRIVING? NO IDEA. HAS ANYONE HEARD OF THIS HAPPENING TO THEIR AUDI A4 2012?
I RECENTLY PURCHASED MY 2012 AUDI A4 AFTER A FEW WEEKS THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AFTER TAKING MY CAR TO HAVE IT DIAGNOSED I WAS TOLD ( SYSTEM WAS TO LEAN IN BANK 1) I WAS TOLD I NEEDED A NEW O2 SYSTEM, LIGHT NEVER WENT OFF AND I WAS TOLD NEXT THAT THEIR WAS A LEAK IN A VACUUM SEAL AND LASTLY MY COOLANT LEVEL WAS DEPLETING AT A RAPID SPEED AND I WAS TOLD THAT THEIR WAS A LEAK FROM THE WATER PUMP.
Showing 1–20 of 22 complaints
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 26, 2026