2018 Audi A4

The contact owned a 2018 Audi A4. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was fluid leaking from the front of the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact also stated that while the vehicle was parked, there was a puddle of fluid leaking from the front of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed and it was determined that the water pump had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 92,000.

This problem is extremely sporadic, and often remedies itself after car shut down, and sometimes require that the car sit for a period of time. I estimate the following issue happens ~1 time a month, or estimated 5% of the time. Weather (temperature specifically) does not appear to impact occurance. When reversing, at times the back up camera does not function properly. During these times, the parking sensors appear to work, but it's unclear if the emergency reverse automatic braking system is working. The backup camera issues present themselves in several different ways and are described below. 1) Scrolling view (think of an old time movie, where the image "scrolling" through the screen 2) Black, but not completely black, includes what appears to be interference (sometimes white pixels flash randomly throughout the screen) 3) Off color (almost like a color inversion), darks appear light, light colors appear dark, similar to how things when developing film in a dark room 4) Similar to #1 but instead it freezes, halfway through a scroll. Often times the picture is split, with the bottom on the top, and the top on the bottom, and a clear black line in the middle Opening and closing the trunk, tapping the camera, turning the parking sensor (and camera) off and on do not solve the issue when it happens. Neither does changing from R to P on the transmission lever. Issue always requires a restart, rarely does an immediate restart fix the issue. The tracking lines are also distorted when this happens. When not malfunctioning, camera system works perfectly. Recently, I came across NHTSA ID: 25V900000 which almost exactly describes my issues but my car is not included. I did recently ask the Dealer to look into it during my 40,000 mile service. They stated that no codes were in the system and they could further troubleshoot but the intermittent nature would likely result in no findings unless the issue is present on site.

Drive system malfunction message appeared after starting ignition at 6am before heading to work. Turned car off immediately and took another vehicle to work.

My screen turns on and off consistently not allowing me to use my backup camera. Causing a small collision while backing up when the camera turned off unexpectedly. Additionally when it’s off it will auto break when I’m not close enough to hitting and it’s loud and yanked me. This has been an issue for some time and I’m seeing a significant amount of my models have this issue and it’s not safe.

My car's MMI keeps restarting while driving which affects the rear view camera and while backing up it can restart and go completely blank. I feel this puts my safety at risk while backing up. It also shuts down my bluetooth to my phone which can be a hazard while driving. I have called the dealership but they will not do anything without a large diagnosis fee which i cannot afford. They have said there are no recalls against it. No warnings prior to the failure and the failure happens every time I drive it, including multiple times per use.

Fortunately no catastrophic failure or accident occurred. At about 40,000k miles the rear spring mounts are significantly corroded and need replacing. This appears to be a galvanic reaction that occurs due to a design flaw which shortens the life of the critical mounts. I’m told one could fail imminently and the other is headed that way. Had this failed in use the damage would be significant and caused an accident. The service advisor said that Audi is aware of the short lifespan and has an improved version that will be used in the repair. I have a video of one of the mounts and will request the parts when repaired.

Left front brake hose failed. Replaced both front hoses, bled and flushed the brake hoses as needed

The Audi MMI system began to spontaneously restart while driving after owning the car for a couple of years. It would power off and reboot at random intervals. It became more frequent and is both distracting and dangerous as you lose all navigation, and camera function while it reboots not to mention any telephone connection. This happens every couple of minutes and multiple times per drive. Took it to the dealer (Kendall Audi of Bend) and was told the MMI needed to be replaced. Spent approx. $2500 to have MMI replaced and now it has started happening again with the NEW MMI. There are MANY MANY other complaints with this same issue on Reddit and the Audi World Forum and it needs to be addressed by Audi.

SAFETY AND THEFT ISSUE!! The door lock actuators on two doors of vehicle. Front and back seat where children ride. The actuators failed to engage leaving it easy for anyone to open the door from the outside even when presumed locked. Actuators do not engage which leaves vehicles prone to theft and allows anyone to open the door included a child from the inside of the vehicle at any time.

See attached document for complaint

I was rear-ended at a slow speed. I was stopped at the time. The driver who hit me was decelerating hard. Damaged to rear bumper. When I got back in the car, I realized that telescoping steering column had been pulled toward me. This would have been bad had I been shoved into the car in front of me and the airbags deployed too close to me. Luckily, this did not happen.

UNKNOWN

While driving there was an internal failure of the front differential which caused debris to fly out and the debris then punctured the transmission according to the diagnosis on an Audi dealership. The car jerked to a stop and would not move. If this happens at high speed it represents a sever safety risk to the occupants. The vehicle has been inspected by the manufacturer and insurance representatives as well as by a dealer. There were no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms and this happened with no warning.

The all-wheel-drive clutch in the vehicle had to be replaced. The symptoms were heavy vibrations or thumping when starting to drive forward from a stop with the wheels turned in either direction. A dealership - New Country Audi of Greenwich - did the repair at a cost of $4,308.85 (including tax). This drivetrain failure occurred at less than 48,000 miles. The vehicle came with a 50,000 mile or 4 year warranty. Since it was in service for over 5 years, this defect was not covered under warranty. There is a Techical Service Bulletin on this issue, number 39 21 43 2059057/4 July 16, 2021. The dealer confirmed my issue was indeed the same as that addressed in the TSB. It seems to me that a major known issue occurring at less than 50,000 miles is a defect. I do not know if it is ultimately a safety hazard, but it seems it could become dangerous if not addressed. For reference, I am attaching the TSB and the repair invoice.

The rear view camera does not activate when using the parking assist or when reversing. The sensors are still functioning as intended. This can cause unintentional accidents or injuries to pedestrians. This issue was brought up with the dealer back in January of 2023. They mentioned the wiring for the rear camera was pinched by the trunk mechanism and because loose. There are no warning lamps displayed on the dash.

Without cause a passenger airbag malfunction light has come up, dealership says this is not covered under recall or vehicle warranty.

On December 29, 2022 as I was driving my engine light came on, the fuel gauge registered empty (I had over a quarter tank of fuel at the time), and my miles till empty display in the upper left of the instrument cluster went blank. I took my Audi to my Audi dealer and their recommended repair was as follows: Fuel Tank: After removing fuel pump and level sensor we found that the secondary fuel level sensor is built into the fuel tank is faulty. Recommend replacing the tank and fuel pump with the tank. Their reason was that if the fuel tank failed it could cause a potentially hazardous situation for the driver and passengers.

Water Pump prematurely failed. Upon self inspection, I noticed the coolant reservoir was below the minimum requirements. I asked the dealer to inspect, and they determined the cause was a faulty water pump. At around 50,000 miles, this water pump should not have failed under normal use. I am fortunate I self inspected, as continued use may cause premature engine failure due to overheating. Overheating would cause spontaneous vehicle operation failure during normal driving conditions, stalling the vehicle on a road or highway, putting myself and others at risk for impact.

I first received notice of this recall in 1/22. My Audi dealer has continuously stated that Audi does not send them enough kits to remedy this recall

The forward collision warning system (Audi PreSense) identified a shadow from an overpass as another car and alerted me to use the brakes. My car did figure out there was not another vehicle before performing an emergency brake. If the car had done an emergency brake I would have surly been rear ended on the highway. This is not the first time forward collision warning has activated due to a shadow on the road. I have not mentioned this to the dealer but have read of this happening to others that own Audi cars that use Audi PreSense. The Audi PreSense installed in my car utilizes the front facing camera only - there is not a forward facing radar system. There has never been a warning that that system is not functioning as intended.