RoadVitals

2020 Audi A4 Problems

Owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA, grouped by component

Data refreshed

Owner complaintsComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
127
Latest Aug 12, 2026
Components namedHow many of our component categories appear on at least one report for this model year. One report can name several.
8
Crash or fire reportedComplaints whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. These are the reporter's own answers on the NHTSA form, not verified findings.
1

What this page shows

Everything below is an owner-reported complaint submitted to NHTSA about the 2020 Audi A4, grouped by the component NHTSA recorded on the report. These are not confirmed defects, and they are not recalls. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a category with more reports in it is not evidence that a part is defective.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Reports by component

Ranked by how many owner reports name each component category

  • Electrical9262.2%
  • Suspension21.4%
  • Other / unspecified10.7%
  • Brakes10.7%
  • Visibility10.7%
  • Interior & seats10.7%
  • Exterior lighting10.7%

Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.

Each component in detail

What the reports in each category say, in the owners' own words

Electrical

Reports naming the electrical system — wiring, battery, charging, control modules, infotainment and electrical accessories.

92
reports

From owner reports, verbatim

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.

NHTSA ID 11756511 · filed Aug 12, 2026

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.

NHTSA ID 11756226 · filed Aug 11, 2026
All 92 reports naming electrical

Driver assistance

Reports naming forward-collision avoidance, lane keeping, back-over prevention, cruise control and related electronic driver-assistance systems.

49
reports

From owner reports, verbatim

The MMI system crashes and reboots after about 90 seconds. This affects all parking and collision sensors.

NHTSA ID 11676422 · filed Jul 26, 2025

MMI (infotainment), and the dashboard screen will turn off randomly and reboot every 2 minutes. This is incredibly dangerous as it turns all sound off, and driving visuals like directions, and freezes or reboots, not where you last had it but from a different check point. It has happened while I have been backing up and backup camera has rebooted during backup. Parking Collision has also malfunctioned multiple times - but primary issue is the MMI rebooting even while driving on the freeway.

NHTSA ID 11676376 · filed Jul 26, 2025
All 49 reports naming driver assistance

Suspension

Reports naming suspension components — springs, struts, shocks, control arms and related hardware.

2
reports

From owner reports, verbatim

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.

NHTSA ID 11728966 · filed Apr 3, 2026

The contact owns a 2020 Audi A4. The contact stated that while pulling out of a parking space, there was big rock next to the bumper on the front passenger's side of the vehicle and there was a scallop area with stones next to the passenger's side of the vehicle as well. The contact stated that she lost control of the vehicle and crashed into the scallop area and the vehicle was stuck between the scallop area and the big rock. There was no further information provided. The air bags failed to deploy. The contact did not sustained any injuries and did not seek medical assistance. The contact was able to release the vehicle with the assistance of road side assistance. A police report was not filed. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light, the low oil warning light and other unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact was able to drive the vehicle for approximately 1 mile; however the warning message "Do Not Drive" illuminated. The contact notified the dealer of the failure. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer who diagnosed that the oil pan was fractured and needed to be replaced. The dealer repaired the oil pan and towed the vehicle to the collision shop, where it was repaired. The contact later received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V295000 (SUSPENSION), which she associated with the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that they would follow up with the dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 12,000.

NHTSA ID 11456332 · filed Mar 11, 2022

Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.

Other / unspecified

Reports whose component NHTSA recorded as unknown, or that do not map to one of the categories above.

1
report

From owner reports, verbatim

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.

NHTSA ID 11728966 · filed Apr 3, 2026

Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.

Brakes

Reports naming service brakes, the antilock braking system, brake hoses, master cylinders or the parking brake.

1
report

From owner reports, verbatim

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.

NHTSA ID 11728966 · filed Apr 3, 2026

Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.

Visibility

Reports naming windshields, glass, wipers, defrosters and mirrors.

1
report

From owner reports, verbatim

My car randomly checks for remote access during drive. This occurs also during reversing the car preventing for seeing the rear view camera. this is causing dangerous situations.

NHTSA ID 11668231 · filed Jun 20, 2025

Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.

Interior & seats

Reports naming seats, latches, locks, linkages and interior fittings.

1
report

From owner reports, verbatim

A metal bracket on the back left side of the driver seat snapped suddenly while driving straight and at a constant speed. Since this part is broken the seat is no longer connected to the track in that corner. The car is drivable for me because I am tall and sit with the seat at its lowest height setting. When turning or breaking quickly the seat moves, and it would obviously be a safety issue if I get into an accident. If the seat is adjusted higher it is not supported in that corner and it leans back. Yesterday I dropped it off at the dealer service center and they said it is the seat frame. I have not heard back from them yet. I am the first owner of this car, and it has not been in any serious accidents (I hit a deer once roughly 2 years ago). I am not unusually heavy.

NHTSA ID 11733679 · filed Apr 24, 2026

Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.

Exterior lighting

Reports naming headlights, tail lights, turn signals and other exterior lighting.

1
report

From owner reports, verbatim

The MMI or infotainment center turns off and reboots/kicks user out while the car is in motion and also while stopped. The MMI going off has cut out while backing up not allowing the rear camera to be used and has also not allowed the front and rear sensors to be used for parking/auto breaking. There seems to be a large portion of similar complaints and unknown fixes for 2020 models either exactly the same or similar. Personally have not had it inspected or attempted to fix outside the recommended soft reset, user account reset, and even unplugging battery to reset as well. No fix has been identified or has proven to not cause the issue from recurring. This has occurred more frequently in past week or so ~15Jun where it rebooted once in an two drive, 16Jun no reboots for 1.5 hour min drive, 17Jun one reboot for 1.5 hour drive, and 19Jun where it rebooted 7 times in 2 hour drive. There is no warning and seems to be random or when on full screen maps through Android Auto.

NHTSA ID 11667998 · filed Jun 19, 2025

Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.

Elsewhere on this vehicle

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .