2006 Audi S4: complaints, problems and recalls

I LEASED ON BRAND NEW 2006 AUDI S4 ON JULY 29,2006. IN DECEMBER 14,2006 THIS CAR DEVELOPED A PROBLEM WITH THE POWER STEERING OF CAR. THE CAR WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR REPAIRS. THIS TOOK FOUR DAYS. TWO WEEKS LATER THIS CAR WAS TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR POWER STEERING PROBLEM. THIS TIME THEY REPLACED THE POWER STEERING RACK WHICH TOTAL A TWENTY-THREE DAY REPAIR. ON MARCH 24,2007 THE CAR WAS ONCE AGAIN TOWED TO DEALERSHIP AND I WAS TOLD THE CLUTCH OF VEHICLE WAS NO GOOD. ON APRIL 3, 2007 I CALLED THE DEALERSHIP AND NOW WAS TOLD ONCE AGAIN …

Owner-reported narrative. 4,500 miles reported. Look up ODI 10186939 at NHTSA ↗

INTERMITTENT HEADLIGHT MALFUNCTION. OVER THE COURSE OF A YEAR AND A HALF OF OWNERSHIP, THE RIGHT HEADLIGHT HAS MALFUNCTIONED (TURNED OFF), WITH NO CONSISTENT CAUSE APPARENT. THE SPECIFIC ERROR MESSAGE THAT APPEARS IN THE DRIVER INFORMATION SCREEN IS "RIGHT HEADLIGHT DIPPED". THIS CONDITION IS BOTH UNSAFE, AND ILLEGAL - AS MANY STATES WILL ISSUE A TRAFFIC VIOLATION FOR DRIVING WITH A NON-FUNCTIONING HEADLIGHT. IT HAS HAPPENED ABOUT 7-8 TIMES, THE HEADLIGHT FLICKERS, THEN GOES OUT, BUT WILL COME BACK ON WHEN THE CAR IS RESTARTED, THEN BE FINE…

Owner-reported narrative. 25,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10296556 at NHTSA ↗

THE XENON LIGHTS FLICKRER AND THEN STOP, VERY DANGEROUS AT NIGHT HAPPENED TO ME ON FEW OCCASIONS, DEALER NOT SURE WHAT IS THE CAUSE *CN

Owner-reported narrative. 49,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10307115 at NHTSA ↗

WHEN DRIVING MY 2006 AUDI S4 AT NIGHT, ONE OR BOTH OF THE RIGHT OR LEFT FRONT DIPPED HEADLIGHTS WILL FLICKER, AND THEN TEMPORARILY FAIL. THE CAR HAS CONTINUED INTERMITTENT PROBLEMS WITH THIS ISSUE, AND IN SEARCHING THE WEB, I FOUND A SITE THAT INDICATES AT LEAST 124 OTHER SIMILAR ISSUES: HTTP://WWW.AUDIZINE.COM/FORUM/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?332613-CLASS-ACTION-LAWSUIT-DIPPED-HEADLIGHT-FLICKER-PROBLEM/PAGE2. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 10308079 at NHTSA ↗

MY 2006 AUDI S4'S LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS FLICKER WHILE DRIVING ON VERY COLD DAYS. OCCASIONALLY, MY LEFT OR RIGHT HEADLIGHT WILL TURN OFF COMPLETELY. I HAVEN'T HAD BOTH GO OUT AT THE SAME TIME, BUT I AM WORRIED THAT THIS WILL OCCUR EVENTUALLY. THE FLICKERING IS VERY DANGEROUS AS IT HAPPENS AT LOW SPEED WHILE I AM DRIVING THROUGH MY NEIGHBORHOOD. I AM WORRIED THAT I WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SEE CHILDREN CROSSING THE STREET GOING TO SCHOOL. I HAVE HAD THE CAR SERVICED BY THE AUDI DEALER FOR THIS ISSUE AND IT IS STILL OCCURRING. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 39,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10311980 at NHTSA ↗

I OWN A 2006 AUDI S4 WITH BI=XENON HID LIGHTS. NUMEROUS AMOUNTS OF TIMES THE INDICATION COMES UP THAT I HAVE A DIPPED HEADLIGHT. THIS IN TURN IS BECAUSE THE HEADLIGHT IS OFF AND I'M DRIVING AT NIGHT. THIS SAFETY VIOLATION WILL END UP COSTING ME EVERY TIME I GO TO THE DEALERSHIP TO GET NEW PARTS INSTALLED AND LABOR AND THE HIGH PROBABILITY OF A TICKET FOR HAVING A HEAD LIGHT OUT FROM THE POLICE OR OTHER AGENCIES IN THE AREA. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 33,510 miles reported. Look up ODI 10350845 at NHTSA ↗

NO INCIDENTS OR CRASHES, YET. MY 2005.5 AUDI S4 WITH 35,800 MILES, HAS A CHRONIC PROBLEM WHERE THE HEADLIGHTS, LEFT OR RIGHT, FLICKER AND THEN TURN OFF INVOLUNTARILY. SOMETIMES ONLY ONE SIDE DOES THIS, MORE RECENTLY, BOTH HAVE BEEN TURNING OFF. WHEN THE LIGHT GOES OUT, A NOTICE APPEARS IN THE CENTER INFORMATION AREA OF "DIPPED HEADLIGHT," EITHER RIGHT OR LEFT RESPECTIVELY. THE ONLY WAY TO RESTART THE LIGHT/S IS TO TURN THE LIGHT SWITCH OFF AND BACK ON MANUALLY. THIS ONLY TEMPORARILY RESETS THE HEADLIGHTS, AND THE SAME EVENTS START AGAIN SHORTLY…

Owner-reported narrative. 34,250 miles reported. Look up ODI 10377932 at NHTSA ↗

JUST PURCHASED A FORMERLY CERTIFIED 2006 AUDI S4 W/ 46K MILES AND FACTORY XENON LIGHTS. WHEN I TURN MY HEADLIGHTS ON, THE RIGHT XENON LIGHT GOES OUT INTERMITTENTLY, AND I GET A "RIGHT DIPPED HEADLIGHT" MESSAGE ON THE INFORMATION DISPLAY. THE RIGHT HEADLIGHT STAYS OFF UNTIL I TURN THE CAR OFF. USUALLY WHEN I RESTART THE CAR, THE HEADLIGHT IS FINE. THE PROBLEM IS DANGEROUS BECAUSE THE LIGHT TURNS OFF WITHOUT WARNING, SO FAR IT HAS ONLY HAPPENED ON ONE SIDE, BUT I AM CONCERNED IT WILL AFFECT BOTH LIGHTS. DEALER STATES THEY HAVE ENCOUNTERED …

Owner-reported narrative. 46,394 miles reported. Look up ODI 10378353 at NHTSA ↗

Reported: 2017-01-11 (January 11, 2017)

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2009 Audi A4 Cabriolet, S4 Cabriolet, A6 Avant, A6 Sedan and S6 Sedan vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, or "Zone B." Additionally, unless included in "Zone B" above, Volkswagen is recalling certain 2005-2008 Audi A4 Avant, A4 Sedan, A6 Sedan, S4 Avant and S4 Sedan vehicles, 2007-2008 A4 Cabriolet, RS4 Sedan, S4 Cabriolet and S6 Sedan vehicles, and 2006-2008 A6 Avant and 2008 RS4 Cabriolet vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the front air bags, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.

Consequence: An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy: Audi will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began March 30, 2018. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Note: This recall has been superseded by recall number 18V427.

Reported: 2018-06-22 (June 22, 2018)

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2005-2008 Audi A4 Sedan, A4 Avant, S4 Avant and S4 Sedan, 2007-2008 RS4 Sedan, 2004 RS4 Cabriolet, 2007-2009 A4 Cabriolet and S4 Cabriolet, 2005-2011 A6 Sedan, 2006-2011 A6 Avant, and 2007-2011 S6 Sedan vehicles. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.

Consequence: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy: Audi has notified owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag with an alternate remedy part, free of charge. The recall began June 29, 2018. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69R7. Note: This recall supersedes recalls 16V382, 17V032 and 18V004 and includes vehicles that may have had their air bag previously replaced under one of those campaigns.