This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
Car slammed into different gear, wasn't able to shift into 2nd and threw gearbox malfunction and TPMS errors. Thankfully I was near home and able to make it there without an accident or being stranded, but my car is now immobile. I spoke with Audi and they said it will likely be a $4K repair (mechatronics unit). After researching this more, it seems to be a common problem with these cars. It can happen at any time and can be extremely dangerous. There's also a pending class action lawsuit to get Audi to do the right thing and recall these cars and fix them.
My car flashed gearbox malfunction while driving down interstate I-264 in louisville ky. Car seamed fine for about 2 miles and then suddenly went limp and I had no gears. Had to hit flashers and coast into median. Was almost hit by semi truck. Repair shop could not find anything wrong. Happened again 1 day after getting it back from shop. Taking it to Audi now. I have read that this is a common problem.
The whole car jerked when going to 2nd gear and then thetpms, no reverse, and gear malfunction lights comes on. 2nd, 4th, 6th, and reverse gear are gone. Restarting the car cleared the warning and drove fine for 10 miles before it happens again. Try restarting again to clear the warning but light will come back on when going to 2nd or reverse.
- Orlando, FL, USA
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Gearbox failure seems to be common issue on the 2010 model. Seems a replacement mechatronics unit or full transmission will need to be done to resolve the issue.
It happened again today driving down the highway going up to speed, at about 50 mph I got a "gearbox malfunction" error message in the cluster and it would not let me accelerate anymore, it was like the car was in neutral and pressing the accelerator pedal would just rev up the engine. The mechatronics unit on these vehicles are faulty, I know 2 other S4 owners with the years of 2011 and 2012 who also had their mechatronics fail on their S4. Along with the gearbox malfunction error also comes "parking brake error" who knows what in the world can happen when that message comes up. Is it going to suddenly apply the electronic parking brake going 50-70 mph down the highway and cause a possibility of a very bad accident? the repair is very pricey for the mechatronic unit that goes bad, it is no coincidence many of these S4 models have these go bad.
Vehicle was in motion, the mechatronics unit on my car is failing and just many many other vehicles of the same make, model, and year. The vehicle can stop engaging gears at any speed and can be very dangerous at any speed, especially on the highway
Vehicle was at a stop at a traffic light with brake engaged and vehicle suddenly engaged into gear and tried to surge forward. Had to put the transmission into neutral to disengage gear. In other instances, vehicle will slam into gear abruptly when accelerating from a full stop, and also lunges forward unpredictably. These incidents are all related to a failing automatic dsg transmission.
Gearbox malfunction and TPMS malfunction while driving on the road within the city about 45mph I felt a slight jerk and immediately following the warnings came on in the dashboard "tire pressure! system malfunction" & "gearbox malfunction: No reverse gear (you can continue driving)" throttle response was off and forced me to immediately puller over! while stopped I re-started the vehicle and the warnings went away, I sat there for a couple minutes and then continued driving. Few miles down the road the vehicle jerked again and warnings came back on, I needed to get to work so I continued driving; the car would take very long to shift gears and it would jump from 1st to 3rd, from 3rd to 5th and 5th to 7th gear jerking kind of violently every-time and throttle response between shifts was very lethargic to the point that the vehicle would slow down severely and I felt unsafe due to cars getting really close to my rear and them having to slow down drastically while the car shifted gears. Due to the number of complaints I strongly feel that Audi should be liable and held accountable for all repairs necessary and accidents that this issue can cause. If this issue would of presented itself while traveling at 75mph on the highway I believe it could of been a case of life & death. Audi is putting the people driving their vehicles and others around at risk by not recalling an unit or units known to cause problems.
Audi 7sp DL501 's-tronic' transmission for: 2010-2015 Audi S4 and S5, 2013-2015 Audi RS5, S6 and S7. Vehicles experience mechatronic unit failure and clutch faults. Resulting in: Sudden shaking and violent 'juddering, ' hesitation from the car when pressing the gas pedal, a 'surge' forward that feels like the car has been rear-ended, and hard downshifting or clunking when slowing down or driving at slow speeds. Also clunking and trouble shifting gears, difficulty engaging into drive or reverse. Vehicle showing "gearbox malfunction, you can continue driving" "gearbox malfunction, do not continue driving" vehicle going into "limp mode" in any driving situation. Clutches not engaging properly, slipping between gears. Issues can occur while trying to accelerate, merging into traffic, driving up a hill, shifting gears at a low speed. My experience: While switching vehicles in driveway, vehicle when into reverse and I backed up, then stopped, put transmission into drive and after a jolt forward, vehicle felt like it stalled, however engine was still running, but no forward gear, (epc light illuminated) vehicle then rolled backwards into parked vehicle, but could have been catastrophic had it jumped back into drive as 3rd car, father, and garage were in front path. 2nd time: Vehicle could not reverse, (epc light illuminated) ran into parking curb while expecting to go backwards. 3rd time: After finally getting out of the parking spot (restarting car for the 4th time and epc lights) put into drive, vehicle surged forward, then transmission disengaged, (epc light illuminated) leaving me and vehicle vulnerable for rear collision, with leg out of the door I was able to push and coast my vehicle out of the way, just to miss being rear ended, as car would not engage in drive after 3 attempts of cycling ignition.
Vehicle's transmission became non-operational while driving on the highway. This was due to multiple failed sensors in the "S tronic transmission integrated sensors" module. Early sensor failure has been a known issue as Audi issued tsb 35 12 08 2032211/1 on December 21, 2012 (only 3 years after original model production began) outlining the problem. The failure causes an obvious safety hazard and no recall has been issued.
My S4 threw the "gearbox malfunction, reverse disabled" as well as a TPMS error code while in traffic, and went into limp mode and would not allow me to accelerate. Very dangerous, and inconvenient. Limped home at very slow speed while transmission clunked and struggled to change gears. The code has gone away since I restarted the vehicle, and now it lunges forward when you're coming to a stop, which makes you feel like you've been hit from behind. Taking off from a stop is bouncy and super jerky. If I hesitate before accelerating from a stop, it will sometimes go smoothly. The engine RPM's surge while coasting to a stop, or going down, hill especially with foot off the pedal.
When driving in regular drive box indicator comes on. Saying gearbox malfunction limited function. I only have 63125 miles and keep my car maintenance.
One week after purchasing car, car exhibiting symptoms of mechatronics unit failure (bang/jerk when stopping, RPM jumpy in 1/2nd gear, reverse is jumpy).
TPMS & gearbox malfunction car will not drive in reverse and jerk in forward gears while also increasing revs all by itself. Major safety hazard as the car was in motion on a major busy road!
My S4 lunges at stops, or it feels like I've been hit from behind. Takeoff from a stop is bouncy, bouncy reversing, especially uphill. If I take my foot off the breaks and hesitate before accelerating, sometimes it's smooth. The tac bounces while coasting to a stop, or going down hill with foot off the pedal. These issues have been intermittent the last several years, but are now more profound. I've taken the car to my local dealer several times to no avail. Very frustrating to pay 50K for a car that drives like this, while Audi pretends it's not a problem. Lots of these issues in various forums.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Mount Orab, OH, USA