2.4

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
63,828 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

2012 Audi S4 drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2012 Audi S4 Owner Comments

problem #14

Sep 262019

S4

  • 98,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Circuit board on the mechatronics unit failed and car is under 100K miles. Sudden shaking and banging on the highway when giving it gas above 30. Frequent jolts, dangerous to drive...

- Elmwood Park, NJ, USA

problem #13

Aug 132018

S4

  • 64,000 miles
The dsg transmission in my Audi S4 experiences abrupt jerking from 2nd to 1st great while decelerating. It also jerks and feels like it is being hit while shifting from 1st to 2nd when accelerating normally.

- Colorado Springs, CO, USA

problem #12

Dec 242018

S4

  • 107,592 miles
The gearbox malfunction screen on the dash showed up out of nowhere then followed by a parking brake malfunction then the car goes into neutral and just sits there revving the engine. I try to put it in neutral then drive but the lever gets stuck and I cant move to drive. This first happen in the highway and I couldn't do anything about it and I know this car has high mileage but looking at it this transmission has problems all the way to the 2016 models. This is something that needs to be looked at because this is a potential hazard at highway speeds

- Chantilly, VA, USA

problem #11

Sep 172018

S4

  • 102,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

While driving today on the highway my 2012 Audi S4 experienced the common dsg gearbox malfunction alert along woth the TPMS fault light. On the highway loosing all power and causing the vehicle slow drastically while in traffic nearly causing an accident. The amount of complaints on this same issue is astonishing that Audi has not taking care if this yet. This malfunction can cause a serious accident, its time to recall the dsg transmission and fix the issue!!!!!! as well as reimbursement for all the people who spend thousands of dollars trying to diagnose the issue, Audi will try to make you pay upwards of $5,000 to $10,000 in repairs rather than do the right thing and fix the problem.

- Wayne, NY, USA

problem #10

May 182018

S4

  • 67,000 miles
While driving in traffic, my car dropped into lower gears and stopped moving, and two error codes popped up "gearbox malfunction" and "TPMS malfunction". looking this up online and discussing with my mechanic, this is something happening in a lot of the cars that are this make & model and have the same transmission.

- Littleton, CO, USA

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problem #9

Apr 042018

S4

  • 61,000 miles
At ~61,000 miles the 2012 Audi S4 started driving rough in low gears. The car has hesitation issues followed by & jerky acceleration/deceleration in low gears out of & into a stop. The reverse gear has similar hesitation & jerky acceleration. Car then started periodically displaying the message: Gearbox malfunction: You can continue driving dealer diagnosed the error code as P179E - drive position sensor electrical error, which is tsb 2032211/1

- Kirkland, WA, USA

problem #8

Dec 162017

S4

  • 86,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

"takata recall" I was driving my car when I got the 'gearbox malfunction" on my dash and a check engine light. It then said that reverse was not available. The car went limp and when shifting into 2nd gear from 1st gear would rev to very high rpms and then finally shift. I would not go above 40 mph and was slow to move from a stop. I took it to the Audi dealership and they told me it was the mechatronic unit. I was informed that it cost $5,400 dollars for them to replace the unit. I am just baffled as to why a car that is only 6 years in age and has only 86,000 miles on it has an electrical part that is going out so soon. Audi claims to make the best dsg transmission in the european platform, yet many have had this issue with the mechatronic unit and yet Audi hasnt chosen to warrany it or even give the option to cover the drivetrain as a whole. A car that is $40,000 retail new should not have this kind of issue within its early lifetime. And if this is a mechanical item that is going to failure so soon then why not atleast cover it or assist with an alternative transmission extended warranty.

- Tucson, AZ, USA

problem #7

Nov 132017

S4

  • 76,000 miles
While driving approaching a stoplight, I received a "gearbox malfunction. Ok to continue driving with limited functionality" error. The car then barely accelerated and I could not go more than 20mph (I was on a busy road speed limit 35mph but everyone goes about 50). I was able to finally get it to drive well enough to get it to the dealer. Dealer said it needs a new circuit board which is not covered by only the power train warranty, as it is considered an electronic component.

- Dublin, CA, USA

problem #6

Jul 062017

S4

  • 76,000 miles
Premature transmission mechatronic failure. Car unable to reverse during a 3 point turn in a roadway across train tracks. Since new the car had a clunky transmission. It progressively got worse but when brought to the dealer it was always, "operating within manufacturer's specifications" this is the 2nd Audi in a row that has been brought in multiple times for a problem that the dealer claims isn't a problem and is "operating in specs of the manufacturer".

- San Francisco, CA, USA

problem #5

Nov 012015

S4

  • 39,000 miles
Dsg transmission is shifting very rough and sometimes slips. Also lurches forward suddenly from a stop causing the car to lunge forward.

- Kaneohe, HI, USA

problem #4

Mar 272017

S4

  • 78,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

A gearbox malfunction (with codes P179E and P179F) may cause the car enter one of the "limp mode" states, which can cut engine power from the transmission. A message on the dash may say "gearbox malfunction" with a message if the car is driveable or must be brought to the repair shop. In some cases, this loss of power can make things difficult to pull over safely, as the stall can happen in an intersection, or in stop and go traffic on the freeway. Audi has recognized this problem in the form of a tsb (2032211), however, all cars with this particular transmission may experience a similar issue, at any time, despite following manufacturer service intervals. The issue may appear to be intermittent and may not enter full limp mode until many miles later. My initial encounter with questionable transmission behavior was about 10-15K miles prior. This particular case documented was the worst scenario, but similar scenarios (coming off the freeway and stalling shortly after stopping, or not being able to engine brake properly due to transmission refusing to shift) have also been experienced.

- Concord, CA, USA

problem #3

Mar 052013

S4

  • 14,000 miles
Dsg transmission started to shift poorly. Shifts would "slip" between gears and sometimes it would down shift very hard. This occured mostly in urban driving, stop and go.

- Knoxville, TN, USA

problem #2

Feb 012015

S4

  • 25,000 miles
Very abruptly shifts up or down launching the car forward without warning

- Webster, NY, USA

problem #1

Oct 222014

S4

  • miles
I own a 2012 Audi S4 with a 7 speed dsg transmission and notice hard shifting in 1-2 and 2-1 and also into reverse and drive. I have read about this being a mechtronics unit or whole replacement of the transmission can be needed. After bringing the car into Audi 4 times with these issues they finally said that I need to replace the tcu and update software on the ECU. I asked if this will fix the issue and they said that this repair will be the first in an order of parts to be replaced to hopefully fix the problem. Next would be the mechtronics or the entire transmission. I bought the car with 29K miles and 8 months left on the factory warranty from a local small dealership. After purchasing the car and going to the dealer with these issue 4 times..now they tell me Audi voided the power train warranty of the car at 5K miles due to a ECU tune. So they are denying the claim. I talked to a local tuner to see if the car had a tune on the ECU..they said no..I also called several nationwide tuners to ask them if my cars VIN was on record of getting a tune and they said no. So since it was before I bought the car I do not know what company or for how long it was tuned for. The local dealer never told me while bringing the car in for transmission issues that I did not have a power train warranty until a major cost was involved. They know there are problems with these transmission hence the updated tcu and software update to the ECU as well as the updated part# of the mechtronics unit they would replace it with. This should be something Audi should cover up to 100K with a tune ECU or not. A ECU tune has no control over the transmission tcu or the parts in the trans.

- Portsmouth, NH, USA

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