Improperly manufactured steering lock bolts could break if driver applies excessive force to a locked steering wheel in an attempt to disengage the steering lock.
1984-2002 · 18 model years
Audi Quattro Problems by year
Owners have filed 94 complaints about the Audi Quattro across 18 model years, and it has 3 recalls. The 1999 has the most complaints once its age is allowed for (21), while 1994, 1995 have far fewer than a typical year. The most reported problem area is the brakes, followed by the engine & cooling.
- Complaints
- 94
- Recalls
- 3
- Crashes
- 7
- Fires
- 2
- Injuries
- 2
- Deaths
- 0
Quattro complaints by model year
Highlighted: the year with the most complaints for its age. Older vehicles have had more time to collect complaints - the Safety Index grade allows for that.
Most common Quattro problems
Audi Quattro recalls 3
A securing clip on the outside of hinges of the left and right front seat back may not be properly seated due to interference with seat covering material.
Covers1990 Audi Quattro
Fuel injection seals may harden, due to high temperature and alcohol in some fuels, and allow fuel to escape into the engine compartment.
Latest Quattro complaints
Cracked bearing on dual mass flywheel (a4 quattro, 3l v6, 6 speed manual transmission). This bearing connecting two disks that make up dual mass flywheel, was cracked, causing a sudden onset of a serious and dangerous vibration to occur at all rpm levels. Also required a complete clutch replacement prior to normal wear interval. Entire flywheel assy replaced with clutch pressure plate, pilot and throwout bearings remedied issue. 10 Hours labor with parts aprox $2700 total cost of repair. *Tr
Tl*the contact owns a 1993 audi quattro. While driving 25 mph the front of the vehicle hit the raised portion of a grating in the road, and upon impact the air bags deployed and exploded. The contact was injured. The dashboard, transmission pan, catalytic converter, fog lights and front shocks were destroyed. A police report was filed. The contact stated that the vehicle was destroyed. The failure mileage was approximately 180,000.
The audi cars have a problem with the gas tanks which could lead to explosions. My 2002 audi has about 100k on it, which is when I started smelling gas. I took it into the dealer in 2008 for a recall, and at that time they serviced a part of the fuel system, for which now there is a recall. Then this year, smelling gas, I had the rings changed, but now smelling gas again, my audi mechanic says the tank is not repairable. He pulled it as far down as possible and used a scope on it to see if it could be repaired. ...
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Now I am looking at about 2k in bills for a new gas tank. I called audi and asked their advocate about this, asking about if it was related to the recall, and of course he said no, that with high mileage cars gas tanks can give problems. I know of many audis who have had to replace gas tanks; this is not normal. Audi needs to be investigated for this. I have found many other instances just by googling this problem on the web, and my mechanic, who only works on audis, has replaced several tanks. He used to be an authorized parts center for audi so he knows that they are aware of the problem. *Tr
I have a 1999 audi a4 quatro. I've owned the car for just over 3 years and have had to replace the headlight switch 5 times. The switch is poorly designed. Electrical heat melts a plastic part in the switch causing it to fail and the headlights to stop working. This is a danger due to the potential of fire and also the loss of lighting while driving. I have researched this on the web and I am not the only audi owner with this issue. *Tr
Tl*the contact owns a 1997 audi a4 quattro. The contact stated that the headlight switch failed, which caused the headlights to shut off while driving 35 mph at night. He had to park the vehicle for the remainder of the evening. He was informed that the vin was not included in nhtsa campaign id number 06e049000 (exterior lighting). The contact repaired the failure himself. The failure mileage was 84,750. Updated 07/07/08. *Bf updated
Audi-a4 timing belt broke while drive on the freeway. Routine services were done at steven's creek audi on a regular basis. Audi services never reported timing belt problem in all routine services. My audi has only 47,000 miles and without warning, the timing belt broke. Luckily there were no major injuries while driving on the freeway. Now, audi informs me that it wll cost me $10,000 to fix the timing belt and the repair of the engine. It is not acceptable that I have to pay for the repair when I follow audi...
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routine services. Additionally, all my services were done at a certified audi dealership services. And in all of the services, nothing was ever mentioned regarding the condition of the timing belt. Had audi services informed me about the condition, I would request to replace it. It's a defect that audi knows about with regard to timing belt problems. Class actions were filed against audi, regarding timing belt problems. There is also a mandate that timing belts be inspection at 40,000 and 80,000 miles. This is negligent on audi for not performing this service on my automobile. The class action lawsuit I am referring to is based on, ms. Karen schwartzman, which nhtsa has knowledge on. *Tr
Questions about the Audi Quattro
Which Audi Quattro years have the most problems?
Which Audi Quattro years have the fewest complaints?
What are the most common Audi Quattro problems?
Across every model year, owners report problems with the brakes (19), engine & cooling (14), acceleration & cruise control (13) most often.
How many recalls does the Audi Quattro have?
NHTSA lists 3 recalls across all Audi Quattro model years. Each year's page lists the recalls for that year; check your own vehicle by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see whether the repair has been done.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaints and recalls, checked daily. Complaints are owners' own reports and are not verified. How we use the data