Audi S4 reliability by year
11 recall campaigns and 263 owner complaints across 16 model years. Best year to buy: 2012. Year to avoid: 2005.
Worst model years to avoid → — the single year to avoid for every model line we track, ranked side by side.
At-a-glance: every year color-coded
Each cell shows the last two digits of the model year and its 0–10 reliability score from NHTSA data. Click any year to see the full record. ★ best year · ✕ year to avoid.
Year-by-year reliability 16 model years · newest first
Per-year recall counts add up to 26, more than the 11 campaigns above, because a single NHTSA campaign often covers several model years and is counted once in each.
Common trouble spots across the S4 aggregated across 16 model years
Common questions
What's the best year to buy a Audi S4?
Based on NHTSA complaint volume and severity weighting, the 2012 Audi S4 scores 8.4/10 — the strongest in the 2005–2022 range. 22 complaints on file, 1 active recall. Reliability scores reflect the federal complaint record, not subjective owner reviews.
Which Audi S4 year should I avoid?
The 2005 Audi S4 scores 7.0/10 — the weakest in the lineup. 43 owner complaints with NHTSA, 2 active recalls. That doesn't mean every 2005 is a problem — it means failure rates run higher than peer model years on the same platform.
Which years of the Audi S4 should I avoid?
No Audi S4 model year currently rises to an "avoid" or "high-risk" verdict on the NHTSA data — either the record is clean or sample sizes are still too thin for a confident call. The year-by-year breakdown below shows what's on file regardless.
How many years of the Audi S4 are tracked?
16 model years (2005 through 2022) with NHTSA records on file. Total across the lineup: 11 distinct recall campaigns and 263 owner complaints. Those campaigns land on 26 model-year entries in total, because one campaign often covers several years at once — which is why per-year recall counts add up to more than the campaign count.
What's the most-reported problem on the Audi S4?
powertrain is the most-reported category — 90 complaints across 5 model years. Average shop repair runs about $2,500.