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2017 Audi A4

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2017 Audi A4 do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 76.5.

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How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

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Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.

What owners reported most

All reported categories

Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

Limited mileage data: 11 of 55 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Engine. Review the 22 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Air Bags. Review the 13 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 6 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

2 crash reports0 fire reports0 injury reports

Vehicle Speed Control complaints

1 reports
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Mileage unknown · Mar 23, 2022
Fuel/propulsion SystemService BrakesVehicle Speed ControlCrash

I have been an Audi A4 owner for more than 10 years. During that time, I have had 2 incidents where I could have easily been killed as well as injured or killed passengers in oncoming vehicles. The latest was this morning on March 23, 2022. The other was nearly 10 years ago. My personal investigation has led me to a conclusion t…

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I have been an Audi A4 owner for more than 10 years. During that time, I have had 2 incidents where I could have easily been killed as well as injured or killed passengers in oncoming vehicles. The latest was this morning on March 23, 2022. The other was nearly 10 years ago. My personal investigation has led me to a conclusion that I have not yet seen anywhere else. In both cases, I am trying to get into a heavy flow of traffic. I know that I will have to "gun it" to get up to speed. For that reason, I have one foot on the accelerator and one on the brake. When traffic opens to where I think it is safe to proceed, I press the accelerator while my foot is still on the brake. In the situation this morning, I intended to execute a sharp right turn into the closest lane of a road with 2-lanes going in that direction. I pressed the accelerator hard while turning the steering wheel. Instead of turning right, the car shot across both lanes of traffic, wiped out a traffic sign and entered the lanes of oncoming traffic. I had zero control. It was only dumb luck that I avoided traffic in both directions (both of which were travelling at roughly 60 mph). Even though I knew about this risk from my earlier incident, I didn't think about it at the time. I realize that my actions send conflicting signals to the car (go/don't go), but the last thing the car should do is propel itself forward with no control on the part of the driver. I don't know if this is limited to Audi or the A4, but I wanted to make my experience public to possibly avoid a serious or fatal accident by someone else. It is very avoidable with proper knowledge and attention. I'd be interested in knowing if you have been notified of any other incidents of this type.

NHTSA ODI #11457955

Official recalls

1

21V874000 · Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification:front Passenger; Seats

Nov 10, 2021

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2017-2020 A4 Allroad, A4 Sedan, 2018-2019 RS5 Coupe, 2019 RS5 Sportback, 2018-2020 A5 Cabriolet, A5 Coupe, A5 Sportback, S4 Sedan, S5 Cabriolet, S5 Coupe, and Audi S5 Sportback vehicles. The cable connecting the seat heater to the Passenger Occupant Detection System (PODS) may have a contact fault, causing the software to misdiagnose a malfunction and disable the passenger air bag.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A disabled passenger air bag increases the risk of injury in the event of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the connecting cable and either the heating mat or entire seat cover, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 7, 2022. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 74E3. This recall is an expansion of Recall 19V-547 (74D9). Vehicles previously repaired under 19V-547 will need to return for the new remedy.

Additional source detail variants (2)

Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification:front Passenger

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2017-2020 A4 Allroad, A4 Sedan, 2018-2019 RS5 Coupe, 2019 RS5 Sportback, 2018-2020 A5 Cabriolet, A5 Coupe, A5 Sportback, S4 Sedan, S5 Cabriolet, S5 Coupe, and Audi S5 Sportback vehicles. The cable connecting the seat heater to the Passenger Occupant Detection System (PODS) may have a contact fault, causing the software to misdiagnose a malfunction and disable the passenger air bag.

Consequence: A disabled passenger air bag increases the risk of injury in the event of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the connecting cable and either the heating mat or entire seat cover, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 7, 2022. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 74E3. This recall is an expansion of Recall 19V-547 (74D9). Vehicles previously repaired under 19V-547 will need to return for the new remedy.

Seats

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2017-2020 A4 Allroad, A4 Sedan, 2018-2019 RS5 Coupe, 2019 RS5 Sportback, 2018-2020 A5 Cabriolet, A5 Coupe, A5 Sportback, S4 Sedan, S5 Cabriolet, S5 Coupe, and Audi S5 Sportback vehicles. The cable connecting the seat heater to the Passenger Occupant Detection System (PODS) may have a contact fault, causing the software to misdiagnose a malfunction and disable the passenger air bag.

Consequence: A disabled passenger air bag increases the risk of injury in the event of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the connecting cable and either the heating mat or entire seat cover, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 7, 2022. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 74E3. This recall is an expansion of Recall 19V-547 (74D9). Vehicles previously repaired under 19V-547 will need to return for the new remedy.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.