2004 Audi A4 recalls and problems

The 2004 Audi A4 has 2 recalls and 189 owner complaints on file with NHTSA; the most reported problem area is fuel system.

2004 Audi A4
Photo: 2004 Audi A4 by OSX, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
How the 2004 compares
Fewest complaintsMost complaints

High complaint count among 26 A4 model years — 5th most.

2recalls
189complaints
8crashes
3fires
6injuries
60,000median miles

Owner complaints filed with NHTSA, not verified and not adjusted for sales. Ranking compares this model's own years only.

Does your car have an open recall?
Recalls apply to specific vehicles. Only a VIN lookup on NHTSA's official site shows whether yours is affected and still unrepaired.
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2 recalls

Air Bags

Jun 1, 2016 · NHTSA campaign 16V382000 · 194,453 vehicles

Problem: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2004-2008 Audi A4, and 2005-2011 Audi A6 vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands, or "Zone A." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" above, Volkswagen is recalling certain model year 2004-2008 Audi A4, and 2005-2008 Audi A6 vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, or "Zone B." Lastly, unless included in "Zone A" or "Zone B" above, Volkswagen is recalling model year 2004 Audi A4 vehicles originally sold, or registered, in Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules, and used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the front air bags, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.

Risk: An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy & notes

Audi will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 28, 2017. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-822-2834.

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

Exterior Lighting

Mar 15, 2005 · NHTSA campaign 05V096000 · 9,965 vehicles

Problem: On certain passenger vehicles, there is a possibility of xenon headlamp coating degradation over time. The luminous transmittance of the headlamp May decrease over a period of time.

Original NHTSA wording

ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES, THERE IS A POSSIBILITY OF XENON HEADLAMP COATING DEGRADATION OVER TIME. THE LUMINOUS TRANSMITTANCE OF THE HEADLAMP MAY DECREASE OVER A PERIOD OF TIME.

Risk: This condition could affect a driver's field of view, increasing the risk of a crash.

Original NHTSA wording

THIS CONDITION COULD AFFECT A DRIVER'S FIELD OF VIEW, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.

Remedy & notes

Dealers will replace the left and right xenon headlamp reflectors free of charge. The recall began on April 11, 2005. Owners May contact Audi at 1-800-822-2834.

Vw recall no. Jh. Customers May also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty 1-800-424-9153), or go to http://www.safercar.gov.

Recall text as published by NHTSA and the manufacturer.

What owners complain about

Owner complaints filed with NHTSA; one complaint can name several areas. Not verified by NHTSA.

Complaints by year filed

2004: 17 complaints20042005: 8 complaints2006: 12 complaints20062007: 12 complaints2008: 27 complaints20082009: 24 complaints2010: 32 complaints2010322011: 16 complaints2012: 8 complaints20122013: 3 complaints2014: 6 complaints20142015: 4 complaints2016: 7 complaints20162017: 1 complaints2018: 4 complaints20182019: 1 complaints2020: 3 complaints20202021: 2 complaints2022: 1 complaints20222023: 1 complaints20231

NHTSA investigations

ENGINE STALLING - FUEL PUMP FAILURE

PE08027 · opened Apr 14, 2008 · closed Aug 6, 2008
Summary

IN RESPONSE TO ODI'S INFORMATION REQUEST FOR PE08-027, VOLKSWAGEN AG (VW) STATED THAT IT BELIEVES THAT THE POSSIBLE CAUSAL OR CONTRIBUTORY FACTORS OF THE ALLEGED DEFECT IN THE SUBJECT VEHICLES COULD RESULT FROM EXCESSIVE ACCUMULATION OF FOREIGN MATERIALS IN THE FUEL FILTER.IN RARE CASES, THE FUEL FILTER COULD BECOME CLOGGED, WHICH CAN CAUSE INCREASED PRESSURE ON THE PUMP.VW INDICATED THAT ENGINE STALLS RESULTING FROM THIS CONDITION ARE RARE AND WOULD BE PRECEDED BY SYMPTOMS SUCH AS REDUCED ENGINE POWER, NOISE OR HESITATION.ODI'S ANALYSIS OF COMPLAINT AND WARRANTY DATA DETERMINED THAT THE RATE OF ENGINE STALL INCIDENTS RESULTING FROM FUEL PUMP FAILURE IS LOW AT APPROXIMATELY 0.2 PERCENT AFTER THREE YEARS IN SERVICE. ON JANUARY 17, 2006, VW SUBMITTED A DEFECT INFORMATION REPORT TO ODI CONCERNING A SAFETY RECALL TO ADDRESS A DEFECT IN THE FUEL PUMPS OF APPROXIMATELY 74,000 MODEL YEAR (MY) 2003 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT (47,000), AUDI A4 (20,000) AND AUDI A6 (7,000) VEHICLES BUILT FROM SEPTEMBER 2002 THROUGH MARCH 2003 (NHTSA RECALL NO. 06V-017, VW RECALL NOS. M7 FOR PASSAT AND JL FOR AUDI A4 AND A6).ACCORDING TO VW, A SUB-SUPPLIER EXPERIENCED AN UNKNOWN CHANGE IN THE MATERIAL COMPOSITION OF THE CARBON-BRUSH SET USED IN THE ELECTRIC MOTOR IN THE FUEL PUMP, WHICH COULD LEAD TO INCREASED WEAR OF THE CARBON-BRUSH SETS, WHICH IN TURN CAN LEAD TO AN INOPERATIVE FUEL PUMP AND, ULTIMATELY, STOPPAGE OF FUEL SUPPLY TO THE ENGINE.ON JULY 23, 2007, VW EXPANDED THE SCOPE OF THE RECALL TO INCLUDE VEH…

2004 vs. other Audi A4 years

Owner complaints by model year; the darker bar is the 2004. Click a bar to switch year.

Questions

Does the 2004 Audi A4 have recalls?

Yes — NHTSA lists 2 recall campaigns covering the 2004 Audi A4, the latest from Jun 1, 2016 (air bags). A recall applies to specific vehicles: enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see whether yours is affected and still open.

What are the most common problems with the 2004 Audi A4?

Owner complaints filed with NHTSA most often mention fuel system (56), air bags (26), engine (25). Complaints are consumer reports and are not verified by NHTSA.