The 2018 Audi S4 has 2 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 353,669 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 9 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the engine. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
AIR BAGS21V8740002021-11-10208,332 affected
Defect
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…
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…
AIR BAGS19V5470002019-07-24145,337 affected
Defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Audi RS5 Sportback, 2018 S5 Cabriolet, S5 Sportback, S5 Coupe, S4 Sedan, A5 Cabriolet, A5 Sportback, A5 Coupe, and 2017-2018 A4 Sedan and A4 Allroad vehicles. Oxidation on the Passenger Occupant Detection System (PODS) connecting cable may cause…
Consequence
A disabled passenger air bag increases the risk of injury in the event of a crash.
Remedy
Audi will notify owners, and dealers will install cable ties to the harness, free of charge. The recall began September 9, 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Audi's number for this recall is 74D9.
Complaints by component
ENGINE
4
POWER TRAIN
1
SERVICE BRAKES
1
STRUCTURE:BODY
1
SUSPENSION
1
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
1
Total complaints9
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“Water pump defect for the 3.0l ea839 turbo engine found across many porsche and audi models. Defect causes damage to vacuum lines, thermostat, and can eventually lead to engine failure if not resolved. No way of knowing this is happening until you start to lose coolant (which will throw an engine…”
“My 2018 audi s4 has a catastrophic engine failure issue and this is common with the ea839 engine. There is a knocking in the motor that is caused by internal engine parts (rocker arms needle bearings) becoming loose and dislodged. The metal shavings travel in the motor oil and destroy the engine…”
“Pcv housing and lines failed. Caused pressure to build up thus shooting off the oil cap shooting oil everywhere! In addition to that it is a huge fire hazard considering the turbo is right next to it.”
“Audi dealer inspection revealed rear spring is broken and mounts are deteriorating. Dealer states not common and would result in accident if not repaired. Research indicates broken springs common with certain audi vehicles (a4/s4, q5 & q7), especially 2018 model year. See audi world forum website.…”
“The vehicle's pre sense auto-braking and braking alert jolt has been activating erroneously and have almost caused accidents at speed. The system cannot be permanently disabled, it deactivates upon ignition restart. The system has erroneously and aggressively jolted the breaks on several occasions…”
“There are two large "underride guard" panels on the underside of the vehicle that are fastened by small, loose-fitting plastic clips. There is also felt sound-deadening material on the exterior side of this panel. When the vehicle is driven in rain or snow, the panel collects snow or water under…”
“When driving in manual mode and transition from on the throttle to off-throttle, there is a 1-2 second delay before the engine stops accelerating and transitions to deceleration. Especially in first gear, this means that the vehicle continues to accelerate for that period of time. I drove another…”
“When driving in manual mode and transition from on the throttle to off-throttle, there is a 1-2 second delay before the engine stops accelerating and transitions to deceleration. Especially in first gear, this means that the vehicle continues to accelerate for that period of time. I drove another…”
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2018 Audi S4 as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
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