2010 Audi S4

Typical pattern

5.7% of complaints about the 2010 Audi S4 came in the first year, which is unremarkable for a 2010 vehicle — around the middle of the 203 model-years on record. The median complaint arrives at 6.8 yr in service. The most-reported system is power train (41 complaints), typically at 6.9 yr or about 63,000 miles.

Complaints: 70
Median age at failure: 6.8 yr
Median mileage: 63,000 n=65
Crash / fire / tow: 2.9% of reports
Safety recalls: 0

In owners’ own words

Power train 35,000 mi 2.2 yr in service

THE TRANSMISSION BEGINS TO JERK AND SLAM CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO ACCELERATE JUST PRIOR TO STOPPING IN STOP/GO TRAFFIC. NOTICED THAT THIS HAPPENS ONLY AFTER DRIVING IN STOP/GO SITUATIONS AND USUALLY AROUND 5MPH. ALSO CLANKS/JERKS WHILE IN REVERSE. DEALER KEEPS SAYING THEY CANNOT REPRODUCE. *TR

Power train 38,000 mi 4.1 yr in service

MECHATRONICS UNIT FAILED IN THE VEHICLE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION. TRANSMISSION FAILURE MESSAGE LISTED ON CAR DASHBOARD. CAR WOULD NOT SHIFT OUT OF 1ST GEAR AND THERE WAS NO REVERSE GEAR. CAR HAD TO BE TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR REPAIR. MULTIPLE WEB FORUM POSTS STATED THE AUDI B8 MODELS SUFFERED THIS FAILURE FREQUENTLY. *TR

Power train 20,304 mi 3.7 yr in service

MECHATRONICS UNIT FAILURE IN DSG TRANSMISSION. HARD SHIFTS FROM 1ST TO 2ND AND 2ND TO 1ST WHILE STOPPING. (VEHICLE MAKES LOUD DRIVETRAIN BANG NOISE, SHAKES AND STOPS ABRUPTLY WHEN SLOWING DOWN AND TRYING TO COME TO A STOP, ALMOST AS IF YOU SLOWED DOWN TO 5-10MPH AND THEN SLAMMED ON THE BRAKES.) *TR

Other S4 model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

2010 Audi S4

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

In owners’ own words

Other S4 model years

How to read this