2013 Audi S4: True Cost, Problems & Verdict
33 NHTSA owner complaints · 1 recalls · data-computed verdict. No opinions — public data only.
Owner complaints: 33 filed with NHTSA
Complaints per year on the road: 2.54
What owners say
Verbatim reports filed with the United States safety regulator (NHTSA) by owners of this exact model year. Public record.
Transmission fail while driving and stationary at traffic light. Main DTC: P179F00 - Drive sensor position: malfunction Additional DTC: P179E00 - Drive sensor position: electrical malfunction ABS: 00473 Parking brake: U111300 TCM: 01315 This situation occurred 3 times in the past 3 weeks while driving or being stationary at a traffic light. Event triggers loud warning sounds, red flashing lights/icons in dashboard…
At times Vehicle suddenly loses power and displays “transmission malfunction:you may continue driving” but then fails to accelerate to or maintain highway speeds. Other times when vehicle is stopped in traffic the transmission delays engaging when pressing in the accelerator and thus causes an unexpected delay to movement or if on an incline will roll backwards.
Transmission shifts strange when cold. acts like it loosed power every shift. strange clunking as well on slow speeds or number to number traffic. sometimes it scared me that it will jump forward and hit the car on front of me.
Recalls: 1 campaigns (1 severe)
| Campaign | Component | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| 14V667000 | Air Bags | Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Audi A4 and S4 vehicles manufactured February 16, 2012, to October 21, 2014, and 2013-2015 Audi Allroad vehicles manufactured March 12, 2012, to October 21, 2014. |
What it costs to buy — and what owning it really takes
Class-level estimates, priced as a mid-size premium car of its model year, re-priced to your country. Not a quote, not a valuation of one specific car — condition, mileage and options move it. How these are computed.
What it costs to run
EPA combined 21 MPG · estimated annual fuel cost $3,600
Re-priced automatically from your country's retail fuel, electricity and parts indices — change country in the bar at the top. Estimates; see methodology.
What this car's problems cost to fix
Ranked by the components owners of this exact model year actually complain about. Each figure is flat-rate labour hours x the local shop rate plus a parts band — an estimate of what this kind of failure costs, not a quote, and not a prediction that this car will need it. Formula.
- Steering19 complaints · typical job: Electric power-steering rack or column motor replacement (5.0 h labour + parts)$1,020–$2,500
- Power Train9 complaints · typical job: Transmission service or clutch-pack repair (7.0 h labour + parts)$1,290–$4,040
- Engine4 complaints · typical job: Cooling-system or timing-drive repair (6.0 h labour + parts)$1,040–$2,220
- Electrical System2 complaints · typical job: Alternator, battery-drain or body-module diagnosis and replacement (3.0 h labour + parts)$540–$1,310
- Unknown Or Other1 complaints · typical job: Diagnosis and mixed repair (2.0 h labour + parts)$360–$940
Other Audi S4 years
FAQ
What is the most common problem with the 2013 Audi S4?
The most-reported issue in NHTSA complaint data is Steering (19 complaints in our indexed sample).
Is the 2013 Audi S4 a good used car to buy?
Our data verdict is BUY with a reliability score of 77/100, computed from 33 NHTSA complaints and 1 recall campaigns. See the verdict card for the top reasons.
How much does it cost to fix the 2013 Audi S4's most common problem?
19 of the NHTSA complaints filed against the 2013 Audi S4 sit in the Steering group — more than any other component on this model year. The representative job there is electric power-steering rack or column motor replacement: about 5.0 hours of labour plus parts, roughly $1,020–$2,500 at a US independent shop and re-priced to your country at the top of the page. It is an estimate of what this class of failure costs, not a quote for this car.
What does a 2013 Audi S4 cost to run per year?
About $5,998 a year in fuel or energy plus the maintenance band — roughly $29,990 over five years, before purchase price, insurance and depreciation. Figures come from available EPA fuel-economy data and industry maintenance averages, and are re-priced to your country.
Does the 2013 Audi S4 have recalls?
Yes — NHTSA lists 1 recall campaign(s) for the 2013 Audi S4, 1 of them touching fire, crash or stall risk, the most recent recorded 24/10/2014. Check this car's VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before you buy.
Compare with
Other luxury midsizes of about the same age.
What will a 2013 Audi S4 really cost YOU per year?
Fuel, maintenance band and depreciation — computed from public data in 10 seconds.
Open the true-cost calculatorData sources
Complaints & recalls: NHTSA ·
Fuel economy: EPA fueleconomy.gov ·
Scoring: our published methodology.
Maintenance bands are industry-average estimates (AAA Your Driving Costs, CarMD index) — labeled estimates, not measurements.
Last updated: 2026-10-04.
Thin evidence — 33 complaints, 1 recalls on record
- 33 NHTSA complaints on record (2.5/yr of exposure) — worse than a typical year of this model (1.4/yr)
- 1 recall campaigns, 1 touching safety-critical systems
- Thin complaint record — this score is held close to the model's own average rather than read as evidence of quality