Audi A4 2009–2016
4th generation (B8, Typ 8K)
NHTSA data through 13 August 2026375 complaints, 217 with mileageMethod
- Reports with mileage
- 217
- Median of reported failures
- 78,000 mi
- Most-reported system
- Engine (36.3%)
- Recalls
- 2
Before-you-buy checklist ↓Check this VIN — NHTSA ↗
On this generation, failures are spread across the mileage range, with the middle half between 40,000 and 100,000 miles.
Figure 1 · Audi A4 2009–2016 · 217 reports with mileage
Mileage at failure
Complaints per 20,000-mile bin, 0 to 200,000 miles, equal bins on a linear scale. Tallest bar = 43 complaints.
- Rest of the range
- Median
- 10%
- 3,413
- 25%
- 40,000
- Median
- 77,800
- 75%
- 100,000
- 90%
- 127,000
Show the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 0–20,000 | 34 | 15.7% |
| 20,000–40,000 | 20 | 9.2% |
| 40,000–60,000 | 30 | 13.8% |
| 60,000–80,000 | 31 | 14.3% |
| 80,000–100,000 | 43 | 19.8% |
| 100,000–120,000 | 33 | 15.2% |
| 120,000–140,000 | 14 | 6.5% |
| 140,000–160,000 | 11 | 5.1% |
| 160,000–180,000 | 1 | 0.5% |
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, public domain. Complaint counts reflect what owners reported and are not a measure of failure rate per vehicle sold.
What this can and cannot tell you: these are complaints owners chose to file, not a failure rate. Popular models accumulate more of them simply by being common. How this is built.
Owners filed 375 complaints with NHTSA about the 2009–2016 Audi A4, and 217 of them record the mileage at which the failure happened. That is enough to show not just what fails, but when.
Failures are spread across the mileage range, with the middle half between 40,000 and 100,000 miles. The median is 77,800 miles.
The most-reported areas are the engine (36.3% of complaints, typically around 94,000 miles), the steering (10.9% of complaints, typically around 61,000 miles), the transmission and driveline (6.4% of complaints, typically around 56,000 miles).
2 recall campaigns cover this generation.
If you arrived asking “is it reliable?” — this page answers the version of that question the data can support: which problems owners reported, and at what mileage.
How many miles does a 2009–2016 Audi A4 last?
Half of the failure reports on the 2009–2016 Audi A4 were filed by 78,000 miles and 90% by 127,000 miles — figures drawn from 217 NHTSA complaints that record an odometer reading, so they time reported failures, not the cars whose owners never filed one.
Before you buy a 2009–2016 A4: the 3-minute check
Generated from 217 mileage-tagged complaints, 2 recall campaigns, 4 documented problem areas. Print this page — the checklist survives print.
- Run the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. 2 campaigns cover this generation; an open recall is a free repair you can make the seller's problem.
- Check engine — excessive oil consumption (piston rings) on 2009–2012 (2.0T); corrected on the Gen3 engine from 2013 cars. The early EA888 2.0T uses a piston design with 21 mm wrist pins and a ring pack that fails to control oil, producing consumption reported at over one quart per 1,000 miles. Audi initially replaced pistons and rings…
- Check engine — timing chain tensioner on 2009–2013 (2.0T) cars. The hydraulic timing chain tensioner is poorly designed and commonly fails shortly after the warranty period, allowing the chain to go slack and jump a tooth on the camshaft, causing valve-to-piston contact and engine…
- Check cooling — water pump / thermostat housing on 2009–2016 cars. The plastic water pump and integrated thermostat housing crack and leak coolant, a routine failure on this engine family.
- Complaint reports are not spread evenly across model years here — see the by-model-year table below before you settle on a year.
- End with a pre-purchase inspection of this car. Aggregate data describes the population; the example in front of you has its own history.
For a buyer, failures on this generation are spread rather than concentrated: the middle half falls between 40,000 and 100,000 miles, with a median of 78,000. There is no single mileage threshold to watch, which means condition and maintenance records are more informative than the odometer.
On inspection, the engine and the steering are where this generation's reports concentrate, so those are the areas worth a specific look. The steering in particular shows a median failure mileage of 61,000, which gives a concrete number to compare against the odometer of any car you are considering.
None of this is a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection on the individual car. Aggregate patterns describe a population; the example in front of you has its own history.
What fails, and when
Figure 2 · Audi A4 2009–2016
When each system fails
Bar spans the middle half of reports; the notch inside each bar is the median. Miles at failure on a proportional scale — equal distances are equal ratios, not equal miles.
- Engine and its cooling system17 reports24,0005,000–72,000Engine and its cooling system: 17 reports, median 24,000 miles, middle half 5,000 to 72,000 miles.
- Transmission and driveline24 reports56,0003,500–80,000Transmission and driveline: 24 reports, median 56,000 miles, middle half 3,500 to 80,000 miles.
- Steering41 reports61,00028,000–89,000Steering: 41 reports, median 61,000 miles, middle half 28,000 to 89,000 miles.
- Fuel and propulsion system23 reports86,00046,000–104,000Fuel and propulsion system: 23 reports, median 86,000 miles, middle half 46,000 to 104,000 miles.
- Engine136 reports94,00068,000–112,000Engine: 136 reports, median 94,000 miles, middle half 68,000 to 112,000 miles.
- Your odometer — appears after you enter it in “Where your car sits”
Ordered by median mileage, earliest first. The first 12,000 miles are shaded: that is the boundary this site uses between a manufacturing defect and ordinary wear, not a property of the world.
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, public domain.
| System | Complaints | Share | Median | 25–75% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine | 136 | 36.3% | 94,000 | 68,000–112,000 |
| Steering | 41 | 10.9% | 61,000 | 28,000–89,000 |
| Airbag system | 36 | 9.6% | — | — |
| Transmission and driveline | 24 | 6.4% | 56,000 | 3,500–80,000 |
| Fuel and propulsion system | 23 | 6.1% | 86,000 | 46,000–104,000 |
| Electrical system | 19 | 5.1% | — | — |
| Engine and its cooling system | 17 | 4.5% | 24,000 | 5,000–72,000 |
| Problems owners could not categorise | 16 | 4.3% | — | — |
| Suspension | 9 | 2.4% | — | — |
| Exterior lighting | 9 | 2.4% | — | — |
Where your car sits
Failure reports by the odometer reading they were filed at. Pick the anchor nearest your car — or type the exact mileage: your marker lands on this curve and on the timing chart above.
Figure 3 · Audi A4 2009–2016 · 217 reports with mileage
Share of reports below each mileage
Share of mileage-tagged reports filed at or below each odometer reading. Steps rise only at bin edges, by exact counted shares.
- 60,000 mi — 39% of reports below
- 120,000 mi — 88% of reports below
- Median — the staircase crosses the 50% line here
- Your odometer — appears after you enter it below
Nothing is smoothed or interpolated. Linear axis, same as Figure 1.
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, public domain.
At 60,000 miles
39% of the failure reports on this generation came below this mileage. That describes reports, not your odds.
In the reporting window
- Steering — middle half 28,000–89,000 mi
- Transmission and driveline — middle half 3,500–80,000 mi
- Fuel and propulsion system — middle half 46,000–104,000 mi
- Engine and its cooling system — middle half 5,000–72,000 mi
Mostly reported later
- Engine — middle half 68,000–112,000 mi
At 90,000 miles
62% of the failure reports on this generation came below this mileage. That describes reports, not your odds.
Reported earlier than this mileage — ask for repair records
- Steering — median 61,000 mi
- Transmission and driveline — median 56,000 mi
- Engine and its cooling system — median 24,000 mi
In the reporting window
- Engine — middle half 68,000–112,000 mi
- Fuel and propulsion system — middle half 46,000–104,000 mi
At 120,000 miles
88% of the failure reports on this generation came below this mileage. That describes reports, not your odds.
Reported earlier than this mileage — ask for repair records
- Engine — median 94,000 mi
- Steering — median 61,000 mi
- Transmission and driveline — median 56,000 mi
- Fuel and propulsion system — median 86,000 mi
- Engine and its cooling system — median 24,000 mi
Which systems, and when
Complaints about this generation are not spread evenly across the vehicle, and the systems that generate the most of them do not all fail at the same point in a car's life. The median failure across all systems here is 77,800 miles; the figures below show which parts of the car run ahead of that and which run behind.
The engine accounts for 36.3% of complaints (136 reports, 82 of them with a mileage figure), with a median of 94,000 miles, close to the vehicle's overall pattern. The middle half of these reports falls between 68,000 and 112,000 miles.
A single system taking 36.3% of all complaints is a concentration worth noting. It means that for this generation, most of what owners reported came back to one area of the car rather than being distributed across many small faults.
The steering accounts for 10.9% of complaints (41 reports, 29 of them with a mileage figure), with a median of 61,000 miles, close to the vehicle's overall pattern. The middle half of these reports falls between 28,000 and 89,000 miles.
The transmission and driveline accounts for 6.4% of complaints (24 reports, 15 of them with a mileage figure), with a median of 56,000 miles, close to the vehicle's overall pattern. The middle half of these reports falls between 3,500 and 80,000 miles.
The fuel and propulsion system accounts for 6.1% of complaints (23 reports, 17 of them with a mileage figure), with a median of 86,000 miles, close to the vehicle's overall pattern. The middle half of these reports falls between 46,000 and 104,000 miles.
The engine and its cooling system accounts for 4.5% of complaints (17 reports, 15 of them with a mileage figure), and it fails early — a median of 24,000 miles, well before the vehicle's overall median. Failures clustered this far below the rest of the car usually point to a design or manufacturing problem rather than wear, because wear does not selectively target one system on low-mileage examples. The middle half of these reports falls between 5,000 and 72,000 miles.
Differences between model years
Within this generation, complaint volume is not constant across model years. The 2009 model year drew the most — 150 complaints — while 2012 drew the fewest at 23. The median year sits at 33.
That makes 2009 an outlier: roughly 4.5 times the median year of this generation. A single year standing that far apart usually reflects either a first-year issue that was later corrected, or a component change introduced for that year. Anyone shopping this generation has a straightforward reason to prefer a different year, all else being equal.
Recalls and what they cover
NHTSA records 2 recall campaigns covering vehicles in this generation. A recall means the manufacturer or the regulator concluded there was a safety defect or a standard was not met, and that a free remedy is owed to owners — including second and later owners.
The campaigns cluster around the airbag system (2). Repeated recalls against the same area of the car generally mean the first remedy did not fully resolve the underlying problem.
Recall status is specific to the individual vehicle, not the model. Checking a VIN against NHTSA's lookup is free and takes under a minute, and it is the only way to know whether a particular car has had the work done.
Reported severity
What owners reported alongside the failure itself, out of 375 complaints against this generation:
- Crashes
- 9 (2.4%)
- Fires
- 11
- Injury reports
- 5
- Fatality reports
- 0
These flags are self-reported by complainants and unverified by NHTSA; one report can carry several flags, so the counts overlap and do not sum to a total. They are not adjusted for how many of these vehicles are on the road. No chart is drawn here on purpose: overlapping counts spanning very different magnitudes cannot be honestly encoded as lengths.
Documented problems
Engine — Excessive Oil Consumption (piston Rings) 2009–2012 (2.0T); corrected on the Gen3 engine from 2013
The early EA888 2.0T uses a piston design with 21 mm wrist pins and a ring pack that fails to control oil, producing consumption reported at over one quart per 1,000 miles. Audi initially replaced pistons and rings under warranty, later offering a revised crankcase breather element plus software. Subject of a class action settlement; the revised piston/ring kit is the durable fix.
Engine — Timing Chain Tensioner 2009–2013 (2.0T)
The hydraulic timing chain tensioner is poorly designed and commonly fails shortly after the warranty period, allowing the chain to go slack and jump a tooth on the camshaft, causing valve-to-piston contact and engine failure. Subject of a US class action filed by plaintiffs across 17 states; Audi revised the tensioner design.
Cooling — Water Pump / Thermostat Housing 2009–2016
The plastic water pump and integrated thermostat housing crack and leak coolant, a routine failure on this engine family.
Engine — Intake Valve Carbon Deposits 2009–2016
Carbon accumulation on the intake valves of the direct-injected 2.0T causing misfires, rough idle and lost power.
By model year
| Year | Complaints | With mileage |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 150 | 90 |
| 2010 | 77 | 61 |
| 2011 | 17 | 10 |
| 2012 | 23 | 13 |
| 2013 | 28 | 17 |
| 2014 | 38 | 15 |
| 2015 | 24 | 7 |
| 2016 | 18 | 4 |
Recalls (2) — is your car included?
Mar 2018 · 2009 · Air BagsAn inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury…
The defect. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2009 Audi A4 Cabriolet, S4 Cabriolet, A6 Avant, A6 Sedan and S6 Sedan vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, the 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." Additionally, unless included in "Zone B" above, Volkswagen is recalling certain 2005-2008 Audi A4 Avant, A4 Sedan, A6 Sedan, S4 Avant and S4 Sedan vehicles,
What can happen. An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
The free fix. Audi will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began March 30, 2018. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Note: This recall has been superseded by recall number 18V427.
Oct 2016 · 2009 · Air BagsIf the air bag control unit fails, the air bags may not deploy in the event of a crash, increasing the risk…
The defect. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (VW) is recalling certain model year 2008-2009 Audi A4, A5, and Q5 vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the air bag control units may corrode and fail.
What can happen. If the air bag control unit fails, the air bags may not deploy in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of occupant injury.
The free fix. Audi will notify owners, and dealers will replace the air bag control unit, free of charge. The recall began October 2016. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69O1.
What owners reported
New car purchase 2009, wheel shimmy noticed in first few days. I asked two other people to drive the car and no one ever felt the shake. I decided to wait until the first check in at 5k, of course the shimmy was more noticeable. The diagnosis is the control arms are faulty and redesigned parts are due to be installed…
2009 · 50 miles · Body structure
This Audi was a lemon from the start and botched repairs at the dealer have only made it worse. One the 2nd day we owned the car the oil light came on and we had to return it to the dealer for more oil. Over the next 2 years the car burned an excessive amount of oil starting at 1 qrt every 2500 miles and deteriorating…
2009 · 100 miles · Engine and its cooling system
the contact owns a 2009 Audi a4. The contact stated that there was a loud, groaning noise from the power steering. The vehicle was also difficult to turn at slow speeds, especially when trying to park. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealership where the contact was informed that the failure was caused by the…
2009 · 300 miles · Steering
The wiper blades on 2009+ model year Audi a4 have a channel on the top surface that collects liquid/icy slush and in freezing conditions that liquid freezes making the blade rigid and incapable of clearing the glass resulting in zero visibility. Further, Audi is using a proprietary wiper blade mount which means that…
2009 · 500 miles · Visibility equipment
Built from 217 NHTSA complaints with mileage · snapshot 2026-08-18 · open data · reproduce this page