Audi
Audi A4 years to avoid
Years to avoid: 2017, 2018 and 2020. Best years: 2016 and 2019.
The 2017, 2018 and 2020 Audi A4 draw the most owner complaints for their age: 2017 has 55 complaints (6 for each year on the road), 2018 has 44 complaints (5 for each year on the road) and 2020 has 127 complaints (18 for each year on the road), against a median of 2 a year across the 9 model years old enough to judge. The most reported problem on the 2020 is infotainment (109 reports).
- 127complaints
- 3recall campaigns
- 1model years with a page
Newest report Aug 12, 2026 · checked Oct 2, 2026
Pick your model year
Owner complaints on file for each year.
Years to avoid
2017
Too few complaints for a page of its own.
2018
Too few complaints for a page of its own.
2020
Most reported: infotainment (109 reports) and stalling (21 reports).
Best years
2016
Too few complaints for a page of its own.
2019
Too few complaints for a page of its own.
Complaints for each year on the road
Each model year's NHTSA complaints divided by the calendar years it has been on sale, counting this one (a 2018 model has had 9). Older cars have had longer to collect complaints, so raw totals flatter the new ones. Blue bars are the years to avoid.
Within one model, sales change less from year to year than they do between models, so a jump here is mostly a jump in problems. The call: the years to avoid are the (up to three) highest at 1.5 times the model's median rate or more, and the best are the (up to three) lowest at two thirds of it or less, from 2016 on.
Guide How much should a years-to-avoid list decide? What these lists get wrong
At a glance
- Where the complaints sit
- The 2020 has the most complaints of any Audi A4 year here: 127 of 127 (100%).
- Problem across the years
- Infotainment is the top problem in every model year with a page, 109 reports in all.
- Crash, fire and injury reports
- 1% of Audi A4 complaints report a crash, a fire or an injury, against 6% for the typical vehicle on this site.
- Recalls on the top problem
- None of the 1 model years where owners report infotainment has a recall on the same system.
- When owners filed
- Filings jumped in 2025, with 119 complaints, 59.5 times the next busiest year. So far in 2026, 5 more have come in.
Photo: Kickaffe (Mario von Berg), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Model years with too few complaints for a page of their own: 2014 (32), 2015 (19), 2016 (11), 2017 (55), 2018 (44), 2019 (10), 2021 (11), 2023 (10).
Year by year
2020 Audi A4 avoid
127 owner complaints, 18 for each year on the road (7.4 times the model median). Most reported: infotainment (109 reports) and stalling (21 reports). 1 report involved a crash. 3 recalls, including 22V-034 on the tires and 21V-874 on the seats.
Questions
What Audi A4 years should you avoid?
The 2017, 2018 and 2020 Audi A4 draw the most owner complaints for their age: 2017 has 55 complaints (6 for each year on the road), 2018 has 44 complaints (5 for each year on the road) and 2020 has 127 complaints (18 for each year on the road), against a median of 2 a year across the 9 model years old enough to judge. The most reported problem on the 2020 is infotainment (109 reports).
What are the best years for the Audi A4?
The 2016 and 2019 draw the fewest complaints for their age: 2016 has 11 (1 a year) and 2019 has 10 (1 a year). Model years before 2016 aren't called best, because complaints filed before 2015 aren't in the files this site reads and their counts run short.
What is the most common problem on the Audi A4?
Infotainment, with 109 reports across the 1 model years that have a page here. It's the single most reported problem on the 2020.
How many recalls does the Audi A4 have?
3 recall campaigns cover the Audi A4 model years 2020 on this site.
How many Audi A4 complaints involve a crash, fire or injury?
1% of them, against 6% for the typical vehicle on this site.
Is there a recall for infotainment on the Audi A4?
No. None of the 1 model years where owners report it has one on the same system.