This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
I was traveling down route 1 in NJ with my family and nearly got into a fatal accident with a tractor trailer because my steering wheel got extremely tight and needed an excessive amount of force to move. I have a colleague that also has a 2013 Audi A4 and he was telling me his car is experiencing the same steering issue. I looked it up online and apparently a lot of people with this year make and model are having the issue. This is a very serious and potentially life threatening issue. Please see the how unethical it is for this issue to be not fixed already with so many people reporting this issue.
Used dealership claimed they did the recall for 18V229/ recall numeber 19N4 and software updated but they said they did the recall for the pump but not update. So I need someone to look into this for my own safety. And the steering wheel locks on me they are supposed to be replacing something on the shaft. However I don't know for sure.
While driving down the road, the power steering assist suddenly was gone. Almost hit a bicyclist on the shoulder. Could have been a fatality. Now, steering is jerky, and car is scary to drive. Doing some research on the internet, seems that this is a common problem.
Electric cooling pump defect that bled onto the power steering rack rendering the car inoperable - light came on and said do not drive defective steering. $3770 to replace both the rack and pinion and the cooling system. This was done in May. No refund has come through after several attempts. Recall says remedy not available yet - I need the money now.
Known tsb by Audi for problems with the steering shaft. Turning becomes difficult and happens randomly. Seems to be an electrical issue. Happens when both stationary and in motion. I fear that if this happens at a high rate of speed that I could crash.
- Pittsburgh, PA, USA
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The contact owns a 2013 Audi A4. While driving various speeds, the steering wheel suddenly malfunctioned and became very difficult to turn in either direction. The failure was not diagnosed or repaired. The local dealer (Audi farmington hills, 37911 grand river ave, farmington hills, mi 48335) was notified of the failure, but the manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 91,000.
13 Audi A4 with approx 56K miles - the steering wheel has started offer inconsistent resistance to driver input. The steering wheel appears to intermittently lose the electric power assist which impacts drivers ability to judge the amount of force it would take to make a turn or change a lane. Issue occurs intermittently at various speeds including the vehicle being stationary. While rotating the wheel, it feels like the steering has hit a dead end after turning a meagre 20 degrees, upon additional force the steering wheel will rotate further. This behavior is intermittent which makes it hard to drive the car safely through turns and at high speeds.
While driving the car at road speed (30mph) steering locked up, no warning. It was as if power steering stopped working. You could move the steering wheel about 15 degree without any impact; beyond that you needed to turn the wheel very hard. To move to the side of the road. The car has 54K miles. Fixed by Audi (out of warrantee) - electric steering failure and universal steering rack failure. According to Audi, it is a known problem with A4 from 2013 at about 50K miles - catastrophic failure. If I was at highway speed it's unclear I would have been able to control the car.
Drive home with my wife and loss all control of steering it almost got us killed and may be more, car has always been keep in garage and driven very little car has only 24.K miles on it.had aaa to pick it up and take it to dealership ( Audi of dayton).looking on line and doing some checking it looks like I am not the only one, do we wait untill somebody gets killed before a recall is done?
The contact owns a 2013 Audi A4. While driving approximately 55 mph and attempting to turn, the steering wheel became difficult to turn. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was driven to the contact's residence and then to the dealer (maguire Audi, 370 elmira road, ithaca, New York). The dealer diagnosed that the steering shaft was severely corroded and needed replacement. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 60,000.
My 2013 Audi A4 quattro has 52,346 miles. This week, while driving at any speed, I experienced significant restriction in the steering while turning the wheel to change lanes and make turns right and left. I immediately contacted my local Audi dealer and took the car in for inspection. The service tech confirmed that there is a serious problem with the intermediate steering shaft which is causing the stiffness and binding that is interfering with the free movement of the universal joints. The only solution is to replace the intermediate steering shaft. Furthermore, I've since ascertained that Audi has a "technical service bulletin" regarding this issue dating to July 10, 2014 covering a number of Audi models and model years but has not instituted a recall. (see attached) in addition, I was informed by the dealership representative that the specific part is currently on backorder and may take from two weeks to two months. He led me to believe that there are as many as thirty (30) customers awaiting this particular part. I have been added me to the wait list. I asked the service tech about the safety issue and if it's at all possible that I could experience total steering loss while driving. He said that although that's not likely, in an emergency situation where I may need to swerve to avoid an accident that the steering response could become an issue. My major concern is do I drive the car while waiting for the part? Audi is not at this moment providing any assistance in the way of a loaner vehicle so I'm on my own. I've uploaded the technical service bulletin.
After two test drives we purchased a used Audi A4 on 2/10/2018. While test driving we didn't notice any issues with steering, but the following day with my family in the car we nearly side swiped a tractor trailer on the I80 Ohio turnpike. The straight line steering in this vehicle is completely unpredictable, scary and downright dangerous at any speeds above 20+ mph. NHTSA issued a vehicle safety recall to replace the auxiliary heater, I guess I don't understand how the auxiliary heater is more dangerous than this steering problem. Steering complaints clearly outnumber other complaints on this website, but search outside of this site and see just how widespread this problem is. Audi is well aware of the issue, a tsb has been issued for software changes and steering rack, neither address the issue, and both are at the customer expense. It's time for NHTSA to acknowledge the steering complaints and issue the safety recall that should've been issued years ago. Let's do it before a family is killed.
Bought my 2013 Audi A4 used I notice a notchy feel while driving just after I bought it, but thought this was normal. As time went on it became more uncomfortable and felt unsafe driving at highway speeds(or slow speeds) when your steering wheel would move to the left & right while driving. I did some research and there are plenty more people with this problem, seems like a safety problem that needs to be a recall and Audi knows about the problem but wants you to pay for a software update that might cost you $150 - $200......please help get this recalled by Audi!
The steering wheel would lock up in certain spots and become difficult to turn while driving or at rest. There is a current tsb for this issue tsb#-48-14-61 and it involves replacing the intermediate steering shaft. This should be characterized as a safety issue due to the unpredictability of occurences while in motion especially at high speeds and while cornering. If there are enough complaints to release a tsb and it involves steering at high speeds I feel there should be a recall on this part.
Electric power steering is notchy or non existent at times. Have had the entire rack replaced and recalibrated. It lasted about two weeks before the problem comes back. No check engine light or warning light. Has power steering at times then sends the car all over without warning. Very unsafe.
The steering become intermittently stiff both while stationary and in motion. Turns were hardest to make at slow speeds. The steering got progressively harder as time went on (several weeks). I initiallly thought the issue was the winter tires, but those were changed and the problem worsened. Now it feels as though the power steering has completely failed. It takes considerable effort to make any turn at any speed.
The issue appeared in cold weather. When stationary the issue look like a 'zone', located approximately every 90 degrees when you turn wheel right/left, where the wheel is 'jamming' and driver have to apply an excessive force to turn the steering wheel further or back to neutral. In motion the issue look like 'jammed wheel': it's hard to turn wheel more than 90 degrees right/left and... if it's already rotated and 'in the zone', it require an excessive force to turn the wheel back to neutral. The wheel will not return to center position themselves as it does when steering behave normally. Overall issue feels like failing power assist.
Audi A4 2013. The car will not stay centered in the lane on the highway. It wanders off center without any change in the road or position of the steering wheel. It constantly feels like it is being buffeted in a heavy wind.. when I turn to correct, the car overshoots and I have to turn back again to center it. Software upgrade did not fix the problem. This is dangerous, as the car drifts from side to side with the steering wheel held steady. Dealer says this is normal for Audi cars. Not true, as I drove a 2017 A4 with no steering issues at all. This is a problem with the electromechanical steering.
Like many other complaints I have read on this website, my Audi has a significant "notchy" feeling in the steering wheel which has grown considerably worse in the last several days. It started right when the car was new. It is like the wheel is fighting against my efforts to steer it, especially to the right. The vehicle was serviced about a year for the same complaint and was better for a while, but much worse now
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Edison, NJ, USA