Model-year matrix

Audi S4
which year?

Compare every Audi S4 model year the EPA recorded, 1992 to 2025. See complaint patterns, fuel economy and configurations side by side, then open any year for recall campaigns and the full dossier. Confirm against the official NHTSA recall search.

Evidence-led answer

Looking for the best Audi S4 year—or years to avoid?

The official records cannot honestly name a best, worst or most reliable year. Complaint totals have no sales, mileage or age denominator. They can show where more reports were filed and which components were named, giving you years to investigate more closely before checking the exact car and its VIN.

What is the best year for the Audi S4?

No official dataset can support one universal best year. Use the table to compare complaint patterns and EPA figures, then open the shortlisted years for recall campaigns and exact specifications.

Which Audi S4 years should you avoid?

The records cannot justify a blanket avoid label. Years with more reports are surfaced below as research priorities, not predictions about every car from that year.

01 · More reports to inspect2000

143 indexed complaint reports; electrical system is the most-reported component label.

Open the 2000 dossier →02 · More reports to inspect2001

87 indexed complaint reports; electrical system is the most-reported component label.

Open the 2001 dossier →03 · More reports to inspect2010

60 indexed complaint reports; power train is the most-reported component label.

Open the 2010 dossier →

Do not read this as an avoid list. Older and higher-selling model years usually accumulate more reports. A low count can also mean a newer, rarer or poorly matched vehicle—not a safer one.

Read this as evidence, not a ranking.

Complaint totals are counts of owner-submitted allegations, not confirmed defects, and they carry no denominator: they are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, how old they are, how far they are driven, or how much publicity a fault received. A high-volume or older year will usually show more reports than a rare or recent one. The site does not convert these into a reliability score, because the data needed to do that honestly is not in the public record.

Direct comparison

Compare two Audi S4 model years.

Choose any two years. The URL keeps the pair so you can return to the same comparison. Every figure below is an observed official record or EPA estimate—not a reliability score.

First model year

2024 Audi S4

NHTSA complaint allegations: 0
Combined EPA economy: 24 mpg/MPGe
EPA configurations: 1
Annual EPA fuel-cost estimate: $3,150
Fuel labels: Premium Gasoline

Most-reported component labelsNo component label indexed

Open the 2024 evidence dossier →

Second model year

2025 Audi S4

NHTSA complaint allegations: 0
Combined EPA economy: 24 mpg/MPGe
EPA configurations: 1
Annual EPA fuel-cost estimate: $3,150
Fuel labels: Premium Gasoline

Most-reported component labelsNo component label indexed

Open the 2025 evidence dossier →

Observed complaint-record difference

The two years have the same number of indexed NHTSA complaint allegations.

This is not a rate or reliability finding. The counts have no sales, mileage, age or exposure denominator, and newer years have had less time to accumulate reports.

Side by side

Audi S4 by year.

Complaint bars are scaled against this model’s own highest year, so they compare years with each other and with nothing else.

Audi S4 model years with NHTSA complaint totals, most-reported components, EPA fuel economy and configuration counts
Year	Complaints	Most-reported components	Combined MPG	EPA configs	Annual fuel cost	Dossier
2025	0	—	24	1	$3,150	Dossier →
2024	0	—	24	1	$3,150	Dossier →
2023	0	—	24	1	$3,150	Dossier →
2022	1	electrical system 1	24	1	$3,150	Dossier →
2021	2	electrical system 1unknown or other 1	23	1	$3,300	Dossier →
2020	16	electrical system 14back over prevention 12unknown or other 5	23	1	$3,300	Dossier →
2019	2	engine 1lane departure 1service brakes 1	24	1	$3,150	Dossier →
2018	7	engine 4power train 1service brakes 1	24	1	$3,150	Dossier →
2016	0	—	20–21	2	$3,600–3,800	Dossier →
2015	1	engine 1	20–21	2	$3,600–3,800	Dossier →
2014	17	steering 6engine 3fuel/propulsion system 3	20–21	2	$3,600–3,800	Dossier →
2013	32	steering 19power train 8engine 4	20–21	2	$3,600–3,800	Dossier →
2012	22	power train 14fuel/propulsion system 5electrical system 3	21	2	$3,600	Dossier →
2011	26	power train 22engine 5electrical system 2	21	2	$3,600	Dossier →
2010	60	power train 42engine and engine cooling 11electrical system 6	21	2	$3,600	Dossier →
2009	0	—	15–16	2	$4,750–5,050	Dossier →
2008	4	air bags 3steering 1	15–16	6	$4,750–5,050	Dossier →
2007	13	air bags 8electrical system 2engine 2	15–16	6	$4,750–5,050	Dossier →
2006	30	exterior lighting 22air bags 7electrical system 4	16	6	$4,750	Dossier →
2005	43	exterior lighting 34electrical system 5air bags 4	16	6	$4,750	Dossier →
2004	29	engine and engine cooling 12power train 5engine 3	16–18	6	$4,200–4,750	Dossier →
2002	22	service brakes, hydraulic 16electrical system 10seats 3	18	4	$4,200	Dossier →
2001	87	electrical system 47engine and engine cooling 12tires 10	18	4	$4,200	Dossier →
2000	143	electrical system 50tires 40service brakes, hydraulic 36	18	2	$4,200	Dossier →
1994	7	fuel system, gasoline 6engine and engine cooling 1service brakes, hydraulic 1	18	1	$3,400	Dossier →
1993	16	fuel system, gasoline 10service brakes, hydraulic 3vehicle speed control 2	18	1	$4,200	Dossier →
1992	5	fuel system, gasoline 3power train 1visibility 1	18	1	$4,200	Dossier →

Evidence snapshot generated August 25, 2026. “Not indexed” means NHTSA holds no complaint record matching this exact year, make and model — not that no fault occurred. Recall campaigns are not summarised here: NHTSA publishes no bulk recall dataset, and fetching them per year would take longer than the page should. Each year’s dossier shows its recalls in full, live from NHTSA.