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CarsLore / Audi / A4 / 2005

2005 Audi A4

219 owner complaints — #3 of 31 A4 model years, 3.4× the typical year. 3 recalls, 25 service bulletins.

219complaints · 7 crashes, 3 fires
3recalls
25manufacturer bulletins
58,400 mimedian mileage at failure

Problems owners report

Complaints filed with NHTSA about the 2005 Audi A4, by the system named in each complaint. One complaint can name several.

  • Exterior lighting101
  • Air bags54
  • Electrical system24
  • Power train16
  • Engine10
  • Fuel system, gasoline9
  • Vehicle speed control8
  • Engine and engine cooling8
  • Steering6
  • Tires4

NHTSA ODI complaints (public domain) · updated 23 Oct 2026 · 8 injuries and 0 deaths reported

Compared with other years

’95’98’01’04’05’07’10’13’16’19’22’25219’95’98’01’04’05’07’10’13’16’19’22’25219

NHTSA ODI complaints by model year

Fatal crashes in the US

From 2020 to 2023, 9 2005 A4 vehicles were involved in crashes on US public roads in which someone died; 7 people died inside them, and 3 of the vehicles rolled over. This is a count, not a crash rate: it grows with the number of cars on the road.

NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), crash years 2020–2023 (public domain)

New York safety inspections

At its first New York inspection the 2005 Audi A4 failed the safety check 2.16% of the time — 6% less often than the average 2005 passenger car (2.30%). Median odometer at inspection: 126,398 miles.

2,826first inspections
2.16%failed on safety
126,398 mimedian odometer
0.0%1.0%1.9%’96’98’00’02’04’05’06’08’10’12’14’16’18’20’22’24’252.2%0.0%1.0%1.9%’96’99’02’05’08’11’14’17’20’23’252.2%

NY DMV Vehicle Inspections (vezn-fmmk), initial inspections since Aug 2021 · how we count

Engines

The most common engines in 2005 Audi A4 cars on Dutch roads are the 2.0 petrol (96 kW, 129 hp), 2.0 petrol (147 kW, 197 hp) and 1.8 petrol (120 kW, 161 hp), out of 10 versions with at least 20 cars.

EnginePowerCarsShare
2.0 petrol96 kW 129 hp51932%
2.0 petrol147 kW 197 hp38423%
1.8 petrol120 kW 161 hp30018%
3.1 petrol188 kW 252 hp1127%
1.6 petrol75 kW 101 hp956%
2.0 diesel103 kW 138 hp624%
3.0 diesel150 kW 201 hp483%
1.9 diesel85 kW 114 hp453%
4.2 petrol253 kW 339 hp443%
2.5 diesel120 kW 161 hp362%

RDW Open Data (CC0): registered passenger cars and their fuel data · engine size rounded to 0.1 litre, net maximum power · versions with at least 20 cars

In the Netherlands

1,710 first registered in 2005 are on Dutch roads; 27% arrived later as imports. Median list price when new: €52,587.

82.6%had an APK defect recorded since June 2022
94.3%logical odometer history
45.7%with a recall still open

Most common APK defects

Colours

Grey 43%Black 38%Blue 16%Red 1%Green 1%Beige 1%

RDW Open Data: registered vehicles and APK defects (CC0) · defect descriptions in the RDW's Dutch wording

In the United Kingdom

4,680 cars built in 2005 were licensed for the road at the end of 2025, and 4,493 more were declared off the road (SORN).

4,680licensed, end of 2025
51%of those still registered are on the road

Department for Transport and DVLA, vehicle licensing statistics (table VEH0124, year of manufacture) · Open Government Licence v3.0

MOT test results in Great Britain

In 2023, 9,717 of these cars first registered in 2005 took their annual MOT test. 61% passed first time; among all cars first registered in 2005 the figure was 56%.

61%passed first time
56%all cars from 2005
138,800 miaverage mileage at the test (all cars 109,700 mi)
Failed onThese carsAll cars from 2005
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment17.8%21.5%
Suspension14.1%17.3%
Brakes13.0%13.7%
Tyres7.9%7.0%
Noise, emissions and leaks7.2%6.8%
Body, chassis, structure6.3%8.9%

DVSA anonymised MOT tests and results, 2023 (Department for Transport) · Open Government Licence v3.0 · first tests only; a fix made at the test station within the hour still counts as a fail

In Finland

1,969 of these cars first registered in 2005 were in use in Finland on 30 Jun 2026, with an average of 311,000 km on the odometer at their last inspection.

Traficom (Finnish Transport and Communications Agency), open data on vehicles in use · CC BY 4.0

In New Zealand

552 2005 cars are on the New Zealand register; 70% arrived as used imports, 26% were sold new in New Zealand.

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi, Motor Vehicle Register (March 2026) · CC BY 4.0

Fuel consumption

Official Canadian test results for 6 variants: combined 10.4–12.4 L/100 km (about 19–23 mpg US), CO₂ 239–285 g/km.

VariantEngineTransmissionCityHighwayCombinedCO₂ g/km
A4 · Compact · Premium gasoline1.8 L, 4 cyl.AV11.88.710.4239
A4 quattro · Compact · Premium gasoline1.8 L, 4 cyl.M612.78.610.8248
A4 quattro · Compact · Premium gasoline1.8 L, 4 cyl.AS513.29.011.3260
A4 quattro · Compact · Premium gasoline3.1 L, 6 cyl.AS614.29.712.2281
A4 quattro · Compact · Premium gasoline3.0 L, 6 cyl.AS514.59.912.4285
A4 quattro · Compact · Premium gasoline3.0 L, 6 cyl.M614.59.812.4285

Litres per 100 km. Natural Resources Canada, Fuel consumption ratings (open.canada.ca) · Open Government Licence – Canada

Recalls

18V427000 · Air bags22 Jun 2018 · 237,947 vehicles

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2005-2008 Audi A4 Sedan, A4 Avant, S4 Avant and S4 Sedan, 2007-2008 RS4 Sedan, 2004 RS4 Cabriolet, 2007-2009 A4 Cabriolet and S4 Cabriolet, 2005-2011 A6 Sedan, 2006-2011 A6 Avant, and 2007-2011 S6 Sedan vehicles. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.

17V032000 · Air bags11 Jan 2017 · 33,421 vehicles

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, 2007-2008 A4 Cabriolet, RS4 Sedan, S4 Cabriolet and S6 Sedan vehicles, and 2006-2008 A6 Avant and 2008 RS4 Cabriolet vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the front air bags, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.

16V382000 · Air bags1 Jun 2016 · 194,453 vehicles

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2004-2008 Audi A4, and 2005-2011 Audi A6 vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands, or "Zone A." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" above, Volkswagen is recalling certain model year 2004-2008 Audi A4, and 2005-2008 Audi A6 vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, 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." Lastly, unless included in "Zone A" or "Zone B" above, Volkswagen is recalling model year 2004 Audi A4 vehicles originally sold, or registered, in Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules, and used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the front air bags, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.

Whether a recall was fixed on a particular car is known only to the manufacturer: check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

NHTSA recalls · summaries in NHTSA's own words

Service bulletins

What Audi told its dealers about the 2005 Audi A4: known faults, fixes and updates.

BulletinSummary
10251038Brakes squeel
10251027Tightening wheel bolts
10250995Clicking noise from wheel bearing
10250950Tightening wheel bolts
10250949Steering wheel leather damage, all vehicles
10250654Clicking noise from wheel bearing
10250468Clicking noise from wheel bearing
10250453TCM software update for downshift concerns
10250430Oil consumption measurement - Repair Authorization (CA)
10250424MIL on (P1545, P0121, P0123, P0221 or P0222 stored in ECM)
10250423Idle speed characteristic during cold start
10250415Idle speed characteristic during cold start
10249085Google Maps Street View (NVLW))
10249054Due to new Minnesota state regulations regarding biofuels, biodiesel blends of B5 or less may not be available in the State of Minnesota.
10243991Elsaweb Newsletter
10243988Elsaweb Newsletter
10243930This bulletin provides information on the additional reporting requirements for safety related inquiries.
10243791Audi Elsa Newsletter
10243790Audi Elsa Newsletter
10243789Audi Elsa Newsletter
10243787Audi Elsa Newsletter
10243782Audi Elsa Newsletter
10243780Audi Elsa Newsletter
10243775Audi Elsa Newsletter
10243761Audi Elsa Newsletter

NHTSA manufacturer communications (public domain)