Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (accelerator pedal, throttle, sudden acceleration, cruise control).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2003 Audi A4 owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
03 Audi A4 6 speed auto CVT transmission, this vehicle has known issues with shifting from 1st to 2nd gear too soon. While driving this vehicle from a complete stop on an on ramp on rt 80 I hit the gas and it would shift from first to second and back to first then lurch forward while rolling. While this is going on I am trying to merge on the highway which put my car into the right lane doing about 2 MPH with traffic (which would be a safe distance if this issue didn't happen) having to come to an abrupt stop not to hit my car. This is an known issue with these transmissions and there is no recall on them since new. I have experienced this issue numerous time as many others with this vehicle does. There are numerous forums with consumers complaining of the same issue. This needs to be addressed before someone gets hurt.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 Audi A4. While driving at 40 MPH, the accelerator pedal became stuck to the floorboard of the vehicle. The contact stated that the accelerator pedal had to be lifted with her foot for it to go back to normal position. The failure recurred on three occasions. While at a complete stop and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle would jerk. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 100,000.
On January 28, 2019 I was driving to my medical appointment at 35 miles per hour when my car froze up then bucked and now no longer the transmission will no longer engage. Upon research Audi has known of this transmission having serious faults and that it will break down without warning. Audi has refused to do any recall on these transmissions, even after a class action that was settled, Audi will not do any recall.
As I was driving on the highway and accelerated to about 65 MPH, the gas pedal would lift slightly away from my foot (like I just turned on cruise control, but I had not touched the cruise at all) and when I lifted my foot completely away from the pedal, it would stay steady at 65 MPH. I braked to slow the car down, and the car would slow as long as my foot was on the brake, but once I let off the brake, the car would maintain the lowered speed. This happened several times and I felt that I had little control over the acceleration/deceleration of the car. At one point, I slowed the car down completely to a stop and had my foot on the brake, the car was still in drive and though my foot was on the brake, the RPM's were still around 2000. I immediately put the car into park and the tach revved up to between 4500 - 5000 RPM, as if the gas had been pushed. …
My 2003 Audi A4 on two different occasions has started to accelerate to high speeds on it's own. The first time it happened I was pulling out and I pushed the gas and it just started to pick up speed I pulled over and then tried to pull out again and it started again to pick up speed I noticed the cruise control was on and so I turned it off and then it was fine. The second time I was pulling out and pushed the gas to speed up and again it started to accelerate very fast and so I pulled over again and thought I must of hit it into speed control again, but this time with cruise control off it still continued to accelerate and it was harder to get the car to stop I had to push the brake pedal really hard and I thought it wasn't going to stop. Then when I did get it to a complete stop I put the car in park and the engine continued to rev, as if I were pushing the gas pedal. …
While I was driving my vehicle, the approaching light turned yellow, then red, and the vehicles in front of me stopped, I applied the break on my vehicle, I had plenty of distance between me and the other vehicles, however as I am applying the break, my vehicle began to slow and all of a sudden the car began to accelerate uncontrollably, RPM was over 5000, the brakes did nothing to stop the vehicle, and the vehicle accelerated even more, I had no choice and nowhere to turn off to avoid an accident, my vehicle plowed into the vehicle located in front of me on the right hand side of the road. I was lucky that at least there was a car in front of me, if my car was the first one in the line, I would not be able to stop it and could have hit the pedestrians crossing the road. This is the worst defect in a vehicle, and a very dangerous defect that could cause severe consequences.
While driving from ga to nc the car accelerated suddenly from a traffic light. I could feel the accelerator move away from my foot and I had pressed the clutch and break to avoid an accident. I noticed the tachometer was above 5000 RPM and I turn off the car and coasted into a gas station. I checked the floormats and the accelerator and everything seemed fine. I restarted the car and cautiously continued my trip. Everything seemed okay until I was close to my destination. Then I experienced the same uncontrolled acceleration. Again, the only way to stop the car was to turn off the engine. I took the car to an Audi dealer in nc and they told me there were no faults and therefore no problem. They suspected the floormats.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 Audi A4. The contact stated that while driving 25 MPH, the vehicle accelerated independently. The contact engaged the vehicle into neutral to stop the vehicle however, the engine rpms continued to race as the engine roared loudly. The contact exited the vehicle and later returned to restart the engine but the failure recurred. The vehicle was towed to a dealer for diagnosis and the contact was informed that the floor mat had become lodged under the accelerator pedal, causing the failure. After leaving the dealer the failure recurred. The vehicle was returned to the dealer and the contact was awaiting diagnosis of the failure. The VIN was unavailable. The failure and current mileage was 60,000.
While driving tostore vehicle accelerator stuck and would not return back to position. I applied brake very hard to maintain control and was able to pull over into parking lot and stop although engine continued to rev like pedal was pushed to the floor . I putcar in park and it redline the tach without my foot on the pedal almost causing the engine to blow.very dangerous .glad I was driving instead of my wife.l bought the car 2 mos. Ago from checkered flag Volkswagen used car lot and they don't think this falls under warranty, even something this dangerous , and seeing other complaints I'm guessing Audi doesn't either . At least until the cost analysis of deaths vs. Repair gets a little closer.
I just experienced a serious issue of the gas pedal getting stuck as I was driving out of a parking lot. I tapped on the pedal a couple of times thinking it might get it to unstick but had to press on the brake to bring it to a stop. I put it in neutral and could hear the engine roar up and the tachometer go past 5000 rpms. I reached down to the pedal with my hand and forced it back up to the resting position. This happened twice during the short trip and my colleague was in the passenger seat who witnessed what happened. There was no physical objects in the way of the pedal like the floor mat etc. I'm talking with Audi USA to see what steps I should take to investigate the problem and fix it.
Acceleration complaints in other A4 years
Frequently asked questions
How common are acceleration problems on the 2003 Audi A4?
NHTSA has 22 complaints about the speed control & acceleration of the 2003 Audi A4, 10% of the model year's 210 complaints. The component named most often is accelerator pedal (7 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2003 Audi A4 acceleration problems?
No. NHTSA lists no speed control & acceleration recall for the 2003 Audi A4, though it has 3 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2003 Audi A4 acceleration problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 71,000 miles, and 16% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 0 fires and 2 injuries to speed control & acceleration problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.