2020 Audi A4 Electrical Problems

Mileage when the problem started

Owner reports

Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2020 Audi A4 owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).

The contact owns a 2020 Audi A4. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the message SOS module no longer connected was displayed on the instrument panel, and the vehicle failed to shut off. The contact believed that the failure was a safety issue due to the loss of communication, including the hands-free features, mobile phone connectivity, and the regular safety features failing to operate as needed. The vehicle was taken to a dealer to be diagnosed, and it was determined that the communication module failure was the same as the SOS module failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 54,000.

The MMI (multi-media interface) often restarts unexpectedly while driving, causing the display to go black and disabling essential features like the backup camera, rear sensor alerts, navigation, and hands-free phone connectivity. When this occurs, the system demands user interaction-such as re-entering a PIN (if one is configured) and repeatedly pressing the interface-to restore functionality. These interruptions can be particularly distracting, as they occur without warning and pull the driver's focus away from the road. In most cases, drivers end up addressing the issue while parked, typically right after turning on the vehicle. This issue started in October-November 2024. This problem raises safety concerns, particularly when the system restarts during reverse parking, temporarily disabling both the rearview camera and obstacle detection sensors until the MMI reloads. …

Starting in around February the MMI (central computer system) system started rebooting at random times while the car was started. At first, I thought there must be something wrong with just my car. I took it into the dealer, and they said there was nothing they could do about it. I did some research and found many other people are having the same issues (thread has over 550 posts linked at the bottom) with the year model and they all started at the same time. I reached out to Audi International, and they say they've never heard of the issue, it's not widespread and to take it to the dealer (which is clearly a lie given the linked thread), when I took it to the dealer, they said Audi international needs to provide and update. …

The MMI (infotainment) system in my 2020 Audi A4 start to have intermittent reboot issue during normal driving starting earlier this year. It was working expected without reboot until that time. The MMI system reboot creates harzards and danger for drivers because during rebooting, the whole navigation system is not working neither did Carplay. What's even worse is that the back up camera and radar will also be disabled during rebooting. The rebooting time varies from 10s of seconds to minutes, with black screen and/or laggy, frozen screen. After rebooting, the system will have error prompt such as 'The selected user has not been used for a extended period of time' but the selected user has been using the vehicle all the time. …

The infotainment system (MMI) in my 2020 Audi A4, currently running software version 3243, frequently reboots on its own while driving. When this happens during reverse, the rearview camera shuts off and the screen goes black, eliminating all rear visibility and creating a significant safety hazard. Additionally, the reboot causes Apple CarPlay to disconnect mid-drive, resulting in loss of navigation, traffic alerts, and voice directions, which increases driver distraction and risk. The issue occurs without warning lights or error messages-the screen simply goes black and restarts in a few seconds to a few minutes. The problem began a few months ago and has become more frequent over time. While I have not yet had the issue inspected by a dealer, it is widely documented by other 2020 A4/A5.. owners and has been resolved in many cases by updating the MMI software to version 3696. …

Started with saying "checking remote access rights," and then saying I (the key user) hadn't been signed in for awhile and I needed to re-login. I was dealing with that but now it's just randomly shutting off while I'm driving..... in a 30 min drive it does it at least once but as many as 4 times. If I'm using my maps from carplay, on a call or using my backup camera it just completely stops and reboots, which takes a min or two before it comes back up. Multiple times I've missed turns due to the map going out. It's dangerous! Took it to the dealer for oil change and mentioned the issue... dealer acted as if it wasn't a known issue, and said they could charge me the $300? diagnostic hourly rate to take the dash apart and diagnose (bc of course now it's out of warranty). …

The MMI spontaneously reboots numerous times while driving. When the reboots happen, the screen goes black and key systems such as the backup camera, rear obstacle detection, and navigation, become unavailable until the reboot completes and the systems reload. Restoring functionality requires user input to get through the loading screens. The issue started in February 2025. There are numerous TSBs (filed with NHTSA) that point to available software updates that should be applied to address infotainment-related issues. This appears to be a widespread issue based on the numerous reports found on user forums online, affecting the same model year vehicles (for multiple examples, refer to [redacted] ). …

Vehicles MMI constantly cycling through reboot - inordinate amount of previous complaints about this exact issue - Dealer advised a min $1040 ($370 to diagnose + $670 new MMI) to diagnose and change MMI console with NO guarantee it will work and that's because: the dealer has not updated MIB2 (aka the MMI) using the instructions on a different bulletin, titled "TSB 2067021 - 91 MIB3: Garage opener/SXM/Online Radio or other malfunctions B129B11, B129C22, B123B13, B123C13, U044700 or B200000" (latest version is from July 27, 2024, they've had 6 revisions), before applying the most recent update. So it looks like, at a minimum, I'm two updates behind (encompassing of course, a ton of intermediate versions). So right there, the dealerships have been failing by not even taking the time to read Audi's own TSBs. …

I have started experiencing issues with the MMI (infotainment system) system rebooting every few minutes. It was very sporadic at first, but now it is at the point where I frequently don't have time to get into the system before it starts the reboot cycle again. When this happens, the screen will go blank for several seconds. Then a message will show for several seconds saying that the system is loading. The system will then try to guide me through several prompts to try to log back into the car's MMI system. Even if I choose "Guest User" I am shown multiple prompts before I get into the system and can use the functions located in the MMI. This can and does happen while driving, while parked, and while backing up. This reboot sequence makes all of the safety features, including collision avoidance and the backup camera inaccessible during this time. …

My 2020 Audi A4 infotainment MMI keeps rebooting and takes over a minute or so to load back. This has been happening recently and i have rebooted the system and followed the Audi/reddit forums to seek any help but no resolution. It seems most of the 2020 Audis are facing similar issues. This issue is concerning and needs immediate attention since I have had instances where i lost backup camera while backing. Losing Navigation Capabilities or backup camera feature while backing up or driving has jeopardized me couple of times since i had to fumble and hit brakes as i was almost handicap momentarily. Audi is aware of this issue and have had issued TSB in 2020 which is attached here, but no recall was ever conducted which they should as this now an industry wide problem. …

Electrical complaints in other A4 years