Brake complaints by model year
Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (service brakes, ABS, rotors and pads, parking brake).
Mileage when the problem started
What owners report
Ongoing complaint: brakes vibrate when stopping. Dealer reported front rotors warped and pads have chunks missing. Dealer replaced with part nos. 8d0-615-301-m front brake discs and 4b3-698-151 front brake pads/linings. The car was returned to me with the vibration still present. I contacted the dealer service advisor who advised me to drive a few hundred miles to see if the brakes bed and the vibration smoothes out.
The brakes boost/vacuum assist line check valve cracks apart into two pieces. This causes the total loss of the power assisted brake system in the car and subsequently makes it very hard to stop the vehicle. There is no warning about the pending loss of brakes. One second you have brakes the next it feels like you are trying to push a brick thru the floor of the vehicle trying to get it to stop.
1) car is 2001 Audi S4 avant. Car was running for approximately 15 minutes, and was idling at top of driveway for about 5 minutes with parking brake engaged while other car in front was being moved. Upon release of parking brake regular brakes failed, resulting in car rolling downhill, about 30 feet, from a standing start and colliding with a parked car. Brake pedal showed no resistance other than mild spring push-back, and was pushed down to floor. A brake pedal was pumped with no result. Same brake conditions were repeated immediately after collision and over a continuing period of minutes with identical results, during which time I exited and returned to car on multiple occasions. Finally, after approximately 5 minutes following the accident brakes resumed full and normal functioning. Car was idling throughout this time period without interruption. Air bags did not deploy . …
My wife returned from buying presents and stopped the vehicle in the driveway. She engaged the handbrake and waited one minute before turning off the engine to let the turbos cool down. She then proceeded to retrieve packages from the trunk and entered the residence. After one hour and fourty five minutes, an officer contacted us and asked if we knew where was the vehicle. We stated that it was in the driveway. He told us to please follow him. We went outside and saw that the vehicle had backed out of the driveway and damaged the retaining wall of our vehicle. Upon inspection, the officer noted that the hand brake was still engaged and there was no signs of criminal intent. In addition, the alarm was not set off upon impact with the retaining wall. …
Audi USA has engineering control and were contacted and present during repair. Under very icy conditions on straight road, during acceleration from very slow speed, vehicle pitched into oversteer condition. Not entirely unexpected, but after a difficult recovery, when all seemed OK, it oversteered again quite violently. This was again recovered, but it appeared that there was an ABS brake input , certainly not of my doing. The third cycle was more severe, and I left the road. Neither the brake nor throttle were touched during the whole cycle, but steering inputs were powerful as I attempted to save the day. The separateness of the cycles alerted me to the possibility that the wheel speed sensors had detected a differential speed and applied the brakes. …
Many Audi and vw models manufactured starting in the later '90s and continuing to present, use the Bosch 5.3 ABS controller, which is prone to catastrophic failure, ostensibly due to defective design. This module controls multiple brake-related functions including the ABS which is important for winter driving, but the most critical function of this module is probably the electronic brake force distribution, or ebd. These vehicles are designed such that if the ebd is inoperative, the proportion of hydraulic force applied to the rear brakes during emergency braking is as great as it is during moderate braking effort when there is minimal transfer of vehicle weight to the front wheels. The ebd is supposed to adjust the front/rear braking distribution dynamically according to the measure of the deceleration, so that the rear wheels will not lock up during emergency braking. …
Frequently asked questions
Which Audi S4 years have brake problems?
By NHTSA complaints, the 2000 (41) and 2002 (9) model years. Brake complaints make up 29% of all complaints for the 2000.
Is there a recall for Audi S4 brake problems?
No. NHTSA lists no brakes recall for any Audi S4 model year. A widespread problem may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin, so ask a dealer.
At what mileage do Audi S4 brake problems start?
Across all years, half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 56,000 miles; 38% happened before 50,000 miles.
What part fails most often?
Owners most often name the antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip › control unit/module (15 mentions), followed by the antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip (14).
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.