Anti-theft Controller Problems of Audi S4

My grievance relates to the relative ease that my vehicle was stolen on a Sunday from a street parking space in manhattan, between the hours of 9 am and 5 pm, while located on a main throughfare that is regularly traveled by both pedestrians & vehicles. That the vehicle's factory installed theft-deterrent was defeated or failed to operate, given its high visability on a moderately to heavily traveled street, should warrent, at the very least, an investigation into the effectiveness and proper functioning of alarm system operation as represented by the manufacturer. While the theft incident stats kept by Audi, and their us subsidery, Audi of America, show theft to be insignificant, the data provided by other nationwide databases is another matter altogether. In 2002, the S4 was the 25th most stolen car in NJ (all intents& purposes: the tri-state area, NY, NJ, conn). This particular submodel (s4 sedan & wagon) was manufactured b/wn 2000-2002, in fairly limited production numbers. Its status as 25th most-stolen car seem to indicate an exploitable flaw in its theft alarm/protection.

See all problems of the 2001 Audi S4 🔎.

My Audi S4 was almost stolen in NJ right by route 9 in fort lee. The drivers side door handle was drilled out to try and circumvent the alarm. Luckily, something sppoked them or the club was a deterrent. Still, it should not be this easy to steal this car like this. I've heard of many stolen this way. Audi put in a crappy alarm that does not work under some circumstances like this. . .

See all problems of the 2000 Audi S4 🔎.

Too many Audi S4s are being stolen around the boston, new jersey, new york, philly area. There was a special on the news in boston about just how easy it is to steal the xenon headlights (1 minute). No immobilizer was added to the S4 although other Audi models received one as well as lower priced sister company Volkswagen's jetta starting in 1999. There is not enough security for a 40,000 plus dollar car. I have heard of many many people having their S4s stolen or being robbed of their almost 1000 dollar xenon headlights-not to mention people hurting the car (1000s of dollars damage) trying to get the headlights. Audi needs to issue a recall and retrofit the vehicle with more security.

The Audi S4 from 2000-2002 lacks an alarm capable of preventing easy theft. There is no immobilizer and the cars alarm can be easily bypassed and started with a simple screwdriver. S4 thefts are high, compared to the number of these cars actually made the thefts are grossly unproportional. Personally I have had to get an aftermarket alarm out of the fear that my high-performance automobile can be stolen by some kid with a flathead screwdriver.

The security system of my 2001 Audi S4 has a major fault. The manufacturer did not include any type of immobilizer into the system making it extremely easy for it to get stolen. An immobilizer is a system built into the computer/ignition system of the vehicle that doesn't allow it to be started unless the key is used. I am uncomfortable parking it in any major city and as I live near nyc, its a real issue. I have a number of friends who have had their S4s stolen in the new jersey area in a matter of minutes. This is a very limited production car and still makes the top 25 most stolen vehicles in its class, that says something about not only how desirable it is to thieves but how easily it is stolen. An immobilizing system would not eliminate all theft but would reduce it substantially. I feel this is something the manufacture should rectify. Other cars in the Audi line up for 2000 had immobilizers so the company had easy access to such technology but chose not to include it in their 2001 model year a4/s4. I also had a 2001 vw jetta (same parent company as Audi) and it had an immobilizer, this car cost just about half as much as the Audi S4 so its absurd. Please help me and my fellow Audi a4/s4 owners rectify this situation. Thanks in advance for your time and help.

I currently own a 2001 Audi S4. There has been an unusually large amount of thefts of these vehicles over the last couple of years. It is due to the poor alarm system Audi has put in these vehicles. There is no immobilzer, which was put in their other models. Audi refuses to do anything about this problem.

Audi of America has not taken security systems on the Audi S4's seriously. They have been massive known thefts in the tri-state area and the list continues to grow. I have spent over $800 for added security and will continue to spend more if I have to. I cannot sleep peacefully at night knowing my car is prone to easy theft due to it's ineffectiveness in security protection. I feel it's a matter a time before my car will be stolen in a mall or a shopping center or on a street or even in my own home. Audi needs to address this immediately!.

Uneffectiveness of factory alarm. The hugh number of thefts of my vehicle is concerning. I am concerned on the security of leaving my car anywhere but my garage.

Audi S4 auto alarm/immobilizer can be easily deactivated. Deactivation through punching a screwdriver through the drivers side door key lock, will automatically disengage the both the car's alarm and its immobilizer. So far, I personally know of more than 30 vehicles being stolen whilst using this method in the state of new jersey alone in the past year. I have personally had to take action through installing additional security modifications, risking nullification of the manufacturers warranty, in order to prevent and avoid vehicle theft.

2001 Audi S4 has a security flaw that can render the alarm useless in seconds, therefore making it extremely easy to steal. The alarm can be easily bypassed by simply punching a hole in the driver door skin, the car has no immobilizer, the engine can be started by brute force on the ignition.

My car (2001 Audi S4) was stolen in livingston NJ, and recovered in irvington, NJ. The car had a stock alarm system which was easily bypassed. This car did not have an immobilizer. Other model Audi's have an immobilizer. $10,000 of damage was caused to the car. This is unacceptable. Certainly Audi can retrofit an immobilizer into this car because the same car in europe has the immobilizer.

All Audi S4's produced from mid 1999 to 2002 suffer from an ineffective alarm system. The model years are 2000, 2001, and 2002. Due this defect these vehicles are being stolen at an alarming rate off of every street corner in the nyc metro area. The Audi S4 was a limited production run vehicle. Less then 15000 were imported into the united states for sale by Audi of north America. For this vehicle to be number 25 of the top 25 cars stolen in new jersey shows complete negligence on the part of Audi. . Read more...

The anti-theft system on my 2000 Audi S4 has no engine immobilizer, therefore making it not nearly as effective as it could be. There are many many thefts (especially in the NY,NJ area) of S4s, and it is my belief that a lot of these thefts would have been prevented if Audi had made the alarm in the S4 worthwhile (after all, we did pay for an anti-theft system in the car). I know that I would worry a lot less about my investment if I had a proper factory installed alarm system in the car.

My 2001 Audi S4 was stolen in springfield, NJ and recovered in newark, NJ. The total damage to the car was approximately $8000. I believe that this theft was possible largely because of a significant flaw in the security system. Specifically, the doorlock mechanism is directly tied to the alarm, including the motion sensors and the ignition kill. Thus, a tiny hole punched in the door to unlock the door simultaneously let's a thief into the car and disables the entire security system. The lack of a true immobilizer system on the car created a reputation for this high-performance vehicle that it is easily stolen and now it is a particular target for thieves, especially in the new jersey area. There have been numerous reports of high-speed joyrides and other dangerous situations with stolen S4's. It is my understanding that most Audi's from 2000-2002 have this flaw and I belive that Audi should acknowledge the problem and retrofit these vehicles with a safer anti-theft system.

I had just purchased a 2001 Audi S4 for close to $40,000. With 1100 miles on it my car was stolen in broad daylight approx 3 pm. Upon further research, I learned that the factory passive alarm can be tricked into thinking it has been disarmed. A small hole near the door lock gains access to a rod that when lifted disarms the system as if a key were used, combine this action with the with removal of the ignition, and the vehicle can be started with a screw driver and driven away. I've also learned that vw/Audi had the technology available to equip this model with an engine immobiliser as part of the oem alarm system. I'm aware of dozens of thefts of the Audi S4 in particular and am reading of more thefts occurring weekly. . Read more...

The alarm system on the 1999-2002 Audi s$ is defective and useless when the door lock is simply punched out with a screwdriver.