Audi A4 Radiator: Specs, Fitment & Common Faults
On the A4, a confirmed safety recall genuinely addressed water pump issues, with problems documented occurring between 30,000 and 70,000 miles — plus an important clarification that genuine water pump-caused overheating is actually rare.
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Audi A4 Radiator: OEM Part Number
| Manual gearbox, all engines | Standard radiator with no transmission cooling circuit — genuinely simpler than the DSG/S-tronic equivalent |
|---|---|
| DSG/S-tronic (automatic), all engines | Main radiator remains largely the same core, but the car additionally has a separate oil-to-water heat exchanger for the gearbox mounted into the cooling circuit — confirmed as a genuinely different part from the radiator, so "the radiator" alone doesn't cover the whole DSG/S-tronic cooling system |
| Higher-power/performance engines | Larger-capacity radiator core to handle the increased heat load from these more powerful, more highly boosted engines — not a straightforward swap from the standard engine's radiator despite similar mounting points |
Audi A4 Radiator: The Part That Keeps Everything Else From Cooking
Unglamorous as it is, the Audi A4's cooling system sits behind nearly every serious engine failure that isn't just ordinary wear — and one that went unaddressed for too long. Noticing early warning signs here is a small cost against a potentially very large one.
Audi A4 Radiator: What It Does
On the Audi A4, engine coolant sheds its heat into the passing air via the radiator, which is what keeps engine temperature in a safe working range. On automatics, it frequently pulls double duty cooling the transmission fluid through its own internal circuit — a detail that makes getting the exact part number right especially important.
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Confirmed: A Genuine Safety Recall Worth Checking Your Car Against — Audi A4 Radiator
This is genuinely worth checking directly on related model years: a confirmed recall addressed water pump issues that could cause coolant to leak from the pump housing, with problems on this platform documented occurring anywhere from as early as 30,000 miles up to around 70,000 miles.
It's also genuinely worth knowing an important clarification: genuine overheating caused directly by a failed water pump is actually quite rare. More often, overheating stems from warped cylinder heads or a weakened head gasket, frequently the lingering result of a previous overheating event.
Audi A4 Radiator: Faults, DIY Difficulty & Aftermarket Advice
These are the same regardless of make or model — see our full Radiator Guide for the three common failure modes, confirming fitment against your VIN, and OEM vs aftermarket guidance.
More Audi Radiator
The same part, covered across other Audi models.