Living in Minnesota, whenever the temperatures would get below -22 Fahrenheit, the power steering would be completely gone, and show a message "steering defective, do not drive" with annoying beeps. It would be a death sentence to try and drive. I was left stranded on the highway for three hours until the sun heated up the engine bay enough to take off the error message. Once the temperature went above that number or applying heat by the electromechanical steering module, the error would go away upon the next engine restart.

This is just blatant poor engineering by Audi. They must have forgotten that it does indeed get very cold in some areas of the world. If your machines can't operate at those temperatures, don't sell them there!

Recurring problem after car was amply warmed, driven 15 minutes and allowed to rest in cold conditions. After 20 minutes rest, upon restarting, 2013 A4 displayed message "Steering defective. Do not drive car." Steering locked and wheel would not turn even in neutral. Dealer could not diagnose on first visit.

The second occurrence was at -24 F, waited 3 hours for a tow truck. Yes, it is Vermont. Dealer said Audi authorized replacing steering column and rack. All work was covered under warranty and car drives tight as new. Fabulous dealer and warranty.