Owners have filed 58 complaints on the Audi 100, covering 1989–1994. The system named most often is Fuel System (12 reports). Worst years by volume: 1993, 1992, 1994; cleanest: 1989, 1990, 1991. 4 reports describe a crash, 5 a fire. On average the car was 8.0 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Audi 100
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 58 100 complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Fuel System 12 Read
While parked and locked in supermarket parking lot 5 min. After parking, engine compartment spontaneously broke into flames. Owner was shopping in supermarket. Fire company responding to 911 extinguished the fire. Insurance and audi representatives determine car is not repairable. Believed caused by defective fuel…
While driving vehicle it caught fire. Owner notes that fuel lines which were leaking caused fire
Prior to recall notification (00V084000) consumer had repairs performed due to engine compartment having a major fuel leak, consumer is now seeking reimbursement
Electrical System 10 Read
Ignition switch failed, recall component however vehicle denied due to VIN #
Audi issued recall for some a6 models on failed ignition switch. The 1994 100s is essentially the same car with probably same switch. According to my shop they have seen tons of these. Yet I have to pay because my car is a '94, instead of 1995 and 1996 makes no sense
Ignition switch failed. See NHTSA campaign id 96V017000. Exact same defect. Seems like too much of a coincidence that my car, built 9/93 wouldn't have same switch component w/ same problem. But my car is not covered?? Audi ignores me
Engine And Engine Cooling 8 Read
Engine fire began 1/4 mile into trip
Vehicle spontaneously caught fire buring the engine and the passenger compartment
While driving the engine caught on fire. The dealer has been notified
Vehicle Speed Control 6 Read
When driving and upon depressing accelerator pedal for no apparent reason vehicle will lose all power unexpectedly, causing vehicle to go into a drift due to sudden decrease in speed. Engine continued revving without any forward movement. Consumer contacted the dealer, dealer unable to determine the cause. Please…
While driving on dry surface, on a clear day, at 25 mph, vehicle suddenly accelerated out of control, hit guard railing and came to a stop
While driving, the accelerator pedal came apart - the complete top broke off, fell to the side and lodged behind the remainder of accelerator mechanism. Luckily, I was able to stop the car and extract it without injury. Audi claims this is normal wear and tear. They have refused to cover the repair. Why is this not a…
Power Train 6 Read
Transmission disengaged while travelling at highway speed
Transmission has no dipstick to check accuracy of fluid, as a result consumers' transmission failed. Dealers still claim a dipstick is not necessary
Automatic transmission broke down with less than 40,000 miles, without any kind of warning. The transmission was replaced with a rebuilt transmission by the dealership (sunset imports). *ak
Air Bags 5 Read
The contact owns a 1993 audi 100 cs quarto.(n/a) the contact was driving at 20 mph when he traveled over an extremely uneven road surface. The transmission oil pan fractured from the vehicle and the driver side air bag independently deployed. The passenger seat belt then autonomously released and caused the contact to…
While driving at 35 mph the vehicle had a direct frontal impact in which the airbags did not deploy. Thus, failing to protect the occupant in this accident. Cause unknown. Please provide details
Air bag sensor defective,went off by self,cause accident audi 93 100 quattro,recall listed on your site.www.safecar.gov
Equipment 5 Read
Air conditioner compressor failure; 5 replacements
Dangerous uncommanded acceleration. I submitted a complaint earlier today that said I thought it was a cruise control problem but it isnt. It happened again today with the cc fuse pulled!!! It was preceded by a funny feeling in the brakes, like not enough vacuum boost, then radical engine acceleration even with my…
Runaway throttle. Uncommanded engagement of cruise control? Would not respond to brake or shutting cruise control off on steering column stalk switch. Very dangerous!!! Almost caused a crash, very ineffective braking with engine trying to keep car going at about 55 mph, but I managed to pull over and shut car off. I…
Service Brakes 3 Read
The vehicle was involved in a front collision accident due to the brakes not operating. The air bags did not deploy upon impact as well. Manufacturer was contacted by consumer
Calipers locked up, causing smoke to come from rear wheel
NHTSA campaign id no. 93V007000 show a vacuum boost problem. I have phoned audi's 800 number yesterday [xxx] and in the past,, but they say they show no recall for my audi. The boost usually works, but sometimes doesn't; when it doesn't much more pedal pressure is required and stopping distances are increased. Is my…
100 years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Electrical System | — | 1 | |
| 1993 | Air Bags | 1 | 4 | |
| 1992 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 1991 | Electrical System | 2 | — | |
| 1990 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 1989 | Power Train | — | — |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 49 |
| Average complaints per series | 1.2 |
| Worst single series | 3 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 8.0 years |
A model average of 1.2 hides a worst series at 3. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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- No ads, no tracking — and much more
How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the 100?
By complaint volume, 1993, 1992, 1994 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which 100 years are the cleanest?
1989, 1990, 1991 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Audi 100 have?
58 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1989–1994. Of those, 4 describe a crash and 5 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.