Owners have filed 44 complaints on the Audi 90, covering 1988–1995. The system named most often is Electrical System (16 reports). Worst years by volume: 1995, 1993, 1994; cleanest: 1990, 1988, 1991. 1 reports describe a crash, 2 a fire. On average the car was 5.8 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Audi 90
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 44 90 complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Electrical System 16 Read
Driving about 40mph when vehicle started to decelerate. Pulled to side. Smoke came from under hood & filled inside of vehicle. Owner exited vehicle & then sparks appeared & then flames dropping from radiator. Fire dept arrived & put flames out. Vehicle gutted
While driving, electrical sys. Wire harness front shorted, caused fan to burn out, vehicle overheated and caught fire. Tt
Consumer has had two replacement ignition switches all of which failed shortly after replacement. *ts a recall was issued regarding the ignition switch and the dealer/manufacturer continued to use defective ignition switches. The consumer had 6 ignition switches replaced
Engine And Engine Cooling 6 Read
Steering rack failed
Drove 1 mile off of the showroom floor and the car overheated.please explain. Tt
Audi recalled catalytic converters on auto transmisions only. Manual trans audi's have cat's that fail also. Audi insists they have remedied the problem, but only on auto trans
Structure 5 Read
Antenna failed once and door latch failed twice
Door mysteriously failed to latch and lock--no prior warning of failure
Consumer closed door and buzzer went off. Vehicle would not lock. Dealer took lock apart and found that the spring was broken
Service Brakes 5 Read
Consumer stated that the ignition switch must be replaced. Electrical system stopped. Ts the failures correspond exactly with the consequences described in recall 96V017000. This also caused the turn signals, lights and horn to malfunction. On another occasion, the ignition would not move and could not turn the…
Mfr#kb & NHTSA#96 v 017 000/vw electrical system: consumer states that the vehicle has intermittent problem with delayed in starting, intermittently the turn signal and the headlight become inoperative while driving and loss of power. Dealer notified and informed that the VIN# was no cover under that recall pease…
Brake calipers seize, causing rotors to warp and pads to glaze
Fuel System 4 Read
Possible failure of the catalytic converters could possibly have been the result/related to failure of the recall component (fuel injectors) 98V-332. Mjs
Consumer received recall letter 98V332000. Contacted dealer. No parts were available to remedy recall problem. Please give any further details
Consumer received recall #98V332000 concerning fuel injection system failure in april of 1999. Has attempted to contact dealer on several occasions, but dealer has no parts for remedy. *ak
Vehicle Speed Control 2 Read
The accelerator stuck, and when the brakes were applied the engine continued to rev; and the car went off the road, and landed in a yard between two houses
Cruise control inoperative
Air Bags 1 Read
Please let me know how to get my airbag fixed. If a recall has been issued, I should be able to have the problem fixed. I've been trying for about six months to have the dealer fix this, but they say they can't get the parts. Please let me know what to do
Equipment 1 Read
The air conditioner does not function and leaks. Dealer has seen but not repaired
90 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 1994 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 1993 | Electrical System | — | 1 | |
| 1991 | Electrical System | — | 1 | |
| 1990 | Fuel System, Gasoline | — | — | |
| 1988 | Service Brakes, Hydraulic | — | — |
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 | 37 |
| Average complaints per series | 1.2 |
| Worst single series | 2 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 5.8 years |
A model average of 1.2 hides a worst series at 2. 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 90?
By complaint volume, 1995, 1993, 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 90 years are the cleanest?
1990, 1988, 1991 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Audi 90 have?
44 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1988–1995. Of those, 1 describe a crash and 2 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.