Owners have filed 181 complaints on the Audi A8, covering 1997–2020. The system named most often is Engine (65 reports). Worst years by volume: 2013, 2015, 2014; cleanest: 2000, 2003, 2020. 5 reports describe a crash, 3 a fire. On average the car was 6.9 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Audi A8
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 181 A8 complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Engine 65 Read
Audi 2020 A8L Engine Fire 3/6/2024 Confirmed by Fire Department, American Family Insurance Unclear if it has been inspected by the Audi U.S. No indication has been received. Incident occurred March 6th, 2024 at approximately 3pm. Operated vehicle in early morning to meet friends for coffee at a nearby coffee shop.…
Engine stalled in traffic and car would not restart. Car was operating normally, pulled up to a red light to turn left on to busy 2-lane highway. Engine began sputtering and car lurched forward. Light turned green, was able to turn left on to the road. I got 1/3 mile down the road and the engine stalled completely and…
The car experienced a oil separator failure. The made an extremely loud whistling sound at idle. This is a known issue and audi issued a TSB for it but did not issue a recall. The car ran very rough. To fis this issue I had to pay over $2,000 to have an new version of the oil separator installed. Audi should issue a…
Electrical System 17 Read
After water damage to the bottom level of the seat an electrical fire started. It burned through and melted the plastic facing on the right side of the seat near the seat adjustment mechanism releasing toxic fumes we have so far been unable to abate. The manufacturer has been unresponsive in addressing this hazard.…
Start system malfunction causes the car to randomly lose ALL power and roll back when at a stopped, causing the car to be disabled and unable to start again. Faults indicate a failure of the 48V belt driven starter generator. Parts to repair defect are severely back ordered, taking months to obtain
The contact owns a 2015 audi a8. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 60 mph, the vehicle speed decreased and suddenly failed to go over 40 mph. In addition, when depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle stalled. The failure occurred intermittently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but the…
Power Train 14 Read
8/23/2021-I was slowing down at a red light and getting ready to stop but the light turned green and so high pushed on the gas to go before I got to a full stop. The battery warning light came on so I turned around to go back home can you swap cars. My fiancé had to go to work that day and took the vehicle. On his way…
The driver seat badges a back and forth a little bit and the transmission shifts roughly in dynamic mode and there is a big vibration when car is shifting gears
Turbo failure at 57,000 miles. Car died while in traffic while going down the road
Air Bags 10 Read
I was involved in a rear end collision and my air bag didn't deploy causing me a head injury. My vehicle was stationary siting in highway traffic. My vehicle sustained $16,000.00 in repair cost
The 2008 audi a8l was involved in a rolling rear-end collision while starting to move at a stop sign. Velocity was less than 5 mph. Minor collision with no deployment of airbags and no damage to the car ahead. The a8l drove normally after the collision. Inspection at the body shop revealed stress fracture and bending…
Single occupant in vehicle (driver) vehicle was forced off the road and entered a ditch about three-four feet deep. Passenger's air bag, front, fired. The audi a8 clearly states in the sales literature that the passenger's airbag is interlocked out when no passenger in the vehicle. The driver was the only occupant and…
Suspension 10 Read
So I purchased a vehicle from wright drive in El Paso, Texas. I was driving home back to Alamogordo which is 90 miles away, maybe 80 I realized there was no adaptive cruise control. So I messaged dealership. They told me that there was nothing they could do. It's not a safety issue. I got the vehicle home the next…
Smelling of engine coolant. After driving for an hour, you can see steam coming from the hood but no leak
Suspension fails during driving at high speeds
Vehicle Speed Control 8 Read
Tl. Hi, this morning I was involved in an accident when my 2008 audi a8l suddenly accelerated out of control as I was entering a parking garage. Thankfully it appears no one was injured. I am extremely disturbed by this incident. I have also contacted audi usa. Is thus a known problem with this car? Please let me know…
The brake and gas pedals are too close. I consistently hit the brake while accelerating. They need to be spaced farther apart, and the brake pedal moved to the left. There are comments all over the internet about this problem and audi service says there is no fix. I have large feet and have never had this problem with…
After starting the car it will travel or idle for 3-6 minutes (2-3 miles) then start to sputter and stall. During this time the yellow epc light and engine light are on. After sitting for 3-8 minutes it most often starts but will not idle or travel unless the epc light goes out. This restart may not be successful the…
Steering 7 Read
Car vibrates at almost any speed other than idle. I have had the car back to the dealer several times. The vibration can be felt through the steering wheel, the seats and on the dashboard. I can't get the car fixed. I have asked audi to replace the car if they can't fix it. No response. I had 5 audi a8's in the past…
Driving home from church, heard a rattle, like a stick was stuck underneath. Then felt loss of power. No warning/engine check light, but car stalled while I was turning left off a highway. When car stalled I had no warning, and no steering or brakes. Husband was able to assist with getting care off road and out of…
Turbos failed. Was traveling home on a highway, when i pulled off the engine suddenly stalls out and loss of steering occurs as the engine system automatically puts you in park. Switching to neutral leads to a very 'leaden'/heavy driving feeling (Kind of like with no Power steering, but a little better). Able to get…
Structure 6 Read
Leaking windshield on passenger side top left corner
The contact owns a 2013 audi a8l. The contact stated the brake pedal was installed too close to the side wall on the floor board. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer, who stated that was a manufacturer design with the brake pedal installation. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The approximate…
The contact owns a 2013 audi a8. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 20V397000 (structure) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. Fathers & sons-audi west springfield (434 memorial ave, west springfield, ma 01089) was contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available…
A8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Electrical System | — | 1 | |
| 2015 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 2014 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 2013 | Electrical System,engine | — | — | |
| 2012 | Air Bags,seats | — | — | |
| 2011 | Electrical System,engine | — | — | |
| 2009 | Electrical System,latches/locks/linkages | 1 | — | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | 2 | — | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 2006 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 2005 | Electrical System,structure | — | 1 | |
| 2003 | Power Train | — | — | |
| 2001 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 2000 | Fuel System, Gasoline | — | — | |
| 1999 | Air Bags | — | 1 | |
| 1998 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 1997 | Air Bags | — | — |
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 | 125 |
| Average complaints per series | 1.4 |
| Worst single series | 4 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 6.9 years |
A model average of 1.4 hides a worst series at 4. 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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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 A8?
By complaint volume, 2013, 2015, 2014 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 A8 years are the cleanest?
2000, 2003, 2020 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Audi A8 have?
181 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1997–2020. Of those, 5 describe a crash and 3 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.