V8

Audi V8 Problems

What actually breaks on the Audi V8 — 2 owner complaints filed with NHTSA across 1991–1992, sorted by model year and by system, with what owners wrote in their own words.

NHTSA owner complaints · 2 reports · 2 builds · Updated Aug 5, 2026
Quick answer

Owners have filed 2 complaints on the Audi V8, covering 1991–1992. The system named most often is Equipment (1 reports). Worst years by volume: 1992, 1991; cleanest: 1991, 1992. On average the car was 9.0 years old when the problem happened.

What breaks on Audi V8

Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 2 V8 complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.

Equipment 50% 1 Read
1992 Audi V8

Rear speakers were smoking, and had a smoky odor in vehicle. Consumer had to disconnect speakers. There was recall# 01V324000 on this problem. Contacted dealer, and dealer stated this vehicle was not affected by recall due to VIN

Vehicle Speed Control 50% 1 Read
1991 Audi V8

While driving 65mph, vehicle suddenly hesitated and then surged forward. Had tried to disengage accelerator pedal. It was stuck. Then pressed on brakes to slow vehicle dow; nothing happened. Had maintained control of vehicle. Finally able to pull over to a rest area and shut vehicle down. Contacted a dealership and…

V8 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.

FIG.02·Audi V8 complaints by model year
Model yearComplaintsTop systemCrashesFires
19921Equipment
19911Vehicle Speed Control
ROWS 2·SOURCE NHTSA owner complaints

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.

FIG.03·Audi V8 complaints by production series
MeasureValue
Distinct production series2
Average complaints per series1
Worst single series1 complaints
Average age at failure9.0 years
ROWS 4·SOURCE NHTSA owner complaints + ForCar

A model average of 1 hides a worst series at 1. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.

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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 V8?

By complaint volume, 1992, 1991 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 V8 years are the cleanest?

1991, 1992 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.

How many complaints does the Audi V8 have?

2 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1991–1992. Of those, 0 describe a crash and 0 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.

Owner complaints from NHTSA, published as filed and unverified. Age at failure computed by ForCar from incident date and model year; production series grouped by the first 11 VIN characters. Last updated Aug 2026. — ForCar Reviewed by , founder of ForCar.