Major Problems with Audi A8 Derived from Complaints & Recalls

Learn about the common problems with a used Audi A8 to avoid purchasing a bad year of the model.

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Best and Worst Years for Audi A8

Explore the chart showing how many complaints have been filed for each year of Audi A8.

Model Year	Complaints
2016 A8	2
2015 A8	11
2014 A8	2
2013 A8	12
2012 A8	9
2011 A8	10
2010 A8	1
2009 A8	3
2008 A8	8
2007 A8	2
2006 A8	5
2005 A8	6
2004 A8	20
2003 A8	3
2002 A8	1
2001 A8	6
2000 A8	3
1999 A8	7

Worst 3 Audi A8 complaints

2004 Audi A8 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Mileage: 14433 miles

2004 Audi A8 SUSPENSION

2005 Audi A8 PRESSURE MONITORING AND REGULATING SYSTEMS Mileage: 12000 miles

Browse Audi A8 complaints by category

Problems with ENGINE, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL and ELECTRICAL SYSTEM are the most frequent issues recorded by the NHTSA from Audi A8 owners.

Problem Category	Number of Problems
ENGINE 2014 audi a8 vehicle has 57534 miles on it a well maintained vehicle by audi dealerships. when passing a vehicle...	23 ~ 77979 miles
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL after starting the car it will travel or idle for 3-6 minutes (2-3 miles) then start to sputter and stall....	14 ~ 36371 miles
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM the transmission coolant valve leaked coolant on to the engine control module causing it to malfunction. the card stopped while...	12 ~ 49238 miles
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM depressing accelerator at first failed to move the car then it surged until braked then it failed to move the...	10 ~ 79875 miles
SERVICE BRAKES tl* the contact owns a 2013 audi a8l. the contact stated the brake pedal was installed too close to the...	8 ~ 47175 miles
UNKNOWN OR OTHER smelling of engine coolant. after driving for an hour you can see steam coming from the hood but no leak....	7 ~ 62995 miles
SUSPENSION smelling of engine coolant. after driving for an hour you can see steam coming from the hood but no leak....	7 ~ 71602 miles
POWER TRAIN automatic transmission going into fail safe mode during driving around 4 5 6 gears when going around 70+ mph and...	5 ~ 36869 miles
WHEELS a8l [quattro all wheel drive] in early december of 2018 i ordered 4 tires from walmart online for my 2001...	4 ~ 43028 miles
AIR BAGS front seat passenger airbag repeatedly deactivates regardless of 115 pound adult sitting properly in the seat. same issue happened with...	4 ~ 39030 miles
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING owner was driving the audi home when he smelled something burning. he pulled over and observed a fire in the...	4 ~ 2150 miles
STEERING without notice steering ceased to function while car was in motion. this failure occurred in a retail parking lot....	3 ~ 74116 miles
TIRES after inspecting my michelin primacy mxv4 tires on my audi a8 i became alarmed about excesive sidewall cracking and searched...	3 ~ 69913 miles
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE while accelerating to get on the parkway my car locked at 7000 rpm's and continued to accelerate with my foot...	3 ~ 57070 miles
SEATS front seat passenger airbag repeatedly deactivates regardless of 115 pound adult sitting properly in the seat. same issue happened with...	3 ~ 37367 miles
AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION > POWER TRAIN the car has had problems with: cv joints control arms and needed a new transmission. now there is a recall	3 ~ 25897 miles
ACCELERATOR PEDAL > VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL tl*the contact owns a 2006 audi a8 l. while driving approximately 25 mph the contact approached another vehicle and attempted...	3 ~ 32 miles
PRESSURE MONITORING AND REGULATING SYSTEMS > TIRES dt*: the contact stated while the vehicle was traveling 40 mph the accelerator pedal was released. the vehicle accelerated on...	3 ~ 9978 miles
VISIBILITY/WIPER at 69946 miles it started leaking water when raining from top of windshield in the middle by the rear view...	2 ~ 89723 miles
SUN/MOON ROOF ASSEMBLY > VISIBILITY tl* the contact owns a 2013 audi a8. while driving approximately 70 mph a loud booming noise was heard and...	2 ~ 30000 miles
DOOR > BODY > STRUCTURE tl* the contact owns a 2006 audi a8. the contact stated that the front driver side door closing mechanism failed...	2 ~ 6500 miles
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC adaptive module j428 failed and brakes seized while vehicle was in motion.. audi customer service said that since they could...	2 ~ 36500 miles
BODY > STRUCTURE the 2008 audi a8l was involved in a rolling rear-end collision while starting to move at a stop sign. velocity...	2 ~ 34059 miles
STRUCTURE tl* the contact owns a 2013 audi a8l. the contact stated the brake pedal was installed too close to the...	2 ~ 6150 miles
EXTERIOR LIGHTING multiple component failures relative to tail light assemblies. both trunk mounted tail light assemblies were replace in 12/11 under manufacturers...	2 ~ 2695 miles
REAR > SUSPENSION two air suspension systems went out for no reason in my car. my car is a 2004 a8l with 64	2 ~ 67767 miles
VISIBILITY information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia) 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6) my complaint covers all radar based blind...	2 ~ 4760 miles
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL car handling system went out of directional control and steering control causing vehicle to be sent into oncoming traffic and	2 ~ 94025 miles
EQUIPMENT my 2005 audi a8l contains a defect which allows the driver's floor mat to pop off it's restraining/locating pegs enabling...	2 ~ 13907 miles
LOCK > TRUNK LID > LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES dt*: the contact stated while the vehicle was traveling 40 mph the accelerator pedal was released. the vehicle accelerated on...	2 ~ 13217 miles
FUEL PUMP > DELIVERY > FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE tl* the contact owns a 2012 audi a8. while driving 45 mph the electronic power control warning indicator illuminated and...	1 ~ 83998 miles
LATCH > DOORS > LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES tl* the contact owns a 2006 audi a8. the contact stated that the front driver side door closing mechanism failed...	1 ~ 13000 miles
SIDEWALL > TIRES after inspecting my michelin primacy mxv4 tires on my audi a8 i became alarmed about excesive sidewall cracking and searched...	1 ~ 206228 miles
EQUIPMENT ADAPTIVE/MOBILITY adaptive module j428 failed and brakes seized while vehicle was in motion.. audi customer service said that since they could...	1 ~ 73000 miles
FILLER PIPE AND CAP > TANK ASSEMBLY > STORAGE i'm having the same problem covered under recall 01v259000 for year 2000 audi a8s but i'm told my car is...	1 ~ 92344 miles
TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM i own a 2004 audi a8 quatro this morning the car accelerated on it's own. the driver seat steering wheel...	1
FRONTAL > AIR BAGS my vehicle a 2007 audi a8 has an airbag light on and passenger airbag as well there are 2 recalls...	1 ~ 28500 miles
FRONT > SUSPENSION two air suspension systems went out for no reason in my car. my car is a 2004 a8l with 64	1 ~ 64000 miles
ENGINE > ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING tl*the contact owns a 2009 audi a8. when he turned the vehicle on the engine began vibrating and whenever the...	1 ~ 9033 miles
PARKING BRAKE emergency brake control module failed. factory had a recall on car to reprogram this module dealer said module couldn't be...	1 ~ 82000 miles
WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER > VISIBILITY windshield wipers suddenly stop mid-swipe and park!!! *jb...	1 ~ 3200 miles
INTERIOR > REARVIEW MIRRORS/DEVICES > VISIBILITY dt: the contact stated a gallon of milk spilled into the driver's seat. the milk spilled underneath the seat. when...	1 ~ 14433 miles
CRUISE CONTROL > VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL tl*the contact owns a 2005 audi a8. while driving 70 mph with the cruise control activated the contact heard a...	1 ~ 10000 miles
MOTOR > WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER > VISIBILITY 2004 audi a8l purchased in 07/2004. front wipers "hesitated" in the rain a couple of times. local dealer said could...	1 ~ 4000 miles
HEAD RESTRAINT > FRONT ASSEMBLY > SEATS the head restraint would take up 35 to 40 % of the rear window. ak sc *jb...	1
POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS > VISIBILITY mmi system has intermittent resets and cause erratic performance of other systems such a windows trunk audio navigation.*ak...	1
BEAD > TIRES on 2 separate occasions the front passenger side and the rear driver side tire went flat. this was caused by...	1
GASOLINE > ENGINE > ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING the vehicle's engine stops. audi attempted to repair twice. the vehicle remained stopping without warning. *ak ...	1
BUMPERS > BODY > STRUCTURE the front bumper fell off twice without hitting any objects. please provide further details. *jb...	1 ~ 51275 miles
INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL > ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 2001 audi a8l gauge cluster problems**cc the consumer stated she had no way of knowing how much fuel was in	1

FAQ

What year Audi A8 is the most reliable?

Speaking of the models produced in the last 18 years, Audi A8 models of 2002, 2010, 2016 year of manufacture have had the least number of complaints.

What year was a bad year for Audi A8?

Audi A8 models of 2004 and 2013 are probably the years to be avoided like the plague due to a higher than an average number of issues reported.

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