AUDI A8 Reliability by Year
Best & Worst Years, Problems & Recalls — NHTSA Data

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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. Returned home, parked in home garage, turned engine off and went to my home office in lower floor. Wife came home after running errands, opened garage door and massive, thick black smoke escaped. Wife ran to front door and called for me to "come quickly." I grabbed the hose, connected it and sprayed front of car. By that time fire was arrived, fire from engine compartment was reaching four-feet high, as well as from passenger-side front wheel well and from rear of front hood at windshield area. CAR TOTALED. Significant fire damage to the Garage interior.

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.

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 back going 60 mph on the highway, The power to the vehicle shut down and he was unable to do anything other than slow down and pull off to the side of the road. The vehicle was sent into the Audi dealership and they changed out the 48V battery in the trunk. They also ordered an alternator but did not install it because it start it back up. A couple weeks later (9/25/2021) the same thing happened at a stop sign as I was slowing down but not at a complete stop and hit the gas and the battery light came back on. That light means the battery is disconnected from the engine and once the power runs out, it will shut down again. So I took it straight to the dealership and left it there until they can take a look at it. It’s at the dealership now. There seems to be a flaw in the (stop/go)system of the vehicle when the engine wants to turn off at a stop and when to restart the engine to go. Causing a disconnect of the battery in the trunk to the engine.

The coolant is leaking out and onto engine. My safety was at Risk due to the car overheating and smoking. This is a on going problem that many AUDI’s had a recall for except mines. Yes the vehicle was inspected and the warning that came up was “coolant level low turn off engine”

ECU starting to malfunction as a coolant leak valve is leaking into it. There is a recall for these models but not for my specific car but I do believe my car is affected because my car has a coolant leak that I personally can’t find and my car was just worked on by Audi Indianapolis and they did not see any coolant leaks either. It was mentioned to me by another Audi A8 owner and it’s making sense to me as the way everything began to fail on my car until I detached the battery and attached it back it worked fine but sometimes the ECU will begin to fail for Adaptive Cruise Control randomly, then it will work again. These are symptoms of coolant leaking and affecting the ECU, and I can’t afford to pay for that to be fixed because it would cost more than what the car is worth but I would like to see if my car was affected by this recall because i genuinely believe this is what is happening

AUDI A8 HAS BEEN USING LARGE AMOUNT OF COOLANT. HOWEVER, ITS NOT RUNNING OUT THE CAR. YET IM STEADY BUYING COOLANT BECAUSE ITS SAYING ITS LOW. AND WHEN I GO TO PUT THE COOLANT IN MY CAR IT IS LOW. SO WHERE IS THE COOLANT GOING? IN TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHERE MY COOLANT WAS GOING OR WHY WAS IT CALLING FOR SO MUCH I DID SOME AUDI RESEARCH ON MY VEHICLE AND SAW THAT IT HAD A PRIOR RECALL. I PURCHASED THIS CAR OVER A YEAR AGO AND THE DEALERSHIP DIDNT ALERT ME OF ANY RECALLS. I DONT THINK MY RECALL WAS FIXED. ALSO THERES BEEN A LOUND NOISE ON MY SUSPENSION IN THE FRONT OF MY VEHICLE ON THE RIGHT. I SEE AUDI HAD MANY COMPLAINTS ON THIS ISSUE. THE CAR WITH ARROWS FOR MY SUSPENSION STAYS ON. TOOK TO DEALERSHIP TO GET IT DIAGNOSED. THEY CUT THE LIGHTS OFF FROM THE DASH BUT THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS STILL ON. ACCORDING TO THE FORUMS IVE READ THESE ISSUES ON MY AUDI ARE SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUES. THERE WERE NO WARNING PRIOR TO THE FAILURES. I AM REALLY AFRAID TO DRIVE MY VEHICLE BECAUSE I DONT KNNOW WHAT OR WHEN IF IT WILL STALL OUT ON ME IN TRAFFIC OR WORSE.

The contact owns a 2011 AUDI A8. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer who diagnosed that the camshaft and timing chain failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 67,000.

RUST, CORROSION THAT MAY DETACH FROM BODY OR FRAME COMPONENTS OR OTHER STRUCTUAL COMPONENTS THAT MAY PRESENT A SAFETY HAZARD.

TAKATA RECALL COOLANT FAILER AND MOTOR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 AUDI A8. WHILE DRIVING 65 MPH, THE VEHICLE SHUT OFF. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO MOVE THE VEHICLE SAFELY TO THE SHOULDER OF THE ROAD. SEVERAL ATTEMPTS WERE MADE TO RESTART THE ENGINE, BUT THE VEHICLE DID NOT START. IN ADDITION, THE CHECK ENGINE INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AUDI OF FAIRFIELD (435 COMMERCE DR, FAIRFIELD, CT 06825, (203) 951-6570) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE OIL PLUG WAS FAULTY AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED AND DID NOT ASSIST. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 66,000.

THE NAVIGATION SYSTEM CONTINUOUSLY DISPLAYS A LOCATION WHERE I AM NOT LOCATED. THIS HAS OCCURRED MANY, MANY TIMES. IT CAN OCCUR RANDOMLY OR AT STARTUP. THIS HAS BEEN AN ISSUE FOR WHICH I HAVE TAKEN THE VEHICLE TO MY LOCAL AUDI BUT THEY HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO IDENTIFY THE ISSUE, ALTHOUGH THEY HAVE SAID OTHER CUSTOMERS HAVE CAME IN COMPLAINING ABOUT THE SAME ISSUE. THIS ISSUE IS ALSO WIDELY DOCUMENTED ON AUDI FORUMS. ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS, WHILE DRIVING, THE GPS MAP LOST SIGNAL. ON OTHER OCCASIONS THE GPS MAP WOULD NOT PICK UP MY LOCATION. THIS HAPPENS THE MOST. IT HAS HAPPENED ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS WHERE I WAS AT LOCATIONS WHERE I WAS UNFAMILIAR WITH AND WAS RELIANT ON MY VEHICLE'S GPS. THE GPS ISSUES BEING EXPERIENCED HAVE CREATED MAJOR SAFETY ISSUES BECAUSE I HAVE BEEN HEAVILY DISTRACTED WHILE DRIVING AND NOTICING THAT THE GPS HAS LOST SIGNAL. I ALMOST HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN ACCIDENTS AS A RESULT AND HAVE HAD TO PULL OVER BECAUSE OF IT. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT AUDI NEEDS TO ADDRESS.

I WAS HEARING A THUMPING NOISE COMING FROM THE FRONT OF MY CAR EVERY TIME I BRAKED AND CAME TO A STOP. I ALSO NOTICED THAT THE CAR LEANED FORWARD HEAVILY WHEN I BRAKED AND KNEW THIS WAS NOT NORMAL. I ALSO NOTICED A VIBRATION ON MY STEERING WHEN WHEN TRAVELING AT AROUND 40-50 MPH. I TOOK THE CAR (2011 AUDI 8L) TO MY LOCAL AUDI WHO FIRST SAID THE CAR WAS FINE AND NOTHING WAS WRONG WITH IT. THE ISSUE CONTINUED. I TOOK THE CAR BACK TO MY LOCAL AUDI DEALER AND ASKED TO TAKE THE MECHANIC ON A RIDE WITH ME SO I COULD POINT OUT WHAT I WAS HEARING AND NOTICING. THE AUDI MECHANIC THEN SAID THAT HE TOO NOTICED IT AND IT SEEMS TO HIM LIKE IT WAS THE CONTROL ARMS AND BUSHINGS BUT HAD TO FULLY DIAGNOSE THE VEHICLE BACK AT THE SHOP, WHICH HE DID. MY LOCAL AUDI THEN CAME BACK AND SAID THAT MY LOWER LEFT CONTROL CONTROL ARM HAD TO BE REPLACED. I HAD THEM REPLACE IT, BUT THE PROBLEM WAS NOT RESOLVED. I TOOK THE VEHICLE BACK AND THEY SAID THAT NOW MY LEFT UPPER CONTROL ARM HAD TO BE REPLACE, WHICH I DID. THE PROBLEM WAS SOLVED. A FEW MONTHS LATER I HEAR THE SAME NOISE. I TAKE THE VEHICLE BACK TO MY LOCAL AUDI AND THEY SAID THAT MY RIGHT CONTROL ARMS HAD TO BE REPLACED, WHICH I DID. THE ISSUE WAS RESOLVED. A FEW MONTHS GO BY AND I HEAR THE SAME NOISES AND NOTICE THAT THE CAR IS AGAIN DIPPING HEAVILY IN THE FRONT. I TAKE THE VEHICLE BACK TO MY LOCAL AUDI AND THEY SAY THAT MY CONTROL ARMS ON THE LEFT SIDE ARE AGAIN BAD; THEY WERE REPLACED AGAIN. NOW, ABOUT ONE YEAR LATER I AM NOTICING THE SAME NOISE AND VIBRATIONS ON MY STEERING WHEEL. THIS IS A HUGE SAFETY ISSUE. I HAVE NOTICED ON MANY AUDI FORUMS THAT MANY AUDI A8 OWNERS ARE EXPERIENCING THE SAME ISSUES.

CONTROL ARM BUSHINGS SUBJECT TO PREMATURE FAILURE REQUIRING FREQUENT REPLACEMENT. THIS RESULTS IN EXTREME VIBRATION AND ERRATIC HANDING DURING BRAKING. UPPER CONTROL ARMS WERE REPLACE WHILE UNDER WARRANTY BUT OTHERS SOON FAILED ONCE VEHICLE WAS OUT OF WARRANTY.

WHILE DRIVING ON A CITY STREET MY CAR SUDDENLY STOPPED (4 LANE STREET -- 2 GOING, TO COMING). THERE WAS VERY HEAVY TRAFFIC AND I COULD NOT MOVE THE CAR AS IT WOULD NOT COME BACK ON, NOR COULD I SHIFT THE CAR INTO NEUTRAL TO PUSH IT OUT OF THE WAY. AS A RESULT, THE CAR REMAINED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD, IN HEAVY TRAFFIC, FOR ABOUT 2 HOURS UNTIL THE TOW TRUCK ARRIVED. THE CAR WAS TOWED TO THE LOCAL DEALER WHERE IT THE DEALTER TOOK 4 DAYS TO DIAGNOSE IT WITH HAVING COOLANT LEAKED INTO THE ENGINE WIRE HARNESS AND INTO THE PCM WHERE IT SHORTED THE PINS. AS A RESULT THE CAR WAS COMPLETELY INOPERABLE. THIS CAUSED A VERY UNSAFE CONDITION AS THE BEHIND ME SUDDENLY HAD TO BREAK AND JUST MISSED HITTING MY CAR. THE CAR JUST SHUT DOWN AND WOULD NOT RESTART OR ENGAGE THE NEUTRAL GEAR IN ORDER FOR ME TO GET OUT OF THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. THIS SEEMS TO BE A COMMON THING AND SOMETHING THAT SHOULD REQUIRE AUDI TO ADDRESS VIA A RECALL IN ORDER TO REPLACE THE AFFECTED PART(S) BEFORE SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAPPENS OR REQUIRE AUDI TO MAKE APPROPRIATE REPAIRS TO THOSE AFFECTED BY THIS COMMON AND DANGEROUS FAULT. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE! DEALER WANTS $11000 TO REPAIR IT! WHAT SHOULD I DO?? LOSS OF WORK AND PAY AS CAR IS STRANDED AT AUDI DEALER! AGONY! EMBARRASSMENT!

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 AUDI A8. WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE ENGINE WARNING INDICATOR AND THE "DO NOT EXCEED 4,000 RPMS" WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE DEALER DIAGNOSED THAT THE ENGINE COOLANT WAS LEAKING THROUGH THE COOLANT VALVE CONNECTION. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 75,000.

WHILE DRIVING ON A CITY STREET MY CAR SUDDENLY STOPPED (4 LANE STREET -- 2 GOING, TO COMING). THERE WAS VERY HEAVY TRAFFIC AND I COULD NOT MOVE THE CAR AS IT WOULD NOT COME BACK ON, NOR COULD I SHIFT THE CAR INTO NEUTRAL TO PUSH IT OUT OF THE WAY. AS A RESULT, THE CAR REMAINED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD, IN HEAVY TRAFFIC, FOR ABOUT THREE HOURS UNTIL THE TOW TRUCK ARRIVED. THE CAR WAS TOWED TO THE LOCAL DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED AS HAVING COOLANT LEAKED INTO THE ENGINE WIRE HARNESS AND INTO THE PCM WHERE IT SHORTED THE PINS. AS A RESULT THE CAR WAS COMPLETELY INOPERABLE. THIS CAUSED A VERY UNSAFE CONDITION AS THERE WERE NO WARNING SIGNS, THE CAR JUST SHUT DOWN AND WOULD NOT RESTART OR ENGAGE THE NEUTRAL GEAR IN ORDER FOR ME TO GET OUT OF THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. THIS SEEMS TO BE A COMMON THING AND SOMETHING THAT SHOULD REQUIRE AUDI TO ADDRESS VIA A RECALL IN ORDER TO REPLACE THE AFFECTED PART(S) BEFORE SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAPPENS OR REQUIRE AUDI TO MAKE APPROPRIATE REPAIRS TO THOSE AFFECTED BY THIS COMMON AND DANGEROUS FAULT. BELOW IS A LINK I FOUND IN WHICH OTHER INDIVIDUALS COMPLAIN ABOUT THE VERY ISSUE. HTTP://WWW.AUDIWORLD.COM/FORUMS/A8-S8-D4-PLATFORM-DISCUSSION-190/COOLANT-LEAK-THROUGH-WIRING-HARNESS-2862459/

I WAS ACCELERATING ONTO THE FREEWAY ON RAMP WHEN THE ENGINE CUT OFF. I MANAGED TO PULL OVER TO THE SHOULDER BUT THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT AND THE EPC LIGHT CAME ON. I HAD TO BE TOWED INTO THE DEALER. THERE WAS A "COOLANT VALVE LEAK. THE COOLANT MIGRATED THROUGH A HARNESS TO THE ECM AND TO MULTIPLE CONNECTORS THOUGHOUT THE ENGINE HARNESS". THE WORST PART OF THIS SITUATION IS THE EXTREMELY DANGEROUS POSITION I COULD HAVE BEEN IN. WHAT IF THE CAR STOPPED WHILE IN THE FAST LANE, OR EXPRESS LANES OF THE FREEWAY? THIS IS NOT THE FIRST COMPLAINT OF THIS NATURE ON THIS MODEL OF AUDI. PLEASE CHECK INTO THIS AS I AM SURE IT WILL CAUSE A FATALITY SOMEDAY.

THE TRANSMISSION COOLANT VALVE LEAKED COOLANT ON TO THE ENGINE CONTROL MODULE CAUSING IT TO MALFUNCTION. THE CARD STOPPED WHILE IN MOTION IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BUSY STREET AND I WAS ALMOST HIT BUY A SEMI TRUCK. IT STARTED BACK UP, I GOT IT TO A PARKING LOT AND IT STOPPED AGAIN. I HAVE FOUND NO LESS THAN 50 ONLINE COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS PROBLEM. MOST OF THE COMPLAINTS STATE THAT THE MANUFACTURER WAS "AWARE" OF THE PROBLEM.

Check Engine ON. Diagnosed as cam shaft timing chain failure

AIR BAG LIGHT COMES ON AND STAYS ON EVEN AFTER THE INITIAL STARTUP. VEHICLE IS STATIONARY AND HAS NOT BEEN MOVED. CODED ERROR IS DRIVER HEAD CURTAIN IGNITER SHORT CIRCUIT TO GROUND. *TR