RoadVitals

1998 Audi A8 Owner Complaints

Reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers, shown in full

Data refreshed

Complaints on fileComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
4
Latest Nov 9, 2006
Crash or fire reportedComplaints whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. These are the reporter's own answers on the NHTSA form, not verified findings.
1
Filed in the last 12 monthsReports filed with NHTSA in the trailing 365 days. Recent volume reflects attention and vehicle age as much as anything else.
0
Reports on file since Jul 28, 1999

What this page shows

Our database holds 4 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 1998 Audi A8. Each one is a report filed by an owner or driver and published by NHTSA without most of them being verified. A complaint is not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. Narratives are shown exactly as filed.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Complaints, most recent first

Showing 1–4 of 4

Other / unspecified
Filed Nov 9, 2006

TIRE JACK SUPPLIED BY AUDI USA FOR THE AUDI A8 IS VERY DANGEROUS. IT IS MANUFACTURED OUT OF CHEAP ALUMINUM AND IS NOT RUGGED ENOUGH TO LIFT THE CAR EVEN ON FLAT PAVEMENT. THE JACK BENT UNDER THE WEIGHT OF THE CAR AND HAS THE POTENTIAL TO HURT SOMEONE. *JB

NHTSA ID
10173004
Incident
Nov 7, 2006
Mileage
105,000 mi
Airbags
Filed Jan 28, 2003

AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT INDICATES AIRBAG FAILURE. AUDI DEALER CANNOT RECTIFY.

NHTSA ID
10003543
Incident
Nov 4, 2002
Mileage
59,000 mi
Airbags
Filed Sep 22, 2000
Crash reported1 injury reported

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 THERE WERE NO PARCELS, SHOPPING BAGS, AND ETC. ON THE PASSENGER'S SEAT. AUDI & THE DEALERSHIP HAVE BEEN HIGHLY UNPLEASANT TO DEAL WITH CONCERNING THIS "PERFECTLY NORMAL OPERATION OF THE PASSENGER'S AIRBAG."

NHTSA ID
732213
Incident
Jan 18, 1998
Visibility
Filed Jul 28, 1999

BLIND SPOTS, REAR VISIBILITY: AUDI'S REFUSAL TO REPLACE OUTSIDE MIRRORS. THE PASSENGER'S OUTSIDE MIRROR AN DRIVERS POORLY DESIGNED AND HAVE TREMENDOUS BLIND SPOTS. DRIVING A $70K WITH MIRROR ASSEMBLIES THAT DO NOT PROVIDE SAFE REAR VISION MONITORING IS OUTRAGEOUS AND DANGEROUS. POOR REAR VISION RESULTS FROM EXCESSIVELY WIDE C PILLARS, REAR SEAT HEAD RESTS THAT DO NOT HAVE STORAGE RECESSES OR OTHER PROVISIONS FOR PREVENTING THEM FROM OBSCURING LARGE AREAS OF THE REAR WINDOW. THE DEALER HAS AND AUDI HAVE BEEN LESS THAN HELPFUL EVEN WHEN I POINTED OUT THAT A 19991/2 A4 ($30,000) RIGHT OUSIDE MIRROR HAS ALMOST TWICE THE VISUAL FIELD AS MY A8. AUDI'S RESPONSE TO ME HAS BEEN TERRIBLE, AND THEIR SUGGESTED ACTIONS INCLUDE MY HAVING TO PURCHASE AND HAVE INSTALLED APPROXIMATELY $1000 FOR RIGHT AND LEFT OUTSIDE MIRROR. THE LATEST A4'S REAR HEAD RESTS RECESS INTO THE TOP OF THE REAR SEATS AND PROVIDE ALMOST NO OBSCURATION OR REAR VISION. I REQUESTED ASSISTANCE FROM AUDI AT PURCHASE TIME RE: REAR HEAD REST POINTING OUT MY GREAT DANE WAS THE ONLY REAR SEAT PASSENGER, AND MY WILLINGNESS TO SIGN A RELEASE IF THE HEAD RESTS WERE REMOVED AND ABLE TO BE REINSTALLED EASILY. AUDI HAS TOTALLY IGNORED MY REQUEST FOR SAFETY CRITICAL REPLACEMENTS FOR MIRRORS, AND AUDI HAS APPARENTLY TERRORIZED THE DEALERSHIP BECAUSE CRISWELL AUDI IS NOW REFUSING TO EVEN CONSIDER ANY AFTERMARKET PART INSTALLATION ON MY AUDI A8 INCUDING A BACK UP RADAR TRANSCIEVER THAT ONLY NEEDS A TWO WIRE HOOK UP AND SENSES OBJECTS WITHIN 12' OF THE REAR BUMPER WHEN BACKING UP. FINALLY EACH AREA OF CONCERN ABOUT THAT I HAVE ABOUT MY CAR, LIMITS MY CAR'S UTILITY ESP REAR VISION CONCERNS, AND ARE SEVERE ENOUGH SAFETY CONCERNS I HAVE FEWER THAN 6000 MILES IN 18 MONTHS OF OWNERSHIP. THE 99.5 ADN YEAR 2000 AUDI'S HAVE ADDRESS EACH OF MY AREAS OF CONCERN IN THEIR NEW VEHICLES MIRROR SIZE, FIELD OF VIEW, AND REAR HEAD RESTS, HOWEVER, I AM STILL BEING STONE WALLED RE: SAFETY ISSUES THAT HAVE PLAGUED THIS CAR SINCE I PURCHASED IT. *

NHTSA ID
709311

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .