Owner-reported complaints naming the engine system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming the engine itself — including stalling, misfires, oil consumption, cooling and internal engine components. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2011 Audi A8 submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 10 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
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.
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.
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.
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 on this page last refreshed .