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2008 Audi A8 problems

The most common problem on the 2008 Audi A8 is airbags. Its complaint count is close to a typical A8 model year.

Typical yearClose to a typical year
Owner complaints
8
Recalls
1
Service bulletins
382
Worst area
Airbags
Fuel economy
15-18mpg

The worst 2008 Audi A8 problems

Ranked by number of owner complaints. Mileage and cost come from what owners wrote.

  • Airbags
    3
  • Acceleration
    2
  • Transmission
    2
  • Body
    1
  • Brakes
    1

Problems by type

Tap a problem to see which part fails, at what mileage and in which other years.

  • Airbags
    3
  • Acceleration
    2
  • Transmission
    2
  • Body
    1
  • Brakes
    1
  • Engine
    1

Recalls 1

Visibility: sun/moon roof assemblyReported June 9, 2016 · 536 vehicles affected
What is wrong
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2007-2009 Audi A8 and S8 vehicles. The sunroof glass on the affected vehicles may not be properly secured to the sunroof frame. As a result, the sunroof glass may detach from the car while driving.
Risk
If the glass detaches from the sunroof frame it could be come a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will install additional adhesive between the sunroof glass and frame, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin in August 4, 2016. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1‑800‑253‑2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 60C3.

Recall number 16V415000 · Recall details

See all 1 recalls for the 2008 Audi A8

Technical service bulletins for the 2008 Audi A8 382

Bulletins tell dealers how to fix known problems. A warranty extension means the manufacturer pays for that repair for longer.

See all 382 bulletins for the 2008 Audi A8

2008 Audi A8 fuel economy

Official EPA estimates in miles per gallon (MPGe for electric). Ranges cover trims that share the same engine.

EngineDriveCityHighwayCombined
4.2L 8‑cyl4WD162318
6.0L 12‑cyl4WD131915

What 2008 Audi A8 owners say

Most recent owner complaints, unedited.

Filed Dec 9, 2019 · Engine · 119,000 miles · CA

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 audi a8. While the vehicle was in use, the check engine warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to audi pittsburgh (2050 liberty ave, pittsburgh, pa 15222, (412) 245-4200) where it was diagnosed that the massive air flow sensors failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was replaced, but the failure recurred multiple times with an abnormal vacuum noise coming from the engine. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and did not assist. The failure mileage was approximately 119,000.

Filed Jun 4, 2018 · Airbags · 100,000 miles · CA

Takata recall - I just received work online through credit karma that my car has a recall on it dating back towards 2016. I financed this car in 2015. The car has been fine, for the most part aside from small electrical issues.. However my biggest complaint says this recall is because the airbags are prone to exploding causing metal shrapnel to fly and cause heavy damage and possibly death to the people in the car. In some cases it seems the airbags will not work at all because of possible heat ruining the parts the cause the airbag to work.

Filed Dec 31, 2017 · Transmission · 47,799 miles · IL

I own a 2008 audi a8 with about 48200 miles. It is great vehicle but having problems with transmission during driving. Under load it will go in fail safe mode around 4,5,6 gears. It is causing dangerous situations as car starts stopping suddenly and causing driver momentarily loose control of a vehicle. This iissue was brought up to a audi but they said it is past warranty. By doing an independent research, it was found that there is one single teflon seal controlling fluid pressure for a clutch e.that seal wears out prematurely causing fluid to loose pressure and failing safe transmission. In order to repair this issue seal needs to be replaced with aftermarket one. Information about it was obtained from zf transmission service bulletin and is available online. Zf manufacturing knows about this and rebuilding this transmission. When fluid pressure is lost it causing transmission fail safe in order to prevent completely being damaged. All fail said occurs when vehicles show being driven. Please investigate this problem because it creates a safety hazard. The attached pictures are screenshots from scanning transmission errors. Also, there is a copy of zf technical bulletin manual describing cause of a clutch e.it seems to be designing flow with this transmission. Thank you

Filed Oct 27, 2017 · Airbags · MA

Takata recall. My passenger airbag was recalled in january, 2017. Ten months have passed with no replacement part or solution and was insteucted not to have passengers in the front seat. How long am I supposed to wait?

Filed Dec 10, 2016 · Transmission · IL

Automatic transmission going into fail safe mode during driving around 4,5,6 gears when going around 70+ MPH and release gas pedal and applying gas again in order to pass vehicle. Car goes into fail safe mode, needs to be pulled over to restart and reset transmission. Car was taken to a audi dealer for an inspection and by technician at fluid level was low. Top up trans fluid . Was driving ok for two weeks , problem started again. Took car back to a dealer, technician called an audi support center. By audi support center was recommended to replace atf filter with optimized atf filter. Reason for replacement was seal on a top of atf strainer that was shrinking by temperature of fluid ( per zf transmission manufacturers.) because of design change , atf strainer can come loose from the guide of atf pump intake duct. As a result, air can be drawn in. Air causes the oil to foam , which prevents the clutches from closing completely and cause fail safe mode to transmission. This is an information I have obtained from both dealer and zf transmission engineering. Owners of audi models 2010 a4, 2008-2010 a6, 2008-2010 a8,2010 q5 may have complained about this problem as well. As a remedy, optimized atf strainer was developed. There are some vehicles that have same safety problem as mine. This is a big safety concern because vehicle can not be driven on expressway because of transmission fail safe mostly during passing another vehicles or changing lanes. When transmission fail safe it is only driven in 4 gear and will not shift . Vehicle has to slowed down and stopped for resetting transmission by shutting car off and restarting it again. This created hazardous situation for myself few times and a big safety concern. I did inform audi corporation about this issues and they stated that nothing can be done on their side to help me because car is out of warranty. Car with 42000 m

Filed Sep 9, 2016 · Acceleration, Brakes · MN

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 audi a8. The contact stated that the vehicle hesitated to accelerate and the brake pedal failed to respond when depressed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but the failure could not be duplicated. The manufacturer was not notified. The VIN and failure mileage were not available.

Filed May 25, 2013 · Airbags, Body · 55,118 miles · GA · crash

The 2008 audi a8l was involved in a rolling rear-end collision while starting to move at a stop sign. Velocity was less than 5 MPH. Minor collision with no deployment of airbags and no damage to the car ahead. The a8l drove normally after the collision. Inspection at the body shop revealed stress fracture and bending of the frame. Car was declared a total loss. It is unacceptable that a full size premium sedan should suffer catastrophic failure of the frame at a low speed collision. A high speed collision would have provided no protection to the occupants of the vehicle. Multiple contacts made with audi USA via ups letter, email, telephone, twitter and facebook. Audi USA refuses to provide any crash test data on the a8 which is very concerning. I request the federal safety agency to investigate if this car is safe.

Filed Sep 29, 2010 · Acceleration · 36,200 miles · NJ · crash

Tl. Hi, this morning I was involved in an accident when my 2008 audi a8l suddenly accelerated out of control as I was entering a parking garage. Thankfully it appears no one was injured. I am extremely disturbed by this incident. I have also contacted audi USA. Is thus a known problem with this car? Please let me know what I should do. I don't want this to happen to anyone else and I do not know if I should escalate this issue somewhere else. I am also concerned about driving it again after it is repaired. I always liked the car and if I don't drive it again I could not in good conscious sell it to someone else. Please let me know anything that could help me with this situation. Thanks bob (contact wanted this complainted copy and pasted into the complaint form)

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Questions about the 2008 Audi A8

Is the 2008 Audi A8 reliable?

Owners have filed 8 complaints about the 2008 Audi A8, close to a typical A8 model year.

What is the most common problem with the 2008 Audi A8?

Airbags, with 3 complaints. Next is acceleration (2).

How many recalls does the 2008 Audi A8 have?

1 recall, covering visibility.

What gas mileage does the 2008 Audi A8 get?

Official estimates for the 2008 Audi A8 range from 15 to 18 mpg combined. The most efficient version (4.2L 8-cyl, 4WD) gets 16 city and 23 highway.

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