2014 Audi A8: engine stalls while driving

Filed Feb 8, 2022 · Engine, Steering · IA

Turbos failed. Was traveling home on a highway, when i pulled off the engine suddenly stalls out and loss of steering occurs as the engine system automatically puts you in park. Switching to neutral leads to a very 'leaden'/heavy driving feeling (Kind of like with no Power steering, but a little better). Able to get it restarted again with some effort. Car will stall out at any point in time when RPM is 1200 or less (you have about .25s to get it back out of that range or it stalls again). Power is sluggish. To avoid stalls, shifts must be rapid and neutral-shift+gas needs to be applied to prevent RPM from being below 1200. Made it home safely, but had it towed to dealership. Dealership notified me that it was a turbo failure, both impellers have become lodged in the side of turbo casing and are stalled out. Nothing preceded this; no engine lights or anything. Effect was sudden and drastic. Temperatures were fine. Attempt to drive to repair shop led to total loss of coolant. It is believed this is a seperate issue.

Filed Nov 10, 2021 · Engine · NH

My Audi Certified Preowned A8L, 4.0 TFSI suffered a complete turbocharger failure without any notice. The car went into service 9/30/2013. I purchased the car from the same dealer that originally sold the car in Stratham, New Hampshire on 12/26/2016. I purchased an extended warranty from the dealership for 8 years, 100,000 miles. Thus, the extended warranty expired on 9/30/2021. Car has always been serviced by this Audi Stratham Dealership. During a routine trip, car stalled, went into neutral upon entering a stoplight/intersection and would not re-start. Had to be towed. No modifications ever made to this vehicle. Recently had 75,000 mile service interval completed by Audi. Car now has 81,000 miles. Audi Technical Service Bulletin [21 Engine difficult to start, turbocharger damaged, V8 4.0TFSI 21 17 27 2044640/2 November 21, 2017. Supersedes Technical Service Bulletin Group 21 number 17-24 dated February 2, 2017] describes this problem. Audi refuses to cover the ~$9,000 repair.

Filed May 28, 2021 · Engine, Fuel system · NJ

For technician report, go to: https://getpe.co/4ZT0j2 While driving on a major central NJ highway, slowing to exit, the vehicle shuddered and stalled in lane. The engine EPC light came on and a message to put the car in park to start the engine followed. This made it impossible to move the car off the road. It was necessary to stand behind the vehicle and wave traffic around. A passerby was able to get the car started and moved it off the exit and to a service road shoulder. The car shuddered and died again. Traffic was heavy and the situation was quite dangerous. The car was taken to the dealer. The turbocharger impeller shaft and fins were damage. Please see above link. Also, please see Audi Technical Bulletin 2044640. This is not a unique event.

Filed May 25, 2021 · Brakes, Steering · NH

Driving home from church, heard a rattle, like a stick was stuck underneath. Then felt loss of power. No warning/engine check light, but car stalled while I was turning left off a highway. When car stalled I had no warning, and no steering or brakes. Husband was able to assist with getting care off road and out of oncoming traffic. We were worried about being able to avoid pedestrians at the corner as we had NO control and they did not seem to be aware of the emergency. Looked online and saw lots of similar stories. Exactly like what happened to us. Mechanic says turbo chargers failed. One is sheered off and one is rubbed/failing. Audi quoted us $14,000 to repair. Car is at 80,700 miles which seems to be 700 miles out of warrantee. All service work has been done by Audi and recorded. Audi is unwilling to help with this issue. This has to be the most scary incident driving I have ever had. It was shocking that there was no warning. And I lost both steering and braking assist while crossing a travel lane and making a turn. It appears that Audi is aware that they have filter/check valve issues for the turbo charger oil supply. They have since upgraded these parts but have failed to replace the faulty parts when cars like ours go in for service. They have also failed to warn people of this potential hazard. We have called Audi Corporate and they say there is nothing they can do to help.

Filed May 17, 2020 · Engine · 54,000 miles · NY

While driving and getting off a highway exit the vehicle without notice started to stall as if misfiring and running erratic without no engine trouble codes or warning lights at a red light stop. I managed to get home about half mile and once parked couldn't turn the vehicle on. It only cranked and when it did turn on it would shake idle erratic and then turn off. Towed it to the dealer few days later and was told needed 2 new turbos at a cost of $12k. Asked how is that possible and was told they get starved of oil and eventually fail. Thereafter did some research and realized there are countless other in the audi forums with same issues on the audi v8 4.0t engine. There are tsb's from audi addressing how to fix this problem that it's a small oil strainer problem that gets clogged and starves the turbos and prematurely fail. Audi revised this strainer part it seems but never warned or advised any audi owners with these engines so it can be changed before it's to late. I know have 2 bad turbos because of this faulty design which creates this major expensive problem for a faulty part that's $20. There should be a recall on this part before it's to late and more damage occurs to other audi owners with similar engines.

Filed May 11, 2020 · Engine · 63,410 miles · NY

The car engine stalled while driving on the highway, the vehicle wouldn't restart. Had to call tow truck to take it to the dealership. Both turbos had mechanical malfunction and had to be replaced.