Problems · NHTSA complaints

2011 Audi A8 problems

Owners filed 15 complaints about the 2011 Audi A8 with NHTSA between Feb 2016 and Sep 2025. The most-cited component is engine (10).

Complaints
15
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
0
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
People reported injured
Deaths
0
Reported to NHTSA
01 —By component

Complaints by component

One complaint can cite several components
  1. Engine10
  2. Electrical system4
  3. Suspension3
  4. Power train1
  5. Structure1
  6. Fuel/propulsion system1
  7. Other / unknown3

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Oct 30, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
02 —Trend

When complaints were filed

Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
View as table
Model yearComplaints filed per calendar year
20166
20172
20181
20191
20201
20211
20221
20231
20240
20251

Mileage at failure isn’t a structured field in NHTSA complaint data, so we don’t chart it. Some owners mention it in their reports below.

03 —Owner reports

Top problems in owners’ words

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first

Engine

10 reports
“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””
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Sep 21, 2025EngineODI 11688719

Electrical system

4 reports
“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”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Dec 4, 2023Power train, Electrical system, EngineODI 11558252

Suspension

3 reports
“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.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jan 12, 2022Suspension, EngineODI 11447239

Power train

1 report

Structure

1 report
“RUST, CORROSION THAT MAY DETACH FROM BODY OR FRAME COMPONENTS OR OTHER STRUCTUAL COMPONENTS THAT MAY PRESENT A SAFETY HAZARD.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Mar 7, 2020StructureODI 11316805

Fuel/propulsion system

1 report
“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.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Feb 29, 2016Electrical system, Unknown or other, Fuel/propulsion systemODI 10838985
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Oct 30, 2026

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.