Problems · by component
2013 Audi A8L engine problems
34 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2013 Audi A8L cite engine, 72% of all 47 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
34
72% of all complaints
Crashes
0
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
Reported by owners
What owners say about the engine
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“Driving up an inclined road at night. Car engine started to sputter and jerk and lost power. Was able to get to the side of the road out of traffic at the top of the hill? I was able to coast down the hill to a gas station. Carl would not drive without Jerking or accelerate, add check engine, light on and flashing. With the smell of burning from the engine, compartment waited two hours for a tow truck towed it home, the following day, I had to take off of work. I checked all the spark plugs to find multiple spark plugs completely soaked in oil, took an Uber to parts store to buy new spark plugs. At this point I had found out about the recall for the same problem. On the same engine. In all of audi's cars, except for the A8 line was excluded, do not know the reason why it's the same engine in multiple vehicles that were listed in the recall for the piston rings. My other Audi a 6 has over 200000 miles and does not have this issue. Get these low tension piston ring failures that have been recalled. On the issue with all of audi's in this year”
“The contact owns a 2013 Audi A8. The contact stated that while her son was driving at highway speeds, the warning lights on the instrument panel flashed as the vehicle shut off. The contact's son managed to pull over despite the failure. The vehicle was initially towed to one dealer; however, the dealer failed to service the vehicle promptly. The vehicle was then towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed with a defective ECM(Electronic Control Module) that needed to be replaced. The vehicle remained in the dealer's possession for a month before the vehicle was repaired. Despite the repair, the contact was notified that the failure persisted and was then informed that a defective engine cylinder now needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The vehicle remained in the dealer's possession and had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.”
“Audi, A8L 2013, also has the stuck piston. Rings end oil blow by like the other Volkswagen, defected engines of the same year yesterday while driving my car ended up stalling on a road with traffic behind me going up a hill because too much oil I'd burnt in the cylinders, causing the spark plugs to become completely coated in oil and the cars. Electronic system registered multiple misfires, multiple cylinders. Are misfired and multiple other safety epc codes, causing the vehicle to not be able to drive more than 5 miles an hour, stuttering. Which also caused the engine to almost stall, losing power steering. If this was on the highway this could have been exceptionally bad. I request the Audi AH. L and 8 series to be added to the current recall. For the A6Q5A4 A seven with the exact same problem”
“Unknown at this moment service vist is next week. The problem is a know piston ring issues on other years of same engine with massive oil consumption 1 qt a week with minimal driving less then 100 miles. Spent 3k on pvc and coolant pump that are a known issue of totaling engine but burning oil non stop and risk or seized engine if on highway”
“Me and my son were traveling on a business road trip from my home in Lincoln, CA to do business at several companies and end up at a customer located in Anaheim, CA. We started on [XXX] in Roseville, CA highway Interstate [XXX] traveling towards Anaheim with stops along the way. We were coming down [XXX] on the southside of the grapevine at the speed limit of 70 MPH, when the engine began to stall, and the steering also began to lock up. We began losing control of the vehicle and engine power was failing and stalling. In addition, the stall was impacting the car battery. We had difficulty steering the car and controlling the direction of the car and getting the car to the side of the road. Once we were at the side of the road, we looked up the closest Audi dealership, fortunately we were 3.9 miles away from Audi Dealership in Van Nuys, CA. Once on the side of the road the vehicle initially would not restart the engine stalling had drained the battery. We waited on the side of the road for approx.. 40 minutes and were able to restart the car and drive with much difficulty to the Keys Audi Van Nuys dealership. We were able to barely get into the dealership…”
“Me and my son were traveling on a business road trip from my home in Lincoln, CA to do business at several companies and end up at a customer located in Anaheim, CA. We started on [XXX] traveling towards Anaheim with stops along the way. We were coming down highway [XXX] on the southside of the grapevine at the speed limit of 70 MPH, when the engine began to stall, and the steering also began to lock up. We began losing control of the vehicle and engine power was failing and stalling. In addition, the stall was impacting the car battery. We had difficulty steering the car and controlling the direction of the car and getting the car to the side of the road. Once we were at the side of the road, we looked up the closest Audi dealership, fortunately we were 3.9 miles away from Audi Dealership in Van Nuys, CA. Once on the side of the road the vehicle initially would not restart the engine stalling had drained the battery. We waited on the side of the road for approx.. 40 minutes and were able to restart the car and drive with much difficulty to the Keys Audi Van Nuys dealership. We were able to barely get into the dealership parking lot when the car completely…”
Showing 6 of 34 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 11, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.