AUDI · vehicle model
AUDI A8
357 NHTSA complaints and 24 safety recalls across model years 1996–2021.
- Complaints
- 357
- Recalls
- 24
- Model years
- 25
The AUDIA8 appears in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database with 357 consumer safety complaints and 24 recall campaigns across 25 model years (1996–2021). That averages roughly 14 complaints per model year. Report counts can differ between model years for many reasons; this dataset does not establish the cause of a difference.
Complaint volume on a nameplate alone is not a reliability verdict: a long-running bestseller can accumulate more filings than a low-volume niche model because more vehicles are on the road. The table below shows report counts and published NHTSA crash-test ratings side by side for each model year. The filing-year histogram shows the timing of submitted reports, not a causal trend.
NHTSA has 9 investigation files tied to this model. Investigation records, complaint reports, and recall campaigns each provide different context. Use the official NHTSA VIN lookup and the underlying notices to research a specific vehicle; PlainCars does not infer a vehicle-risk or pricing conclusion from these records.
Complaints by Year
| Year | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 6 |
| 2020 | 5 |
| 2019 | 20 |
| 2017 | 11 |
| 2016 | 17 |
| 2015 | 46 |
| 2014 | 27 |
| 2013 | 66 |
| 2012 | 17 |
| 2011 | 23 |
| 2010 | 1 |
| 2009 | 6 |
| 2008 | 10 |
| 2007 | 4 |
| 2006 | 10 |
| 2005 | 11 |
| 2004 | 31 |
| 2003 | 3 |
| 2002 | 1 |
| 2001 | 8 |
| 2000 | 4 |
| 1999 | 13 |
| 1998 | 4 |
| 1997 | 12 |
| 1996 | 1 |
Complaint Filing Trend
NHTSA complaint volume by year filed (not model year).
Filings moved from 117 in 2017-2021 to 108 in 2022-2026, a fall of 7.7%. That is the 59th percentile of change across the 772 nameplates with enough filings in both windows to compare, where 0 is the steepest fall and 100 the steepest rise.
Filing volume, not a reliability verdict: counts also move with how many vehicles are on the road, how old they are, and whether a recall drew attention. Computed from this portal's NHTSA filing-year records over the same two windows the trend rankings use.
Year filed (bar labels show the complaint count).
Compare AUDIA8 to Similar Vehicles
NHTSA Investigations
Engine Stall - Turbo Failure
Engine Stall - Turbo Failure
STUCK-OPEN THROTTLE
STUCK-OPEN THROTTLE
DRIVERS SIDE DASH FIRE
DRIVERS SIDE DASHBOARD FIRE
1980 AUDI 5000 SUDDEN ACCELERATION
1979-86 AUDI 4000 SUDDEN ACCELERATION
ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRES
Frequently Asked Questions
How reliable is the AUDI A8?▼
What years of AUDI A8 are available?▼
Does the AUDI A8 have safety ratings?▼
What are the most common AUDI A8 complaints?▼
How do I check if my AUDI A8 has been recalled?▼
Data sources
Data vintage: August 2026. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Every figure on PlainCars is rendered directly from NHTSA complaint and safety data, no number is typed in by an editor. AUDI A8 totals are aggregated from the linked NHTSA model-year rows; no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.