Total Complaints
3 filings
AUDI AUDI · model year
1998 AUDI AUDI
3 NHTSA complaints for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 1998AUDIAUDI carries 3 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.
Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 1998 AUDI is fuel system, gasoline:storage:tank assembly with 1 filings, followed by service brakes, hydraulic:antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip (1) and engine and engine cooling:engine (1). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability.
NHTSA currently has 7 investigation files overlapping the 1998 AUDI. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.
3
Complaints
0
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0
Deaths
Crashes Reported
0 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
Complaints vs. fleet median (215)
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
Complaints by Component
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY | 1 |
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP | 1 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE | 1 |
Recent Complaints
20060407ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
AUDI ENGINES ARE NOTORIOUS FOR SLUDGE PROBLEMS. ALTHOUGH AUDI RECOGNIZES THIS PROBLEM ON THEIR 4 CYL TURBO ENGINES, THEY DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THE PROBLEM ON THE 6 CLY ENGINE. MY ENGINE, WITH 71,000, HAS A SEVERE ENGINE SLUDGE PROBLEM, WHICH HAS CAUSE ALL THE SEALS TO LEAK. AUDI DOES NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THE PROBLEM, AND WON'T ASSIST. *JB
Mileage: 71,000
20050101SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP
FAILURE OF THE ABS CONTROLLER WITH LESS THAN 70,000 MILES. THE PROBLEM WAS CONFIRMED BY A LOCAL AUDI DEALERSHIP. AUDI WAS CONTACTED AND REFUSED TO MAKE REPAIRS. THIS IS A SIGNIFICANT PROBLEM FOR LATE MODEL AUDI'S AND VW'S AND NHTSA SHOULD INVESTIGATE THE FREQUENCY OF FAILURE AND REQUIRE A RECALL. THE INCIDENT DATE IS APPOXIMATE. *JB
Mileage: 68,000
20001129FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY
WHILE FILLING THE FUEL TANK, GASOLINE SPRAYS OUT OF THE TANK, UNDER PRESSURE, AND GETS ALL OVER THE PERSON FILLING THE CAR, ALL OVER THE CAR, AND ALL OVER THE GROUND. ONCE THE SPRAYING STARTS IT DOES NOT STOP UNTIL ALL PRESSURE IN THE TANK HAS VENTED. WHEN THIS OCCURS IS UNPREDCTABLE. AUDI IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM AND HAS CHOSEN TO BLAME THE CONSUMER FOR NOT FILLING THE FUEL TANK CORRECTLY. MY WIFE AND I HAVE BEEN SPRAYED WITH GAS ON THREE OCCASIONS. *AK
Compare 1998AUDIAUDI to Similar Vehicles
NHTSA Investigations
Frequently Asked Questions
How many complaints does the 1998 AUDI AUDI have?▼
The 1998 AUDI AUDI has 3 NHTSA complaints, 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 deaths reported.
What are the most common problems with the 1998 AUDI AUDI?▼
The most-complained component for the 1998 AUDI AUDI is FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY with 1 complaints. Other frequently reported areas include SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP and ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE.
Is the 1998 AUDI AUDI safe to buy?▼
Review the complaint history, crash and fire reports, safety ratings, and recall status on this page to make an informed decision. No NHTSA crash test rating is available for this model year. Compare with other model years using the links above.
Where does this data come from?▼
All complaint, recall, and safety rating data is sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaints are filed by vehicle owners through NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation.
Vehicle Safety Guides
Data as of 2025. 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.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.