NHTSA Owner Complaint Log
This page lists owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2020 Audi A8. Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA and do not by themselves prove a defect or defect rate.
Audi 2020 A8L Engine Fire 3/6/2024 Confirmed by Fire Department, American Family Insurance Unclear if it has been inspected by the Audi U.S. No indication has been received. Incident occurred March 6th, 2024 at approximately 3pm. Operated vehicle in early morning to meet friends for coffee at a nearby coffee shop. Returned home, parked in home garage, turned engine off and went to my home office in lower floor. Wife came home after running errands, opened garage door and massive, thick black smoke escaped. Wife ran to front door and called for me to "come quickly." I grabbed the hose, connected it and sprayed front of car. By that time fire was arrived, fire from engine compartment was reaching four-feet high, as well as from passenger-side front wheel well and from rear of front hood at windshield area. CAR TOTALED. Significant fire damage to the Garage interior.
Start system malfunction causes the car to randomly lose ALL power and roll back when at a stopped, causing the car to be disabled and unable to start again. Faults indicate a failure of the 48V belt driven starter generator. Parts to repair defect are severely back ordered, taking months to obtain.
8/23/2021-I was slowing down at a red light and getting ready to stop but the light turned green and so high pushed on the gas to go before I got to a full stop. The battery warning light came on so I turned around to go back home can you swap cars. My fiancé had to go to work that day and took the vehicle. On his way back going 60 mph on the highway, The power to the vehicle shut down and he was unable to do anything other than slow down and pull off to the side of the road. The vehicle was sent into the Audi dealership and they changed out the 48V battery in the trunk. They also ordered an alternator but did not install it because it start it back up. A couple weeks later (9/25/2021) the same thing happened at a stop sign as I was slowing down but not at a complete stop and hit the gas and the battery light came back on. That light means the battery is disconnected from the engine and once the power runs out, it will shut down again. So I took it straight to the dealership and left it there until they can take a look at it. It’s at the dealership now. There seems to be a flaw in the (stop/go)system of the vehicle when the engine wants to turn off at a stop and when to restart the engine to go. Causing a disconnect of the battery in the trunk to the engine.
Data synced from NHTSA on May 4, 2026