1998 Audi A8 Quattro 4.2 from North America

Summary:

A beautiful, luxurious money pit...

Faults:

Mass air flow sensor stopped working at 103000 miles, and again at 105000 miles.

Leaking oil from the heads at 110000 miles.

The car will shut down while driving for no apparent reason, dealer can't tell why.

Drains become easily clogged, causing rain water to leak into the driving compartment.

General Comments:

This car was wonderful as far as luxury was concerned. Reliability was another issue entirely.

The mass air flow sensor broke twice in 6 months.

The check engine light came on, and the dealer could not tell why.

The car would randomly shut down while traveling at low speeds.

The drains for rain water in the engine compartment become clogged very easily, causing rain water to accumulate and pour into the driving compartment. The drains for the air conditioning condensation pan clog easily as well. Had the car to the dealer 3 times in one year to clean the drains.

The engine began leaking oil from the heads.

This car was a nightmare, always breaking down and costing a fortune to repair.

The mechanics at Audi are terrible, and often give up without finding the problem. Even regular maintenance costs a fortune.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 19th July, 2008

1998 Audi A8 Quattro 4.2 from Spain

Summary:

Fast machine, but too unreliable

Faults:

So far, only the auto box!!! But this is an Audi, there is probably loads more thing to come. Ha Ha.

On a serious note though, the auto box has started slipping, but only when the car gets hot. I'm thinking maybe the auto tranny fluid may need changing, but any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Also the tiptronic isn't working all the time.

My advice, don't buy an Audi.

General Comments:

The car is very quick and handles lovely.

The interior is plush and very comfortable.

It looks wicked with the 20 inch alloys I fitted.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 18th May, 2008

23rd Jun 2008, 15:28

You MUST change the transmission fluid at 60-70k kilometer intervals, or else its lifespan is greatly reduced, not to mention the decrease in comfort and performance.

1998 Audi A8 4.2 from North America

Summary:

Beautiful design inside and out, super fast, but always something broken...always!

Faults:

In 2001 I purchased a new A8L - the first year introduced in the US. By 7000 miles the transmission was faulty and rattling in doors - after three attempts to fix dealer said they didn't know what was wrong. I hired a lawyer and sued under the lemon law in CA and got all my money back - $88,000. Foolishly I purchased a 1998 A8 pre-certified from dealer with the hope it couldn't be a lemon. It his been in the shop so many times I lost track and just about everything has broken. In the past three years entire front suspension needed to be repaired, new timing belt, water pump, almost every engine seal replaced, oil cooler seal replaced twice, oh water pump broke after two years and needed to be replaced and just two months ago transmission died. Was replaced with Audi factory rebuild and it is defective (sudden, jerking downshifts) and I need to bring it back in. On top of this endless brake replacement - rotors always warp and breaks squeek constantly, new steering column, new gas tank and fuel pump, transmission output seal replaced, rear differential seals replaced, remote entry always breaks, windsheild washers stopped working, CD changer died and needed to be replaced, and much much more.

The A8 is a total piece of garbage and I have owned two. Never ever buy and Audi again. Only reason I hold onto it is all the current car designs from BMw, Mercedes and Maserati I think are ugly... waiting for a nice design like the A8 - oh, it is a blast to drive when it isn't in the shop,

General Comments:

Very fast, handles more like sports car than sedan. Interior beautiful and best stereo system I ever heard in a car.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 27th May, 2007

28th May 2007, 07:39

I'm very surprised to read all that about an Audi. I always thought that they were so great.

31st Mar 2008, 01:57

WOW, sorry to here you have had all of these issues with your A8, I to have one, and can attest to the poor quality of the seals, but there are some solutions DO NOT GO TO THE DEALER, I say this as I have some different ways of resolving them. There are different types of materials Vi-ton for one, looks brown in colour, seals and lasts much longer then the OEM ones which you will only get if you take your car to the dealer. the water pump again is something that you should get from a aftermarket supplier, ask for one with a METAL IMPELLER, this will solve the issue of the failing impellers that pretty much explode, fall apart, separate from the pulley shaft. If you have issues with the factory CD changer, go to an aftermarket stereo shop, and you can get anything from a MP3 addapter, to a addapter that will allow you to use an aftermaket CD Changer from a different manufacture, IE: Alpine, Sony... you get the idea they can offer better sound quality and cheaper price tag then repairing your OEM unit).