2004 Audi A8 Audi A8 2004

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2004 Audi A8 repairs by problem area

Engine (28%)

Transmission and Drivetrain (3%)

Brakes and Traction Control (9%)

Suspension and Steering (32%)

Electrical and Air Conditioning (22%)

Paint, Rust, Leaks, Rattles, and Trim (3%)

Other (5%)

Chart based on 79 repairs.
See TSBs and recalls for the 2004 Audi A8.

2004 Audi A8 repair cost distribution

$2500+ (4%)

$1000 - $2499 (19%)

$500 - $999 (13%)

$100 - $499 (35%)

< $100 (28%)

Worried about potential repair costs? An extended warranty can provide peace of mind.

Chart based on 68 repair trips. The repair cost chart excludes repairs made under warranty, do-it-yourself repairs, and repair trips that include maintenance.

2004 Audi A8 4dr Sedan, ext.

330-horsepower 4.2L V8 6-speed shiftable automatic AWD

Audi A8 in Indiana, United States
Jun 2011 - Sep 2015
Jan 2014

US $150
Warning lights on dash on initial startup. Battery control shutdown systems so car would start and keep running. Car was still dependable but minor systems like mmi display, auto headlights, garage opener etc would not operate until recharge 
Jun 2015

129000 mi

US $1500
Leaking passenger shock. Replaced both sides and upper control arms as maintenance due to worn bushings 
Audi A8 in Minnesota, United States
Dec 2010 - Jan 2014
Sep 2011

125000 mi

US $300
Replaced driver side front wheel bearing. 
Jan 2012

130000 mi

US $100
Replace the blower fan. 
Apr 2012

135700 mi

US $270
Replace rear wheel bearing 
Oct 2012

145000 mi

US $1200
Coolant leak: cracked nipple between the engine block and oil cooler. While in the shop, the starter failed and needed replacement. 
Jan 2013

132500 mi

US $150
Purchased and installed rebuilt air compressor for the air strut system. 
Dec 2013

159000 mi

US $700
Had to replace front passenger air strut assembly. 
Jan 2014

147000 mi
CV Boot Torn 
Audi A8 in Colorado, United States
Jan 2011 - Sep 2013
Mar 2011

105000 mi

US $600
Replaced parking sensor Replaced parking light 
Jul 2011

112000 mi

US $150
Replaced sunroof air deflector motor 
Oct 2011

114500 mi

US $250
Replaced upper front suspension struts. 
Nov 2012

125000 mi

US $60
Replaced trunk lid latch assembly 
Sep 2013

132000 mi

US $200
Outer tie rods 
Audi A8 in New Jersey, United States
Dec 2011 - Jan 2014
Apr 2012

49000 mi

US $219
Parking brake warning light was on although there did not appear to be anything wrong. After a day at the dealer, they could not find anything wrong. Reset fixed the problem thus far. Could have been a bad connection at the motor. 
May 2012

49800 mi

US $79
Replaced broken plastic actuator arms with aftermarket aluminum arms. 
Jan 2013

58000 mi

US $250
Replace both front air struts and upper control arm bushings. 
Sep 2013

66000 mi

US $450
Windshield washer lines needed to be replaced leading to headlight washers 
Jan 2014

44000 mi

US $750
Rear caliper replacement Replace a bad motor mount 
Audi A8 in Wisconsin, United States
Dec 2013 - Dec 2014
Nov 2014

131300 mi

US $700
wheel bearing,  cv axle, serpentine belt, oil change 
Audi A8 in Oregon, United States
Aug 2017 - Mar 2019
Sep 2017

110000 mi

US $1500
Replaced ABS module and front brakes 
Audi A8 in Washington, United States
Feb 2015 - Sep 2016
Mar 2015

157000 mi
New battery installed at time of purchase 
Mar 2016

171000 mi

US $20
ventilation fan motor stopped 
Aug 2016

174000 mi

US $100
blower control intermittent... replaced with used unit 
Audi A8 in California, United States
Mar 2015 - Apr 2015
Apr 2015

154000 mi

US $2771
Thermostat field and replaced timing belt and water pump at the same time. 
Audi A8 in Indiana, United States
Dec 2010 - Jul 2011
Mar 2011

96000 mi
rear right e-brake motor  
Audi A8 in Tennessee, United States
Nov 2009 - Feb 2011
May 2009

38126 mi
Transmission replaced. 
Jun 2009

44115 mi

US $55
Coolant tank leaking. 
Oct 2009

44968 mi
Leak at oil cooler line. Oil cooler replaced. 
Apr 2010

63828 mi

US $93
ABS module replaced. EPC light, compressor removed and replaced. Airbag light on. Driver knee airbags removed. Connection under driver's seat replaced. 
Nov 2010

77838 mi

US $903
MMI buttons stuck. Possible leak into unit. MMI control module replaced. 
Jan 2011

82803 mi
Fuel pump replaced. Out of town during repair. Not my normal dealer who has treated me so well. Dealer had car for 10 days. During that time the battery died and needed replaced. Fuel pump replaced. Out of town during repair. Not my normal dealer who has treated me so well. Dealer had car for 10 days. During that time the battery died and needed replaced. 
Feb 2011

82803 mi
Fuel Filter needed to be replaced after a recent fuel pump replacement. Also front control arm bushings. 
Audi A8 in Bahrain
Sep 2011 - Sep 2012
Jul 2012

96600 mi

$15000
Noise at starting. Heads replaced and intake manifold replaced Front air spring failed twice 
Audi A8 in New Jersey, United States
Sep 2010 - Sep 2013
Feb 2011

102000 mi

US $1500
Front brake pads replaced by owner at 99,000 miles. Battery was replaced at 101,000 miles by owner. At 102,000 miles timing belt, water pump, thermostat (preventive, failled three times previously) and serpertine belt replaced by independent shop. 
Jan 2012

120000 mi

US $2230
Water pump leak and timing off from previous independent shop doing timing belt job. Took to dealer and they recommended doing timing belt job over. Now car is running nice 
Oct 2012

139000 mi

US $200
Exhaust leak at the flex hose. 
Jan 2013

144000 mi

US $100
Passenger headlight out. 
Jul 2013

154000 mi

US $250
Passenger side electric parking brake motor stopped working Driver side front air suspension stopped working 
Audi A8 in Ontario, Canada
Sep 2010 - Aug 2014
Aug 2011

93000 mi

C $200
exhaust flexible hose 
Jul 2012

102300 mi

C $40
Backup light but took 1.5 hours to diagnose get part and replace. Bulb comes as a module. Garage didnt charge labour! 
Aug 2012

102900 mi

C $934
Right wheel bearing started to fail. 
Oct 2012

104780 mi

C $100
Coolant overflow reservoir leak. Replaced. Two days as part had to be order. 
Jan 2013

99440 mi

C $141
Windshield wipers seize - due to aluminum corrosion. Require 1.5 hours of cleaning, no parts. 
Nov 2013

112840 mi

C $550
Sensor for rear timing chain tension defective and replaced. Trouble light came back on an hour after repair while on trip. Then went off for a few hours then on again. Haven't followed up as trouble light is steady but will have checked. 
Mar 2014

113460 mi

C $1800
First oxygen sensor replaced then fuel pump 
Jul 2014

117800 mi

C $1400
Fuel pump was malfunctioning. 
Audi A8 in California, United States
Oct 2010 - Jul 2012
Aug 2011

85000 mi

US $1300
Replaced all 4 control arms 
Jul 2012

94000 mi
Infotainment system cutting in and out. 
Audi A8 in Illinois, United States
Sep 2010 - Jan 2011
Aug 2010

48000 mi

US $1658
Replaced Compressor, filter dryer, and hoses 
Dec 2010

56000 mi

US $1050
Water pump, thermostat, and coolant sensor. 
Audi A8 in New York, United States
Sep 2010 - May 2018
Nov 2010

37700 mi
TPMS tire pressure monitoring system malfunction. Dealer replaced three sensors under warranty. Purchased car used Oct.14 and car came with NY stater Lemon Law warranty so all issues are covered for thirty days through the dealer. 
Jun 2011

43000 mi

US $600
Had Water temperature sending unit replaced and cooling system evacuated. Performed this service in conjunction with 45K mile service. 
Apr 2013

58500 mi

US $1000
I replaced the upper control arms as the bushings had all cracked. I was only getting the typical creaking sounds from the bushings and no mechanical issues were evident at that time. The suspension operates as new subsequent to repair. 
May 2016

70000 mi

US $2500
Replaced upper and lower control arms with factory Audi parts. Suspension performance has been restored to "as new" condition. Time to complete repairs with Audi specialist was under two hours for upper and lower arm installation. 
Audi A8 in Minnesota, United States
Sep 2010 - Apr 2011
Oct 2010

81000 mi

US $20
replaced 4 front control arm bushings 
Audi A8 in Michigan, United States
Sep 2010 - Jun 2018
Oct 2010

120000 mi

US $580
Thermostat failure in closed mode. Also replace timing belt, water pump and associated rollers. 
Dec 2010

128000 mi

US $2300
Passenger front air strut (Audi calls it an air spring damper) was leaking. Suspension went into limp home mode with poor driveability. Car was low and tilted. 
Mar 2012

162000 mi

US $161
Engine Speed (RPM) sensor failed. Engine would not start until it had cooled down (took a couple of hours). Pulled fault code using a VW /Audi diagnostic interface (by Ross-Tech). 
Nov 2012

181300 mi

US $90
Driver rear wheel bearing started to hum at sppeds above 60 MPH. After twoo weeks of this I replaced it myself. 
Dec 2012

185000 mi
Starter was acting intermittently. Diagnostics indicated faulty starter. I had an indy shop replace it as I did not have the time to do it myself. 
Sep 2013

198000 mi

US $1200
Water pump (supplied by Blau Parts with 73,000 miles started to leak. So I did the timing belt replacement as well. Blau Parts timing bely had a tear and one strand of nylon cords severed. Now I used OEM parts from a dealer. Lesson learned. 
Jan 2014

188700 mi

US $750
Radiator replaced due to leak. 
Jun 2014

217000 mi

US $250
Replace Driver front wheel bearing and  upper control arm suspension bushings. 
Dec 2014

233000 mi

US $310
Replace Sway bar & C-Links. Bushings bad, end stripped 
Dec 2015

252000 mi

US $100
Replace Upper COntrol Arm bushings. Rubber was shot/torn. 
Nov 2016

260000 mi

US $300
Erratic stalling. Passenger side fuel pump defective. Replaced with new VDO part. 
Apr 2017

270000 mi

US $250
Worn front pads & rotors replaced.  Also one tie rod end that was rattling. 
Jun 2018

289000 mi

US $50
Rear electric sunshade clip broke. Replaced the pair with aluminum replacements. 

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2004 Audi A8 Repair Histories

See our lemon odds and nada odds page to see vehicles with no repairs or vehicles with more than three repairs. To see how frequently 2004 Audi A8 problems occur, check out our car reliability stats.