Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2019 Audi Q8 owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
My car is a 2019 Audi Q8 3.0L V6 with only 41,831 miles. My emergency light went on and I brought it my locat Audi Dealer. The inspection revealed that the coolant pump was leaking internally, contaminating the entire vacuum system with coolant. This is not a maintenance failure or the result of owner neglect. It is a well-documented, inherent design defect in the EA839 3.0T engine platform that powers the 2019 Q8, a defect that Audi of America has acknowledged through multiple Technical Service Bulletins. Specifically, the EA839 water pump uses a vacuum-operated diaphragm to control coolant flow. When the pump's internal seals fail - as they predictably do - coolant migrates directly into the engine's vacuum system, contaminating components far beyond the pump itself. …
I own a 2019 Audi Q8 3.0 TFSI that has been regularly maintained and serviced through authorized Audi dealerships. The abnormal engine ticking/knocking did not suddenly begin at 91,000 miles. A similar noise could be heard earlier, but it was not identified by Audi service as an internal engine/piston problem. Because the vehicle continued to be serviced by Audi, I believed the sound was related to the fuel injectors or normal engine operation. At approximately 91,000 miles, the noise became noticeably worse. At 91,623 miles, Audi San Jose diagnosed the knocking as related to the engine pistons, classified it as requiring "IMMEDIATE ATTENTION," opened Audi TAC case SF-1690700, and confirmed that all six pistons require replacement. Audi provided a repair estimate of $22,466.21. …
While driving in heavy traffic on 12/23/22 the entire electrical system shut down and all power was lost. Fortunately I was not hit by another vehicle and coasted into a parking lot with no power. This is very dangerous. Per conversations with the dealership and with Audi (1/10/23), alternators on thousands of vehicles are failing (possibly due to a software issue). The vehicles are sitting on dealer lots and in driveways useless. Audi online forums confirm this as well. There are no alternators available. No recall has been issued and no warning of this unsafe situation has been made by Audi. Per the dealership, they are largely in the dark as well as there has been no meaningful communication by Audi. Someone will get hurt when their car dies on a highway. People are paying thousands for their cars to be undrivable. …
I was having noise from engine and and I received a letter from extended warranty for an production defect in piston skirt. I sent my car for an evaluation in the Audi of Manhattan and I was told that my car falls under the engine piston skirt defect.i have the pictures from Audi Manhattan inspection that the engine piston walls have scratches.i was denied coverage under extension warranty because my car was over 1752 mile over the extension warranty.this is and production engine defect and can be stranded any time soon in the high way or any other street putting me and My family in danger and any other people driving around my car if that engine stops in the middle of the street. My car has 81752 miles and the extension warranty was up to 80000 mile or 8 years. …
engine begin to misfire and felt like it was ready to stall. within a minute of the misfiring the engine light came on. i was in the middle of highway struggling to get my vehicle to the dealership where purchased which thankfully was only 5mins away. tech heard noise coming from fuel pump near the engine and recommended replacing along with spark plug. after replacing tech advised me to take my vehicle to audi to perform a software update that will correct the misfire and prevent the MIL from illuminating. Got that done to only be presented with a knocking noise again a month or two later. Took my car back to Audi to run a full diagnostic to find out my engine is in early engine failure due to metal shavings in the oil filter. …
The auto start/stop feature of this vehicle is horrible, on several occasions I've almost gotten into an accident turning at an intersection. The engine loses power for 2-3 seconds despite pushing the gas pedal all the way down. I've also scared pedestrians at cross walks on several occasions when the vehicle is at a full stop but then suddenly lunges forward at them. The sensors on this vehicle are also very faulty. The ones that are supposed to open the rear hatch do not work despite me waving my feet and hands under them for several seconds at a time. The key fob also doesn't open the rear hatch like it's supposed to. And the sensors to detect objects around the perimeter go off all the time without any apparent reason. I've had the vehicle in for multiple service visits and none of these issues have been resolved.
I was driving home from work when all of a sudden I got error messages: Electrical system malfunction! Please contact service; Start/ stop system: malfunction! Function unavailable. Please contact Service, yellow battery light and the car died. None of the safety features, locks, engine, or air condition worked and the car had to be towed to the dealership. Within 1 mile of the lights appearing the car died, putting my safety and those on the road at risk. I left in the middle of the street and had it towed a few hours later. I spoke to the dealership and was diagnosed and confirmed as a alternator- starter-generator issue and reading the Audi threads it is a common issue. The car has about 38,000 miles. I am the second owner and have had the car for less than 6 months and it has been well maintained.
On 12/12/2022 I was driving and the Q8 lost power and I coasted to a stop. All lights on driver panel were flashing or sequencing through. After sitting on the side of the road for 5 or so minutes I tried starting the car again. This time it started and I drove another 8 miles almost to my home when the car again just died in the road. This time I couldn't get it to restart. I had to have it towed to my local garage as my dealership was an hour and fifteen minutes away. The car has been diagnosed with needing an alternator, which no one including the dealerships have because this is a problem with many vehicles. It has now been over two months without my car.
Engine overheated and dash warning light did not illuminate until coolant was completely overheated. i followed the light, pulled off the road and let the engine idle until the light when away as directed and proceeded to drive approx 10 miles total distance to work from first warning light to full engine failure with electrical system failure due to being melted and three of my cylinders were misfiring. Audi states i need a full engine replacement at my expense and is not taking ownership of failed warning system. Engine for car quoted 25-30k for replacement. total car value with approx. 80k miles is 17k. Absolutely ridiculous.
being quality Engineer, why is this thing failing , and why are there no recalls? Amazing how they design these things to fail right at 50k miles. From what I hear, the audi's are notorious for not making these replacements simple and specialized tools are needed. I wouldn't change anything engine related unless you have issues like engine shaking, or rattling sounds stemming from the engine mounts. And if you get major work done, it is probably best to go to the dealers and pay the extra to make sure it will be taken care of properly! numerous same issues engine mounts after 50k MIles
Engine complaints in other Q8 years
Frequently asked questions
How common are engine problems on the 2019 Audi Q8?
NHTSA has 34 complaints about the engine & cooling of the 2019 Audi Q8, 31% of the model year's 110 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2019 Audi Q8 engine problems?
No. NHTSA lists no engine & cooling recall for the 2019 Audi Q8, though it has 5 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2019 Audi Q8 engine problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 4,000 miles, and 100% before 25,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.