There are 4 owner-reported visibility & wipers complaints for the 2004 Audi A8in NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
WINDSHIELD WIPERS SUDDENLY STOP MID-SWIPE AND PARK!!! *JB
THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS WILL STOP INTERMITTENTLY. THEY HAVE STOPPED DURING HEAVY RAIN ON AN EXPRESSWAY SEVERAL TIMES RESULTING IN A LOSS OF VISION. THE DEALERS COULD NOT GET THE PROBLEM TO REPEAT SO THEY SAID THAT THEY COULDN'T DO ANYTHING. I CALLED THE AUDI ADVOCATE PHONE LINE AND WAS TOLD THAT AUDI WOULD NOT ADDRESS THE ISSUE. THEN I WROTE AUDI AND ASK FOR A REFUND AND THE AUDI ADVOCATE RETURNED THE CALL AND MAINTAINED THE SAME RESPONSE. *TR
2004 AUDI A8L, PURCHASED IN 07/2004. FRONT WIPERS "HESITATED" IN THE RAIN A COUPLE OF TIMES. LOCAL DEALER SAID COULD NOT REPRODUCE. A FEW MONTHS LATER, WIPERS COMPLETELY STOPPED, WHILE DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS, LEAVING ME WITHOUT VISIBILITY FOR SEVERAL MINUTES. PULLED OVER AND REMOVED/REPLACED FUSED. WIPERS STARTED UP AGAIN. LOCAL DEALER SAID COULDN'T REPRODUCE. WIPERS FAILED TWO MORE TIMES, AND HESITATED NUMEROUS OTHER TIMES, WHEN I FINALLY DECIDED TO NOT DRIVE THE CAR. THROUGHOUT ALL, DEALER CLAIMS HE'S UNABLE TO REPRODUCE THE PROBLEM, AUDI AMERICA DISCLAIMS ALL LIABILITY FOR ACCIDENTS FROM WIPER-FAILURE. CAR WAS GARAGED AS UNSAFE TO DRIVE FOR THE REMAINING 17 MONTHS OF THE LEASE. JUST THIS WEEK I FOUND OUT THAT AUDI GERMANY KNOWS ABOUT THIS PROBLEM, AND HAS REDESIGNED THE WIPER-MOTOR BEFORE 02/2004. NUMEROUS REPORTS OF THIS FAILURE HAVE SURFACED ON THE INTERNET, AND EXCHANGING THE WIPER-MOTOR ALLEVIATED THE PROBLEM. AUDI SHOULD RECALL ALL AFFECTED VEHICLES AND REPLACE THE WIPER BEFORE SOMEONE GETS HURT OR KILLED. FURTHERMORE, I REQUEST AUDI REFUND MY LAST 17 LEASE-PAYMENTS AS WELL AS INSURANCE AND REGISTRATION COST FOR THE VEHICLE WHILE IT WAS GARAGED. *TR
WHILE DRIVING THE SUNROOF EXPLODED. THERE WERE NO CRACKS OF ANY NATURE IN THE SUN ROOF. THE EXPLOSION LEFT A HOLE THE SIZE OF A FOOTBALL. *AK
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 26, 2026