Recalls & safety ratings

2003 AUDI A8

Every NHTSA recall campaign covering the 2003 AUDI A8, and the crash-test ratings for the body styles that were tested.
  • 1
    Recalls
  • 8
    Owner complaints
  • 0
    Investigations

Sourced from NHTSA recall and safety-rating data — last checked 4 September 2026.

1 recall campaign

A campaign usually covers only part of a model year's production, so it may not apply to a particular car. Check the VIN to be certain.

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

NHTSA campaign 08V397000 · VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA, INC

Summary

VOLKSWAGEN IS RECALLING 13,900 MY 1996-2003 AUDI A8 VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH A 5-SPEED AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION. THE LOCKING CABLE MAY MOVE OUT OF POSITION OVER TIME. WITH THE LOCKING CABLE OUT OF POSITION, THE SHIFTER CAN BE MOVED OUT OF THE "PARK" POSITION EVEN IF THE IGNITION KEY IS NOT IN THE IGNITION LOCK.

Consequence

THIS COULD ALLOW THE VEHICLE TO ROLL, CAUSING A CRASH WITHOUT WARNING.

Remedy

DEALERS WILL MODIFY THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION LOCKING CABLE BY INSTALLING AN ADJUSTING PIECE THAT WILL SECURE THE LOCKING CABLE IN PLACE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON SEPTEMBER 12, 2008. OWNERS MAY CONTACT AUDI AT 1-800-822-2834.

Notes

VOLKSWAGEN/AUDI RECALL NO. 37D5/J2. CUSTOMERS MAY ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), OR GO TO HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV.

NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings

NHTSA crash-tests vehicles and rates them out of five stars. More stars mean a safer car. Ratings are per body style, so a model can appear more than once below.

2003 Audi A8 4-DR. w/SAB

Overall
Not rated

Frontal crash

Not rated
Driver
Passenger

Side crash

Not rated
Driver
Not rated
Passenger
Not rated
Pole
Not rated

Rollover

Not rated

0% chance of rollover in a single-vehicle crash.

  • Electronic stability control: Standard
  • Forward collision warning: No
  • Lane departure warning: No

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