I am very close to buying my first Audi, an A8, and I have heard from two different sources (California, and NY) to be careful because they have a reputation (Audis in general, not A8's) for having very poor and unreliable, bordering on chronicAir Conditioning issues. Can any substantiate or refute this?

 

My a4 has 106K miles and so far its been awesome with the AC. It has not been recharged ever seince 01.

I dont really see cars with AC problems.

 

I have now owned a 98 A6 and a 04 A8 for a total of about 160K miles and have never had so much as a hiccup out of the air. In the New Orleans summer time there are occasions where I run with the "recirculate" on, but this is seldom and only for short periods of time where I am caught in slow moving traffic. I think you can chalk that statement up to an envious person. I have not run into anyone who would not love to drive an Audi.

Good luck on the purchase of your new machine, I am sure you will enjoy it. My family has a total of six Audi's at present and I know of none that are a problem in any way.

 

I have an 06 A8 with an A/C that will freeze you out of the car. No problems whatsoever. I'm in SoCal, so the A/C gets used quite a bit, especially going out to the desert.

 

Well I bought am 01 a4 1.8t that had a great working A/C for about a month, then the dash outside temp meter started reading -50 degrees in the middle of summer. The air conditioner now blows hot in all modes (Auto/Econ) even when the outside temp meter is reading accurate. I have posted to the site a few times but never got any solutions. My aux fan works but the compressor never kicks in. My Vag-Com doesn't communicate with the HVAC module. Any Ideas?

 

2004 A8L, Dallas, Texas, so you know it gets real hot here. No problems with a/c and it's ran ALL the time!

 

There isn't really an issue with the AC it self on A8's its more to do with the AC evap drains they become blocked time to time and the run off accumilates and can cause problems to the ECU or wet front carpets but its easily kept at bay by regular cleaning of the drains in the front wheel wells or even moding them so that they don't get block as easily. Personally I'd be more worried about making sure the gearbox is in good order with regular ATF changes

 

My Family has owned 2 A8's. AC system has been flawless in both. The first one had the solar sun roof which runs the fan while your out of the car, tilt the roof to let the hot air escape and this system works great! Our A3 just had the compressor replaced at 20k (under warranty). Take that however you like. It just stopped working one day (clutch not engaging). Keep the drain tubes clean (A8). If your buying from a dealer, have them jet them out before you buy it. The two that drain the evap. pan on both sides of the tranny are not easy to clean properly. Good Luck, I am sure you will be happy with your purchases.

 

Mine's cool.

 

yea, i have an older A8 (2k) and the A/C is freezing... the downside is that once you have to change the thermostat out that first time and check the water pump, the car may begin to run at a slightly higher temperature (or the sensor is reading slightly higher for some reason), so instead of the temp guage being at 11 o'clock, it's moreso at 12 o'clock...