13 minutes ago, cliffcoggin said:

Sadly Audi is no longer the prestige brand it once was. You would be better off with a Ford nowadays.

To be fair the car is lovely, it drives lovely, as good as the SClass but I just have no confidence in the car anymore. I kept the Merc longer than I would have normally, I used to change cars every three years up until Covid, I ended up keeping the Merc 2 years longer mainly due to not being able to go to dealers then convenience. The Merc was fine well outside its warranty, I thought the Audi would be the same I did a lot more miles in the Merc as well. Audi Worthing have just called me they said the alternator is plugged in and all the messages have been cleared they will charge it overnight test drive it and all being well I will get it back tomorrow. Ive just got fight Audi UK after that. Also I got a chip in the windscreen a few days before I broke down, apparently thats now turned into a crack but I have windscreen cover. Thanks for the replies

Hi Peter - Try Caffyns Audi at Eastbourne.

Had the same issue and they fixed it FOC IAW the BSG 7yr guarantee.

Fix was a new Belt Driven Starter Generator.BSG

Good luck!

2 hours ago, AlexR said:

Hi Peter - Try Caffyns Audi at Eastbourne.

Had the same issue and they fixed it FOC IAW the BSG 7yr guarantee.

Fix was a new Belt Driven Starter Generator.BSG

Good luck!

Thanks Alex, Sadly its too late for dealer shenanigans I got it done by an independent garage as I was blissfully unaware that it was under extended warranty, and because Brighton Audi couldnt do it for a month. I would have phoned Worthing (I live in Storrington, broke down near Brighton) if it were not for the fact I had to drive the car with a battery fault and I was concerned about damaging the car further. Im hoping that Audi UK see sense.

On 5/20/2026 at 5:54 PM, PeterWJames said:

To be fair the car is lovely, it drives lovely, as good as the SClass but I just have no confidence in the car anymore. I kept the Merc longer than I would have normally, I used to change cars every three years up until Covid, I ended up keeping the Merc 2 years longer mainly due to not being able to go to dealers then convenience. The Merc was fine well outside its warranty, I thought the Audi would be the same I did a lot more miles in the Merc as well. Audi Worthing have just called me they said the alternator is plugged in and all the messages have been cleared they will charge it overnight test driAlso I got a chip in the windscreen a few days before I broke down, apparently thats now turned into a crack but I have windscreen cover. Thanks for the replies

I live in a state of expectant, mild paranoia with my A8 Black Edition, but-

1) Your BSG should probably be fine now for as long as you own the car.

2) You can go online and buy an Audi extended warranty, payable monthly, if you are concerned about the risk of other items / Audi's lack of concern.

3) I turn off the stop start on every start-up and the eco more functions (coasting etc) are permanently toggled to off. Takes the strain off the BSG.

4) I think I will have to visit my Audi dealer for my windscreen replacement (small crack) as they have all the sensor reset kit, so I can blamthem rather than a third party if all is not good after!

The A8 is still a great car to drive - you'll be surprised at how little they changed your 22 model to the last of the line currently on sale. Not much wrong with it really...

Edited May 26May 26 by DieSel-Q

15 hours ago, DieSel-Q said:

I live in a state of expectant, mild paranoia with my A8 Black Edition, but-

1) Your BSG should probably be fine now for as long as you own the car.

2) You can go online and buy an Audi extended warranty, payable monthly, if you are concerned about the risk of other items / Audi's lack of concern.

3) I turn off the stop start on every start-up and the eco more functions (coasting etc) are permanently toggled to off. Takes the strain off the BSG.

4) I think I will have to visit my Audi dealer for my windscreen replacement (small crack) as they have all the sensor reset kit, so I can blamthem rather than a third party if all is not good after!

The A8 is still a great car to drive - you'll be surprised at how little they changed your 22 model to the last of the line currently on sale. Not much wrong with it really...

Yep I get all of that, but should it have happened in the first place? The car new is over £100k its 4 years old with 33k miles, the fault is well known. I think statutory rights would argue that it should not have happened which is why Audi have extended the warranty on the part, legally they have to show willing. However, I am not sure that they have completely exhonorated thier obligations. How many people like me have gone through the experience and just paid without question, under the assumption that its out of warranty. How many ended up taking their car to a local garage to get the work done because Audi gave them a long lead time or a much higher quote? The fact is when you buy anything there is a life expectancy regardless of warranty, and consumer rights trump warranties when it comes to a known common product failure. I am sure that my car will be fine now for as long as I own the car, but is this the issue? I think my trust in the brand has gone completely out of the window.

Well, after 4 or 5 years of this BSG saga, Audi is still consistently inconsistent, deliberately or otherwise. If I still worked there at the time, I would have been able to tell you if it was an Audi AG or Audi UK root cause. I suspect it is budgetary and who gets paid back what. Customer Service also took a backseat at Mercedes in the UK for similar 'reasons' when I was also there , so that leaves you with BMW and Lexus ?

Has anyone viewed my original post on a very similar issue posted some 3 years ago?

If you have not then I suggest that you do.

I have an Audi A8 S-Line TDI bought from new - 2019 registration and possibly one of the first from the new design flight at the time. I have had the car serviced annually by Audi and at no stage has it had a recall notice.

I suffered a severe "Electric Failure" yellow alert, followed by a cascade of other faults and an eventual "RED" (you're dead) failure back in October 2023. What was scary was that the car went totally dead after I stopped and I could not get out of the car as the auto door locks had also frozen. I was locked in - this is potentially a SAFETY ISSUE ???

After a minute or so after shutting everything down I went to restart the car - and bizarrly everything was OK. Doors openned, the engine started and no warning alerts.

I was on my home from Suffolk and about to go onto the M25. Did I want to take the risk and continue believing that everything was OK? No Way !!!

The car was recovered by the AA and deposited to my local Audi dealer. After dignostics - which took several days to carry out as the car had not been booked in - Audi located the fault in the fault log but could not reproduce it. "Things" were reset and the car returned to me.

All OK for a few months and then the same started happening again, but this time no "Electric Failure" but immediate fatal "RED WARNING" and engine stopped. I figured out that by pressing the Stop/Start button I could clear the fault and drive on.

Went back to Audi - but this time for a pre-booked investigative appointment. Audi determined that the fault was with the Stop/Start Generator (aka Alternator). As the car was under extended warranty this would be replaced by Audi - but the part was not in stock in the UK and I would have to wait around 10 days. Was I offered a courtesy car - nope. Had the car been recovered to Audi (by the AA) then yes, but I had driven.

Huge minus Audi Customer Services!!!

I had assumed that since this was a repeat fault/failure and given that I was provided with a courtesy car first time around that another temporary vehicle would have been offered. Nope - I had driven the car to the dealership and it had "not broken down". What a pain.

After about a week I got an update from Audi that their technical team back in Germany had also investigated the car's diagnostics and suggested that the problem may not in fact be with the Stop/Start Generator but with the Auxiliary Belt Tensioner. This was duly examined and a new belt tensioner fitted (as well as new belts).

Since then the car has performed brilliantly without fault.

So - if you have not already done so then can I suggest that your Audi mechanics look at the Stop/Start Generator auxiliary belt tensioner system. Much cheaper to replace than the Stop/Start Generator.

If having an extended warrant worthwhile? Personally, yes.

Hope this helps.

That is interesting and is probably explained as your failures were sudden-straight to red no yellow stage. The yellow stage indicates battery charge degradation is gradual I.e. the charge is not being replaced. Lack of belt tension maybe gave intermittent charge- no charge red light, charge no light at all. This is my take but am no expert.

On 5/29/2026 at 2:16 PM, MikeSwidz said:

So - if you have not already done so then can I suggest that your Audi mechanics look at the Stop/Start Generator auxiliary belt tensioner system. Much cheaper to replace than the Stop/Start Generator.

If having an extended warrant worthwhile? Personally, yes.

Hope this helps.

In my case it was the first thing the AA man checked he was quite thorough, the independent garage also confirmed it was the alternator, the problem hasnt returned since which also confirms it was the alternator (Of course its also a common known fault). Audi are being difficult because I had it repaired independently, but lawfully I can have a warranty repair done by whoever I want so long as it is carried out to the manufacturers service schedule and uses approved parts. They have suggested if I am unhappy with their reply to my complaint I should go to the motor ombudsman, I think I would rather take the legal route as I have plenty of stuff in my favour. If I had not researched the fault I would have been none the wiser, I wonder how many other Audi owners have had the misfortune of this and not had the foresight to google it, and just paid the bill

As soon as I told Audi Executive Office that I intended to use the legal services provided by my car insurer I was informed their Customer Services could no longer deal with me and I would have to go through the Audi legal team. By this point I will admit to having been out of my depth. Eventually I had to take the threat off the table to further my claim despite the existence of the extended warranty being denied until the bitter end.

7 minutes ago, Audi Death Trap said:

As soon as I told Audi Executive Office that I intended to use the legal services provided by my car insurer I was informed their Customer Services could no longer deal with me and I would have to go through the Audi legal team. By this point I will admit to having been out of my depth. Eventually I had to take the threat off the table to further my claim despite the existence of the extended warranty being denied until the bitter end.

Did you further your claim though? I find usually threatening to do it wont work, im currently staying polite and reasoning with them. If I have to resort to legal action they wont see it coming (just like my breakdown) ill just just do it. I have tried to ensure that everything is in writing so that I can take it to court, but I wont stop there, this is a great story for the media such as watchdog. Its not the money for me its the bloomin; principle. I purchased a flagship vehicle from a premium brand the quality of service that I would expect has fallen far too short. When they discovered this alternator was a problem they should have recalled all vehicles and replaced it with the updated part, not wait until their customer became stranded by the side of the road. It is sad to see but they have lost an Audi customer Ive traded the car in for another brand Im so disappointed with Audi VW group Ill never buy another.

Edited 13 hours ago13 hr by PeterWJames

I'd been as polite and reasonable as I could but was making no progress. The repair was 90% covered by a third party warranty and I also had to make a claim against the recovery agent as a steering arm was wrecked getting my car onto his transporter. Once I was told I could be looking at months for a replacement alternator I walked to the nearest garage and bought the cheapest runaround they had for £3,500. Audi eventually relented and covered this cost as I persisted in explaining it was as a direct result of the part failure and that I came perilously close to death in the breakdown. The DVSA investigated Audi and found all was well and any claims against them were ill-founded.

I have written to the DVSA concerning this as firstly a safety issue which they say it isn't and secondly as a now similar issue has occurred on Jaguar Land Rover with their DC to DC converter which gives pretty much the same result the response was to say the least not very convincing merely pointing out it didn't meet their criteria. I have also sent DSAR requests to Audi AG, Vindis Group, and Sytner Group. In fairness to Audi AG I don't think they get a lot of info from Audi UK. Only one dealer has got back to me and I cannot open their response. All of them hope we will get fed up and go away. I asked for the DSARs to try to obtain the fault codes taken from my car by Odis and stored on computers in Germany. So far these codes are not available from Audi AG via my DSAR. The dealer who did the work haven't replied to my DSAR request (I wonder why). It is the dealer who appears to make decisions on replacing these units based on pathways laid down by Audi UK and between them they are stitching up a large number of Audi owners across the UK. There needs to be a cohesive attempt to put pressure on the people responsible for this situation. Individuals attempting to take on the might of the Audi group are destined for a hard journey and the consumption of large quantities of hard earned money. Having had the reply from DVSA (which is what I expected) my next port of call is the government and possibly a FOI request to all police forces of the UK on accidents/collisions concerning these vehicles to try to build a case. I am awaiting the DVSA action on the Jaguar Land Rover problem also. Letters to M.Ps could bring a response especially if they have family members who drive the affected vehicles (There are some good politicians out there. It really is a pity that such a great car is being sullied by the bean counters at Audi UK.

I caused a 5-mile rush hour tailback and was on the receiving end of a whole load of verbal abuse. Luckily I couldn't hear most of it as I was trapped in the car but I could see a lot of angry faces. Good luck pursuing this matter further. It defeated me.