Noticed my rear light bar has started delaminating in half a dozen places no outside impact damage it’s coming from inside the unit Audi immediately offered to change this under warranty just a heads up to see if yours is ok as they cost around 1600 quid to buy 

 

 

Thanks for the heads up. Glad Audi, are sorting it. 

Cheers mate so am I they didn’t hesitate so nice one Audi the parts on back order couple of weeks should be all good 👍 

No probs at all. If the parts on back order it makes me wonder if it's a common fault 

 

On 3/19/2025 at 7:37 PM, Nigel SGP said:

Noticed my rear light bar has started delaminating in half a dozen places no outside impact damage it’s coming from inside the unit Audi immediately offered to change this under warranty just a heads up to see if yours is ok as they cost around 1600 quid to buy 

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Hi Nigel.
Great news! They changed it under warranty.
I have the same issue with my Q8 2018, but it's all the rear lights, and in some cases, with very heavy delamination of the internal lenses.

Audio UK states all these rear units are air-tight and water-tight sealed; it seems they are in denial that they have a manufacturing defect issue. There are now so many issues being reported globally regarding the delamination of the internal light lens of the rear lighting units on different forums.

This is the response I received from Audi UK. I hope your warranty doesn't expire should you experience this issue again!

 

Many thanks for updating us and I too am please on the under-warranty replacement has worked out well for you. 
Re. the Q8:- what is your washing regime with the vehicle? 
Kind regards,

Gareth. 

Hi that looks crazy I’ve been looking around and don’t see any other makes with the problem how can the lights be watertight there is small holes all the way along on the light bar the washing excuse is ridiculous on a prestige car I personally take my cars to the same car wash I’ve used for years 3 Q7’s and 2 S5’s  no problems ever . The  front lights on the Q8 mist from the inside from new its actually in the manual saying this is normal but I think they have problems with the lights which is a shame on a otherwise fine car 

Had my Q8 in for service today. Audi dealer submitted warranty claim in respect of light bar internal delamination as on your car. Audi rejected the claim saying delamination due to 'influence of aggressive substances'.

My car has never been cleaned at a car wash and I use Autoglym cleaning products - snow foam and conditioning body wash shampoo neither of which could be regarded as 'aggressive substances'.

Anyone else had difficulty getting Audi to honour the warranty?

That’s exactly the same as my car. My car went and still goes to the hand car wash the aggressive substance excuse is rubbish the Audi dealership never even asked me about washing etc they looked and immediately said they would replace the light bar they seemed to know immediately it was due to faulty manufacture I’d would definitely follow that up with your Audi dealership at 1600 quid plus fitting this isn’t a cheap fix and the washing product excuse is ridiculous on a modern prestige car .

Cardiff Audi appealed the warranty claim rejection submitting my response regarding the claim that the delamination was due to 'influence of aggressive substances'

Audi UK rejected the claim without any reference or response to the information I provided.

I was advised to seek a second opinion from the supplying dealer, Bridgend Audi.

I sent the photographs and asked them to review the claim on the basis of the following:

• Audi suggest that the car has not been seen within the brand recently - what does this mean given it has a full Audi dealer service history and was seen as recently as 28 October 2025 ?
• Audi have not properly defined the specific aggressive substances they are referring to.
• Audi have not responded to the information I provided in response to their examples of aggressive materials 
• Audi have not provided details of the testing (assumed to be independent?) that established the vulnerability of the light bar to so called aggressive substances and have failed to justify that the failure is anything other than a manufacturing defect.

Their response was as follows:

Following a review with both the senior and technical teams, we are in full agreement with the findings presented by Cardiff Audi.

The images you have provided demonstrate that the delamination extends across multiple sections of the light bar, seemingly appearing beneath the sweep of the rear wiper. These observations closely correspond with the guidance set out within Audi’s warranty parameters, which identify this type of deterioration as caused by external environmental factors in nature rather than the result of a manufacturing defect.

So is the rear lighting bar not 'fit for purpose'?

Thanks Jon,

So does all that boil down to it still wont  be replaced under warranty? 

Refusing to replace under warranty and will not provide a proper detailed explanation for the rejection. 

They appear to think it acceptable for the customer to replace the rear light bar on a £95,000 luxury car every two to three years at a cost of £1200.

Since 2020 I have owned an A8, Q7 and the current Q8 but won't be buying another Audi in the future.

Jon.

I had the same problem on my 2018 Q8, which was extremely bad.

i escalated my issue the the Managing Director of Audio UK, as my car was not in warranty, they offered me to replace all the lights for a contribution of £1500.00, if it was under warranty they would have completed the replacement for free?

I have now raised my issue to Audio Global, which is an going matter.

I replaced all my re lights for inder £900.00 by shopping around (part new part second market in excellent condition).

I hope this helps, reach out to me if you would like further information.

 

So that’s a Yes then Jon. 

I finally got to speak to the customers service manager at Audi Customers Services Manager ,who had rejected the claim on 2 previous occasions. She admitted that she did not understand the information in the technical bulletin and would consult Cardiff Audi regarding the information I had provided. Pleased to confirm that they have now agreed to cover the full cost of replacement under warranty.

3 hours ago, Jon Blenkiron said:

Pleased to confirm that they have now agreed to cover the full cost of replacement under warranty.

That's good news Jon. Equally important is the fact that it is published publicly on this forum for other owners to discover if they should suffer the same fault.

I must say it worries me that Audi can get such a simple process as making a lens cover so wrong. Unlike electronics, injection moulding of lens covers is not new technology. It has been an established manufacturing process for over half a century, so the effects of over chilling a mould are well known.

Jon

Fantastic news, I am very pleased for you, well done. Perseverance does work.

A very nice Christmas present for your Audio.

Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year for 2026.

All the best

John

Congratulations Jon, why your local dealership put you through this stress God knows they surely must have been aware but you got there in the end . Luckily for me it seems Audi Sheffield was aware of this fault and dealt with it seamlessly for me 🍺