118 of the
2,209 complaints filed about the Audi A6
are about the transmission —
5% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 2001.
118
Complaints
5%
Share of all complaints
2
Crashes
1
Fires
Transmission & Drivetrain complaints by model year
The contact owns a 2024 Audi A6. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle suddenly came to an abrupt stop. The contact stated that everything turned off except for the instrument panel, which displayed an accident warning light. The vehicle was not in a crash, but all the features became inoperable. The vehicle was able to be restarted and driven. The dealer was notified of the failure and acknowledge the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 34,034.
NHTSA complaint #11757732 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Drive Train suffered a life threatening loss of propulsion on a main highway . My safety was at risk due to the losing propulsion leaving me in the middle of the highway in an unsafe vehicle. Multiple communication-module fault codes. Dealer has acknowledged these issues. there were warning lights and multiple messages after .
NHTSA complaint #11745641 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I was driving my vehicle when the engine surged and then a transmission warning light came on and there was an immediate and complete loss of drive power. After the vehicle glided to a stop, there was no drive transmission in either forward or reverse. There was no pre-warning and no earlier incidence that led up to this issue. The vehicle is five years old with 39,834 miles and has had all routine maintenance and mileage interval services performed at the dealership, including its recent (Dec-25) 40,000-mile service. Thankfully this complete failure occurred when I was in my neighborhood and travelling 20mph; otherwise, the results could have been catastrophic had it occurred on a multilane highway at speeds of 65-70 MPH. The vehicle was towed to Audi of Indianapolis where the issue was identified as one broken bolt and two loose bolts for the transmission filter cap. This matches a known Audi Issue with a Technical Service Bulletin issued December 13, 2024, where they acknowledge a complete loss of power and a root cause of broken/loose bolts in the transmission filter. This is a known issue and is happening on low mileage well serviced vehicles. Because this issue is known and could result in a severe accident and/or loss of life under high-speed multi-lane highway conditions, it seems Audi of America should issue a recall versus just a TSB and/or extend the warranty for this issue up to 10 years or 100,000 miles which would, perhaps, be considered a normal lifespan for a part.
NHTSA complaint #11730290 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
My alternator was not working and it was a recall and I paid to fix it and they don’t wanna pay me back. I got a new part from audi and fix it at the shop and they don’t wanna pay anything just called and she said we don’t pay only if he’s done at the dealer. And I don’t believe that! Bc dealer told me they pay if I fix it any where to get done quick bc was out stock
NHTSA complaint #11720235 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
This vehicle had a claim for water pump replacement and the 3.0 model has a recall for the turbo charger. This vehicle is experiencing the same issues and went from 70 mph to 0 and stalled on the freeway. Thankfully the semi and other vehicles were able to avoid me or my family would be reaching out instead of me. Currently the vehicle is parked in my garage because it is unsafe to drive. Can you please advise Audi to take responsibility and offer the same recalls on the 2.0 vehicles for the water pump and turbo charger because they have the same internal parts as the 3.0 vehicles that failed and these parts were covered.
NHTSA complaint #11650550 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I purchased a 2014 Audi A6 2.0T Quattro premium plus on November 15, 2024 with 99,141 miles. I got the 14 day dealership extended warranty, which covered powertrain systems. After 3 days of driving exactly 103 miles the oil light came on my dashboard telling me that the oil was low. I immediately brought it back to the dealership and their mechanic look at it, he said there was nothing wrong and changed the oil so it should be good now. I drove it another 3 days 136 miles this time, and the oil light came on once again. Brought it back a 2nd time to the dealership’s mechanic. After about a week, we heard back and they told us he still couldn’t find anything wrong, but agreed that for some reason, the engine is consuming oil more than it should be. At this point we go to an actual Audi dealership where they tell us that the pistons and turbo were the problem so they would have to rip apart the engine and seal everything back up. At the time we purchased the vehicle on top of the 14 day dealership warranty we also purchased an extended warranty by a company called integrity warranty LLC. Our warranty company decided that they were not going to cover the cost of the parts and labor in order to fix my Audi, because they said it was a pre-existing issue prior to us purchasing the vehicle which we had not heard of before, or even seen on the Carfax report. On February 25 I was driving at night 25 mph and I came to a red light stopped my car and began smelling a very strange smell. Saw a lot of smoke coming from the exhaust in the back, the dashboard lights began flickering, the steering wheel start to shake, and then the car just shut down. Now I am without a vehicle, the dealership will not help us, the warranty company will not help us, and I now have to purchase a new car while still making payments on the Audi that doesn’t work.
NHTSA complaint #11646146 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I took the vehicle into a repair shop because the check engine light is on. I was advised that the water pump is leaking and it needs to be replaced along with the thermostat. The turbo charger assembly also needs to be replaced. Both of these items appear to be deficient and were listed under recent recalls on similar Audi vehicles and this VIN was not included in either recall. However, it appears to be a similar concern and should be resolved by the Manufacturer.
NHTSA complaint #11583388 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Car flashed several warning signs, electrical system malfunction, steering malfunction, lane assist malfunction, and finally powertrain system malfunction where car was barely driveable at very slow speed, died and I luckily was able to pull over and coast into a parking spot.
NHTSA complaint #11571754 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The car gave me electrical malfunction warning while driving on the highway, then all the screens turned black, and the car completely shut down while driving. The steering was still working, although heavier than usual, and the breaking also worked. The car slow down to a complete stop at the shoulder of the highway. This was very concerning, and thankfully happened close on exit with a shoulder at the side in which I was able to park the car.
NHTSA complaint #11568315 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Vehicle stopped and is not operational. Dealer stated that the generator went out. Part is not available due to this problem occuring on so many vehicles. Vehicle has been in the shop since late, October it is now November 28th and still no ETA on part arrival or repair completion.
NHTSA complaint #11557346 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
On my way to work, my car alerted me to an electrical malfunction and told me to call for service. When I called my Audi dealership, they told me to bring it in for service the following week. After asking if the car was safe to drive, they told me they wouldn't know unless they looked at the car. After pleading with them, they agreed to an appointment that day. On my way to the dealership - about 10 minutes into the trip on a highway, driving at highway speed, all electrical systems in the car started shutting down, and quickly - air conditioning, all safety features like lane keep assist, collision avoidance, etc. The steering became very heavy, the brakes were underperforming. After slowing down safely, the car shut down and was completely immobile and inoperable.
NHTSA complaint #11543147 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
After I come to a complete stop with the vehicle in drive, the vehicle will roll backwards and with such speed that the read camera will come on. The transmission is in drive the entire time.
NHTSA complaint #11528220 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Starter warning followed by electrical system malfunction, these were followed by Multiple warning lights (Lane departure, adaptive cruise control, collision avoidance, etc) then 1 minute later transmission failure and engine failure imminent.... pull over immediately and contact dealer. I turned into a road off main highway within a minute of the last two warnings and as I turned, my center MMI went blank then my electronic dash went blank, transmission went into neutral and the engine died all within a few seconds. Fortunately I was able to coast to a stop.
NHTSA complaint #11523939 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Two miles from home all sorts of electrical malfunction warning ⚠️ lights appear. Too many to list here. Then car completely stops and all electricals shut down. This happened in the middle of a very busy three lane 45mph main artery. Stuck in gear, unable to push off side of road. After ten minutes or so of cars zooming around us, it started enough to get off road to safe place. Waited 4 hours in freezing cold for tow truck. Very scary incident for my wife and me, as we are in our 70s. Towed to my local Audi dealer. The problem seems to be with the “Starter Alternator” and is a national problem with 1000s of affected owners. Was told 29 vehicles are ahead of mine for replacement and that it could be weeks before parts are available. One car family and no loaners available and there talking weeks / months to repair.
NHTSA complaint #11509711 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Mid December the day after I purchased my 2019 a6 the 48V starter generator failed while driving with my son in the car. Alerts came up as electronics issue and to pull over. Very quickly it stopped dead in road. They told me it is a known issue, and they have multiple A6s waiting for this part. It has been over a month and still unknown when this part will be available. This should be a recalled item, but is under warranty.
NHTSA complaint #11503814 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
While driving my 2019 Audi A6 Premium Plus I received error messages: "electrical system malfunction contact service", then "start stop system malfunction contact service", then "electrical system malfunction stop vehicle safely". I went on an Audi owner internet forum and read about others with the same errors. Reports from others indicated that in about 40 miles from the first message appearing, all systems will completely shut down including the engine while you are driving. This could leave you stranded in the roadway if you are not able to pull over in time and requires a tow; the vehicle cannot be relied upon to get you to a service center at that point. My vehicle was in a parking lot at the time for a few hours. I was able to start the vehicle. It presented the first two messages immediately. I was able to drive another 10 minutes to arrive at home safely. On my way home the check engine light came on and as I got to my driveway "electrical system malfunction stop vehicle safely" appeared again. Two days have passed (where I did not operating the vehicle anymore) and I've now had the vehicle towed to my Audi dealer / service center. My service advisor called me back this afternoon saying that they confirmed starter / generator / alternator needs to be replaced. The alternator (only) is now on order for me with no ETA. He said the last one they fixed with this issue took 42 days. He said he has 6 vehicles on the lot with the same issue. This issue appears to be popping up for all early builds that has the Audi 48v MHEV (mild hybrid battery system). Other owners report they needed their 48v and sometimes 12v batteries replaced. As I mentioned earlier they only ordered the alternator at this point; I'm worried that my batteries cannot be trusted after this issue as apparently the cells in the 48v become unstable after entering this state.
NHTSA complaint #11499045 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Starter/Generator Alternator failed and caused the battery to die ultimately leading to losing full power of the car on highway. Warning lamps were present and indicated "electrical system malfunction and contact the dealer for service." Car lost full power on the way to dealership and almost resulted in a crash. Component has been inspected by the Audi Dealer and confirmed to be the issue. Symptoms appeared very quickly and within 30 minutes of the symptoms the car was inoperable.
NHTSA complaint #11497300 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Multiple warnings indicating to contact dealer (Lane departure, adaptive cruise control, collision avoidance, etc) then 1 minute later transmission failure and engine failure imminent.... pull over immediately and contact dealer. I turned into a road off main highway within a minute of the last two warnings and as I turned, my center MMI went blank then my electronic dash went blank, transmission went into neutral and the engine died all within a few seconds. Fortunately I was able to coast to a stop in the parking lot. Flatbed towed to dealer who stated most likely the generator between the lithium battery bank and gas engine failed. They have seen several in this year for A6 and A7's with mild hybrid engines. I'm lucky to be in low volume traffic as there was no power to indicate to drivers around me that my engine quit and not even turn signals worked.
NHTSA complaint #11494080 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Today, car showed electrical problem then leading to steering problem, transmission problem, all sensors shutting off, all thro flashing one by one alarms and messages on dash and then coming to a complete halt. It would not allow me to come out and locked me in. I could see that the locks were kicking in so took a micro second gap between unlock and auto lock to get out of the car forcefully. I have had situations when in traffic light, the car wouldn’t move back from neutral to drive unless I tried couple of times, but this was horrible incident. Now taking it to service to see what they are going to say, not always super helpful.
NHTSA complaint #11486347 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.