Owners have filed 56 complaints
about the 2013 Audi S6 with NHTSA between 2013 and 2026.
The largest single group is the engine & cooling.
Across this model's run it ranks 1 of 4 worst.
The letter says how bad. This says what kind — whether this year drew
an unusual number of complaints, unusually dangerous
ones, or failures that arrived unusually early.
The dashed ring is 50 — the national norm. Further out is worse.
Complaint volume — 81
Against the median year of the Audi S6. 50 means typical for this
model; 100 means roughly double.
Severity — 9
1.8% of these complaints
involved a crash, fire, injury or death, against a national rate of
9.7%.
Early failure — 20
12% of failures with a mileage on record happened under
36,000 miles, against a national rate of
29%.
Odometer readings owners gave when they filed. About half of all
complaints include one.
1,000 – 9,999 miles
24.8%
25,000 – 49,999 miles
921.4%
50,000 – 74,999 miles
2661.9%
75,000 – 99,999 miles
37.1%
100,000 – 149,999 miles
24.8%
When owners complained
A spike years after the car went on sale usually means a part wearing
out on schedule across the whole fleet — the kind of pattern no single
owner can see from inside their own car.
Jul 2013peak 9Feb 2026
NHTSA investigations into the 2013 Audi S6
An investigation is the step before a recall: the agency has seen enough
complaints to look into a pattern itself. An open one means it thinks
something may be wrong and nothing has been fixed yet.
EA22001Opened 4 Apr 2022Closed 26 May 2023ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE:TURBO/SUPERCHARGER
Engine Stall - Turbo Failure
On March 29, 2021, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Preliminary Evaluation (PE 21-009) after the agency received 58 reports alleging engine stalling in 2013-2016MY Audi vehicle models A8, S6, S7, S8 & RS7 equipped with the 4.0L, twin-turbocharged engine. Complainants reported the vehicles would stall with no warning while driving at highway or city traffic speeds. Several of the complainants alleged an inability to restart. The complaints alleged the major contributing factor to the engine stalling was the failure of the turbochargers. The complaints cited the turbocharger fa...
PE21009Opened 29 Mar 2021Closed 27 May 2022ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE:TURBO/SUPERCHARGER
Engine Stall - Turbo Failure
On March 29, 2021, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation (PE) 21-009 after the agency received 58 reports alleging engine stalling in 2013-2016MY Audi vehicle models A8, S6, S7, S8 & RS7. The subject vehicles are equipped with 4.0L, twin-turbocharged engine. Complainants reported that the vehicles stall suddenly with no warning while driving on the highway or in city traffic. Several of the complainants alleged an inability to restart. The complaints allege the major contributing factor to the engine stalling is the failure of the turbochargers. The complaints...
Recalls on the 2013 Audi S6
A complaint is one owner's allegation. A recall is the point at which
the manufacturer or a regulator agreed the defect is real and dangerous
enough to fix for free — however old the car is.
United States — NHTSA
22V178000
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE:TURBO/SUPERCHARGER
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2013-2017 A8, S6 Sedan, S7, S8, and 2014-2017 RS7 vehicles. The turbocharger oil supply strainer can become blocked, causing wear to the bearings due to lack of lubrication.
Risk: Worn bearings can cause the turbine wheel to contact the turbocharger housing or cause the shaft to break, causing an engine stall and increasing the risk of a crash.
18V370000
AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2013-2018 Audi S6 and S7, 2012-2018 A7 and A6 Sedan, and 2014-2018 RS7 vehicles equipped with basic seats (with or without heating). Stress or wear of the body-sensing mat within the front passenger seat may cause the Passenger Occupant Detection System (PODS) control module to malfunction.
Risk: If the PODS module malfunctions, the front passenger air bag may not deploy properly in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
13V450000
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Audi S6 and S7 vehicles equipped with 4.0L engines. Due to manufacturing tolerance issues, a fuel line may leak fuel.
Risk: A fuel leak, in the presence of an ignition source, may result in a fire.
Canada — Transport Canada
Canada runs its own recall programme, and its campaigns do not
always mirror the American ones.
Recall 20221332,548 units in Canada
Engine
Issue: On certain vehicles, the oil strainer for the turbocharger oil supply could get blocked. If this happens, a turbocharger could fail. This could cause loss of engine power and/or cause the engine to stall. Note: This problem could cause different warning messages to display or the engine oil warning light to turn on. Safety Risk: A sudden loss of engine power could increase the risk of a crash. Corrective Actions: Audi will notify owners by mail and instruct you to take your vehicle to a dealership to replace the oil strainer for the turbocharger oil supply. The dealer will also inspect and document the performance of the boost pressure system and change the engine oil.
Recall 2013320372 units in Canada
Fuel System
On certain vehicles, due to a manufacturing defect, a fuel line can become damaged over time and could leak fuel. Leaking fuel, in the presence of an ignition source, could lead to a fire causing injury and/or damage to property. Correction: Dealers will inspect and replace the fuel line if necessary.
Reports where the owner recorded a crash, a fire, an injury or a death.
Hemet, CACrash
POWER TRAIN
I was driving my Audi when I got transmission malfunction light on along with suspension fault and epc light and check engine light all together and the car wouldn’t go faster than 20 mph. Causing someone to rear end me and them fleeing . So not only was my car hit because of this but I had no driver to hold responsible for the damage
NHTSA complaint #11715436 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The most recent complaints
In the owners' own words, exactly as filed with NHTSA.
Hemet, CACrash
POWER TRAIN
I was driving my Audi when I got transmission malfunction light on along with suspension fault and epc light and check engine light all together and the car wouldn’t go faster than 20 mph. Causing someone to rear end me and them fleeing . So not only was my car hit because of this but I had no driver to hold responsible for the damage
NHTSA complaint #11715436 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Harrisburg, PA
POWER TRAIN
Was just driving down the highway at normal speed and my car lost all power, every like came up on the dash and disabled my power steering causing me to almost crash. Took it to the shop mechanic tells me the turbos failed due to oil screen and it will cost me $8,000 Not sure why they failed I have amazing service records on my car. This needs to be a recall.
NHTSA complaint #11645758 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Harrisburg, PA
ENGINE
Was just driving down the highway at normal speed and my car lost all power, every like came up on the dash and disabled my power steering causing me to almost crash. Took it to the shop mechanic tells me the turbos failed due to oil screen and it will cost me $8,000 Not sure why they failed I have amazing service records on my car. This needs to be a recall.
NHTSA complaint #11645758 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Kansas City, KS
ENGINE
the 2013 Audi 4.0T generation have a massive issue where the engine start leaking from the bottom of the crankcase where the block connects to it and to fix all these issues audi is asking a rebuild of the entire engine this issue is very common on the 2013 2014 2015 S6 S7 S8 with the 4.0T worldwide problem
NHTSA complaint #11619889 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Overland prk, KS
POWER TRAIN
All 2013 Audi S have a transmission issues where it cause the transmission to stop shifting or skips gears or clutch slips and Audi has not done anything about them This repair is expensive and millions of people experience this problem and Audi still won’t fix it
NHTSA complaint #11530266 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Hemet, CA
POWER TRAIN
I noticed my car wouldn’t engage in reverse when shifted so I took it in for a transmission flush and it was performed and 2 days later I got a light on dash saying transmission overheating . And the car completely lost power while on freeway and went from 60 to 20 miles per hour and will not shift past first gear . So I took it back in to dealer paid diagnostic fee and then was told my transmission was bad and had to be replaced and was quoted a price of 15683$
NHTSA complaint #11494663 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 55,000 milesEllington, CT
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
The contact owns a 2013 Audi S6. The contact stated upon test driving the vehicle after an oil change, the independent mechanic diagnosed that the oil strainer was clogged and the turbine wheel was desegregated. The oil strainer and gasket, the PCV head gasket, and two turbochargers were replaced. Additionally, three consecutive oil changes were completed in order to flush the metal fragments from the turbocharger oil strainer. The vehicle was repaired. The contact later received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V178000 (Engine And Engine Cooling) which he associated with the failure. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The contact submitted a claim for reimbursement as the vehicle had been repaired prior to the safety recall but the manufacturer denied the claim. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.
NHTSA complaint #11478567 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Greenwood Village, CO
ENGINE
The Mfg defrayed some of the cost of replacing the two turbos but I was charged $5,607.06 on the repair on 9/24/20. The cause of the repair was do the mfg defect and they should pay 100% of the repair. The vehicle only had 42,040 miles at the time of the turbo failure.
NHTSA complaint #11458804 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Kailua, HI
ENGINE
Recently learned that my car broke down on my spouse in an extremely unsafe location due to turbo failure(s) probably caused by the turbo oil inlet screen. She was on a busy street when the car shut off on her putting her in an extremely unsafe situation to move the car and wait for tow truck service. The car is still with the Audi dealership for repairs but has been confirmed that this is the likely incident and fixing it will likely prevent further issues. This car has only been to Audi certified technicians at dealerships for the entire time I've owned the car and I was never notified that this is a common occurrence in these models with the turbo. Numerous online forums are dedicated to discuss the common occurrence when researching this particular issue going back a few years, mostly astounding a recall hasn't been issued. There was no warning lamp for the issue to warn us of the impending failure.
NHTSA complaint #11447092 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Kailua, HI
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Recently learned that my car broke down on my spouse in an extremely unsafe location due to turbo failure(s) probably caused by the turbo oil inlet screen. She was on a busy street when the car shut off on her putting her in an extremely unsafe situation to move the car and wait for tow truck service. The car is still with the Audi dealership for repairs but has been confirmed that this is the likely incident and fixing it will likely prevent further issues. This car has only been to Audi certified technicians at dealerships for the entire time I've owned the car and I was never notified that this is a common occurrence in these models with the turbo. Numerous online forums are dedicated to discuss the common occurrence when researching this particular issue going back a few years, mostly astounding a recall hasn't been issued. There was no warning lamp for the issue to warn us of the impending failure.
NHTSA complaint #11447092 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Corrales, NM
ENGINE
Vehicle has had all recommended maintenance performed on schedule at the Audi dealer. Driving down a highway at about 73k miles, engine stopped running with no warning. Electronic systems appeared as though engine was running, but it was dead. We were extremely fortunate that this happened on a rural highway and not the big city freeway system we had recently driven through. Cause of the problem was a total engine failure, later discovered to be failure of the turbocharging system. Checking online reveals that it likely due to a defect in an oil strainer. Sudden catastrophic engine failure at only 73K miles in a dealer-maintained vehicle is a safety hazard, to the occupants of the vehicle as well as to surrounding cars that have to navigate around a suddenly powerless car.
NHTSA complaint #11440052 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Haymarket, VA
ENGINE
Turbocharged failed while driving in afternoon traffic, leaving car stranded at heavy traffic stoplight until tow could be arranged. Failure occurred while idling at the stop light. Failed turbochargers are available for inspection. Failure was initially diagnosed / confirmed by dealership (Audi Chantilly) but due to extreme cost of repair quoted by dealer, car was transported to an independent garage for the repair. Failed turbocharger was inspected at dealership using micro-camera for diagnosis of the problem. There were no warnings, check engine lights, strange noises, loss of power, etc..; failure was total and instantaneous. Additional information: This is a totally stock vehicle, no modifications or tuning performed. It has never been raced or abused. The 'launch mode' built into the car's design (for fast acceleration from stop) has never been used on this vehicle. Put simply, this vehicle was 'babied'. For the initial life of the car, all maintenance was performed at dealership (Audi Chantilly) under service contact. Upon expiration of service contract (~65K miles) all service was performed by owner. Knowing of the turbocharger oil feed defect present in this model Audi's design, owner increased oil change service frequency to (unsuccessfully) try preventing turbocharger failure. All owner supplied oil change materials (oil and filters) were consistent with Audi factory requirements.
NHTSA complaint #11438691 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Poway, CA
ENGINE
While driving in city traffic, the car went into limp mode with some new lights on the dashboard. Before I could get to a safe place, it completely died and almost caused an accident. I was stuck until I had help pushing the car off the road. Upon reading the OBDII computer codes and then confirming with a professional mechanic, both turbos had blown. There was little warning, and no time to have a safe option once the warning light came on. Upon reading up on this platform, Audi has a defective oil screen that gets clogged and oil starves the turbos which makes them fail prematurely. Hopefully, they will fix this issue moving forward.
NHTSA complaint #11436461 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Cleveland, OH
ENGINE
Both turbos on my 2013 Audi S6 spontaneously blew after a month of ownership at 105,000 miles
NHTSA complaint #11433733 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 53,000 milesCranbury, NJ
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
WITH ONLY 53,000 MILES ON MY 2013 AUDI S6 BOTH TURBO CHARGES FAILED AND AUDI IS NOW CHARGING ME $9,000 TO REPLACE BOTH TURBO CHARGES WHICH ARE SUPPOSED TO LAST 100,000 TO 125,000 MILES. THIS ISSUE OCCURED WHILE ON THE ROAD IDLING AT A LIGHT AND CAUSED THE CAR NOT TO BE ABLE TO START AND TO SHAKE THE VEHICLE VIOLENTLY.
NHTSA complaint #11407450 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 53,000 milesCranbury, NJ
ENGINE
WITH ONLY 53,000 MILES ON MY 2013 AUDI S6 BOTH TURBO CHARGES FAILED AND AUDI IS NOW CHARGING ME $9,000 TO REPLACE BOTH TURBO CHARGES WHICH ARE SUPPOSED TO LAST 100,000 TO 125,000 MILES. THIS ISSUE OCCURED WHILE ON THE ROAD IDLING AT A LIGHT AND CAUSED THE CAR NOT TO BE ABLE TO START AND TO SHAKE THE VEHICLE VIOLENTLY.
NHTSA complaint #11407450 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 53,000 milesCranbury, NJ
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
WITH ONLY 53,000 MILES ON MY 2013 AUDI S6 BOTH TURBO CHARGES FAILED AND AUDI IS NOW CHARGING ME $9,000 TO REPLACE BOTH TURBO CHARGES WHICH ARE SUPPOSED TO LAST 100,000 TO 125,000 MILES. THIS ISSUE OCCURED WHILE ON THE ROAD IDLING AT A LIGHT AND CAUSED THE CAR NOT TO BE ABLE TO START AND TO SHAKE THE VEHICLE VIOLENTLY.
NHTSA complaint #11407450 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 57,800 milesLarchmont, NY
ENGINE
WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY VEHICLE LOST POWER. UPON EXITING THE HIGHWAY, I NOTICED A ROUGH IDLE. NEXT MORNING VEHICLE FAILED TO START NORMALLY (PUSH TO START) ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS. NEEDED TO PRESS THE GAS PEDAL SIGNIFICANTLY. BROUGHT TO INDEPENDENT AUTO REPAIR SHOP FOR DIAGNOSTICS. WAS TOLD OIL SEPARATOR HAD FAILED AND TURBOS HAD BOTH FAILED. REPAIRED AT MY (SIGNIFICANT) EXPENSE. VEHICLE IS COMPLETELY STOCK. NO ENGINE MODIFICATIONS. 93 OCTANE GAS. ALL MAINTENANCE AS PER MANUAL.
NHTSA complaint #11406897 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 70,000 milesGreensboro, NC
POWER TRAIN
TOOK IN FOR 70K SERVICE BECAUSE OF LOSS OF POWER AND WAS NOTIFIED TURBOS WERE BAD, HAD BOTH TURBOS REPLACED ALONG WITH LINES.
NHTSA complaint #11406637 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 70,000 milesGreensboro, NC
ENGINE
TOOK IN FOR 70K SERVICE BECAUSE OF LOSS OF POWER AND WAS NOTIFIED TURBOS WERE BAD, HAD BOTH TURBOS REPLACED ALONG WITH LINES.
NHTSA complaint #11406637 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 51,549 milesSyosset, NY
ENGINE
HAVING JUST EXITED THE INTERSTATE AND STOPPED AT THE END OF THE EXIT RAMP, MY 2013 AUDI S6 STARTED TO STALL AS I WAS TURNING ONTO A SECONDARY ROAD. I MANAGED TO PULL THE CAR OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD BEFORE I LOST ALL FORWARD POWER, AVOIDING TRAFFIC IN MOTION IN PROXIMITY TO MY VEHICLE. THE CAR WOULD NOT RESTART AFTER A CHECK TO INSURE THINGS SUCH AS A PROPER AMOUNT OF FUEL WAS IN THE GAS TANK. AFTER REPEATED ATTEMPTS AT STARTING THE CAR FAILED, I HAD THE S6 FLAT BEDDED TO THE NEAREST AUDI DEALER FOR REPAIR. I SPOKE TO THE DEALERSHIP SEVERAL DAYS AFTER THE INCIDENT AND THEY DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM AS TWO FAILED TURBOCHARGERS. THE FAILURE WAS ATTRIBUTED TO THE TURBOCHARGER OIL SCREEN CLOGGING PROBLEM. I WAS TOLD THE REPLACEMENT (PARTS + LABOR) WOULD BE IN THE $12,000+ RANGE. I AUTHORIZED THE OUT OF WARRANTY REPAIR AS THE CAR WAS IN EXCELLENT AND WELL MAINTAINED CONDITION AND I WAS NOT READY TO SCRAP IT. THE DEALER SEVERAL DAYS LATER INFORMED ME THAT AUDI CORPORATE HAD REVIEWED THE FAILURE AND WAS WILLING TO ABSORB 75% OF THE ESTIMATED REPAIR BILL AS THE S6 HAD JUST COME OUT OF WARRANTY AND HAD BEEN PROPERLY DEALER MAINTAINED. SEVERAL WEEKS LATER I WAS ABLE TO PICK UP THE CAR WITH A PAYMENT DUE FOR REPAIRS (AFTER AUDI 75% COVERAGE) OF $2674.26 WITH THE NEW TURBOS INSTALLED AND THE S6 WAS NOW RUNNING PROPERLY AGAIN. I NOW HESITATE TO USE THE CAR FOR ANY LONG TRIPS ON THE HIGHWAY DUE TO CONCERN I MAY HAVE A RECURRENCE OF THIS TURBO FAILURE EVEN THOUGH THE CAR IS BEING DEALER SERVICED PROPERLY AT THE SUGGESTED INTERVALS. FURTHER, I BELIEVE THIS INHERENT PROBLEM HAS DIMINISHED THE RESALE OR TRADE-IN VALUE OF THIS 2013 AUDI S6. I WAS FORCED TO RENT A CAR FOR SEVERAL DAYS TO RETURN HOME AFTER THIS FAILURE WHICH IN TOTAL COST WAS $500+.
NHTSA complaint #11406197 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 112,021 milesLAS Vegas, NV
ENGINE
WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE STALLED ON CRAIG AND CLAYTON STREET HAD TO GET IT TOWED WAS TOLD WAS LACK OF OIL TO TURBOS AND TURBOS BLEW
NHTSA complaint #11406222 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 62,385 milesHillsboro, OR
ENGINE
AFTER DRIVING THE VEHICLE UNDER NORMAL DRIVING CONDITIONS, I ARRIVED AT MY DESTINATION AND WITHOUT ANY WARNING OR DASH LIGHTS THE VEHICLE SHUT OFF ROUGHLY. SINCE IT SOUNDED WEIRD, I TRIED STARTING THE VEHICLE BACK UP AGAIN. THE ENGINE WOULD CRANK BUT WOULDN'T START. THE VEHICLE WAS INSPECTED BY A VOLKSWAGEN DEALERSHIP WHERE IT WAS DETERMINED ONE OF THE TWO TURBOCHARGERS HAD FAILED. THE PASSENGER SIDE TURBINE WHEEL WAS BROKEN AND THE DRIVER SIDE TURBO WAS SHOWING SIGNS OF THE TURBINE WHEEL CATCHING THE HOUSING. BOTH TURBOS WERE REPLACED ALONG WITH THE TURBO OIL SCREEN.
NHTSA complaint #11406229 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 60,000 milesProsper, TX
ENGINE
ENGINE SHUT DOWN WHILE ON FREEWAY AT 60MPH SPEED DUE TO TURBO FAILURE. 60,000 MILES ON ENGINE. ISSUE CAUSED BY OIL PICKUP SCREEN BEING CLOGGED AND STARVED THE TURBOS FROM OIL, THUS RESULTED IN FAILURE AND ENGINE SHUT DOWN.
NHTSA complaint #11404665 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Orange, CA
CHILD SEAT:CRITICAL FASTENERS
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A GRACO CHILD SAFETY SEAT, MODEL NUMBER: 2013866, MODEL TYPE: TURBO BOOSTER, MANUFACTURED DATE: SEPTEMBER 5, 2019. THE CHILD SAFETY SEAT WAS BEING UTILIZED IN A 2013 AUDI S6. THE CONTACT ATTEMPTED TO SECURE CHILD IN THE SAFETY SEAT, BUT WAS UNSUCCESSFUL. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THERE WAS A HOOK DEFECT UNDERNEATH THE SAFETY SEAT NOT ALLOWING IT TO BE SECURED INSIDE OF THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT WAS UNABLE TO SECURE THE SAFETY SEAT. THE CHILD WAS NOT INSIDE THE SAFETY SEAT AT THE TIME OF THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. ## VIN FAILED ## GRACO CHILD SAFETY SEAT ##*DT*JB
NHTSA complaint #11399177 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.