This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
While driving on an interstate highway, an electrical fault warning appeared. 5 minutes later, a series of warnings appeared pertaining to a whole host of Audi systems, and I suddenly lost power to the car. I coasted off the highway to the shoulder, where the car died. I was told by the dealership that the issue is a generator, and that it's a common issue affecting A6s. It was truly disconcerting to lose power, without much warning, when driving.
I was driving on the interstate when the vehicle gave a warning saying "electrical system malfunction, contact dealership". I went to the dealership as I was within a couple of miles and they said it could be many things and they would need to evaluate it the following week. I left with the car and attempted to drive it back the following week on the scheduled appointment. The vehicle did not make it back to the dealership. While driving on the interstate back to the dealership, a message saying, "Electrical system failure, safely exit roadway" came on. I was able to exit off the interstate immediately into a parking lot. While I was trying to exit, multiple warning lights came on saying the crash sensors were inoperable, transmission was inoperable, camera system was inoperable, and the car started shaking as if the engine was loose under the hood and it shut off and would not restart. This took less than about 90 seconds as I was at an exit and already in the right lane on the interstate. Audi Care came and towed the vehicle and the dealer says the alternator has gone bad and it is on backorder. This is exceptionally dangerous because if I were not at an exit and in heavy traffic, this could have happened while I was in the middle of the interstate and the vehicle lost all power. I've since read Audi forum and found this exact scenario has happened to many drivers who were not as lucky to be near an exit or under warranty. Audi should recall the vehicle because it puts the driver in a very dangerous situation. I was stuck in an empty parking lot for several hours waiting for a tow but I consider myself lucky after reading the experience of other drivers. My car has been in the shop for three weeks now and I'm not sure when they will have it fixed. My warranty expires in the next few months so I may end up having to pay for repairs later because my warranty expired while the car sits at the dealer and I won't be able to test if it has been resolved.
The electrical system failed while driving at highway speeds on the interstate. Car lost power, all safety systems shutdown and I had to navigate the car while coasting off the road. Car would no longer start and left me stranded on the side of the interstate for 2hrs. I have since learned from the audi service department that the 48V generator had failed and caused this situation.
The contact owns a 2019 Audi A6. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V155000 (Electrical System) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount time for the recall repair. The local dealer was notified of the recall notice and confirmed that the parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was not notified. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
I was driving across the George Washington Bridge towards NJ and I received warning of electrical issue, then transmission warning and the car promptly shut down, leaving my wife me stranded in the right hand lane with no shoulder. Had to call 911 to get assistance. Once at the Audi dealership I was told it is an issue with the alternator/electrical system and the car is undriveable until repaired. Unfortuately the part is back ordered and the car has been at the dealer for over three weeks. According to the service team and driver forums this is a major issue with 2019 A6, A7 and they are failing at an alarming rate. Not sure when I will receive the car back and they are not providing any loaners or rentals. This repair will cost 4,000, luckily mine is under warranty.
- Newport, NC, USA
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While out of town the car gave an electrical system fault with a yellow warning saying find a dealr soon. Then shortly after the warning went red and while driving all systems in the car started to shut down. Steering, transmission, throttle, dash, everything went crazy. Need to to cross 2 lanes of traffic to get off main road where there was no shoulder to pull onto a side road, very scary without power steering and the transmission putting itself into neutral. Easily could have caused an accident with my wife and 2 kids in yhe car. At that point the car was dead.
On November 8, 2022, I was driving my vehicle to the Audi Arlington dealership to service an "Electrical System Malfunction" alert that had recently appeared. Approximately one mile into my drive the car completely shut down while driving. This happened while I was proceeding through an urban intersection. All systems shut down on the car simultaneously, including every screen, hazard lights, engine and power steering, to name a few. I was able to coast to a stop while only partially exit the lane of traffic. As the car was entirely nonresponsive, it needed to be towed from that point to Audi Arlington. Audi Arlington determined that the issue resulted from a 48V generator.
Received an electrical system malfunction on display. Took to dealer for diagnostics. Was told the starter/generator needed to be replaced and was going to cost $4000 but parts were on back order with no eta. It-??s been 3 weeks with still no part and no loaner car available. This is ridiculous. This is a new car.
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.
I experienced a total failure of the electric system in my 2019 A6. Car stopped running in the middle of the road. Had to use the tool in the trunk to manually switch the car to neutral so I could push it off the road. Car was towed to the Audi dealer in my area. Audi dealer reported the alternator is faulty. Yellow Electrical issue warning message showed up on, dashboard, then Red electrical issue message showed indicating the vehicle will shut down. Dealer reported -??a bunch-?? of A6s 2019 and newer are expediting these issues and parts are on back order because of it.
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.
The contact owns a 2019 Audi A6. The contact received a notification from Carfax that informed him that the vehicle was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V155000 (Electrical System) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The dealer had been notified of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer had been notified of the issue. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
I received a yellow alert that the auto start/stop was malfunctioning. I continued to drive 8 miles until another message was displayed on the instrument panel that stated: "electrical system malfunction" with a yellow battery icon. A few seconds later the same "electrical system malfunction" with a red battery icon appeared. I then had numerous failure warnings on other car systems such as driver assistance sensors and steering; the display screens started to flash on and off. I slowly guided the car to a complete stop and called Audi Roadside Assistance for towing to my local Audi dealer.
While driving on highway, had complete electrical system failure. Received red message that said -??electrical system malfunction-??. Car went totally black and completely shut down within 2 minutes. I had to navigate 3 lanes to pull over with completely black cockpit after car shut down. Audi service says it-??s the -??starter generator-??. Service said there is a chance of fire with moisture ingress in the starter generator. Apparently it-??s a known issue with over 60 units on back order from their supplier Continental (no promise date available). Concerned this is a serious safety issue and will cause somebody to have a crash due to car shutting down and potential for electrical fire.
I was driving on highway. There was a message "Electric system malfunction" with a yellow battery icon. A few seconds late the same message " electic system malfunction" with a red battery icon then the vehicle completely stoped on the highway.
I was slowing down to stop at a traffic light when a message was displayed on the instrument panel that says "Electrical System Malfunction" with a yellow battery icon. A few seconds later the same "Electrical System Malfunction" with a red battery icon. Then the vehicle came to a complete stop and was inoperable. There was almo smoke coming from the hood near the positive battery terminal. The smoke had an electrical smell to it. I had no opportunity to pull over and was stuck in the middle of a very busy road right at the stop line of the traffic light. My family and I had to exit the vehicle with traffic on both sides of us and get to the side of the road safely. There was no prior indication that there was a problem, this happened all within about 5-10 seconds and I had no time to try and pull over to safety. I have found other complaints about this vehicle that are similar (see under the reliability section on Consumer Reports). The dealer identified the issue as an "internal failure" of the generator and 48v battery system, but had no explanation as to why it happened nor can they guarantee it will not happen again.
I acquired this car (2.0T) two nights ago and on three occasions (so far) the engine completely stalls when the car comes to a stop. Not the typical auto on/off feature function. I have to restart the ignition and put the car in drive again. Once, even in the middle of rush hour traffic. So far, the only consistent scenario is when I am on the second leg of a trip. For example, I get in the car at my office, drive to a store or daycare. Get back in the car, start up, drive a couple of miles and the car shuts down at a complete stop. Very unnerving on a brand new car with less than 200 miles on it. I've looked across the internet and it seems to be quite a widespread issue for VW and Audi drivers of recent model cars. This is a safety concern and needs to be addressed.
Stop engine oil pressure too high light comes on dealer does not have solution. Engine could blow during operation and cause accident. Vehicle recall needed
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- Bentleyville, OH, USA