2001 Audi A6 Problems, Complaints & Recalls
- Compared with other A6 years
- Far more complaints than other years 5th of 32 for complaints
- Safety recalls
- 7 recalls: check your VIN
- NHTSA crash rating
- Not rated
Owners have filed 113 complaints with NHTSA about the 2001 Audi A6. That ranks 5th out of 32 A6 model years for complaints. The most reported problem area is engine and engine cooling (18 complaints, 16%), typically at around 67,500 miles. Complaints mention 11 crashes, 7 fires, 10 injuries. There are 7 safety recalls covering this model year. NHTSA has opened 2 defect investigations involving it.
- 113owner complaints
- 7safety recalls
- 2NHTSA investigations
- 11complaints mentioning a crash
Complaints are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume.
Most common 2001 Audi A6 problems
Complaints grouped by the part of the car owners reported, with the median mileage when the problem happened.
| Problem area | Complaints | Share | Median miles | Owners mention most | Typical repair cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 18 | 16% | 67,500 | — | — |
| Air Bags | 15 | 13% | 71,000 | — | — |
| Electrical System | 14 | 12% | 66,952 | — | — |
| Power Train | 14 | 12% | 45,000 | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 12 | 11% | 18,524 | — | — |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 11 | 10% | 92,500 | — | — |
| Tires | 11 | 10% | 36,400 | — | — |
| Exterior Lighting | 6 | 5% | 90,000 | — | — |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 5 | 4% | 80,000 | — | — |
| Structure | 5 | 4% | 95,500 | — | — |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 5 | 4% | 89,000 | — | — |
| Suspension | 4 | 4% | 64,000 | — | — |
| Equipment | 3 | 3% | 26,000 | — | — |
| Fuel System, Other | 3 | 3% | 96,980 | — | — |
| Unknown or Other | 3 | 3% | 84,841 | — | — |
| Electronic Stability Control (esc) | 2 | 2% | 94,000 | — | — |
| Engine | 2 | 2% | 149,995 | — | — |
| Seats | 2 | 2% | — | — | — |
| Wheels | 2 | 2% | 180,000 | — | — |
| Seat Belts | 1 | 1% | 85,000 | — | — |
| Service Brakes | 1 | 1% | 100,000 | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Air | 1 | 1% | — | — | — |
| Steering | 1 | 1% | 5 | — | — |
| Traction Control System | 1 | 1% | 113,000 | — | — |
| Visibility | 1 | 1% | 160,000 | — | — |
One complaint can list several problem areas, so shares can add up to more than 100%.
Complaints by year received
2001 Audi A6 recalls (7)
Tap a recall to see the problem, the risk and the fix.
Fuel system, other:storage:tank assembly
Problem: Volkswagen is recalling certain model year 2001-2004 audi a6, model year 2002-2003 s6 and model year 2003 rs6 vehicles equipped with 4.2l engines and manufactured from june 19, 2001, through june 8, 2004. The aging of the plastic material in the fuel tank rollover valve combined with bending stress from the aluminum ventilation line to the rollover valve nipple may lead to cracking of the nipple. If this happens, a fuel leak may result.
Risk: A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source could lead to a vehicle fire.
Fix: Dealers will reinforce the nipple on the rollover valve to prevent leakage or repair the cracking at the nipple. The recall is expected to begin during june 2011. Owners may contact audi at 1-800-822-2834.
Fuel system, gasoline:storage:tank assembly
Problem: Volkswagen is recalling 68,240 my 2001-2004 audi a6 quattro vehicles equipped with 2.7l, 2.8l, or 3.0l engines and my 2001-2005 allroad quattro vehicles equipped with 2.7l or 4.2l engines. The aging of the plastic material in the fuel tank rollover valve combined with bending stress from the aluminum ventilation line to the rollover valve nipple may lead to cracking of the nipple. If this happens, a fuel leak may result.
Risk: A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source could lead to a vehicle fire.
Fix: Dealers will reinforce the nipple on the rollover valve to prevent leakage or repair the cracking at the nipple. The recall began on june 27, 2008. Owners may contact audi at 1-800-822-2834.
Electrical system
Problem: On certain passenger vehicles equipped with halogen low beam headlights, certain connector pins in the headlight switch connector come into contact with each other causing a short circuit. Note: vehicles with xenon low beam headlights are not affected because the circuit in these vehicles contains a fuse, which precludes excessive current flow in the case of a short circuit. Audi s6 and s6 avant vehicles are all equipped with xenon low beam headlights and, therefore, are not longer affected by this recall.
Risk: This condition could lead to overheating or fire.
Fix: Dealers will reroute the wiring harness by installing a jumper wiring harness. The recall began on december 16, 2006. Owners may contact audi at 1-800-822-2834.
Electrical system
Problem: On certain passenger vehicles, if a driver's knees push against the knee bolster (crash element) located under the dashboard, it can contact the headlight switch wiring harness, and an electrical short could occur.
Risk: A fire could originate in the left dashboard area.
Fix: Dealers will install a protective covering on the knee bolster (crash element). In addition, the wiring harness as well as the felt protector on the left side of the dashboard carrier will be checked, and replaced if necessary. The recall began on july 26, 2004. Owners should contact audi at 1-800-822-2834.
Tires
Problem: Certain passenger vehicles equipped with 2.7l engines fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 110, "tire selection and rims." the calculated "vehicle normal load" exceeds the allowable weight of the axle load with tire dimension 225/45r 17 91y by 19kg.
Fix: Dealers will replace all five tires. Owner notification began on september 19, 2003. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact audi at 1-800-822-2834.
Visibility:windshield wiper/washer
Problem: Vehicle description: passenger vehicles (allroad). When activating the windshield wiper under heavy load conditions such as freezing, snow or heavy rain, one wiper could be delayed behind the other wiper.
Risk: If that happens, the wiper blades, because they overlap wiping areas, could become entangled with each other and cease functioning. This could impair the driver's visibility.
Fix: Dealers will replace the entire driver side wiper arm. Owner notification began june 22, 2001. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact audi at 1-866-892-2834.
Fuel system, gasoline:storage:tank assembly
Problem: Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. Sulfur in fuel interacts with certain additives found in widely available gasoline causing sulfur to become deposited on the contact points of three fuel sending units mounted inside the fuel tank. This could cause the fuel gauge to read full while the fuel tank may not in fact be full or could be empty.
Risk: Running out of fuel without warning while the fuel gauge indicates that there is sufficient fuel in the tank lead to safety problems.
Fix: Dealers will remove the existing fuel level sending units and replace them with fuel level sending units using a new alloy composed of gold, silver, and a small amount of nickel, which will not chemically react with sulfur. Vw/audi will also call back vehicles that were repaired under a previous recall last june in order to install the updated fuel sending units nhtsa 00v137/audi lb). Owner notification began may 1, 2001. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact audi at 1-866-892-2834.
To see whether a specific car still has an open recall, enter its VIN on NHTSA's official recall lookup. You can also decode a VIN here.
NHTSA defect investigations
- Fuel tank leak (PE08008) — opened Jan 31, 2008, closed May 30, 2008, led to recall 08V156000.
- Brake and clutch pedal bracket (PE02008) — opened Jan 23, 2002, closed Jul 12, 2002.
Recent owner reports
Short excerpts of the latest complaints filed with NHTSA, with personal details removed. Full reports can be searched on NHTSA.gov.
My Audi A6 is experiencing symptoms of a documented and open recall at Audi, and Audi USA and the dealer are refusing to even evaluate the vehicle for recall status. The recall is a rollover valve nipple, with age and stress cracking can develop on the plastic fuel tank, causing a leak to occur. My…
I was driving about 67 on the open highway and was struck from behind by another vehicle. I lost control of my car and careened into a guard rail. I went unconscious and when I woke I was badly injured. All the air bags in car had deployed except for the driver's airbag. As a consequence, I…
Air bag light on
Driving on interstate 80 around a curve when i hear a loud noise o looked around at the other cars in the other lanes to see what was going on and they were looking at me wondering the same thing or they saw the blowout and or heard the noise? I realized it was my tire losing steering control. I…
A fuel leak in the presence in the vehicle, strong smell cabin after filling gas tank to full. It is a saftey warning because any ignition or lighting can ignite a flame.
Other Audi A6 years
| Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 A6 | 6 | 0 |
| 2025 A6 | 6 | 2 |
| 2024 A6 | 3 | 1 |
| 2023 A6 | 2 | 1 |
| 2022 A6 | 2 | 5 |
| 2021 A6 | 17 | 11 |
| 2020 A6 | 26 | 9 |
| 2019 A6 | 114 | 7 |
| 2018 A6 | 11 | 2 |
| 2017 A6 | 20 | 3 |
| 2016 A6 | 51 | 3 |
| 2015 A6 | 22 | 4 |
| 2014 A6 | 41 | 4 |
| 2013 A6 | 52 | 6 |
| 2012 A6 | 60 | 8 |
| 2011 A6 | 21 | 3 |
| 2010 A6 | 17 | 3 |
| 2009 A6 | 21 | 4 |
| 2008 A6 | 71 | 4 |
| 2007 A6 | 53 | 4 |
| 2006 A6 | 67 | 4 |
| 2005 A6 | 91 | 3 |
| 2004 A6 | 35 | 4 |
| 2003 A6 | 66 | 7 |
| 2002 A6 | 88 | 4 |
| 2001 | 113 | 7 |
| 2000 A6 | 148 | 4 |
| 1999 A6 | 217 | 9 |
| 1998 A6 | 130 | 10 |
| 1997 A6 | 20 | 2 |
| 1996 A6 | 51 | 2 |
| 1995 A6 | 16 | 2 |
See all Audi A6 problems by year, every Audi model, or the Audi VIN decoder.
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Frequently asked questions
What are the most common problems with the 2001 Audi A6?
Owners most often report engine and engine cooling, air bags, electrical system problems. The top one, engine and engine cooling, accounts for 18 complaints.
Was there a recall on the 2001 Audi A6?
Yes, 7 safety recalls. Enter your VIN at NHTSA.gov to check whether the repairs were done on your car.
Was the 2001 Audi A6 a good year?
Complaint data can't fully answer that, because counts aren't adjusted for sales. Compared with other A6 model years, the 2001 has far more complaints than most years. Always get a pre-purchase inspection and check the VIN for open recalls.