Engine And Engine Cooling Problems of Audi A6 - part 1

The water pump on my 2016 Audi A6 has failed multiple times prematurely. The first water pump failed at 36,965 miles in may 2019. That repair was covered under an extended warranty I purchased. The second water pump failed around 83,000 miles in September 2025, and Audi is now quoting me $2,350 out of pocket to replace it. I am now facing a third water pump replacement, which is far earlier than expected for this type of component. These repeated failures create a significant safety concern, as sudden coolant loss can cause the engine to overheat, potentially leading to engine failure or loss of power while driving. Each problem has been diagnosed and confirmed by an authorized Audi service center. The vehicle was inspected by Audi technicians, and repairs were recommended both times. The repeated failure of this critical component strongly suggests a systemic defect with the water pump design on this model. Despite a recent Audi water pump settlement, my vehicle was excluded, even though it has now experienced two failures and is requiring a third replacement.

See all problems of the 2016 Audi A6 🔎.

My water pump failed at 49,000 miles. I have been advised by Audi that it is not covered by the extended warranty for some similar cars.

See all problems of the 2019 Audi A6 🔎.

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.

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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.

Yellow battery indicator light came on while driving car in 35 degree weather after a week of sitting in garage (holidays). I pulled over, read the manual and it said this could cause battery light to illuminate. I called the dealership service to ask them, they said possible reason. I decided to drive across city to dealership, 25 minutes away. On hov lane, red warning lights flashing to pull over then 5 seconds later everything went black. No electrical, no engine, car died. Very dangerous!! read later that this has been happening on Audi A6 (& other models) for 2+ years. Towed to dealership and they have had 1. 5 weeks and still not fixed.

It was recently began to leak fuel from the top of the engine close to the windshield. Then the whole cabin specially in the front where the steering wheel began to have bad vibration during reversed, and idle, also when the ac is on. Then theres the airbag for the passenger, the light is on, it used to say '"off" then when the seat is used it will shut off. Now it just stays on. Last is the ac compressor seems to be rattling like a bolt is loose. All the recalls have been happening with my Audi and still my VIN is not included.

See all problems of the 2013 Audi A6 🔎.

Engine area of car caught fire with ignition off.

The contact owns a 2015 Audi A6. The contact stated that while driving on neighborhood roads at approximately 25 mph, the coolant warning light was illuminated. The contact proceeded to park on the side of the road and walk to her residence to pick up coolant to refill the coolant tank. The vehicle was then taken to the independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the coolant tank needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 79,000.

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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.

2018 Audi A6 3. 0t diagnosed a coolant leak due to water pump failure at less than 43k miles on March 27, 2024. In July 2023 (at less than 39k miles), the vehicle's thermostat was replaced due to a coolant leak. These are substantial failures in terms of risk to engine damage and cost to consumer, within a time and mileage period where a consumer should not expect these issues.

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Engine mounts failed. They are fluid damped and the seals failed and leaked and now the motor is sitting loose in a metal on metal condition with the mounts collapsed. Additionally the manifold and timing chain cover leaks. Additionally the water pump failed. This is all on a car with <75k miles. Problems have been noted by mechanics including Audi dealership. No warning lamps except during pump failure causing engine to over heat.

See all problems of the 2017 Audi A6 🔎.

The car gave me electrical malfunction warning while driving on the highway, then all the screensturned 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.

The main water pump failed earlier than expected at 48000miles. Dealer mentioned that water pump should not fail so early.

The contact owns a 2014 Audi A6. The contact stated that he became aware that the vehicle was experiencing abnormal oil consumption. An unknown dealer was notified of the failure, but an oil consumption test was not performed on the vehicle. Additionally, the contact stated while driving 65-68 mph, the epc and the check engine warning lights were illuminated, and the vehicle started shuddering. The contact was able to veer to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The vehicle was then towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that there was no compression in cylinder #6. The vehicle was then towed to another independent mechanic, who determined that the engine needed to be rebuilt. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not under recall. The failure mileage was approximately 149,087.

Electrical fault dash warnings (steering, transmission, braking and many other things too numerous to mention came on while driving the car and it went into limp mode and forced the car to stop and would not restart. The car had to be towed to the dealership where they diagnosed the problem to be the "alternator" which is more accurately what is known as the "belt starter generator" bsg. The bsg runs the start stop feature of the car and charges the mild hybrid 48v battery system that runs many of the critical features of the vehicle. They do not have the part in stock and do not know how long it will take to get in. I understand that there is not an upgraded part available that will fix this issue, only the same part that they are continuing to put on all of the v6 engine models since 2019 to today. The A6,7 and a8 and q5,7 and q8 models in particular are being affected. This is an extremely dangerous problem that has not been remedied by Audi/vw to this point and the NHTSA should issue a recall.

Coolant leak, warning light signified an issue with the cooling system. Took vehicle to Audi dealership service department; they confirmed there is a big coolant leak with the coolant pump and thermostat. Vehicle inspected by Audi sewell dealership for repairs. Symptoms appeared approximately 11/19/23, 2 weeks days prior to taking into the dealership. I had the oil changed at a non-Audi supplier); I informed service technician coolant warning light was on and service tech informed me vehicle was low on coolant. He replaced oil and topped off coolant on 11/19. Service light was no longer on; 2 weeks after the light came on again so I reported to Audi on 12/1/23 for repairs. Audi confirmed lose of containment of coolant.

Coolant sprayed on engine components due to leaking coolant /water pump. Coolant level is falling below minimum level - problem confirmed by the dealer 1. Water pump 2. Coolant sprayed onto engine components - potential fire hazard 3. Confirmed by dealer 4. Unknown 5, umknown.

The alternator had failed along with the battery and shut off the car, rendering it useless on the road. The vehicle is still under the new car warranty. It was a hazard as it could not be put into neutral and was stuck in park. The dealer had confirmed it was a manufacturer-wide problem with waits of up to 3-6 months for the part. The tow truck had difficulty towing it up as the car was not able to roll. Before the car shut off immediately it had given the warning "electrical system: malfunction! please contact service, as well as auto start stop system: malfunction!".

Car shut down while driving due to the electrical system malfunction; had to get the car towed; ended up being a known issue by Audi with no recall related to the alternator; replaced with new alternator.

The contact owns a 2018 Audi A6. The contact stated that the epc and engine warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who informed her about a recall. The contact called the local dealer, who stated the repairs were not covered. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, who informed her about a buyback, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 52,000.

This is my second entry/complaint regarding the same extremely dangerous steering malfunction. While driving my 2019 A6 (this time alone) in heavy rain the same warning message was displayed. The warning stated: steering malfunction, please stop the vehicle!. At which point the power steering locked-up & the engine powered down. As a result, I was unable to steer the vehicle. One again I was able to exit the highway safely. Being close to home with only a few turns, I was able to “limp” the car home, parked in my driveway and contacted Audi. Currently it’s at nyack Audi awaiting service on Monday 9/11. This is a huge safety issue and needs to be addressed. Doing a bit of online research & reading countless Audi blogs, I found out this to be a common issue with other Audis while driving in the rain. Fist time this occurred was 6/16/22, driving a 2016 s6. Tracking # for that entry is 11543563.

Car reported an engine restarter issue (with battery symbol) and recommended to contact the dealer. Car next shut down automatic restart system, and air conditioning stopped working. Within a short period of time (same day), the car listed a red battery symbol and advised to stop the car. After doing so and contacting the Audi roadside, the car was listing a series of issues on multiple symptoms while also saying in the warning message "still okay to drive". These systems included steering, braking, and what seemed to be other sensors the car powers. Finally (and within 5 minutes of the previous message of being okay to drive), the warnings were continuous and started including the transmission. The car stopped accelerating (we were on the expressway) and we thankfully got to the side of the road. This was an enormously dangerous situation as the car became fully disabled and we were subject to limited options of relief from a major traffic area. Within 30 minutes of being disabled, no electrical charge was present in the car, including emergency flashers, making the situation more dangerous as it was nighttime, so we had to abandon the car and walk down the expressway to find a hotel. Could not even put the car in neutral for the tow. Service is initially reporting a failure of the restart generator. This appears to be an alarmingly common issue with Audis.

See all problems of the 2021 Audi A6 🔎.

During annual oil change inspection the mechanic found that the coolant was leaking and that the water pump needed to be replaced. The car has under 48000 miles.

1 / 2 · purchased 2019 Audi A6 prestige sedan in August 19, 2023 issue #1: transmission issue · day after purchase, transmission error appeared on dashboard during highway driving · car acted up a little, so quickly got off highway and drove home. Emotionally scared · called tow company to haul to dealership the next day · in the shop for few days and didn’t have a replacement vehicle. · also got some message about air bags · I have email communication about these issues with Audi issue #2: three safety recalls and periodic electrical warnings between 2019-2022 including. . . · inaccurate fuel level indicator o 6-7 months between recall notice and fix o consistently thinking about range #3: issue alternator · 6/warning message appeared on dashboard indicating battery issue, take for service · Friday, 6/took to an widely recognized car shop (specializing in imported vehicles) close by to check it. Mechanic summarized that the alternator voltage output is low. Battery test good. · recommendation was to replace alternator. Car shop couldn’t get replacement due to supply backlog. O 1:00 on the drive back on highway, frequent warning messages appeared on dash and the car suddenly started accelerated/decelerating. Immediately pulled onto the breakdown lane. O 2:30 after 1. 5 hours, tow truck came to pickup vehicle and take it home o 2:30 – 4: struggled to get car started to pull off trailer. Completely drained battery packs and kept reengaging the parking brake to prevent the car going in neutral (even manually). It took oil and shaking the car to slide it back onto the driveway. O scheduled service appointment for Tuesday 6/27 · Saturday, 6/called tow company to haul vehicle to the dealership. Estimated time for tow truck haul, roundtrip to dealership was 2. 5 hours of morning. I had complained Audi and they have informed me that they cannot do anything or reimburse for expenses. I have spent over $700 and put my life at risk.

2018 Audi A6 3. 0t, VIN waug3afc7jn052871 at 38,637 miles, Audi dealership diagnosed that vehicle requires water pump replacement due to water pump failure, causing vehicle to leak coolant. The vehicle has previously displayed a low coolant warning light prior to water pump failure diagnosis. My research has found that in October 2022, a class action suit was filed for over water pump defects. . Read more...

My car was manufactured with defective pistons. The pistons are resulting in reduced oil pressure in my engine, which can result in a sudden loss of power. I had my engine inspected, and the attached photographs depict that the original pistons that shipped with my car caused scoring to the cylinder walls which is causing metal pieces to collect in my engine. In addition, Volkswagen group of America, inc. Acknowledged that the pistons need to be repaired in my car, and quoted the repair using an updated design, so they are aware of the issue and have knowledge of it. While the defect existed during the warranty period, vwgoa refuses to repair or replace my defective engine under warranty.

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.

While driving the vehicle states that there was an electrical fault and to contact a service center. This was associated with a loss of drive power that made handling more difficult. A dealer advised me this morning that this is a common issue.

I had my coolant system repaired before I found out there was a recall now my thermostat went bad. My brakes need to be replaced too much and my screw for my radio and system display stopped working every time you change fees it pops.

I left a gas station located one mile from my house. All seemed well. I drove into my garage, shut the engine off, and saw steam coming from under the hood. Inspection showed coolant below minimum level. I had the car towed to a garage. The water pump seal and water pump had failed. The thermostat also failed. I had no warning that anything was about to happen. No warning lamps or alarms were presented. Had this happened on the freeway, the engine would have overheated and locked up before I knew that there was a problem. I would have lost control of the car. The mechanic said that this failure at such low mileage, 51, 803, was unusual. My experience is that a failed water pump should not be expected before at least 150,000 miles of use.

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.

The car displayed a warning that the electrical system had a fault and to contact service. I then contacted service and they said to drive it to the dealer as it sounded like a known issue with the generator/starter and 48v system. On the way to the dealership, the warnings continued and then various systems began shutting down, including the steering and the transmission. I was going at a relatively slow speed on a side street at the time, which was fortunate, as the car locked up all four wheels and had no steering and the engine quit. Thankfully it was a side street. If this was a major street or highway, it quite likely could have caused a serious accident or injury. In contacting Audi USA, they do not have parts available to fix this issue, and the dealership confirmed that they are unable to fix the car at this time.

Water pump and engine thermostat malfunction, check engine light is on.

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.

A warning message appeared that there is an electrical system problem. I arranged to bring to dealer for service the next day. While driving to dealer, multiple malfunction messages appeared on dashboard. Eventually all displays went black and shortly thereafter the engine stopped. I rolled to a stop. Car was dead. Audi stated it needs a replacement starter/generator. Very dangerous as it happened to me on an interstate. My research shows that this is a not uncommon problem.