Steering Problems of Audi A6 - part 1

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.

See all problems of the 2019 Audi A6 🔎.

After heavy down pour, the car was driven while the streets were still very wet. The car was driven through a 2 - 3 inch puddle of water that lasted less than 1 second, which caused a splash to the passenger side of the car, (the middle of the street did not have an accumulation of water) and within 30 secs caused the power steering warning light came on. This was not a flooded street, just the normal accumulation of water on the side of a residential curbed street. The steering immediately started to stiffen up and required increased effort to turn the steering wheel. The first warning lamp was yellow and stated that continued driving was still allowed, but after about 3 min the lamp turned red, and the message indicated "steering malfunction, do not drive vehicle". This occurred on a street where the speed limit was 30 mph, so safety at that time was not a big issue, but if this had happened on street where increased speed and more turning was required, safety could be a big issue if this happened suddenly. I was able to get the car to a nearby shop within 5 min, and the next day moved the car to the Audi west houston. Audi has identified the power steering rack as faulty is in the process of replacing the electric power steering rack assembly. This car is a 2019 Audi A6 with only 41k miles.

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.

Car slowed down and shut off in the middle of the road.

Vehicle suffered sudden and total loss of power steering. Had just driven the car 5-10 minutes prior, came out to leave and had a message stating do not drive vehicle, steering defective. At that point the steering wheel felt locked in place and the vehicle was effectively a brick. This issue just happened yesterday and has not been to the dealership yet for diagnosis but I am a former automotive service manager (german specialist) and have connected my car to the vcds system in order to retrieve the system failure codes. Error code was for the power assist motor. I then did some quick research online and saw dozens of other complaints from owners with the same issue. Thankfully most fail upon start up but I did come across one or two that reported having the issue after turning a corner and suddenly losing all power assist. This is a known issue for Audi and they sent letters to owners around June of 2021 stating that the issue was being covered under a 10 year or 120k mile warranty. That's nice if your vehicle happens to fail while under warranty but now that the time period is it, the burden of repairing this potentially dangerous system defect is on the owner and costs in excess of $4,000 at the dealer. Audi also requires the new unit to be coded to the vehicle via their odis system which means owners don't have the option of going to many other sources for a repair. Few shops can afford the monthly fees Audi charges for the odis equipment.

See all problems of the 2012 Audi A6 🔎.

The car couldn't start and stopped abruptly on the way through bunches of errors on the dashboard with check engine light and steering was firm and could not lock the car or open the door here are the warning list for 2019 Audi electrical system malfunction electrical system malfunction parking aid malfunction transmission malfunction rear spoiler malfunction drive system: malfunction traction control malfunction tire pressure monitoring system malfunction parking brake malfunction automatic start/stop system malfunction start/stop system malfunction.

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 🔎.

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.

While driving the car, the steering column failed, making the car unable to steer. Mileage 81,312. The error message was steering malfunction, do not drive. And you could not turn the wheel. The independent service center confirmed and replaced the steering column. They stated they are doing 1-2 a week and Audi knows it's an issue as they are stocking the column. The repair cost me $5,000. 00. There was no warning until it didn't work.

See all problems of the 2016 Audi A6 🔎.

I went thru a puddle of water and the car steering wheel lock up.

Massive safety liability here. My 2019 Audi A6 was on the highway traveling at 75mph on 4/25/2023 at noon when with no prior warning, all of the electrical systems started failing rapidly. In the course of 90 seconds, there was an electrical malfunction warning, quickly followed by malfunction warnings for steering, brakes, and cascading shutdowns of all systems like the transmission, abs, collision warning, lane departure, lights, hazard warning lights, instrument screens/clusters, hvac, windows- literally everything. A complete failure of every component and safety system while driving highspeed is extremely dangerous. Had this happened at night, I would have been bricked in the middle of the road without headlights, hazard lights, airbags, etc. The car had to be towed away to the dealership and is available for inspection. The dealer is aware of this issue and called it a 48 volt starter/ alternator issue which is apparently systemic/ widespread with 2019-21 Audi 48 volt architectures; parts are generally backordered for months. Please take note: there is an extremely high risk that someone will be killed and seriously injured as a result of this defect. The vehicle is awaiting inspection and repair at an Audi dealership. It is under extended manufacturers warranty at 50,700 miles. No other diagnostics/ inspections/ or reports have taken place yet.

The steering rack for my 2017 Audi A6 2. 0t premium plus quattro has failed at roughly 54000 miles. This is the same exact oem part (oem part # 4g1423055ea) that is used in the 2016 A6, which has an extended warranty from Audi due to a lawsuit of 10 years and 125000 miles. My VIN is not included in this extended warranty even though the 2017 Audi A6 and 2016 Audi A6 are the same engines, use the same oem steering rack parts, and are the same vehicle outside of minor exterior updates in the facelift model (2017). This part has failed and now I'm being charged $6323. 77 by the Audi dealership to fix this issue. I am sure this is simply the same issue as it is the same exact part in the same engine. This extended warranty must include all future Audi vehicles that use the same steering rack that is problematic and was given an extended warranty to cover the replacement.

See all problems of the 2017 Audi A6 🔎.

While driving my family on a major interstate, a myriad of warning ?? lights appeared on my dash panel and my vehicle’s steering literally locked! I have had no previous warning lights or issues with this vehicle since it was purchased. This near fatal incident happened as a 18-wheeler was seeking to merge onto the interstate and I couldn’t change lanes to allow the oncoming traffic to merge. This malfunction/failure caused me and my family to narrowly miss being fatally crushed by the merging 18-wheeler. After bringing the vehicle to a stop in a safe area off of the interstate and locating the vehicle owner’s manual, I learned that the electromechanical steering unit failed on my 2017 Audi A6 (mfg 6/16). Because all of the local Audi dealerships were closed, I had to call and have the vehicle towed to my home. Upon further researching the issue in various Audi forums, I realized this system failure was widely experienced by Audi owners and that it may have even played a part in prompting Audi to issue “electromechanical steering unit extended warranty” letters to certain Audi 2011-2016 vehicle owners (a6 owners included). I believe NHTSA should do its due diligence in seeking to reduce highway safety fatalities on our nations highways caused by vehicle safety defects/malfunctions by auto manufacturers and execute a mandate for Audi to (1) issue a safety recall for this issue, or (2) extend the electromechanical steering unit warranty to include later model year vehicles. It appears that Audi has not corrected the known issue on their own; thereby warranting nhtsas regulatory intervention. I would like NHTSA to launch a defects/safety investigation to determine how many more Audi owners are at risk of experiencing this life-threatening, correctable, and known issue. Please keep me informed on the results of my report.

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.

There is an issue with the power steering control module that causes a lot of error codes to populate. Many of the codes are generic and hard to diagnose, even with Audi certified diagnostic equipment/tools. When this code initially presented, ~9 months ago, there was a red steering wheel light on the dash. I found a company that repairs these modules with these specific codes (I’d imagine good business since this is a common issue); while I got power steering to work, there are codes that still recommend full replacement of the power steering module (Audi certified diagnostic equipment). This error in the module causes complete loss of power steering, with serious risk to safety of all passengers and other drivers, on and off the road. Because this module may communicate with other modules and systems, it may render other codes and faults with the abs and start/stop systems for example. I’ve taken this issue to an Audi dealer and they say I have to pay out of pocket for a whole replacement of the module and rack&pinion. I understand how to maintain a vehicle but this is a known issue for many other models/trims and years. I’ve read some reports that Audi had DE-escalated this issue in other models (2012-2016) to avoid a larger number of vehicles being affected. While my vehicle is 2017, it’s out of the “covered recall” but I’m experiencing similar issues to the very same issue. Ps. My car has been sitting for 9 months due to this issue.

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.

Vehicle reports electric malfunction and then suddenly start getting all warnings like all controls (like steering etc) disabled and vehicle stalled in the middle of the road. Had to get it towed and taken to dealership. They do not have a fix for this problem and no estimates on how long it will take to fix the issue and get the car back.

See all problems of the 2020 Audi A6 🔎.

The electronic steering system on my Audi A6 failed without warning, locking my steering wheel in place. A review of on line message boards for Audi owners indicates this is a systemic problem, and has, for some owners, actually locked their steering while driving. This did not happen to me, but prior to locking, my car instantly transitioned from steering with no issues to almost becoming undrivable before I could get to a repair shop.

See all problems of the 2014 Audi A6 🔎.

The electronic steering control module failed while the vehicle was stopped. A light came on the dash which stated something like ~"do not drive major steering malfunction" and the steering became almost impossible to turn. The vehicle was towed to an Audi dealer and repaired at my significant cost. I am suspicious that there is a known defect which has not been acknowledged by Audi. I also own a 2014 Audi q5 which I received a letter to extend the warranty for this specific issue (see uploaded information). The cover letter states this applies to certain 2011-2016 model year Audi b8 (q5) and c7 (a6) & d4 vehicles. I contacted Audi customer care and they were unwilling to tell me any distinguishing attributes for why some 2016 A6 vehicles are included and my 2016 A6 is not. Audi told me that the vins, pns, date of manufacturer for covered vehicles is proprietary. My A6 has been babied and has never been in an accident or experienced any pothole or similar trauma, yet I had a major steering failure at ~48000 miles 6 months beyond my warranty period. And there is apparently a known defect in other similar Audi vehicles. Audi was very reluctant to discuss this issue with me and told me there is nothing I can do about it. As a minimum, I deserve an explanation on why my A6 with a known steering system defect in similar vehicles is not addressed in their safety and warranty campaign.

Gateway unit that is located under the rear seat has an inadequate insulation and is susceptible to liquid exposure and electrical failure. A liquid penetrated the rear seat and short-circuit the gateway while vehicle was moving resulting in a near-accident by shutting down power steering, brakes, and many of the car's systems. Failure messages began appearing and vehicle was unresponsive to driver actions. Emergency blinkers were not working at the tail lights which is a critical safety hazard for a disabled vehicle on the road. Dealer confirmed gateway unit failure due to the water exposure and recommended the replacement of the unit. Vehicle had no warning lights or messages prior to the incident.

When this steering problem is occurring no communication between the steering and driver and accident happened and its very dangerous!!! dtc 00456 (access/start control module -j518- no communication) is found in several control modules or the access/start authorization control module, j518 (address word 05), identifies itself with implausible data can be found through guided fault finding (gff). If dtc 00288 (steering column lock actuator-n360, faulty) is logged in the access/start authorization control module, j518.

See all problems of the 2005 Audi A6 🔎.

My 2017 Audi A6 has approximately 50,000 miles on it. I am diligent about obtaining regular maintenance on my vehicle and visited the Audi dealership in memphis, TN for a 50,000 mile inspection and service in June of 2021. Last week, just 3 months after my 50,000 mile services/inspection, my vehicle stopped operating correctly when making a turn from stopped at a stop sign and lost all power steering. I was informed by the Audi dealership in north miami, FL (where I am now located), that the steering rack on the vehicle is faulty. The vehicle and this component are still located at the Audi dealership in north miami while they wait for the part to come in. I can coordinate to make it available for inspection if you would like. I am concerned that this part failed after only 50,000 miles and am particularly concerned that this poses a major safety issue. I was lucky that I was at a near stop and able to make it to safety when this component failed. Had the power steering gone out at any other time, for example, while I was in the middle of an intersection or while driving on a busy roadway, it could have resulted in a major incident. I did not have any warning signs that the power steering was about to shut down, and as mentioned, I had the vehicle inspected just 3 months earlier without any issues. It is also worth noting that Audi had a known issue with the steering rack in the 2012-2016 model years for my vehicle and offered to reimburse owners of those vehicles and warranty the steering rack to 125,000 miles. Audi has indicated to me that the steering rack in my vehicle is the same part as that used in 2016.

Audi sent a notice in June 2021 regarding the issuance of a limited extended warranty coverage for electromechanical steering unit for certain 2011-2016 model year a4, a4 allroad, a5, s5, rs5, q5, sq5, A6, s6, a7, rs7, a8, and s8 vehicles. The letter stated that "Audi has determined that it is possible for the electromechanical steering unit to malfunction in some vehicles, causing the electromechanical steering warning lamp in the instrument cluster to illuminate due to the presence of specific fault codes resulting from this malfunction. " the letter provided consumers with repairs under warranty, but was unclear about requiring the repairs to be completed at an Audi authorized facility. The letter implies that the issue is the illumination of the warning lamp on the instrument panel, but fails to warn consumers of the actual impact to the usability of the vehicle when the fault is triggered. I experienced first hand that the illumination of the light renders the car inoperable as the power steering mechanism no longer works and the vehicle is nearly impossible to steer and control. The warning also directs the driver to drive to the nearest Audi repair center, which is not feasible given the difficulties to steer. The nearest facility was also 15 miles away. After attempting to drive home, the instrument panel warned me to stop driving the car. In less than 1/2 mile the instruction on the panel went from drive to nearest facility to stop driving. The warning for this fault and subsequent loss of steering happens instantaneously. The driver is unable to do much, but to safely pull over into an area that the car can be towed from. Moreover, I repaired the vehicle at a local dealership and Audi refuses to reimburse me as their forms lead me to believe it would be. Audi should have issued a recall to correct a problem that they were aware poses a significant safety concern instead of extended warranty with stipulations carved out. Please help me make this right.

Steering rack assist has a recall for my car because my steering locked up. Audi replaced the recall part two times. The first didnt work after the second time it works but now they cant reset the check engine lights, tpms, steering fault do not drive it says, ecs fualt, stability fault, child safety lock fault etc. Dealer told they did everything they could even flew in an Audi engineer still cant reset anything and that they exceeded the cars value in man hours to figure out what is the issue. Now they tell me the car is drivable but my question is, is it safe for me to accept it like that and risk something happening while driving and the steering locking up or any other problems that may arise but I wouldn"t know because of the other alarms may override the current alarm that may pop up. My insurance said they wouldnt accept the car back in that condition because its a recall issue related and that Audi needs to address this but in just getting the run around. My car has been at the dealer for about 6 months trying to figure it out. Now they tell me "you brought your car because steering was locked up wasnt able to drive and now the car is drivable and the only thing we cant clear are the alarms that I mentioned above but it is drivable its just like an oil change alarm that you do the oil change but we just cant reset it so its kinda the same thing" they told me that and I was like okay. No is not the same I said, my question is is this even safe to accept and risk something happen and get into an accident because of the steering lock up. Now they wont even take my wife Audi because has the same recall that needs to be replaced. The only way they replace it is till it happens. So they waiting for my wifes car to lock up while driving and not have control of car and crash especially if my kids are with her because she takes them to school. What do I do please help? I also requested the total estimate to see how much I owe and they will not send it to me.

See all problems of the 2013 Audi A6 🔎.

While driving my 2014 A6 Audi steering got alert on the electronic steering do not drive take to Audi dealership. I had no power steering and was extremely very difficult to steer to make it home.

My 2014 A6 Audi resulted in a failure of the electric power steering assist system which cause loss of power steering. It took everything I had to steer it home. I was given a message not to drive and to contact the dealership.

The contact owns a 2012 Audi A6. After parking the vehicle and shutting the engine off, the vehicle would not start the following day and the message "steering malfunction do not drive" was displayed. The cause of the failure was not determined. Audi of clarksburg (1 stoneybrook rd, clarksburg, wva) and the manufacturer were notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 164,000.

While driving on highway steering system faulted, causing loss of power steering. Rack completely failed. Very very difficult to turn steering wheel. Car only has 124k miles.

Audi westmont leased me a brand new 2019 A6 last November 12, 2018. They claim "all" of Audi's 2019 A6's come with "summer tires" on them and getting an "all season" or "winter" tire is not possible unless I pay another $2,690. 83 for four more "wheels and winter tires". I drove the vehicle for two months on their "summer tires" bridgestone turanza t005 summer tires. On two separate occasions with less than one inch of snow on the ground, I totally lost control of the car while braking. My wife refused to ride again with me with the tires that came with the car. I finally went back in and had to purchase from them four new sotozero3 winter tires and four new wheels. I now have 8 new tires and 8 new wheels. My complain is with Audi, not the dealer. Selling or leasing these vehicles with summer tires only in a geographical area that experiences winters such as suburban chicago, is a disaster waiting to happen. Audi needs to be stopped before someone dies. Thank you!.

When I passed a puddle, the water splashed. Then a warning came out and ask me do not drive the vehicle. After that it was towed to Audi, they said they need to change the steering rack.

Tl the contact owns a 2012 Audi A6. The contact was unable to turn the key in the ignition and start the vehicle. The "steering fault" message appeared and the eps warning indicator flashed. The failure seized the steering wheel; therefore, the vehicle was towed to Audi meadowlands (425 route 3 east, secaucus, NJ 07094, (201) 982-7056). The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The VIN was included in NHTSA campaign number: 17v781000 (fuel system, gasoline). The manufacturer issued 53 tsbs for the steering, but no recall. The manufacturer was contacted to address the failure and the recall repair. The failure mileage was not available.

I got a message on my wash it said "steering detective do not drive". My steering wheel gets hard and moves on its own sometimes. It does it intermittently in any condition or driving speed.

I was driving in light rain and saw a small puddle of water ahead so I slowed down and went through it at 10mph, all of the sudden my steering wheel locks up and is stuck going right, grinding noise came from the front drivers wheel. I somehow managed to get the vehical to a fire station and park it there after 30m and only going 20ft then all of a sudden while I'm pressing the gas peddle the horrible grinding noise comes back and the car goes no where in drive or reverse.

See all problems of the 2003 Audi A6 🔎.

Takata recall I've had to replace a wheel bearing and axel 2x @ $550 each time. Car wouldn't align right, so I replaced the tires several times due to the wearing on one side. The calipers won't come off when changing the brakes and rotors. The automatic windows would randomly roll down sometimes after it would rain, and wouldn't roll back up for several days. I fixed the turn signal and cruise control, but the problems with those returned after a couple weeks, and while I was driving the under cover/protector plastic broke off all over the road because the Audi dealership apparently forgot to put it back on properly. This possibly allowed for the oil pan to hit the ground and crack, which a suspension problem was clearly part of that problem too. I took it in to see about a crack in the oil pan. They couldn't find it, but shortly thereafter, I drove to the movie store and when I got back to my car, it was no longer running. A puddle of oil was spilling out of it, and the the engine was shot. I had the car for about 2 years. I'm guessing that the problems stemmed from the what the car was recalled for.

See all problems of the 1999 Audi A6 🔎.