2006 Audi A4 problems
NHTSA has received 343 complaints about the 2006 Audi A4, and 47% of them involve lighting. After that come air bags (21%) and electrical system (6%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 343 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Lighting 47% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 8 and 5
- Injuries and deaths
- 5 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 61,000 miles 235 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 11 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 32 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 68 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 50 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 42 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 13 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 9 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 3 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 5 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 2 |
What the data shows
Among the 235 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 60,000 miles. For lighting specifically, the median reported mileage is about 55,000 miles (131 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 8 complaints mention a crash; 5 complaints mention a fire; 5 injuries reported. Its complaints are less severe on average than those of 83% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2006 ranks 2nd most-complained-about out of 20 model years of the Audi A4 with enough data (175 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 3 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Glancing side impact head on collision - vehicle rolled 270 degrees - right, upside down, then ended on left side. None of the airbags deployed. Impact speed was more than sufficient to roll vehicle, thus they should have deployed. Vehicle proceeding in motion - probably 20 MPH at time of impact on two lane highway (other vehicle crossed over) approx 35-40 when first observed other vehicle moving erratically
Takata recall I received a recall notice in july 2016 and am told the repair is still not available. I have not driven the vehicle since then which has resulted in much difficulty and expense. I have uploaded a photo of a friend who was in an accident involving a defective airbag. I request audi give me a loaner car until the airbag is replaced.
The left headlight flickers and turns off. Changing the bulb did not fix the problem and neither did changing the ballast. I found that there was a settled class action lawsuit however they said that the lawsuit extended the warranty for headlights to 5 years. The lawsuit was settled in 2013 and my car is a 2006 model so I am not sure how it could ever help me.
Accelerator stuck when I was stopping for a red light after driving in normal rush hour traffic for about an hour. I was able to stop the car by slamming on brakes (but I did not think to shift out of drive), and the engine slowed after a moment or two. Then the engine raced again every time I took foot off brake pedal. This continued for about 10 minutes until I was able to get to a safe place to get off road and park. I turned off the car, then turned it on again, and again the engine raced.
Upon initial start of the vehicle, just about every start, the left headlight will flicker and then shut off and show a left dipped headlight on the display. Shutting off the lights and turning them back on allows the bulb to turn on again, but the flickering keeps happening until the light warms up then it stops. The bulb will repeatedly flicker and shut off causing a serious safety concern.