1999 Audi A6 problems
The 1999 Audi A6 has 276 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (16%) concerns fuel system. After that come brakes (15%) and electrical system (13%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 276 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Fuel system 16% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 14 and 23
- Injuries and deaths
- 16 and 2
- Typical mileage
- 80,000 miles 145 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 | 8 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 7 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 24 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 31 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 31 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 15 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 16 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 5 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 2 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 6 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 145 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 80,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 14 complaints mention a crash; 23 complaints mention a fire; 16 injuries reported; 2 deaths reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1999 ranks 2nd most-complained-about out of 22 model years of the Audi A6 with enough data (141 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 9 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.
Brakes failed due to brake pedal mounting bracket. Driver was unable to stop vehicle, resulting in a collision and fatality.
My 1999 audi a6 avant is equipped with the cold weather package. This package includes heated seats and steering wheel. When the driver's seat heater is turned on it activates the steering wheel heater. On 12/13/02 in using this heater the steering wheel became hot enough to burn my hand and began to fill the car with smoke. It melted the foam under the leather cover. If I had not turned off the seat/steering wheel heater I believe the steering wheel would have caught fire.
Flames started shooting out the driver's side vent on 1999 a6 sedan. While driving smoke began coming out of the AC vents then flame starting coming out of the driver's side vents. The driver was able to pull of and extinguish the fire. The consumer sustained a small burn while putting the fire out. The consumer looked on the NHTSA website and found a recall on the ignition switch (04v13300) but has not received a notice about the recall.
As the car was driving normal, light smoke began coming out of the air vents. Nothing was on, such as the AC or the heater. There were no signals or any alarms lit on the dashboard. In terms of minutes, without any warning, the light smoke turned into pitch black smoke, immediately turning into flames. In a matter of a minute, there was an explosion that completely destroyed the entire interior as well as the exterior of the vehicle.
Audi a6 customer states that after receiving a recall notice she took her car in for repairs and was given a larger bill for other things that need to be repaired* the consumer stated the dealer made repairs to the steering and engine. Update