2003 AUDI A6 Complaints

ABS CONTROL UNIT IS FAULTY ON MY AUDI A6 2003. I BELIEVE IT IS SUBJECT TO RECALL INDICATED BY THE $1800 REPAIR AND FREQUENCY OF THIS COMPLAINT ON THE INTERNET. *TR

AOA HAS FAILED TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR A SAFETY RELATED DEFECT IN MY AUDI A6 FUEL SYSTEM. GIVEN A NHTSA PRODUCT SAFETY GAS STORAGE TANK RECALL, I BELIEVE AOA ARE LIABLE FOR THIS SAFETY RELATED DEFECT. ON JUNE 26TH, 2009 HOFFMAN AUDI, EAST HARTFORD CT, SERVICE MANAGER JIM ORMAN ORALLY INFORMED ME THAT AOA WILL TAKE NO FURTHER ACTION IN THIS MATTER, THE REASONS PROVIDED WERE: 1) RECALL WAS ON OTHER SIDE OF THE TANK - THIS PARTICULAR VALVE WAS NOT PART OF THE RECALL AND THEY'VE SEEN ONLY A FEW OTHERS WITH ISSUES. ?THERE WAS NO POSSIBLE WAY THIS COULD OCCUR DURING THE RECALL REPAIR.? 2) FUEL TANK WAS OUT OF 4 YEAR, 50000 MILE WARRANTY. 3) AOA DISREGARDS THE UNSAFE CONDITION CAUSED BY FUEL VAPOR/FLUID LEAKS RESULTING FROM THE DEFECTIVE/WORN OUT VALVE. IN DISCUSSION IT WAS REFERENCED THAT ?THERE WERE ONLY FOUR OTHER INSTANCES OF THIS PROBLEM? AND CITED AGE OF THE VEHICLE. I WAS TOLD THAT AFTER REVIEWING IMAGES OF MY CLAIM, THE FINAL DECISION WAS MADE BY KARL KRUG, NEW ENGLAND REGIONAL SERVICE MANAGER AOA. BACKGROUND: IN LATE 2008 I WAS MADE AWARE OF A SAFETY RECALL REGARDING THE POTENTIAL FOR FUEL TANK LEAKAGE RESULTING FROM CRACKED NIPPLES ON THIS PLASTIC GAS STORAGE TANK. A REINFORCEMENT REPAIR WAS PERFORMED ON MY VEHICLE IN DECEMBER 2008 (NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER:08V157000). ROUGHLY ONE MONTH LATER THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED AND THE DIAGNOSTIC FAULT CODE RELATED TO THE TANK VENTILATION SYSTEM WAS IDENTIFIED. LAST WEEK I ISOLATED THE P0456 16840 TANK VENTILATION SYSTEM PINHOLE LEAK CODE TO THE FUEL TANK. GIVEN THE COMPLEXITY OF THE VENTILATION SYSTEM IN THE FUEL TANK AREA, I DECIDED TO GET THE SYSTEM TESTED BY A DEALER. A CRACKED VALVE NIPPLE ATOP THE GAS STORAGE TANK WAS IDENTIFIED BY A VOLKSWAGEN SERVICE CENTER. I HAVE FILED A COMPLAINT WITH THE CT ATTORNEY GENERAL AND ASKED THEY FORWARD TO THE APPROPRIATE STATE AND FEDERAL AGENCIES FOR FURTHER INVESTIGATION. *TR

MY 2003 AUDI A6 QUATTRO SPUTTERED, CHOKED AND DIED AS I TRIED TO PULL INTO TRAFFIC. THE VEHICLE DID RESTART AND THEN DID THE SAME THING AS I TRIED TO PULL OUT ONTO ANOTHER ROAD, AND COMPLETELY FAILED. VEHICLE HAD TO PUSHED OUT OF TRAFFIC AND TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD WITH ASSISTANCE, THEN TOWED TO NEARBY GARAGE. DIAGNOSED THAT FUEL PUMP WAS CAUSE OF FAILURE. MECHANIC SAID THEY COULD TAP ON THE FUEL PUMP TO GET IT TO RUN, WHICH CONFIRMED THAT IT WAS THE CAUSE OF FAILURE. I WAS ALSO ADVISED BY THE GARAGE THAT MY VEHICLE HAD BEEN SUBJECT OF FUEL PUMP RECALLS, ALTHOUGH AUDI DENIED THAT MY VEHICLE FELL UNDER THAT PARTICULAR RECALL. VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION AS I FAILED TWICE AS I WAS ENTERING TRAFFIC. IN MY OPINION, FUEL PUMPS SHOULD NOT FAIL BY 66,000 MILES. *TR

THE WINDSHIELD WASHER SYSTEM FAILS ROUTINELY IN AUDI A6 MODELS 1998 TO 2005 CAUSING THE FLUID RESERVOIR TO RAPIDLY EMPTY LEADING TO LOSS OF VISIBILITY IN BAD WEATHER LEADING TO A TRAFFIC SAFETY HAZARD. *TR

WINDSHIELD WIPERS STOP DURING WIPER CYCLE. WIPERS DO NOT RESET OR RESTART FOR 30-45 SECONDS AFTER STOPPING. WIPERS WILL NOT START OR RESET IF DRIVER MOVES WIPER SELECTOR LEVER DURING MALFUNCTION INTO ANY MODE, DELAY, LOW OR HI. PROBLEM ONLY OCCURS WHEN RAINING. COULD NOT DUPLICATE EFFECT IN DRY WEATHER. PROBLEM PRIMARILY OCCURS WHEN WIPERS ARE IN THE DELAY MODE. WIPERS WILL STOP AT ANY ANGLE ON WINDSHIELD WHEN MALFUNCTION STARTS. PROBLEM DURATION AND FREQUENCY INCREASED WITH TIME FROM SEVERAL TIMES A MONTH TO EVERY 60-90 SECONDS WHILE WIPERS WHERE ACTIVATED OVER 12 MONTH PERIOD. VEHICLE UNDER WARRANTY. DEALER COULD NOT DUPLICATE EFFECT. DURING WIPER MALFUNCTION, IF WIPER SELECTOR LEVER IS MOVED TO THE OFF POSITION WHILE WIPERS ARE STUCK IN A RAISED/ELEVATED POSITION, WIPERS WILL NOT RESET. WIPERS WILL REMAIN IN MALFUNCTIONING POSITION ON WINDSHIELD UNTIL WIPER SELECTOR LEVER IS MOVED TO DELAY/LO/ OR HI SETTING AND THEN WIPER WILL RESUME NORMAL FUNCTION AFTER 60-90 SECONDS. DEALER HAS NOT TAKING ACTION TO CORRECT THIS PROBLEM AFTER REPEATED REQUESTS BY OWNER. *TR

2003 AUDI A6 HAD PROBLEMS WITH THE ENGINE LIGHT, SMOKING, AND LITTLE TO NO ACCELERATION. CONSUMER STATES THAT AFTER A FEW REPAIRS THE PROBLEM IS NOT SOLVED AND WANTS TO BE REFUNDED HER MONEY. *NJ THE DEALER INFORMED THE CONSUMER THE #1 AND #3 COIL NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE CONSUMER DROVE LESS THAN A MILE AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME BACK ON BLINKING AND THE VEHICLE WAS MOVING VERY HARD. WHEN THE CONSUMER RETURNED TO THE DEALER, THEY DIAGNOSED THE VEHICLE AGAIN, THE CONSUMER WAS TOLD THE #6 IGNITION COIL NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. BECAUSE NO ONE EVER TEST DROVE THE VEHICLE WHEN IT WAS SUPPOSE TO BE FIXED THE FIRST TIME, THE DEALER REPLACED THE #6 COIL FOR FREE. THE CONSUMER LEFT THE DEALERSHIP AGAIN ONLY TO HAVE THE ENGINE LIGHT COME AGAIN, BUT IT WASN'T BLINKING. THE DEALER DIAGNOSED THE FAILURE AND STATED IT WAS THE TORQUE CONVERTER CLUTCH CIRCUIT PERFORMANCE. *JB

THE LED PORTION OF THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER FADES OUT ON HOT DAYS MAKING THE GEAR SELECTION INDICATOR (PRND321) SHOWN IN THE DISPLAY UNREADABLE. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE BECAUSE THE DRIVER NEEDS TO KNOW WHAT GEAR THAT TRANSMISSION IS IN AT ALL TIMES AND A FADING DISPLAY LEADS THE DRIVER TO GUESS RATHER THAN KNOW. THIS FADING STARTED THREE YEARS AGO AND HAS GOTTEN PROGRESSIVELY WORSE WITH TIME. IT ONLY HAPPENS ON HOT DAYS WHEN THE CAR IS PARKED OR DRIVEN IN THE SUN. WE HAVE LOTS OF SUNNY DAYS IN CALIFORNIA! *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 AUDI A6. APPROXIMATELY ONE YEAR AGO, THE CONTACT SMELLED A STRONG ODOR OF GASOLINE WHENEVER HE PLACED FUEL IN THE VEHICLE. HE ALSO NOTICED FUEL LEAKING ON THE GARAGE FLOOR. HE ASSUMED THAT HE WAS PLACING TOO MUCH FUEL INTO THE VEHICLE. IN THE BEGINNING OF JUNE OF 2008, THE CONTACT MADE SURE TO FILL THE VEHICLE TO THE CORRECT AMOUNT TO AVOID ANY FUEL LEAKAGE. WITHIN HALF AN HOUR OF PARKING THE VEHICLE, THE CONTACT SMELLED A STRONG GASOLINE ODOR AND NOTICED A MUCH LARGER PUDDLE OF GASOLINE UNDERNEATH THE VEHICLE. HE CALLED THE DEALER AND WAS ADVISED TO HAVE THE VEHICLE TOWED; HOWEVER, THE CONTACT REFUSED AND DROVE THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER. A DIAGNOSIS WAS PERFORMED AND THEY STATED THAT THERE WAS A CRACK IN THE CHECK VALVE OF THE FUEL TANK THAT COULD NOT BE REPAIRED. THE ENTIRE FUEL TANK NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE CONTACT PROCEEDED WITH THE REPAIRS, WHICH WERE COMPLETED WITHIN A WEEK. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 38,000 AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 40,000. UPDATED 07/16/08. *LJ UPDATED 07/16/08

I WAS DRIVING MY 2003 AUDI A6 3.0 QUATTRO ON THURSDAY 04/03/2008 AROUND 10:30PM. I WAS TRAVELING 25MPH ON SYLVAN AVENUE IN ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, NJ THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED ON MY DASH BOARD AND STARTED FLASHING, I IMMEDIATELY PULLED OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD TO DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM, WHEN I PULLED OVER I SAW SMOKE COMING OUT FROM UNDER THE HOOD OF MY CAR. I IMMEDIATELY TURNED OF THE VEHICLE AND POPPED THE HOOD TO SEE WHAT WAS GOING ON... I POPPED THE HOOD TO FIND THE IGNITION COIL ON THE THIRD CYLINDER (BACK LEFT CYLINDER) HAD STARTED ON FIRE WITH ABOUT 12INCHES OF FLAMES. THANK GOD THIS ALL HAPPENED I ABOUT 30 SECONDS AND I WAS ABLE TO GET THE FIRE OUT, OTHERWISE THE WHOLE CAR WOULD HAVE BURNED TO THE GROUND. IF I WAS STUCK IN TRAFFIC OR ON THE HIGHWAY THIS CAR WOULD HAVE MOST DEFINITELY BURNED TO THE GROUND. I FEEL VERY LUCKY MY TWO YEAR OLD DAUGHTER WAS NOT IN THE CAR WITH ME. NEVERTHELESS, THE IGNITION COIL IS COMPLETELY MELTED AS WELL AS THE WIRING HARNESS. I ALWAYS HAVE DONE ALL THE MANUFACTURER RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE VEHICLE AND THE CAR WAS JUST AT THE DEALER SERVICE CENTER ON 04/01/2008 FOR MAINTENANCE, I HAD THEM LOOK OVER THE WHOLE CAR AND THEY SAID EVERYTHING WAS FINE. AFTER SPEAKING TO SERVICE TECHNICIANS AT AUDI I HAVE FOUND THIS TO BE A COMMONLY RECURRING PROBLEM WITH THEIR IGNITION COILS, SPECIFICALLY PERTAINING TO THE THIRD CYLINDER, THEY CLAIM IT OVERHEATS BECAUSE THE DESIGN IS TO CLOSE TO THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER. ALL I KNOW IS SOMETHING SHOULD BE DONE, I HAVE PICTURES OF THE DAMAGE WHERE YOU CAN CLEARLY SEE SOME TYPE OF ELECTRICAL MALFUNCTION THAT I WOULD BE MORE THEN WILLING TO SHARE. PLEASE SOMEONE DO SOMETHING BEFORE A LIFE IS LOST FROM THIS MANUFACTURER ERROR.!!! *TR

WITH NO INCIDENT TO MY AUDI (ACCIDENT, IMPACT, DIS-REPAIR) FUEL AND GAS FUMES LEAK. VEHICLE NOW SPILLS FUEL/FUMES WHEN TANK IS FULL TO 3/4. VISUAL INSPECTION SHOWS FUEL STAINS STARTING FROM THE TOP OF THE FUEL TANK ON THE DRIVER SIDE JUST UNDER THE REAR SEAT. VEHICLE IS NOW NOT BEING DRIVEN TO DETERMINE WHAT IS THE BEST COURSE OF ACTION FOR REPAIR. *TR