U.S. public vehicle records

2003 Audi A6 problems and owner complaints

Explore the records behind recurring owner reports.

Key facts

66 owner complaints analyzed

7 distinct recall campaigns

79,975 mi median reported failure mileage

Scope: 2003 model year. Data snapshot: 2026-09-12 (September 12, 2026). 50 complaints include usable failure mileage.

Owner-reported patterns

Most common problems

Electrical System is the most frequently named component, appearing in 10 of 66 complaints (15.2%). A complaint can name multiple components.

Recurring terms in complaint narratives
Topic	Matching reports	Share of complaints
Fuel system concerns	17	25.8%
Braking behavior	11	16.7%
Transmission and shifting	9	13.6%
Engine operation	6	9.1%
Electrical and battery issues	2	3.0%
Steering behavior	2	3.0%

Topic matches use published keyword rules. They describe mentions, including negations or comparisons, and do not confirm a diagnosis. Read the matching rules.

Component breakdown

Number of unique complaints naming each component. Top eight shown.

Electrical System

Fuel System, Gasoline

Power Train:Automatic Transmission

Tires:Sidewall

Fuel System, Gasoline:Delivery:Fuel Pump

Power Train

Electrical System:Ignition

Engine

Component breakdown data
Category	Count
Electrical System	10
Fuel System, Gasoline	10
Power Train:Automatic Transmission	5
Tires:Sidewall	5
Fuel System, Gasoline:Delivery:Fuel Pump	4
Power Train	4
Electrical System:Ignition	3
Engine	3

Electrical System: 10; Fuel System, Gasoline: 10; Power Train:Automatic Transmission: 5; Tires:Sidewall: 5; Fuel System, Gasoline:Delivery:Fuel Pump: 4; Power Train: 4; Electrical System:Ignition: 3; Engine: 3

Reported problems by failure mileage

Complaint counts in mileage bands. These are not failure rates per vehicle or mile.

Under 25,000

25,000 to 49,999

50,000 to 74,999

75,000 to 99,999

100,000 to 149,999

150,000 and above

Under 25,000: 9; 25,000 to 49,999: 6; 50,000 to 74,999: 8; 75,000 to 99,999: 10; 100,000 to 149,999: 14; 150,000 and above: 3

100,000 to 149,999 miles has the most reports with usable mileage (14). 16 complaints have missing, zero or invalid mileage.

Complaints over time

Year the complaint was filed, not the vehicle model year or incident year. The snapshot year is partial.

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2016

2017

2018

2021

2003: 3; 2004: 5; 2005: 6; 2006: 7; 2007: 2; 2008: 5; 2009: 5; 2010: 9; 2011: 6; 2012: 5; 2013: 2; 2014: 4; 2016: 1; 2017: 3; 2018: 2; 2021: 1

Pattern summary

Electrical System leads the component reports. Fuel system concerns appears in 17 complaint narratives. Braking behavior appears in 11 complaint narratives. Transmission and shifting appears in 9 complaint narratives. Use these patterns to inspect individual reports and prepare questions for a mechanic.

Calculated from recorded counts. An AI narrative has not been published for this selection.

Complaint evidence

Examples provide context, not a representative sample or a verified diagnosis.

Owner report 10149505 · 2006-02-06 (February 6, 2006)

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING 15 MPH IN NORMAL CONDITIONS, THE FUEL PUMP FRACTURED AND THE VEHICLE STALLED. THE VEHICLE WAS PULLED TO THE EMERGENCY LANE AND TOWED TO THE LOCAL DEALERSHIP FOR REPAIRS. UPDATED 03/09/06. *JB

Owner-reported narrative. 34,560 miles reported. Look up ODI 10149505 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10151370 · 2006-02-27 (February 27, 2006)

MY 2003 A6 AUDI QUATTRO "DIED" WHILE IN RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC ON AN INTERSTATE HWAY. IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THIS WAS DUE TO FUEL PUMP FAILURE. VIN # NOT PART OF RECENT FUEL PUMP RECALL BY MANUFACTURER. *NM

Owner-reported narrative. 32,300 miles reported. Look up ODI 10151370 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10043066 · 2003-10-17 (October 17, 2003)

FAILURE TO ACCELERATE. I EXPERIENCE MAJOR DELAYS IN ANY ACCELERATION IMMEDIATELY AFTER I HAVE DEPRESSED THE BRAKE (AT ANY SPEED) AND THEN TRY TO REACCELERATE. I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS A COMMON COMPLAINT AMONG ALL AUDI TIPTRONIC OWNERS REGARDLESS OF ENGINE TYPE. IT IS NOT, AS AUDI TRIES TO SAY, "TURBO LAG." IN ALMOST EVERY FAILURE TO DATE, I HAVE ALMOST BEEN INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT DUE TO THIS PROBLEM. HAD OTHER DRIVERS BEEN LESS ATTENTIVE, I MOST SURELY WOULD HAVE BEEN STRUCK. I AM HESITANT TO PULL OUT INTO ANY VOLUME OF TRAFFIC W…

Owner-reported narrative. 3,200 miles reported. Look up ODI 10043066 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10150669 · 2006-02-20 (February 20, 2006)

BRAKE LIGHTS NO LONGER WORK (ANY). BRAKE LIGHTS WILL NOT TURN ON NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES THE PEDAL IS DEPRESSED. *JB

Owner-reported narrative. 71,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10150669 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10079048 · 2004-06-30 (June 30, 2004)

CAR SHAKES AND SHUDDERS WHEN COMING TO A STOP. WHEN TRYING TO START FROM A STOP, CAR HESITATES BEFORE MOVING. CAN ROLL BACKWARDS IF CAR IS ON AN UPHILL INCLINE. NATURAL RESPONSE IS TO DEPRESS GAS PEDAL FURTHER. TRANSMISSION THEN ENGAGES AND CAR LURCHES FORWARD. TOOK CAR TO DEALER 3 TIMES. FIRST TIME TRANSMISSION FLUID TOPPED OFF. SECOND TIME TRANMISSION CONTROL UNIT SOFTWARE UPGRADED. 3RD TIME WE WERE TOLD THAT THE PROBLEM CANNOT BE FIXED, EVEN WITH TRANSMISSION REPLACEMENT.*AK

Owner-reported narrative. 9,554 miles reported. Look up ODI 10079048 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10114032 · 2005-03-13 (March 13, 2005)

I HAVE HAD NUMEROUS PROBLEMS WITH MY 2003 AUDI A6 CVT TRANSMISSION. THE ENTIRE TRANSMISSION HAD BEEN REPLACED RECENTLEY, BUT THE SLIPPING OUT OF GEAR PROBLEM CONTINUES WITH NEW ONE. THE SAN DIEGO AUDI DEALERS HAVE TOLD ME THAT THEY CANNOT FIND THE PROBLEM, BUT HAVE TOLD ME TO LET THE TRANSMISSION FAIL COMPLETELY AGAIN AND THEY WILL REPLACE IT UNDER WARRANTY AGAIN. *AK

Owner-reported narrative. 24,393 miles reported. Look up ODI 10114032 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10113392 · 2005-03-30 (March 30, 2005)

WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE STALLED ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS. DRIVER WAS MAKING A LEFT TURN AT AN INTERSECTION AND VEHICLE STALLED. DRIVER T WAS UNABLE TO RESTART VEHICLE. MECHANIC CLAIMED THAT THIS PROBLEM COULD NOT BE DETERMINED NOR DUPLICATED. DRIVER INFORMED THE MECHANIC THAT THIS PROBLEM HAPPENED MORE THAN ONCE AND HAS NOT BEEN SOLVED. *AK THIS IS THE 4TH TIME CAR HAS BEEN TO THE DEALER FOR THIS PROBLEM. IF PROBLEM HAPPENS AGAIN, CONSUMER WILL RETURN TO THE DEALER. *BF *NM

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 10113392 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10223446 · 2008-04-05 (April 5, 2008)

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 O…

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 10223446 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10412769 · 2011-07-12 (July 12, 2011)

BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH FAILURE. HAD IT FIXED, BUT THE PROBLEMS SEEMS TO BE NOT IN THE BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH ITSELF, BUT THE WIRING OR SOCKETS TO THE SWITCH. USED SAME SWITCH, BUT SOON AS CAR IS TURNED OFF AND TURNED BACK ON, SWITCH TENDS TO WORK ONLY FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS AND ABS SYSTEM SHOWS UP AGAIN WITH NO BRAKES LIGHTS AT ALL. TOOK TO AUDI DEALER IN WHICH THEY SAID THAT THERE HAS BEEN MANY PROBLEMS WITHIN THIS SYSTEM. BUT TO TOTALLY FIX THE PROBLEM WOULD RUN ANYWHERE FROM 700.00 TO 1200 DOLLARS ON A 35.00 TO 45.00 PART. NO BRAKES COULD LEAD TO SE…

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 10412769 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10069311 · 2004-01-15 (January 15, 2004)

STEERING WHEEL SHAKE AT 50 TO 60 MPH. MANY ATTEMPTS TO FIX PROBLEM HAS NOT HELPED. OTHER A6 OWNERS HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM. PROBLEM NOTED ON FIRST DRIVE AT 150 MILES AND STILL PRESENT AT 4000 MILES.

Owner-reported narrative. 150 miles reported. Look up ODI 10069311 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10985459 · 2017-05-12 (May 12, 2017)

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.

Owner-reported narrative. 137,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10985459 at NHTSA ↗