Owners have filed 119 complaints on the Audi S6, covering 1995–2020. The system named most often is Engine (54 reports). Worst years by volume: 2013, 1995, 2016; cleanest: 1997, 2003, 2010. 2 reports describe a crash, 2 a fire. On average the car was 6.2 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Audi S6
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 119 S6 complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Engine 54 Read
Multiple turbo failures. Engine shook violently then suddenly stopped in the middle of the road. This same issue happened 3 times affecting both turbos. It may be due to faulty oil filter/strainer. From online research (link below) this is a common problem for C7 Audi s6.…
Oem turbos fail on audi 2013-2017 s6/s7/s8/rs6/rs7 due to oil starvation caused by clogged oem oil strainer. This is a safety issue as the failure happens without warning and as it generally happens while while driving the sudden loss of power could lead to a serious accident. This issue appears to be wide-spread…
Audi s6 4.0 tt, the car I own are notorious in oil screen problems. They starve the turbos with no oil and cause failure to them. I am one of the person that has to deal with the issue
Fuel System 18 Read
While refueling with the engine off, gas tank caught on fire. Vehicle was totaled
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Prestige imports was wonderful! They got audi of america to pay for transportation and repair of my car. Elk mountain motors ( my local audi dealer) lied to me and said it wasn't leaking. Fuel was spraying on the firewall, exhaust manifold, and turbo - a clear fire danger
Power Train 13 Read
I was driving my Audi when I got transmission malfunction light on along with suspension fault and epc light and check engine light all together and the car wouldn’t go faster than 20 mph. Causing someone to rear end me and them fleeing . So not only was my car hit because of this but I had no driver to hold…
While driving my 2020 Audi S6, the vehicle suddenly lost power and completely shut off in the middle of the road without warning. There were no warning lights or messages beforehand. I was unable to accelerate or steer out of the way, which created a major crash risk for myself and other drivers. I had to have the…
There is something wrong with the way the s6 downshifts which makes driving unsafe. A downshift is followed by about 1 second of the transmission not being engaged (so no power to the wheels) and then suddenly the transmission engaged and the car violently thrusts forward. The issue is more profound when downshifting…
Steering 6 Read
I purchased the vehicle on 11/18/2017; on 11/21/2017 a dead battery caused the vehicle not to start. On the 11/22/2017 after charging the vehicle battery over 20 hours the vehicle started; however the vehicle displayed several warnings: steering system fault, dynamic stability, adaptive suspension, adaptive lights,…
First off let me start by saying the vehicle has 45k miles on it. There were no fault codes or system errors prior to the issue that developed. I was driving to a meeting in heavy rain, no issues or suspicion of issues arising. I parked the car, returned about 2 hours later started the car to find 6 warnings on the…
While driving with my wife and kids, on the highway, in the rain a 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. Thankfully, I was able to “muscle”…
Electrical System 5 Read
This was a low mileage (9k) less than 1 year old pristine condition audi s6. The vehicle was driven approximately 10 miles and then parked in a driveway where it was turned off. The driver sat in the vehicle for 5 minutes with the engine off prior to exiting the vehicle. Between 5 to 10 minutes after exiting the…
My 2020 Audi S6 has been undriveable since September 27, 2024 due to a backordered recall part (Gateway Control Module). Audi has failed to provide a repair timeframe, making my car unusable for over five months. Audi has refused to provide a loaner vehicle despite the long delay. As of March 2025, there is no…
With only 53,000 miles on my 2013 audi s6 both turbo charges failed and audi is now charging me $9,000 to replace both turbo charges which are supposed to last 100,000 to 125,000 miles. This issue occured while on the road idling at a light and caused the car not to be able to start and to shake the vehicle violently
Suspension 5 Read
Subject: Formal Complaint Regarding Defective Arnott Front Air Strut To Whom It May Concern, I am writing to formally report a significant safety concern regarding a defective Arnott FL front air strut purchased via RockAuto for my 2016 Audi S6 (VIN: [XXX] ). The air strut failed within five days of professional…
Suspension was replaced at 40,000 miles do to normal wear and tear. That was audi excuse. Suspension was replaced again at 63,000 miles. Engine mounts and transmission mounts were replaced at 63,000. Now at 75,000 miles, engine camshaft has failed and almost caused me to lose control of the car. Oil is changed every…
While driving, received notification of a suspension fault. Was able to drive vehicle home, and found code for suspension C104600. Cleared code, and didn't see it return. Car sat a few days, and next time it was driven, received cascade of MIL warnings for suspension auto leveling failure, auto leveling headlights,…
Air Bags 4 Read
The passenger airbag sensor is faulty, it exhibits the exact issue that the recalls son other a6 but for some reason it is not included in the recall. Happens randomly
Airbag light on passenger seat sensor not working properly
Takata recall, find it completely unacceptable that audi has no solution or proposed resolution timeframe.for the recalled passenger side takata airbag, other than telling customers not to have anyone sit in the passenger seat
Engine And Engine Cooling 3 Read
The contact owns a 2016 Audi S6. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V178000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the repair had been previously completed by an independent mechanic, a year prior to receiving the recall letter. The contact filed paperwork to be reimbursed after receiving the…
The contact owns a 2014 Audi S6. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the turbocharger needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed…
The contact owns a 2013 Audi S6. The contact stated upon test driving the vehicle after an oil change, the independent mechanic diagnosed that the oil strainer was clogged and the turbine wheel was desegregated. The oil strainer and gasket, the PCV head gasket, and two turbochargers were replaced. Additionally, three…
S6 years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Electrical System,unknown Or Other | — | — | |
| 2018 | Service Brakes | — | — | |
| 2017 | Engine | — | — | |
| 2016 | Electrical System,unknown Or Other | — | 1 | |
| 2015 | Engine | 1 | — | |
| 2014 | Engine | — | — | |
| 2013 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 2010 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 2003 | Fuel/propulsion System | — | — | |
| 1997 | Fuel System, Gasoline | — | — | |
| 1995 | Electrical System | — | 1 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 79 |
| Average complaints per series | 1.5 |
| Worst single series | 5 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 6.2 years |
A model average of 1.5 hides a worst series at 5. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the S6?
By complaint volume, 2013, 1995, 2016 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which S6 years are the cleanest?
1997, 2003, 2010 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Audi S6 have?
119 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1995–2020. Of those, 2 describe a crash and 2 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.