My Audi A6 is experiencing symptoms of a documented and open recall at Audi, and Audi USA and the dealer are refusing to even evaluate the vehicle for recall status. The recall is a rollover valve nipple, with age and stress cracking can develop on the plastic fuel tank, causing a leak to occur. My car is experiencing just such a symptom, and has been confirmed by two independent mechanics.
The worst 2001 Audi A6 problems
Ranked by number of owner complaints. Mileage and cost come from what owners wrote.
Problems by type
Tap a problem to see which part fails, at what mileage and in which other years.
- Engine20
- Fuel system19
- Airbags15
- Brakes14
- Electrical14
- Transmission14
- Tires11
- Lights6
- Acceleration5
- Body5
- Suspension4
- Driver assistance3
- Seats2
- Wheels2
- Seat belts1
- Steering1
- Visibility1
Specific symptoms reported on the 2001 Audi A6
Recalls 7
Fuel system, other: storage: tank assembly
- What is wrong
- Volkswagen is recalling certain model year 2001-2004 audi a6, model year 2002-2003 s6 and model year 2003 rs6 vehicles equipped with 4.2l engines and manufactured from june 19, 2001, through june 8, 2004. The aging of the plastic material in the fuel tank rollover valve combined with bending stress from the aluminum ventilation line to the rollover valve nipple may lead to cracking of the nipple. If this happens, a fuel leak may result.
- Risk
- A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source could lead to a vehicle fire.
- Remedy
- Dealers will reinforce the nipple on the rollover valve to prevent leakage or repair the cracking at the nipple. The recall is expected to begin during june 2011. Owners may contact audi at 1‑800‑822‑2834.
Recall number 11V267000 · Recall details
Fuel system, gasoline: storage: tank assembly
- What is wrong
- Volkswagen is recalling 68,240 my 2001-2004 audi a6 quattro vehicles equipped with 2.7l, 2.8l, or 3.0l engines and my 2001-2005 allroad quattro vehicles equipped with 2.7l or 4.2l engines. The aging of the plastic material in the fuel tank rollover valve combined with bending stress from the aluminum ventilation line to the rollover valve nipple may lead to cracking of the nipple. If this happens, a fuel leak may result.
- Risk
- A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source could lead to a vehicle fire.
- Remedy
- Dealers will reinforce the nipple on the rollover valve to prevent leakage or repair the cracking at the nipple. The recall began on june 27, 2008. Owners may contact audi at 1‑800‑822‑2834.
Recall number 08V157000 · Recall details
Electrical system
- What is wrong
- On certain passenger vehicles equipped with halogen low beam headlights, certain connector pins in the headlight switch connector come into contact with each other causing a short circuit. Note: vehicles with xenon low beam headlights are not affected because the circuit in these vehicles contains a fuse, which precludes excessive current flow in the case of a short circuit. Audi s6 and s6 avant vehicles are all equipped with xenon low beam headlights and, therefore, are not longer affected by this recall.
- Risk
- This condition could lead to overheating or fire.
- Remedy
- Dealers will reroute the wiring harness by installing a jumper wiring harness. The recall began on december 16, 2006. Owners may contact audi at 1‑800‑822‑2834.
Recall number 06V198000 · Recall details
Electrical system
- What is wrong
- On certain passenger vehicles, if a driver's knees push against the knee bolster (crash element) located under the dashboard, it can contact the headlight switch wiring harness, and an electrical short could occur.
- Risk
- A fire could originate in the left dashboard area.
- Remedy
- Dealers will install a protective covering on the knee bolster (crash element). In addition, the wiring harness as well as the felt protector on the left side of the dashboard carrier will be checked, and replaced if necessary. The recall began on july 26, 2004. Owners should contact audi at 1‑800‑822‑2834.
Recall number 04V133000 · Recall details
Tires
- What is wrong
- Certain passenger vehicles equipped with 2.7l engines fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 110, "tire selection and rims." the calculated "vehicle normal load" exceeds the allowable weight of the axle load with tire dimension 225/45r 17 91y by 19kg.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace all five tires. Owner notification began on september 19, 2003. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact audi at 1‑800‑822‑2834.
Recall number 03V143000 · Recall details
Visibility: windshield wiper/washer
- What is wrong
- Vehicle description: passenger vehicles (allroad). When activating the windshield wiper under heavy load conditions such as freezing, snow or heavy rain, one wiper could be delayed behind the other wiper.
- Risk
- If that happens, the wiper blades, because they overlap wiping areas, could become entangled with each other and cease functioning. This could impair the driver's visibility.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the entire driver side wiper arm. Owner notification began june 22, 2001. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact audi at 1‑866‑892‑2834.
Recall number 01V202000 · Recall details
Fuel system, gasoline: storage: tank assembly
- What is wrong
- Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. Sulfur in fuel interacts with certain additives found in widely available gasoline causing sulfur to become deposited on the contact points of three fuel sending units mounted inside the fuel tank. This could cause the fuel gauge to read full while the fuel tank may not in fact be full or could be empty.
- Risk
- Running out of fuel without warning while the fuel gauge indicates that there is sufficient fuel in the tank lead to safety problems.
- Remedy
- Dealers will remove the existing fuel level sending units and replace them with fuel level sending units using a new alloy composed of gold, silver, and a small amount of nickel, which will not chemically react with sulfur. Vw/audi will also call back vehicles that were repaired under a previous recall last june in order to install the updated fuel sending units the federal safety agency 00v137/audi lb). Owner notification began may 1, 2001. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact audi at 1‑866‑892‑2834.
Recall number 01V157000 · Recall details
See all 7 recalls for the 2001 Audi A6
Defect investigations
Fuel tank leak
Volkswagen (vw) is recalling certain vw passat 4motion and audi a6 quattro and allroad quattro all-wheel drive passenger cars.vw vehicles subject to recall were manufactured from november 22, 2000 through may 31, 2005 and audi vehicles subject to recall were manufactured from june 2, 2001 to june 1, 2005.the federal safety agency recall number for the vw vehicles is 08v‑156 (vw also is correcting defects related to heat shield and fuel line hazards for these vehicles and for 1999-2000 passats in this recall action.)the federal safety agency recall number for the audi vehicles is 08v‑157.since 2006, odi has received 17 complaints of fuel leaking from the subject vehicles' fuel tanks.the 400 complaints shown above may include duplicate reports to odi and the manufacturer. While the consequence (fuel leaks from the top of the tank) is similar for both the passat and audi subject vehicles, differences in design and construction require a different remedy for each vehicle.on the passats, the ventilation line could have been installed improperly with tension and with an incorrectly positioned cable tie.the tension could cause cracked or broken nipples on the fuel tank rollover valve.on the audi vehicles, a material change (effective june 2, 2001) with different aging characteristics used for the rollover valve and the use of an inflexible aluminum ventilation line could cause cracking of the nipple on the rollover valve.vw is recalling all vehicles subject to these defects.it will inspect passats to ensure that the vent line is tension free and correct the installation if tension is found.if a crack or fuel leak is found, vw will replace the fuel tank.audi will repair all subject vehicles by reinforcing the fuel tank rollover valve with an epoxy adhesive.this investigation is closed.
PE08008
Brake and clutch pedal bracket
PE02008
Technical service bulletins for the 2001 Audi A6 106
Bulletins tell dealers how to fix known problems. A warranty extension means the manufacturer pays for that repair for longer.
- This bulletin provides information on the additional reporting requirements for safety related inquiries.
- This informational bulletin explains how to order replacement VIN plates, Safety Certification Labels, etc.
- This information bulletin contains instructions for technicans on how to ensure their TAC call goes smoothly.
- This communication is issued to inform dealers of updated shipping regulations related to lithium ion...
- This communication is issued to remind dealers of the repair validation process for repair group 19....
- This bulletin contains instructions for additional reporting requirements for safety related inquiries...
- This informational bulletin contains technical information for when there is condensation visible on the...
- This special notice is to inform dealers to return all part numbers listed in the document and order the...
- This informational bulletin contains all the the Audi Oil Quality Standards that should be used when doing...
- This informational bulletin contains instructions for sychronizing the remote key after the battery has...
2001 Audi A6 fuel economy
Official EPA estimates in miles per gallon (MPGe for electric). Ranges cover trims that share the same engine.
| Engine | Drive | City | Highway | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.8L 6‑cyl | FWD | 16 | 23 | 18 |
| 2.7L 6‑cyl | 4WD | 15-16 | 22 | 18 |
| 2.8L 6‑cyl | 4WD | 15 | 22 | 18 |
| 4.2L 8‑cyl | 4WD | 15 | 23 | 18 |
What 2001 Audi A6 owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
I was driving about 67 on the open highway and was struck from behind by another vehicle. I lost control of my car and careened into a guard rail. I went unconscious and when I woke I was badly injured. All the air bags in car had deployed except for the driver's airbag. As a consequence, I sustained severe damages to my ribs and neck. I am lucky to be alive.
Air bag light on
Driving on interstate 80 around a curve when I hear a loud noise o looked around at the other cars in the other lanes to see what was going on and they were looking at me wondering the same thing or they saw the blowout and or heard the noise? I realized it was my tire losing steering control. I quickly moved over to shoulder found I was riding on rim. The tire had blown off rim to the back of wheel well pushing off the anti lock brake cable for that wheel and damaging my wheel well. A few minutes after examining tire a state of nevada emergency road service van pulled up and said after looking at tire, your lucky you didn't cause an accident with that tire failure. He put on spare and I drove away. I also had other tire experts look at tire and not one of them said it was a road hazard even though the manufacturer said it was after their inspection. One of the tire experts who sells their tires said don't even try to get them to replace that tire they never do. Goodyear is the parent company.
A fuel leak in the presence in the vehicle, strong smell cabin after filling gas tank to full. It is a saftey warning because any ignition or lighting can ignite a flame.
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 audi a6. While driving 55 MPH, the driver side air bag deployed without warning. A police report was not filed. The contact sustained injuries to the left side of the body, including minor hearing loss in the left ear. Medical attention was required. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the control module failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 audi a6. The contact stated that when the vehicle was turned on, there was a clicking noise emerging from the center of the dashboard. All the warning indicators illuminated and smoke started to emerge from the vents. The vehicle was turned off and evacuated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. The diagnosis was that an electrical fire occurred that originated at the wiring harness. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The contact also stated that the vehicle was repaired under the federal safety agency campaign number: 04v133000 (electrical system). The approximate failure mileage was 40,000.
I have a 2001 audi a6 quattro 2.8l with p1411 and p1423 dtc codes. I am hearing it is a vacuum hose or combi value problems from what I am reading, common to this model, but I have had several mechanics look at it and not want to tackle it. In a recent forum I was told many of the items I have listed were recall items-including vacuum hoses. Yes, many were, there was even a law suit with audi, that audi denied my claim and paid several on. I appealed and they did not respond and did not define why they refused to cover it. Audi still has yet to cover the vehicle in the professional manner I expected. My life burdens are enough, I do not need a car manufacturer or dealer to yank me around, the vehicle now has 205,000 miles, because I paid outrageous car repairs on it. I feel audi is a good car, but fixing things on it that should be covered under recalls and service warranties is not happening. Do I really have to sue to get results, this is ridiculous! I have experienced check engine light, failed emissions testing, headlight problems, issues with water in lenses and mirrors, turn signal issues, I have had problems with my fuel line, replaced tie rods, and ABS brake light signals after brake repair. I am hoping the federal safety agency can shed some light and assist me with rectifying my car situation possibly. I have been dealing with these issues for many years now and I am hopeful to receive some relief.
Gas leaking on the floor of garage from roll-over nipple. The dealer refused to apply recall (not covered VIN) for this issue. The vehicle was repaired with audi parts as listed in dot recall documents. The repair failed in april 2015. The 3m material used in the repair had deteriorated.
Transmission went out at 104,000 miles. This seems to be a common problem on audi's. The car was a $55000 car! I ended up selling it for parts, as the cost of a new transmission was more than the market value. I will never buy audi again.
Compare the 2001 Audi A6
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Questions about the 2001 Audi A6
Is the 2001 Audi A6 reliable?
Owners have filed 113 complaints about the 2001 Audi A6, 2.8 times a typical A6 model year. It is one of the years we flag to avoid.
What is the 2001 Audi A6 year score?
The 2001 Audi A6 scores 26 out of 100 (poor). The score compares it with the other model years of the Audi A6: 75 is a typical year, 50 means twice the usual complaints, and serious complaints and recalls lower it.
What is the most common problem with the 2001 Audi A6?
Engine and cooling, with 20 complaints, typically around 70,000 miles. Next is fuel system (19).
How many recalls does the 2001 Audi A6 have?
7 recalls, covering fuel system, other, fuel system, gasoline and electrical system.
What gas mileage does the 2001 Audi A6 get?
Official estimates for the 2001 Audi A6 range from 18 mpg combined. The most efficient version (2.8L 6-cyl, FWD) gets 16 city and 23 highway.
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