NHTSA Complaint #10402332 — 2003 AUDI A6

2003 A6 QUATTRO AVANT 3.0 CAR RAN FINE DRIVING TO WORK. WHEN LEAVING AT END OF DAY, STARTED CAR AND IT RAN VERY ROUGH I DECIDED TO REVERSE BACK INTO PARKING SPACE AND AT THAT POINT NOTED SMOKE COMING FROM UNDER HOOD (CAR HAD RUN FOR APPROXIMATELY 20 SECONDS). TURNED OFF ENGINE, OPENED HOOD, AND FOUND THE DRIVERS SIDE REAR COIL PACK BURNING. EXTINGUISHED FLAME USING A BASEBALL CAP TO SMOTHER IT OUT. COIL PACK CONTINUED TO SMOKE AND REIGNITE DUE TO BURNING INSIDE COIL PACK. JAMMED SCREWDRIVER INTO PACK TO ROOT OUT FLAME. HAD CAR TOWED TO AUDI DEALER - AWAITING REPAIR. THERE IS AN ACTIVE RECALL CAMPAIGN FOR BAD COIL PACKS (28F2 / J1) - RECALL STATES CHECK ENGINE LIGHT MAY COME ON AND CAR WILL RUN ROUGH, FURTHER RECOMMENDS RETURING VEHICLE TO DEALER AT THAT TIME. THERE IS APPARENTLY TWO WAYS THE PACK CAN FAIL - A FAULT ON THE HIGH VOLTAGE END JUST BYPASSES THE SPARK TO THE ENGINE BLOCK CAUSING A MISFIRE. A FAULT AT THE LOW VOLTAGE END RESULTS IN A SHORT AND MOST LIKELY A FIRE. THIS POTENTIAL FOR FIRE IS UNDERSTATED BY AUDI AND SHOUD BE CLEARLY IDENTIFIED IN THE RECALL CAMPAIGN TO ENSURE THE RIGHT URGENCY IS PLACED ON THIS ISSUE. THE FACT IS, I WAS ABLE TO REACT AND EXTIGUISH THE FIRE, HAD THIS OCCURED IN OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES THE CAR WOULD MOST LIKELY HAVE COMPLETELY BURNED. *TR