2012 AUDI A6 — Problems, Recalls & Safety Data

Dear Highway Safety Authority Officer I am writing to formally request an investigation into a potential safety concern involving structural rust on the engine subframe (engine cradle) of the Audi A6, particularly in models from 2012 There have been growing concerns among owners and independent mechanics regarding excessive and premature rust and corrosion affecting the structural integrity of the engine mounting frame. In some cases, this corrosion could potentially compromise the stability of the engine or the safety of the vehicle during operation. Given the importance of this component to both drivability and crash safety, this issue merits further inspection. I am bringing this to your attention in hopes that your office will investigate whether this represents a broader manufacturing or design defect, and if a recall or safety advisory might be warranted. For your reference, the vehicle in question is: Make/Model: Audi A6 Model Year: 2012 VIN : [XXX] Description of issue: Extensive rust to the frame and some cracks I am happy to provide additional documentation or photographs to assist in the review process. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Ensuring the structural safety of vehicles on the road is of utmost importance, and I appreciate your diligence. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Vehicle suffered sudden and total loss of power steering. Had just driven the car 5-10 minutes prior, came out to leave and had a message stating do not drive vehicle, steering defective. At that point the steering wheel felt locked in place and the vehicle was effectively a brick. This issue just happened yesterday and has not been to the dealership yet for diagnosis but I am a former automotive service manager (German specialist) and have connected my car to the VCDS system in order to retrieve the system failure codes. Error code was for the power assist motor. I then did some quick research online and saw dozens of other complaints from owners with the same issue. Thankfully most fail upon start up but I did come across one or two that reported having the issue after turning a corner and suddenly losing all power assist. This is a known issue for Audi and they sent letters to owners around June of 2021 stating that the issue was being covered under a 10 year or 120k mile warranty. That's nice if your vehicle happens to fail while under warranty but now that the time period is it, the burden of repairing this potentially dangerous system defect is on the owner and costs in excess of $4,000 at the dealer. Audi also requires the new unit to be coded to the vehicle via their ODIS system which means owners don't have the option of going to many other sources for a repair. Few shops can afford the monthly fees Audi charges for the ODIS equipment.

Good morning, For the past couple of weeks, I've been getting the run around on whether the issue I'm having with my vehicle is an active recall. I recently took my vehicle to Eurocode Tuning (Torrance, CA), and the mechanic instructed me to take my vehicle to the dealer because the issue I am currently experiencing (fuel leak in the injection system) is listed as a recall. I contacted the Audi dealership in Long Beach CA via phone at (562)610-4000, the service representative stated that he found no active recall on my vehicle. Once again contacted Eurocode Tuning and they stated to have them run a diagnostic on the vehicle and they will see its the fuel leak in the injection system. And they are required by law to fix the recall. The following morning I took my vehicle into McKenna Audi ( Norwalk, CA) and one of the service representatives reiterates that my vehicle has no active recall. I stated that I was well aware of that, however, the issue I was having was listed as a recall on the web and I was informed by the repair shop as well. I proceeded to show him the information I got offline and my failed smog that was done on my vehicle. He proceeded to show me the breakdown on his computer that it was no active recall and the only thing that they were looking into was issues regarding the turbo. He stated what I was talking about was an extended warranty and my vehicle is well past that warrant. He then proceeded to say if a diagnostic is done on my vehicle I will be responsible to pay it and any repair done on my vehicle. So I walked out and decided to contact you. I am just trying to determine whether my vehicle could be repaired under the recall. I'm extremely frustrated and concerned for my safety because the recall did state the risk of a fire. Sincerely a confused, frustrated Audi owner [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The contact owns a 2012 Audi A6. The contact stated while pulling out of the driveway, he smelled an abnormal fuel odor. The contact stated that the fuel odor became stronger while driving 65 MPH. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that he pulled into a parking lot and opened the hood. The contact stated that he noticed that the fuel odor was coming from the engine. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where the check engine warning light illuminated. The mechanic determined that the check engine warning light had illuminated due to low pressure on the fuel rail, and the contact was informed that the supercharger needed to be removed for a more thorough inspection of the vehicle. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in a recall. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V019000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 102,000.

My car almost overheated on the high on thanksgiving night thank god my brother was behind me driving and took me to go get antifreeze my coolant was leaking and i think my water pump messed up almost a accident cause i was in the middle lane and my vehicle was slowing down on the highway at night