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Audi A6Model year report

2019 Audi A6 Problems

Compared with other Audi A6 years

More complaints than typical for this model

91/100 2.6× a typical year · 50 = typical

Nearby years with a typical complaint level and no open NHTSA investigation: 2016, 2020

Based only on NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations. Not adjusted for how many vehicles were sold, and not a reliability rating. How this is calculated

Complaints
114filed with NHTSA
Median mileage
1,000miles, 17 complaints with mileage
Recalls
7campaigns on record
Trend
RisingComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% higher than in the 3 years before.
NHTSA crash rating
5 / 5stars overall, 2 rated versions
EPA fuel economy
27 mpgcombined, 2.0L 4-cyl · hybrid AWD · 24 city / 32 hwy

Sources: NHTSA records for the 2019 Audi A6 (complaints, recalls, investigations), NHTSA crash tests, EPA fuel economy. Report an error

What owners report

Owners of this model year most often describe a sudden loss of electrical power: a battery or electrical system warning appears, sometimes in yellow and then red, and within minutes the car can shut down while moving. Many complaints name the starter generator/alternator as the cause, and owners frequently say the part was unavailable for weeks. A smaller but notable group describes engine stalling at stops, mostly on cars with very low mileage.

  1. Electrical system

    Electrical system shutdown / starter generator failure

    • 58 complaints (51%)
    • median 42,000 mi at 4.3 yrs old (1 states mileage, few)
    • 1 mention a crash, fire or injury
    • filed 2021–2026

    Complaints describe a battery or "electrical system malfunction" message, sometimes followed by a cascade of warnings for steering, transmission, brakes and driver aids, and then a loss of power that can leave the car stopped in traffic. Several owners say the dealer diagnosed a faulty starter generator or alternator, and some report the part was backordered with no repair date given. Reported across a wide mileage range, often within the first few years of ownership and sometimes shortly after a cold start or after the car sat unused.

    Recall 20V1530001 related service bulletin

    What to check: Ask whether the starter generator has been replaced and whether any battery-drain or charging-system service actions were performed. Have the charging system and battery checked, and note how the car behaves after sitting for a few days.

    2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

    “Starter generator/alternator problem. I was driving and suddenly got electrical malfunction issue and slowly all electronics in the car stopped working. Got the car towed to Audi service center and the service representative told me it was starter generator issue and it’s widespread. Dropped the car on 11/15/22 and still waiting for my car to be repaired.”

    NHTSA complaint #11502998, filed 2023-01

    “Today, car showed electrical problem then leading to steering problem, transmission problem, all sensors shutting off, all thro flashing one by one alarms and messages on dash and then coming to a complete halt. It would not allow me to come out and locked me in. I could see that the locks were kicking in so took a micro second gap between unlock and auto lock to get out of the car forcefully. …”

    NHTSA complaint #11486347, filed 2022-09
  2. Engine

    Engine stalls or dies when coming to a stop

    • 18 complaints (16%)
    • median 150 mi at 1.0 yrs old (5 state mileage, few)
    • 1 mention a crash, fire or injury
    • filed 2019–2026

    Owners describe the engine quitting at a stop sign or red light, sometimes with the auto start/stop feature active and sometimes with it off, and the car then needing to be put in park and restarted. Some say the engine restarted roughly or stalled again immediately, and a few report that dealers found no error codes. Mostly reported on very low-mileage cars, within the first few thousand miles, and often at low-speed stops in traffic.

    1 related service bulletin

    What to check: During a test drive, come to several complete stops and note whether the engine restarts cleanly. Ask whether the dealer has looked for stored fault codes related to stalling.

    2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

    “I acquired this car (2.0t) two nights ago and on three occasions (so far) the engine completely stalls when the car comes to a stop. Not the typical auto on/off feature function. I have to restart the ignition and put the car in drive again. Once, even in the middle of rush hour traffic. So far, the only consistent scenario is when I am on the second leg of a trip. For example, I get in the car at my office, drive to a store or daycare. Get back in the car, start up, drive a couple of miles and the car shuts down at a complete stop. …”

    NHTSA complaint #11299645, filed 2020-01, 150 miles

    “At a stop light the engine will shut off completely requiring you to restart the car. This happens intermittently and happens when the auto on/off is on or off. Leads to dangerous situations when in city traffic or stopped at a red light on highway. Two trips to Audi and there are no error codes on the engine to diagnose the issue. Makes for very nervous driving when every stop light may cause your car to stall. Most recent issue the car would re-start and immediately stall, and then started shaking violently.”

    NHTSA complaint #11329769, filed 2020-06, 2,500 miles
  3. Forward collision avoidance

    Lane keeping and pre sense braking intervene unexpectedly

    Mentioned in 5 of 60 sampled complaints

    Complaints describe the lane keeping system steering the car back toward lane lines or toward obstacles the driver was trying to pass, and in one case pulling the car back while changing lanes. Others report the pre sense system braking the car on its own when traffic ahead had not stopped. Reported at low to moderate mileage, typically on highways and multi-lane roads in ordinary traffic.

    Recall 26V1250002 related service bulletins

    What to check: Ask whether the driver assistance software updates have been applied, and test the lane keeping and forward collision settings on a highway drive to see how the systems respond.

    2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

    “August 25, 2020 traveling wb on I-90 [mass turnpike] passing and 18 wheel tractor trailer with an unmarked white box trailer. Truck 'weaved' to the left into my driving lane as I was overtaking it. I swerved to the left to avoid contact of my 2019 Audi A6 premium plus at about the a pillar and the rear wheel area of the box trailer. …”

    NHTSA complaint #11395583, filed 2021-02, 6,500 miles

    “On sunday february 21, 2021 at about 330pm on rt 30 in amsterdam ny we were driving in stop and go traffic less than 30mph. As the car in front of me started to slow in traffic I started to brake my A6, at about 20mph and about 1.5 car lengths behind the car in front of me the Audi presense collision warning screen activated with a red screen in the driver's cluster and a chime the car then went into emergency collision stopping mode...car's antilock brakes activated bringing my car to a complete stop in traffic. …”

    NHTSA complaint #11397561, filed 2021-02, 9,975 miles
  4. Transmission and drivetrain

    Transmission warning and loss of drive

    • 25 complaints (22%)
    • median 770 mi at 1.0 yrs old (1 states mileage, few)
    • filed 2019–2026

    Owners describe a transmission malfunction message appearing alongside other warnings, followed by the car dropping out of gear or refusing to move. One complaint describes the car rolling backwards while still in drive at a stop. Reported at varied mileage, usually as part of the wider electrical warning cascade rather than on its own.

    2 related service bulletins

    What to check: Ask whether any transmission fault codes have been stored and whether the car has had software updates for the gearbox. Check that the car engages drive and reverse promptly from a cold start.

    2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

    “Starter warning followed by electrical system malfunction, these were followed by Multiple warning lights (Lane departure, adaptive cruise control, collision avoidance, etc) then 1 minute later transmission failure and engine failure imminent.... pull over immediately and contact dealer. I turned into a road off main highway within a minute of the last two warnings and as I turned, my center MMI went blank then my electronic dash went blank, transmission went into neutral and the engine died all within a few seconds. …”

    NHTSA complaint #11523939, filed 2023-05

    “After I come to a complete stop with the vehicle in drive, the vehicle will roll backwards and with such speed that the read camera will come on. The transmission is in drive the entire time.”

    NHTSA complaint #11528220, filed 2023-06

Buying note. Check the service history for starter generator or alternator replacement and for applied software updates, and confirm which recalls have actually been completed rather than just announced. A pre-purchase inspection that reads stored fault codes is worthwhile, since several complaints mention warnings that appear intermittently.

Summary written with AI from a sample of 60 NHTSA complaints for this model year (picked at random, with complaints that state a mileage and recent ones taken first), then checked automatically against the source records. Where a problem shows a complaint count, every complaint for this model year was matched with fixed keyword rules (written with AI and tested against the sample), and the mileage, age and repair figures are calculated from those complaints; owners' figures are as stated, not verified. Other counts refer to the sample. The excerpts come from NHTSA's public complaint records and are unverified; capitalisation is normalised, NHTSA staff notes are removed, and shortened text ends with “…”. Something wrong? Request a correction.

NHTSA recorded 114 consumer complaints for the 2019 Audi A6. 17 of the complaints include a mileage, and 100% of those were filed for vehicles with under 50,000 miles; the median is 1,000 miles. Of all complaints, 2 involved a crash, 1 a fire, 2 an injury, according to the filers. NHTSA lists 7 recall campaigns and 1,483 technical service bulletins for this model year. Compared with the other 6 Audi A6 model years that have at least 25 complaints and are old enough to compare, this one scores 91 out of 100, where 50 is a typical year for the model (more complaints than typical for this model). The comparison allows for the era and for how long each year has had to collect complaints, but not for how many vehicles were sold.

Which parts are reported most

Complaints can name more than one part, so the counts add up to more than the total. Select a part to see its complaints, recalls and bulletins.

Also reported: Back-over prevention (rear camera) (2), Fuel system (2), Tires (2), Air bags (1), Vehicle speed control (1), Visibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors) (1).

Example complaints

Electrical system: “Stop engine oil pressure too high light comes on dealer does not have solution. Engine could blow during operation and cause accident. Vehicle recall needed”

NHTSA complaint #11185595, filed 2019-03, 100 miles

Engine: “My 6 week old Audi A6 was totaled when I was driving 20 MPH! I looked down to check my odometer, and within that time, no warning signals , brakes, etc. Alerted me! This car had all the bells and whistles! That morning I was on a tree lined drive to the tennis courts! No alerts! Hit a tree and all air bags deployed! Tremendous impact for 20 MPH! I was all banged up, car totaled! I am still in disbelief...thought I had the world's safest car. Has anyone else had a problem???”

NHTSA complaint #11253328, filed 2019-09, 750 miles

Transmission and drivetrain: “This vehicle suffers from a sometimes dangerous acceleration lag. The time it take between pressing the gas pedal and the time the car starts to move is excessive and in certain situations, dangerous. It's especially evident in conditions where you're trying to accelerate from a low RPM speed (slow traffic, california stop, etc) to join faster traffic or merge in. A perfect example is trying to go from a slow moving highway lane to a faster one. You pick your spot, then go for it. The car sits for 1-2 seconds...then it goes. The first few times it happened it was dangerous. …”

NHTSA complaint #11351469, filed 2020-08, 28 miles

Steering: “Audi westmont leased me a brand new 2019 A6 last november 12, 2018. They claim all of Audi's 2019 A6's come with summer tires on them and getting an all season or winter tire is not possible unless I pay another $2,690.83 for four more wheels and winter tires . I drove the vehicle for two months on their summer tires bridgestone turanza t005 summer tires. On two separate occasions with less than one inch of snow on the ground, I totally lost control of the car while braking. My wife refused to ride again with me with the tires that came with the car. …”

NHTSA complaint #11186086, filed 2019-03, 500 miles

Mileage when problems were reported

100% of the 17 complaints with a mileage were filed for vehicles with under 50,000 miles; the middle half falls between 300 and 6,500 miles.

82%0–1012%10–256%25–500%50–750%75–1000%100–1500%150+
Share of complaints by mileage when the problem was reported, in thousands of miles (17 complaints with mileage). Red bars: under 50,000 miles. Bucket widths differ. Median: 1,000 miles.

Complaints by year filed

Trend: rising. Complaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% higher than in the 3 years before.

2019202020212022202351202420252026
Complaints by year the complaint was filed with NHTSA. Red bars: the last 3 full calendar years used for the trend. The current year (2026) is partial.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA's 5-Star Safety Ratings for the 2019 Audi A6. Frontal results are shown driver / passenger; rollover shows the star rating and NHTSA's estimated risk of rolling over in a single-vehicle crash.

VersionOverallFrontalSideSide poleRollover
A6 · sedan AWD★★★★★5 / 4555 · 8.9% risk
A6 · sedan FWD★★★★★5 / 4555 · 8.9% risk

Neighbouring years: 2018: same overall rating; 2020: same overall rating. A redesign between years can change both the car and the test.

Source: NHTSA New Car Assessment Program (5-Star Safety Ratings), nhtsa.gov/ratings.

Fuel economy and running cost

EPA ratings for each 2019 Audi A6 version. Annual fuel cost is the EPA's estimate at its current fuel prices for 15,000 miles a year (55% city driving).

VersionEngineTransmissionCityHwyComb.Fuel / yr
A6 quattro AWD2.0L 4-cyl · hybrid7-speed automatic243227$3,050
A6 quattro AWD3.0L 6-cyl · hybrid7-speed automatic222925$3,300

Source: U.S. EPA and Department of Energy, fueleconomy.gov. Ratings are for comparing vehicles; real-world mileage varies with driving and conditions.

Recalls and investigations

See all 7 recalls for the 2019 Audi A6 → · Check a VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls

Technical service bulletins

TSBs are manufacturer notes to dealers about known repair procedures. They are not recalls and do not by themselves mean a vehicle has a fault. 1,483 on record; the latest 10 are shown.

See all 1,483 bulletins →

Other model years of the Audi A6

YearComplaintsMedian miRecallsCrash ★MPGScore (50 = typical)Trend
2026721,0020—23—Too new
202567,0172526—Too new
20211859,00011526—Rising
20202622,000952755 · TypicalStable
20191141,000752791 · MoreRising
20181111,8002528—Not enough data
20172014,1003528—Stable
20165125,602352853 · TypicalRising
20152271,0004528—Stable
20144149,400452831 · FewerStable
20135260,9366—2839 · TypicalFalling
20126069,0008—2850 · TypicalFalling
20112157,0003—24—Falling
20101764,0003—22—Stable
20092182,5004—21—Falling
20087144,0004—2143 · TypicalStable
20075388,5004—21Not compared (before 2008)Stable
20066780,0004—21Not compared (before 2008)Falling
20059186,3583—19Not compared (before 2008)Falling
20043573,0004—21Not compared (before 2008)Rising
20036679,9757—21Not compared (before 2008)Falling
20028871,1454—19Not compared (before 2008)Falling
200111378,0007—18Not compared (before 2008)Stable
200014877,0404—18Not compared (before 2008)Falling
199921780,0009—19Not compared (before 2008)Falling
199813078,50010—19Not compared (before 2008)Falling
19972095,0002—19—Stable
199651103,7582—19Not compared (before 2008)Stable
199516118,0002—19—Stable

All Audi A6 model years · Best and worst years by complaints

Frequently asked questions

What are the most common problems with the 2019 Audi A6?

Owners of this model year most often describe a sudden loss of electrical power: a battery or electrical system warning appears, sometimes in yellow and then red, and within minutes the car can shut down while moving. The issues reported most often: Electrical system shutdown / starter generator failure; Engine stalls or dies when coming to a stop; Lane keeping and pre sense braking intervene unexpectedly.

How many NHTSA complaints does the 2019 Audi A6 have?

NHTSA recorded 114 consumer complaints for the 2019 Audi A6 as of Oct 27, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

What part of the 2019 Audi A6 is reported most often?

Electrical system is named most often, in 84 complaints (74% of the total), followed by engine with 32.

Has the 2019 Audi A6 been recalled?

NHTSA lists 7 recall campaigns for this model year. To check a specific vehicle, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

How did the 2019 Audi A6 do in NHTSA crash tests?

NHTSA's 5-Star Safety Ratings give the 2019 Audi A6 5 out of 5 stars overall, across 2 rated versions (body style and drive). Ratings from different model years are only comparable when the vehicle was not redesigned in between.

What gas mileage does the 2019 Audi A6 get?

The EPA rates the 2019 Audi A6 (A6 quattro, 2.0L 4-cyl · hybrid) at 27 mpg combined, 24 city and 32 highway, with an estimated annual fuel cost of $3,050 at 15,000 miles a year. Other engine and drive versions are rated differently.

At what mileage are problems with the 2019 Audi A6 reported?

Among the 17 complaints that include a mileage, the median is 1,000 miles and the middle half falls between 300 and 6,500 miles; 100% were filed for vehicles with under 50,000 miles.

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 27, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate. Crash ratings are from NHTSA’s New Car Assessment Program. Fuel economy is from the EPA and DOE (fueleconomy.gov).

Complaint counts come from NHTSA’s public complaint database; we count each complaint once. The source records for this vehicle are on nhtsa.gov. Scores and trends are our own summaries of that data, described in the methodology. This page is not legal, safety or repair advice: for a specific vehicle, check its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls and ask a qualified mechanic. See an error? Tell us.