2020 Audi A6 Electrical System
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
Water intrusion in passenger floor board which causes problem with control module and reduces acceleration
Receiving multiple electrical warnings including low battery charge, vehicle starting system, parking brake malfunction, stabilization control (ESC/ABS), parking aid malfunction, and all-wheel drive malfunction. Issue appears to be due to a common failing 48v battery alternator.
Experienced alternator / generator failure while driving. Various vehicle systems starting shutting down and warning symbols were displayed. Vehicle stopped running on the highway and needed to be towed to the local Audi dealership. The sequence / progression of failure occurred over several miles with complete vehicle shutdown and stop in the middle of a busy highway intersection. Dealer confirmed it was an alternator / generator failure and it needed to be replaced. Seems to be a common occurrence with the A6 model. Dealer informed me it could be a couple of weeks to a couple of months for a repair as this item is on back order with Audi. Audi should issue an immediate recall or warning of this failure.
Electrical system malfunction. Car will not run
I purchased the car new around June 2020 and it currently has just under 26,000 miles on it. Earlier this week while driving the car, an electrical malfunction warning appeared on the dashboard display. The first dealership I contacted did not deem it serious and set me up for an appointment over a month away. The second dealership I called had me tow the car in right away as the thought was my alternator had failed. A call back later that afternoon confirmed the alternator did in fact fail. That dealer also indicated that the wait time for a replacement was several months away. This seems to indicate much larger problems with this part as alternators are fairly common and very necessary components.
While driving to work, received notification of "Electrical System Malfunction, contact service immediately". I contacted Audi. They advised me to either bring the vehicle in or have it towed. I drove to Audi that afternoon. While driving to the service facility, the warning changed and told me to pull over immediately. As I was close to the dealership, I continue to drive and was able to make it to the dealership. I was informed by the service manager that the car could have shut down at any time and I would have lost complete control of steering and brakes. This is apparently a well-known problem with the 48 V generator. It will be a 2-month wait until I can have the generator replaced. Given that the electrical systems could have shut down at any time, this is a safety issue.
The contact owns a 2020 Audi A6. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power. The brake, transmission, and several other unknown warning lights were illuminated. Additionally, the windows inadvertently rolled up and down while driving. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the driver's and passenger's side rear seats sustained water damage, which caused an unknown electrical system component to malfunction. The dealer informed the contact that the manufacturer declined the replacement part. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 22,000.
On more that one occasion, after starting the car and putting the car in drive, the display continues to show that the car is in PARK. I can drive several hundred feet with the display showing PARK. Then the display will go totally dark and, after several seconds, it will show that the car is in DRIVE.
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Quick Summary
The 2020 Audi A6 has 8 Electrical System complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.