RoadVitals

2005 Audi A6 Brakes Problems

Owner-reported complaints naming the brake system, filed with NHTSA

Data refreshed

Brakes reportsComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
10
Latest Jan 25, 2015
Share of all reportsThis category as a share of every owner report on file for this model year. One report can name more than one component, so the categories overlap.
11%
of 91 total
Crash or fire reportedReports in this category whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. The reporter's own answer on the NHTSA form, not a verified finding.
0
Injuries or deaths reportedTotals the submitters entered on their own reports in this category. Not verified by NHTSA and not a casualty statistic.
0

What this page shows

Reports naming service brakes, the antilock braking system, brake hoses, master cylinders or the parking brake. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2005 Audi A6 submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 10 reports on file name it.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Owner reports naming brake

Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed

Brakes
Filed Jan 25, 2015

ON 2 SEPARATE OCCASIONS I HAD TO PAY FOR A PARKING BRAKE MODULE OR MOTOR. THE COST WAS 900.00 BOTH TIMES. I GOOGLE THIS AND FOUND MORE COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS SAME ISSUE. *TR

NHTSA ID
10678745
Incident
Mar 7, 2014
Mileage
122,000 mi
BrakesDriver assistanceElectrical
Filed Oct 29, 2014

ON OUR 2005 AUDI A6 WE PURCHASED CERTIFIED PRE-OWNED (CPO) WE ARE THE SECOND OWNERS OF THE VEHICLE. WHEN WE PURCHASED THIS A6 IT HAD ONLY 30,330 MILES. WHEN WE GOT TO AROUND 90K+ MILES IS WHEN WE STARTED TO HAVE SOME ISSUES WITH THE CARS BRAKING SYSTEM. WE TOOK IT TO AUDI WHICH IS THE ONLY PLACE WE HAVE HAD IT SERVICED AND WHERE WE PURCHASED THE VEHICLE. THEY SAID THERE WAS A PROBLEM WITH THE BRAKE MODULE CAUSING THE BLINKING BRAKE LIGHT AND THE ABS LIGHT TO COME ON ALONG WITH A LOUD BEEPING FROM TIME TO TIME. THEY THOUGHT IT COULD ALSO BE LOW ON BRAKE FLUID AND CAPPED IT OFF. THE PROBLEM WENT AWAY FOR A WHILE BUT THEN CAME BACK ALONG WITH THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT. THIS TIME IT WAS SAID WE HAVE A FAULT ECU MODULE. WE HAD THIS SERVICE DONE WHICH COSTS $2,200.USD BUT THIS WAS JUST TO REPAIR THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT BUT NOT THE BRAKE MODULE. WE ASKED IF THIS REPAIR WOULD RESOLVE BOTH ISSUES AND THE ANSWER WAS YES. THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE BOSCH BRAKE MODULE WHICH SEEMS TO BE AN ONGOING PROBLEM WITH AUDI. THIS NEEDS TO BE RECALLED AND EVERYONE GET THEIR MONEY REFUNDED TO THEM FOR THE PAIN AND ANGUISH THIS HAS CAUSED. THERE ALSO NEEDS TO BE A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT AGAINST AUDI!! *TR

NHTSA ID
10651080
Incident
Sep 12, 2011
Mileage
93,450 mi
BrakesDriver assistanceElectrical
Filed Dec 9, 2013

AUDI 2005 A6 STARTED TO HAVE INTERMITTENT WARNING FOR ABS, STABILITY, HAND BRAKE AT ~55K MILES. TOOK CAR TO DEALER TO DIAGNOSE IT . DEALER CALLED WITH AN ESTIMATE OF $2800 TO REPLACE ABS MODULE. HE ALSO PROVIDED AN ESTIMATE OF $1100 FOR ANOTHER ERROR CODE FOR AIRBAG TO REPLACE THE CENTER REAR SEAT BELT. I'M NOT UNDERSTANDING WHY THESE WARNING CODES COME SO RANDOMLY AND CLEAR SO RANDOMLY. NOT SURE WHY AN AUDI A6 WILL NEED SUCH REPAIRS THAT CLEARLY POINT TO FLAWS IN DESIGN AND UNRELIABLE PARTS AFTER ONLY 55K MILES. THERE ARE TONS FOR ONLINE COMPLAINTS FROM AUDI DRIVERS THAT USE THE BOSCH 8.0 ABS MODULE. AUDI SHOULD EITHER RECALL THIS PART OR OFFER TO PAY FOR THE REPAIRS. WHEN I COMPLAINED TO AUDI USA, BASICALLY THEY ASKED IF I WAS FIRST OWNER AND IF I TAKE IT TO DEALER FOR MAINTENANCE. THE ANSWERS FOR BOTH IS NO. I'M THE 2ND DRIVER. BOUGHT THE CAR WITH ONLY 20K MILES AND SINCE RELOCATING TO HOUSTON, I TAKE THE CAR TO A LOCAL GARAGE FOR OIL CHANGE. I'M LOOKING FOR SAFECAR.GOV TO RECTIFY THE ISSUE WITH AUDI. AUDI DOESN'T EVEN SELL THE ABS MODULE PART ALONE. YOU WILL HAVE TO BUY THE BRAKE PUMP AS WELL. *TR

NHTSA ID
10555326
Incident
Jun 3, 2013
Mileage
55,000 mi
BrakesDriver assistanceElectrical
Filed Sep 7, 2013

I WAS DRIVING MY CAR IN MY WORK PARKING LOT WHEN A LOUD BEEP OCCURRED AND MY CAR ISSUED A WARNING FOR "PARKING BREAK MALFUNCTION." TWO LIGHTS, ESC AND ABS ALSO LIT UP WHEN THE BEEP SOUNDED. I IMMEDIATELY STOPPED DRIVING, ENGAGED THE PARKING BRAKE (WHICH WORKED) AND DISENGAGED IT. I AM THE SECOND OWNER OF THE CAR AND AFTER SOME RESEARCH FOUND THAT THE BRAKE MODULE AND MMI BOTH HAD BEEN UPGRADED BY THE PREVIOUS OWNER. I CONTINUED TO WITNESS THESE SYMPTOMS AND AM WAITING FOR MY DEALERSHIP TO RUN A DIAGNOSTIC. I HAVE READ ENOUGH CONSUMER COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS SPECIFIC PROBLEM TO KNOW THAT AUDI SHOULD TAKE A DEEPER LOOK INTO IT.

NHTSA ID
10542433
Incident
Sep 6, 2013
Mileage
103,542 mi
Brakes
Filed Jul 17, 2012

ELECTROMECHANIC PARKING BRAKE BROKE 6 TIMES IN 4 YEARS. A FEW TIMES THE BRAKE WON'T DISENGAGE, HAVING TO LITERALLY DRAG THE CAR ON A PLATFORM TO BE ABLE TO TAKE IT TO THE DEALER. SINCE THE FIRST EVENT I'VE NEVER USED THE PARKING BRAKE ON PURPOSE (THE CAR IS AUTOMATIC) TO AVOID ANOTHER MALFUNCTION BUT IT WOULD STILL BREAK EVERY FEW MONTHS. IT'S EITHER THE MOTORS OR WIRING OR BOTH. IT NEVER HAPPENED TO ME WHILE DRIVING BUT DEALER WARNED ME THAT IT COULD. THE REASON I'M FILING THE COMPLAINT IS THAT IT IS NOT AN ISOLATED CASE. A QUICK GOOGLE SEARCH "AUDI PARKING BRAKE MALFUNCTION" WILL PROVE THAT THE PROBLEM IS WIDESPREAD AND IT MAKES ME THINK THAT THEY SHOULD HAVE ISSUED A RECALL BUT THEY DIDN'T. *TR

NHTSA ID
10466308
Incident
Sep 22, 2009
Mileage
66,390 mi
Brakes
Filed Jul 23, 2010

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 AUDI A6. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE LIGHT FOR THE PARKING BRAKE WOULD NOT SHUT OFF. THE BRAKE LIGHTS DID NOT COME ON IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE VEHICLE WAS TURNED ON; HOWEVER, THEY ILLUMINATE AFTER DRIVING THE VEHICLE OVER A PERIOD OF TIME AND REMAIN ILLUMINATED WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE PARKING BRAKE WAS ALWAYS USED WHENEVER THE VEHICLE WAS DRIVEN. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED BY THE DEALER. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 58000.

NHTSA ID
10344951
Incident
Jul 18, 2010
Mileage
58,000 mi
Brakes
Filed Dec 13, 2009

ELECTRONIC PARKING BRAKE MALFUNCTION LIGHT IS ON...TURNS OUT THE WIRING IS CORRODED INSIDE THE SWITCH. I'M THE ONLY OWNER OF THE CAR AND THERE WAS NO WATER DAMAGE OR LIQUID SPILLED. *TR

NHTSA ID
10295533
Incident
Aug 2, 2009
Mileage
62,000 mi
BrakesOther / unspecified
Filed Dec 2, 2009

MY ABS LIGHT, PARKING BRAKE FAILURE, AND ESP LIGHTS ALL CAME ON AT THE SAME TIME WHILE DRIVING MY 2005 AUDI A6 4.2 S-LINE MODEL THROUGH A SUDDEN SNOW STORM IN COLORADO. MY ABS IMMEDIATELY FAILED AND MY BRAKES LOCKED, CAUSING ME TO LOSE CONTROL OF MY VEHICLE, AND FORTUNATELY I AVOIDED A CRASH (I WAS AT LOW SPEEDS). THE QUATTRO ALL WHEEL DRIVE WAS ALSO DISABLED AT THIS TIME AND I WAS UNABLE TO GAIN TRACTION ON THE ICY ROAD. THIS COULD HAVE BEEN A DEVASTATING CRASH RESULTING IN INJURIES IF I HAD BEEN GOING THE SPEED LIMIT THAT NIGHT. I IMMEDIATELY TOOK MY CAR IN FOR SERVICE ON 12/2/09 AND WAS TOLD I NEEDED TO HAVE THE ABS MODULE REPLACED AT A COST OF AROUND $1600. WHY WAS THIS NOT A RECALLED PART? ACCORDING TO THE SERVICE TECH AT STAMMLER AUDI IN BOULDER, CO IT IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM WITH THE 2005 MODEL YEAR BECAUSE IT IS THE FIRST YEAR TO HAVE SOME NEW TECHNOLOGY INVOLVED IN THE VEHICLE'S DRIVING SYSTEMS. I AM EXTREMELY UPSET THAT THERE IS NOTHING I CAN DO BUT PAY OUT OF POCKET FOR A DEFECTIVE PART, THAT AUDI ALSO AGREES WITH, JUST TO DRIVE SAFELY ON THE ROADWAYS. *TR

NHTSA ID
10294316
Incident
Dec 1, 2009
Mileage
52,365 mi
Brakes
Filed Nov 4, 2009

1. CERTIFIED PREOWNED CAR (CERTIFIED AT 30K MILES) UNDER NORMAL USAGE (20K MILES IN 18 MONTHS). NO SPECIAL EVENTS LEADING TO THE FAILURE. 2. ELECTRONIC PARKING BRAKE CANNOT BE RELEASED. CAR IS DISABLED AND CANNOT BE DRIVEN. OCCURRED 2 TIMES. CORRODED ELECTRONIC PARKING BRAKE WIRES AND CONNECTORS. 3. ELECTRONIC PARKING BRAKE WIRE HARNESSES AND CONNECTORS WERE REPLACED. *TR

NHTSA ID
10291021
Incident
Oct 19, 2009
Mileage
51,000 mi
Brakes
Filed Feb 2, 2006

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING 85 MPH THE ANTILOCK BRAKES WERE APPLIED AND THERE WAS A CONSIDERABLE DELAY BEFORE THE VEHICLE REACHED A COMPLETE STOP. THIS OCCURRED DURING NORMAL BRAKING AND ON A DRY ROAD. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR INSPECTION. THE DEALERSHIP COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED.

NHTSA ID
10149301
Incident
Jan 6, 2006
Mileage
14,000 mi

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.

Other components reported on this vehicle

Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own

Elsewhere on this vehicle

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .