Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (battery, alternator, wiring, ignition, instrument cluster, infotainment).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2019 Audi A6 owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
I was slowing down to stop at a traffic light when a message was displayed on the instrument panel that says "Electrical System Malfunction" with a yellow battery icon. A few seconds later the same "Electrical System Malfunction" with a red battery icon. Then the vehicle came to a complete stop and was inoperable. There was almo smoke coming from the hood near the positive battery terminal. The smoke had an electrical smell to it. I had no opportunity to pull over and was stuck in the middle of a very busy road right at the stop line of the traffic light. My family and I had to exit the vehicle with traffic on both sides of us and get to the side of the road safely. There was no prior indication that there was a problem, this happened all within about 5-10 seconds and I had no time to try and pull over to safety. …
The contact owns a 2019 Audi A6. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the warning message "electrical malfunction" suddenly displayed along with a red battery icon. After turning off and restarting the vehicle, the message remained displayed, but the battery icon changed to yellow. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the starter generator was faulty and needed to be replaced; however, the part was on backorder and would not be available for several months. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 42,000. The contact stated that the replacement part is now available but they have to wait for the installation. Audi has been notified and is aware of the issues.
The contact owns a 2019 Audi A6. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the rearview camera and blind spot monitoring system intermittently failed to operate as needed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The dealer reprogrammed the computer and the failure recurred. The vehicle was then taken to Sewickley Audi (526 Ohio River Blvd Suite A, Sewickley, PA 15143) where the trunk cable and an unknown module were replaced. The failure recurred and the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 20,000.
The contact owns a 2019 Audi A6. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V155000 (Electrical System) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the fuel gauge was not working as designed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed but no cause for the failure was found. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 13,514. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
I suffered a complete failure of the vehicle's electrical system. First, I received a warning that the electrical system malfunctioned. This warning went away after two power cycles. Two days later the warning came back and a warning that the battery level was low. I was driving the vehicle approximately 1 mile on the highway when the warning became progressively dire. First the Adaptive cruise control systems became failing one by one, adaptive lane keep, lane departure etc. Then I got yellow warnings about failures in the transmission and the engine. Finally those errors became dire that I must stop the vehicle. I next lost all electrical screens within 2-3 minutes of the cascading dire warnings just as I was pulling off the highway onto side streets. Within 30 seconds I lost power steering and most braking force. I was able to pull over into a bus stop, but with difficulty. …
Massive safety liability here. My 2019 Audi A6 was on the highway traveling at 75mph on 4/25/2023 at noon when with no prior warning, all of the electrical systems started failing rapidly. In the course of 90 seconds, there was an electrical malfunction warning, quickly followed by malfunction warnings for steering, brakes, and cascading shutdowns of all systems like the transmission, ABS, Collision Warning, Lane Departure, lights, hazard warning lights, instrument screens/clusters, HVAC, windows- literally everything. A complete failure of every component and safety system while driving highspeed is extremely dangerous. Had this happened at night, I would have been bricked in the middle of the road without headlights, hazard lights, airbags, etc. The car had to be towed away to the dealership and is available for inspection. …
Received a message for "Electrical System Failure" and drove ok at first but began receiving failure messages for various systems including but not limited to Start/Stop system, transmission, power steering, and crash avoidance systems. Soon after the entertainment and comfort system screens went blank followed by the dash screen and the car eventually just turned off as I was trying to find a safe place to pull over. Safety was put a risk as I was stranded on a busy road with no shoulder and because the battery was impacted my hazard lights only lasted a short time which left me and my vehicle exposed on the side of the road. The car was towed to the dealer (Audi of Albany) who inspected determined the failure was related to a faulty ignition generator. The car is currently at Audi of Albany and will be for at least 2 weeks so I am assuming it would be available for inspection. …
The car gave me a written error message on the dashboard that there was an electrical system malfunction. I thought to myself, "Gotta get that checked out. Let's see if it goes away." I drove a short distance home and parked. The next day I began to drive to work. I got the electrical system malfunction message again. I decided to pull into a parking lot and make an appointment to get it fixed by the dealer. Then, I began to drive back home (didn't want to risk driving to work). The car then gave me a new message that the electrical system was not working and to pull over safely. I drove for 30 or so more seconds as all the systems began to shut down. The car completely stopped within a minute or 2 of the error message, stranding me in the middle of the road. It was impossible to shift it into neutral to safely move it. …
Electrical fault dash warnings (steering, transmission, braking and many other things too numerous to mention came on while driving the car and it went into limp mode and forced the car to stop and would not restart. The car had to be towed to the dealership where they diagnosed the problem to be the "alternator" which is more accurately what is known as the "belt starter generator" BSG. The BSG runs the start stop feature of the car and charges the mild hybrid 48v battery system that runs many of the critical features of the vehicle. They do not have the part in stock and do not know how long it will take to get in. I understand that there is NOT an upgraded part available that will fix this issue, only the same part that they are continuing to put on all of the V6 engine models since 2019 to today. The A6,7 and A8 and Q5,7 and Q8 models in particular are being affected. …
This is my SECOND entry/complaint regarding the same EXTREMELY DANGEROUS steering malfunction. While driving my 2019 A6 (this time alone) in heavy rain the same warning message was displayed. The warning stated: steering malfunction, please stop the vehicle!. At which point the power steering locked-up & the engine powered down. As a result, I was unable to steer the vehicle. One again I was able to exit the highway safely. Being close to home with only a few turns, I was able to "limp" the car home, parked in my driveway and contacted Audi. Currently it's at Nyack Audi awaiting service on Monday 9/11. This is a huge safety issue and needs to be addressed. Doing a bit of online research & reading countless Audi blogs, I found out this to be a common issue with other Audis while driving in the rain. Fist time this occurred was 6/16/22, driving a 2016 S6. …
Related recalls
Electrical system
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Audi S7, S6 Sedan, A6 Allroad, 2021-2022 RS7, RS6 Avant, 2019-2022 A7, and A6 Sedan vehicles. Liquid spilled in the rear seat may penetrate and cause the gateway control module to shut down.
Remedy: Dealers will install a protective cover, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed January 20, 2023. Owners may contact Audi's customer service at 1-800-253-2834.
Electrical system › Instrument panel › Fuel gauge › Fuel level float/sensor/sending unit
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2021-2022 RS6 Avant and RS7, 2020-2022 A6 Allroad, S6 Sedan, and S7, and 2019-2022 A6 Sedan and A7 vehicles. The fuel level sender may stick, causing an inaccurate fuel level reading to be displayed on the instrument cluster.
Remedy: Dealers will install a new sensor in the tank, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed February 17, 2023. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 20DN.
Electrical system › Starter assembly
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Audi A6 vehicles equipped with mild-hybrid technology and 2.0TFSI engines. Moisture may enter the starter generator and cause an electrical short circuit.
Remedy: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the starter generator, free of charge. The recall began by May 22, 2020. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298.
Electrical complaints in other A6 years
Frequently asked questions
How common are electrical problems on the 2019 Audi A6?
NHTSA has 84 complaints about the electrical system of the 2019 Audi A6, 74% of the model year's 114 complaints. The component named most often is adas › blindspot › sensors (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2019 Audi A6 electrical problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 22V-861 (electrical system, Nov 21, 2022); NHTSA recall 22V-155 (fuel level float/sensor/sending unit, Mar 14, 2022); NHTSA recall 20V-153 (starter assembly, Mar 19, 2020). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2019 Audi A6 electrical problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 14,000 miles, and 80% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 1 fire and 1 injury to electrical system problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.