Audi
A6
Midsize Cars · model years 1995 to 2026
Includes A6, A6 Avant quattro, A6 quattro and 4 more as listed by the EPA.
The verdict
Best year: 2024. complaints: 3, below this model's typical 24; recalls: 1, below this model's typical 4.
Worst year: 1998. complaints: 130, about 3.6x this model's typical 36; recalls: 10, about 2.5x this model's typical 4.
Year by year
| Year | Trims | MPG | HP | Fuel cost | Recalls | Complaints | TSBs | Top complaints | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 6Gas | 18.5 | no data | $3,450 | 2 | 16 | no data | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 53%, STEERING 11%, AIR BAGS 5% | |
Score: 86 of 100, where higher is better. | |||||||||
| 1996 | 4Gas | 19 | no data | $4,050 | 2 | 51 | no data | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 59%, VISIBILITY 8%, EQUIPMENT 6% | |
Score: 68 of 100, where higher is better. | |||||||||
| 1997 | 4Gas | 19 | no data | $4,050 | 2 | 20 | no data | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 61%, EQUIPMENT 9%, ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 4% | |
Score: 79 of 100, where higher is better. | |||||||||
| 1998 | 3Gas | 19 | no data | $4,050 | 10 | 130 | no data | FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 20%, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 12%, SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC 12% | |
Score: 0 of 100, where higher is better. | |||||||||
| 1999 | 3Gas | 18 | no data | $4,300 | 9 | 217 | no data | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 14%, SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC 12%, FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 10% | |
Score: 0 of 100, where higher is better. | |||||||||
| 2000 | 7Gas | 18 | no data | $4,300 | 4 | 148 | no data | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 19%, SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC 13%, ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 11% | |
Score: 36 of 100, where higher is better. | |||||||||
| 2001 | 6Gas | 18 | no data | $4,300 | 7 | 113 | no data | ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 13%, AIR BAGS 11%, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 10% | |
Score: 22 of 100, where higher is better. | |||||||||
| 2002 | 6Gas | 18 | no data | $4,300 | 4 | 88 | no data | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 14%, ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 14%, FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 9% | |
Score: 33 of 100, where higher is better. | |||||||||
| 2003 | 6Gas | 19 | no data | $4,050 | 7 | 66 | no data | FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 20%, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 17%, POWER TRAIN 12% | |
Score: 50 of 100, where higher is better. | |||||||||
| 2004 | 6Gas | 19 | no data | $4,050 | 4 | 35 | no data | FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 12%, AIR BAGS 7%, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 7% | |
Score: 72 of 100, where higher is better. | |||||||||
| 2005 | 1Gas | 19 | no data | $4,050 | 3 | 91 | no data | AIR BAGS 36%, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 14%, STEERING 7% | |
Score: 27 of 100, where higher is better. | |||||||||
| 2006 | 4Gas | 19.5 | no data | $3,950 | 4 | 67 | no data | AIR BAGS 48%, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 16%, ENGINE 5% | |
Score: 52 of 100, where higher is better. | |||||||||
| 2007 | 4Gas | 20 | no data | $3,850 | 4 | 53 | no data | AIR BAGS 52%, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 10%, ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 5% | |
Score: 66 of 100, where higher is better. | |||||||||
| 2008 | 4Gas | 20 | no data | $3,850 | 4 | 71 | no data | AIR BAGS 62%, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 9%, EXTERIOR LIGHTING 8% | |
Score: 46 of 100, where higher is better. | |||||||||
| 2009 | 4Gas | 21 | no data | $3,650 | 4 | 21 | no data | AIR BAGS 77%, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 5%, ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 5% | |
Score: 78 of 100, where higher is better. | |||||||||
| 2010 | 4Gas | 21 | 300 | $3,650 | 3 | 17 | 741 | AIR BAGS 50%, SEAT BELTS 14%, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 9% | |
Score: 78 of 100, where higher is better. Theft rate: 0.6 per 1,000 produced (federal data, last published for 2014). | |||||||||
| 2011 | 4Gas | 21 | 300 | $3,650 | 3 | 21 | 869 | AIR BAGS 46%, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 12%, SEATS 12% | |
Score: 80 of 100, where higher is better. Theft rate: 1.1 per 1,000 produced (federal data, last published for 2014). | |||||||||
| 2012 | 2Gas | 25 | 211 | $3,125 | 8 | 59 | 1,350 | AIR BAGS 17%, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 15%, ENGINE 15% | |
Score: 10 of 100, where higher is better. Theft rate: 0.3 per 1,000 produced (federal data, last published for 2014). | |||||||||
| 2013 | 3Gas | 24 | 211 | $3,200 | 6 | 52 | 1,474 | AIR BAGS 23%, ENGINE 19%, UNKNOWN OR OTHER 10% | |
Score: 40 of 100, where higher is better. Theft rate: 0.4 per 1,000 produced (federal data, last published for 2014). | |||||||||
| 2014 | 4Diesel, Gas | 25.5 | 211 | $3,050 | 4 | 41 | 1,248 | STEERING 17%, AIR BAGS 15%, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 13% | |
Score: 72 of 100, where higher is better. Theft rate: 0.3 per 1,000 produced (federal data, last published for 2014). | |||||||||
| 2015 | 4Diesel, Gas | 25.5 | 211 | $3,050 | 4 | 22 | 997 | ENGINE 21%, AIR BAGS 14%, ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 14% | |
Score: 77 of 100, where higher is better. | |||||||||
| 2016 | 4Diesel, Gas | 26.5 | 333 | $2,925 | 3 | 51 | 909 | ENGINE 24%, AIR BAGS 11%, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 11% | |
Score: 65 of 100, where higher is better. | |||||||||
| 2017 | 3Gas | 25 | 340 | $3,100 | 3 | 20 | 684 | AIR BAGS 26%, STEERING 22%, ENGINE 17% | |
Score: 80 of 100, where higher is better. | |||||||||
| 2018 | 3Gas | 26 | no data | $2,950 | 2 | 11 | 636 | ENGINE 44%, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 25%, UNKNOWN OR OTHER 13% | |
Score: 80 of 100, where higher is better. | |||||||||
| 2019 | 2Hybrid | 26 | no data | $2,975 | 7 | 114 | 1,333 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 44%, ENGINE 17%, POWER TRAIN 8% | |
Score: 8 of 100, where higher is better. | |||||||||
| 2020 | 2Hybrid | 25.5 | no data | $3,025 | 9 | 34 | 1,264 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 45%, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 11%, UNKNOWN OR OTHER 11% | |
Score: 31 of 100, where higher is better. | |||||||||
| 2021 | 2Hybrid | 25 | no data | $3,075 | 12 | 26 | 1,224 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 43%, ENGINE 11%, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 11% | |
Score: 38 of 100, where higher is better. | |||||||||
| 2022 | 2Hybrid | 25 | no data | $3,075 | 5 | 4 | 1,007 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER 33%, BACK OVER PREVENTION 17%, ENGINE 17% | |
Score: 77 of 100, where higher is better. | |||||||||
| 2023 | 2Hybrid | 25.5 | no data | $3,025 | 1 | 3 | 869 | BACK OVER PREVENTION 25%, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 25%, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 25% | |
Score: 91 of 100, where higher is better. | |||||||||
| 2024 | 2Hybrid | 25.5 | no data | $3,025 | 1 | 3 | 718 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 33%, POWER TRAIN 33%, SERVICE BRAKES 33% | |
Score: 91 of 100, where higher is better. | |||||||||
| 2025 | 2Hybrid | 25.5 | no data | $3,225 | 3 | 9 | 723 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 25%, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 19%, STRUCTURE 13% | |
Score: 82 of 100, where higher is better. | |||||||||
| 2026 | 1Gas | 23 | no data | $3,550 | 1 | 8 | no data | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 24%, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 18%, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 12% | |
Score: 83 of 100, where higher is better. | |||||||||
How the numbers moved
How we score each year
We compare each year of the Audi A6 to the model's own typical numbers, not to other cars. A year reads solid when its recalls, owner complaints, and federal investigations sit at or below what is typical for this model, mixed when some of those numbers run above typical, and avoid when they run far above it. Deaths, reported fires, and an NHTSA advisory to park outside count against a year no matter what this model's baseline looks like.
A year is scored only when NHTSA has both complaint and recall counts for it. Complaint data often lags for the newest years, so a recent year can read not enough data even while its recall count already shows in the table. When the history is too thin, we say not enough data instead of guessing. Service bulletins are routine maintenance guidance from the manufacturer and do not lower a year's score.
Scores run 0 to 100, higher is better. Recall, complaint, and investigation figures come from NHTSA records. Fuel economy, fuel cost, and horsepower figures come from the EPA, shown as the median across the year's trims.
Information is gathered on a best-effort basis from public sources, may be incomplete or out of date, and is not purchasing or financial advice. Verify with the manufacturer or dealer before buying.