1998 Audi A6 Quattro review from North America

When the car was less than two years old the headlights started flashing on and off, the interior lights pulsed on and off, the side windows went down and up of their own accord, and the door locks locked and unlocked repeatedly. Subsequently the dealer replaced the appropriate computer under warranty.

Last summer while on a weekend trip with my wife and two sons the passenger-side floor started filling with water as we drove. Over the course of the 500 or so mile trip we had to stop roughly every hour to "bail" up to two inches of standing water out of the rear passenger floor area. The next evening we drove out of the hotel parking lot and the car slammed to a stop in the middle of the access road: all four brakes had locked and the transmission was inoperative (i.e. there was no effect when I shifted from one gear to another.) By turning the ignition switch off and restarting the car three or four times I was able to move the car to the side of the road. It was flat-bedded to the nearest dealer who subsequently diagnosed the problem as a clogged air conditioner drain which then caused two computers in the center tunnel to short out. The charge for replacing two computers was just over $4,000.00 Both the dealer and Audi USA disclaimed any responsibility for the problem, stating that: 1) the car was out of warranty; and 2) that it was routine for dealer mechanics to check and clean the air conditioner drain when a car was in for service. Our car has been maintained at an independent repair shop for some time and therefore this was not done. There is no reference to the need to perform this check or service (and the risk of not doing so) in the Owner's Manual or any other literature provided by Audi. We have subsequently learned from ex-Audi mechanics that 1998 and 1999 Audi's are known for this problem, i.e. water from clogged air conditioner drain or even from melting snow on the floor causing the floor-mounted computers to short out. (In later models Audi apparently enclosed the computers in a plastic case and moved them off the floor to attempt to solve the problem.)

Had these computers shorted out while my family and I were en-route traveling on a six to eight lane interstate highway at 75 - 80 mph, we would almost certainly have been killed.

We have filed a complaint with the National Highway Safety Transportation Administration.

My goal is to have all cars with this design defect recalled.