2000 Audi A6 2.7 quattro from North America - Comments

Water leaks into rear tail light. Dealer replaced it once, but it still occurs.

Brakes squeal incessantly, creating much embarrassment when stopping. Dealer says it's normal and will not fix.

Fuse for interior lights was blowing constantly, crippling the alarm, windows, sunroof (which was stuck open!), etc. Took dealer 3 days to locate a short under the seats.

One of the Xenon headlights will not light at random. Dealer replaced assembly; it still happens.

Cup holder broke after 1 week.

CD player will randomly stop, or go to another song. (I'm assuming it's not commentary on what I'm playing...)

Brakes totally and inexplicably failed while I was approaching a stop light. Problem never resurfaced; no indication why it happened.

Air conditioning is not adequate to cool the car.

How many Audi/VW owners also take exception to Audi's Incredible Hulk door stops, which often send the door flying back into you as you're trying to get out??

Regarding performance, the car is amazing. It's heavy, so it takes turns hard unless you remember to keep the wheels driving -- the quattro then takes over and keeps the car planted.

I have no complains about the engineering or the performance, however a luxury car should have better reliability, and the dealership should be more responsive. Because of my experiences with this car, I'm living for lease-end when I'll choose another manufacturer.

This is a follow-up from the author of the original review. Last month I gladly turned in the Audi A6 at lease-end. I could have understood a failure here and there, but my 39-month experience with this car was full of annoying and repetitive faults, and repeated trips to the dealer to fix the same problems. As I said in the original review, I did appreciate the car's engineering; it was the lack of reliability and the sheer weight of the car that disappointed me. My new car is a 2003 Honda Accord Coupe and, believe it or not, it equals the performance of the A6 for about $20k less. The Honda's weight advantage, 240HP V6 performance, and re-engineered suspension in this all-new 2003 model please me more than the Audi ever did. It's toss-able, looks great, and I got out the dealer's door for less than $24k. I'm smiling more now. Sadly, for me the Audi name tag simply wasn't worth the price.

You are right about service; I think it is a common feature for AUDI worldwide (I live in UK) ; though they charge an arm ad a leg (GBP80/hour°, they are either not qualified or they are criminal. It is up 2 them to choose whichever of these fits their profile...

My car worked just fine until first time serviced. Ever since, more and more problems emerged. Once they tried 2 convince me 2 replace the whole front braking system, with no need for it. Etc, etc...

The car (A6 Quattro) is fantastic, but lacks service support.

I have a 2000 a6 quattro with 64000 miles. I have had the brakes and drums replaced (highway miles) and now the cam seals leaked and had to be replaced. Service was poor at best with car tied up over 1 week with no loaner. Found out dealer had 11 cars with the same problem, but Audi doesn't think it is a major concern.

I have a 1997 Audi quattro with 120,000 km. on it. I bought it used last year as it rides amazingly and appears to be well built. A couple of weeks of ownership later, the catalytic converter went, which costs major $$$$, then the steering rack went, again major $$$$. Then, a couple of weeks ago I was backing out of a muddy driveway and the whole front bumper exploded with pieces flying 20 feet. Apparently I was unaware there was a front bumper problem with this vehicle. Basically a major design flaw which causes the bumper to act as a large snow shovel scooping up the mud and water and boom, no bumper. I have had just about every make of vehicle over my 34 yrs of driving and have never seen this happen. I am awaiting Audi to see if there is a warranty for this or else Ill continue driving it with a sign that says, "Don't back up in mud with quattro" with an arrow pointing to the bumper! Robert C.

I have owned 2 1997 Audi A6 Avant Quattros. I have never had any sort of odd problem with them. I have owned 12 Audis, and these were the most trouble free. The one exception is the ignition switch, I had to replace the internals on both cars. I have heard of lots of problems with the 1998+ models though.