There are 6 owner-reported brakes complaints for the 2005 Audi A6in NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
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
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
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
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
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
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.
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 26, 2026