2012 Audi A6 Steering Problems

Vehicle suffered sudden and total loss of power steering. Had just driven the car 5-10 minutes prior, came out to leave and had a message stating do not drive vehicle, steering defective. At that point the steering wheel felt locked in place and the vehicle was effectively a brick. This issue just happened yesterday and has not been to the dealership yet for diagnosis but I am a former automotive service manager (German specialist) and have connected my car to the VCDS system in order to retrieve the system failure codes. Error code was for the power assist motor. I then did some quick research online and saw dozens of other complaints from owners with the same issue. Thankfully most fail upon start up but I did come across one or two that reported having the issue after turning a corner and suddenly losing all power assist. This is a known issue for Audi and they sent letters to owners around June of 2021 stating that the issue was being covered under a 10 year or 120k mile warranty. That's nice if your vehicle happens to fail while under warranty but now that the time period is it, the burden of repairing this potentially dangerous system defect is on the owner and costs in excess of $4,000 at the dealer. Audi also requires the new unit to be coded to the vehicle via their ODIS system which means owners don't have the option of going to many other sources for a repair. Few shops can afford the monthly fees Audi charges for the ODIS equipment.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 AUDI A6. AFTER PARKING THE VEHICLE AND SHUTTING THE ENGINE OFF, THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT START THE FOLLOWING DAY AND THE MESSAGE "STEERING MALFUNCTION DO NOT DRIVE" WAS DISPLAYED. THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS NOT DETERMINED. AUDI OF CLARKSBURG (1 STONEYBROOK RD, CLARKSBURG, WVA) AND THE MANUFACTURER WERE NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 164,000.

WHILE DRIVING ON HIGHWAY STEERING SYSTEM FAULTED, CAUSING LOSS OF POWER STEERING. RACK COMPLETELY FAILED. VERY VERY DIFFICULT TO TURN STEERING WHEEL. CAR ONLY HAS 124K MILES.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 AUDI A6. THE CONTACT WAS UNABLE TO TURN THE KEY IN THE IGNITION AND START THE VEHICLE. THE "STEERING FAULT" MESSAGE APPEARED AND THE EPS WARNING INDICATOR FLASHED. THE FAILURE SEIZED THE STEERING WHEEL; THEREFORE, THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AUDI MEADOWLANDS (425 ROUTE 3 EAST, SECAUCUS, NJ 07094, (201) 982-7056). THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE VIN WAS INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 17V781000 (FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE). THE MANUFACTURER ISSUED 53 TSBS FOR THE STEERING, BUT NO RECALL. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED TO ADDRESS THE FAILURE AND THE RECALL REPAIR. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS NOT AVAILABLE.

2012 AUDI A6 MY VEHICLE SUDDENLY WOULD NOT START. THE IGNITION DID NOT TURN ON. IT SAID "DO NOT DRIVE - STEERING DEFECTIVE" STEERING COULD NOT BE TURNED, GEARS COULD NOT BE SHIFTED. THE VEHICLE HAD TO BE TOWED USING DOLLY TOW TRUCK SINCE ALL THE WHEELS WERE LOCKED. THE DEALER SAID IT HAD A FAULTY STEERING CONTROL MODULE AND GAVE ME A VERY EXPENSIVE REPAIR BILL. THIS IS A SAFETY RELATED ISSUE AND IF THE STEERING LOCKS LIKE THIS ON THE HIGHWAY, THIS COULD LEAD TO SEVERE INJURY OR DEATH. ON THE INTERNET I FOUND MANY OTHER CUSTOMERS HAVING SIMILAR COMPLAINTS. SOME EXAMPLES BELOW: HTTPS://WWW.AUDIWORLD.COM/FORUMS/A6-S6-C6-PLATFORM-DISCUSSION-58/TRANSPONDER-STEERING-COLUMN-2834070/ HTTP://DOYLESTOWNAUTOSHOP.COM/A6-AUDI-STEERING-COLUMN-LOCK-PROBLEMS/ I KINDLY REQUEST NHTSA TO REVIEW THIS SAFETY ISSUE AND REQUEST AUDI TO FIX THE AFFECTED VEHICLES ASAP. THANKS.

STEERING IS NOTCHY AND UNSTABLE ON-CENTER AND SLIGHTLY OFF-CENTER. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO KEEP THE CAR STRAIGHT WHILE ACCELERATING, BRAKING OR AT CONSTANT SPEED. MUST CONSTANTLY CORRECT LEFT AND RIGHT MAKING THE CAR SWERVE UNCONTROLLABLY LEFT AND RIGHT. IMPOSSIBLE TO KEEP STRAIGHT. IT IS HAZARDOUS TO DRIVE. TOOK CARE TO DEALERSHIP. THEY REPLACED THE STEERING RACK BUT THE PROBLEM PERSISTS. I BELIEVE AUDI IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM BUT HASN'T PROVIDED A SOLUTION. *TR