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What 19 owners told NHTSA about the 2016 Audi S6

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (19)Crash / fire / injury (1)Engine (13)Transmission & drivetrain (3)Electrical system (2)Brakes (1)Driver assistance (1)Engine & cooling (1)Fuel system (1)Speed control (1)Steering (1)Suspension (1)

1 of 19 complaints match · Steering · clear filters

Sep 9, 2023SteeringElectrical systemEngine

While driving with my wife and kids, on the highway, in the rain a warning message was displayed. The warning stated: steering malfunction, please stop the vehicle!. At which point the power steering locked-up & the engine powered down. As a result, I was unable to steer the vehicle. Thankfully, I was able to “muscle” the car off the highway and onto a secondary roadway. Vehicle was towed. With the power steering locking-up and not being able to effectively steer the vehicle this is a HUGE safety issue and needs to be addressed with Audi. This could have ended tragically if it were to happen to a driver who was unable to “muscle” the vehicle to safety.

NHTSA ODI 11543563

Working with the data? Download all 19 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 20, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2016 Audi S6 verdict →