The defect
ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH HALOGEN LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS, CERTAIN CONNECTOR PINS IN THE HEADLIGHT SWITCH CONNECTOR COME INTO CONTACT WITH EACH OTHER CAUSING A SHORT CIRCUIT. NOTE: VEHICLES WITH XENON LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS ARE NOT AFFECTED BECAUSE THE CIRCUIT IN THESE VEHICLES CONTAINS A FUSE, WHICH PRECLUDES EXCESSIVE CURRENT FLOW IN THE CASE OF A SHORT CIRCUIT. AUDI S6 AND S6 AVANT VEHICLES ARE ALL EQUIPPED WITH XENON LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS AND, THEREFORE, ARE NOT LONGER AFFECTED BY THIS RECALL.
The risk
THIS CONDITION COULD LEAD TO OVERHEATING OR FIRE.
The remedy
DEALERS WILL REROUTE THE WIRING HARNESS BY INSTALLING A JUMPER WIRING HARNESS. THE RECALL BEGAN ON DECEMBER 16, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT AUDI AT 1-800-822-2834.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by ODI
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Audi A6 | 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 |
| Audi Allroad | 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 |
Components: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audi A6 | 1998 | 130 | 10 |
| Audi A6 | 1999 | 217 | 9 |
| Audi A6 | 2000 | 148 | 4 |
| Audi A6 | 2001 | 113 | 7 |
| Audi A6 | 2002 | 88 | 4 |
| Audi A6 | 2003 | 66 | 7 |
| Audi A6 | 2004 | 35 | 4 |
| Audi Allroad | 2001 | 17 | 3 |
| Audi Allroad | 2002 | 8 | 3 |
| Audi Allroad | 2003 | 14 | 3 |
| Audi Allroad | 2004 | 15 | 3 |
| Audi Allroad | 2005 | 3 | 2 |
Other electrical system recalls in 2006
47 of the 490 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2006 concerned the electrical system; VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA, INC filed 63 campaigns in all.
| 06V476000 19 Dec 2006 | HARLEY-DAVIDSON MOTOR COMPANY |
| 06V481000 19 Dec 2006 | MOTOR COACH INDUSTRIES, INC |
| 06V484000 15 Dec 2006 | GENIE INDUSTRIES, INC. |
| 06V459000 30 Nov 2006 | NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC. |
| 06V444000 20 Nov 2006 | HARLEY-DAVIDSON MOTOR COMPANY |
| 06V439000 15 Nov 2006 | NEWMAR CORPORATION |
| 06V421000 2 Nov 2006 | FREIGHTLINER LLC |
| 06V410000 26 Oct 2006 | SAAB CARS USA, INC. |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2006