Audi of America, Inc. today announced that it is voluntarily recalling approximately 48,500 1998, 1999 and early production 2000 Audi A6 quattro models in the U.S. and about 2,900 vehicles in Canada to replace the existing fuel sending units inside the fuel tank because they could cause the fuel gauge to read full while the fuel tank may not in fact be full or could be empty.
The fuel sending units mounted inside the fuel tank perform the function of measuring and communicating the fuel level in the tank to the fuel gauge and computer on the instrument panel display. Audi has found that sulfur in fuel when interacting with certain fuel additives could cause the accumulation of sulfur deposits on contact points of any of the three fuel level sending units causing them to send an erroneous signal to the fuel gauge.
Owners of affected vehicles were notified by first-class mail in mid-June. They are asked to phone their authorized Audi dealer to have their vehicle repaired. All work will be completed at no cost to the customer and will begin on or about August 7.
Audi also will reimburse out of pocket expenses related to a malfunction of the fuel level sending unit, such as costs of towing, emergency road service, rental car or other incidental expenses.
Until repairs are completed, Audi has asked owners to set the trip odometer of their vehicles to zero miles each time after refueling, and to refuel when the trip odometer has reached 200 to 250 miles.
There has been only one reported accident attributed to this concern.
Customers with questions are welcome to phone a special Audi customer toll-free number at 877-270-4178.
In the A6 model line, only quattro (all-wheel-drive) vehicles are affected by the recall
