The 1998 Audi S6 has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 172,866 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 1 complaint with NHTSA, most often about the unknown or other. Last updated July 5, 2026.
ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES, IF A DRIVER'S KNEES PUSH AGAINST THE KNEE BOLSTER (CRASH ELEMENT) LOCATED UNDER THE DASHBOARD, IT CAN CONTACT THE HEADLIGHT SWITCH WIRING HARNESS, AND AN ELECTRICAL SHORT COULD OCCUR.
Consequence
A FIRE COULD ORIGINATE IN THE LEFT DASHBOARD AREA.
Remedy
DEALERS WILL INSTALL A PROTECTIVE COVERING ON THE KNEE BOLSTER (CRASH ELEMENT). IN ADDITION, THE WIRING HARNESS AS WELL AS THE FELT PROTECTOR ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE DASHBOARD CARRIER WILL BE CHECKED, AND REPLACED IF NECESSARY. THE RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 26, 2004. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT AUDI AT 1-800-822-2834.
Complaints by component
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
1
Total complaints1
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“I had the car jacked up using the audi supplied jack on the right front wheel. I had removed the tire and was replacing front brake pads. The jack suddenly collapsed. The jack had come apart due to the failure of a plastic part that operates as a hinge point. I feel the jack design is very poor…”
Defect investigations
InvestigationRQ06003 Opened 2006-02-27 · closed 2006-07-20
DRIVER'S SIDE DASH FIRE
VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA, INC. (VOA) CONDUCTED A SAFETY RECALL (NHTSA RECALL NUMBER 04V133) TO ADD A PLASTIC COVER TO THE TOP SECTION OF THE KNEE BOLSTER CROSSMEMBER TO PREVENT CONTACT WITH THE HEADLIGHT SWITCH WIRING HARNESS.THE SCOPE OF THE ORIGINAL RECALL COVERED MODEL YEARS 1998 THROUGH 2004 WITH VEHICLE PRODUCTION…
InvestigationRQ06003 Opened 2006-02-27 · closed 2006-07-20
DRIVER'S SIDE DASH FIRE
VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA, INC. (VOA) CONDUCTED A SAFETY RECALL (NHTSA RECALL NUMBER 04V133) TO ADD A PLASTIC COVER TO THE TOP SECTION OF THE KNEE BOLSTER CROSSMEMBER TO PREVENT CONTACT WITH THE HEADLIGHT SWITCH WIRING HARNESS.THE SCOPE OF THE ORIGINAL RECALL COVERED MODEL YEARS 1998 THROUGH 2004 WITH VEHICLE PRODUCTION…
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1998 Audi S6 as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.