Audi A6 (2011) Air Bag Recall: Risk of Serious Injury from Inflator Explosion
Audi is recalling 2011 A6 vehicles with passenger air bag inflators that may explode in crashes, causing serious injury or death. Owners must have the inflator replaced free of charge by dealers.
Use caution until it’s fixed
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
What happened, in plain English
Audi is recalling 2011 A6 vehicles with a passenger air bag inflator that may explode during a crash, potentially causing serious injury or death. Owners must have the inflator replaced at no cost by an Audi dealer. Read more at govinfonow.com/recall/1252258-audi-a6-2011-air-bag-recall-risk-of-serious-injury.
Source Summary by GovInfoNow · govinfonow.com/recall/1252258-audi-a6-2011-air-bag-recall-risk-of-serious-injury · Updated October 7, 2026 · Official notice: NHTSA #18V004000
Cite this page
“Audi A6 (2011) Air Bag Recall: Risk of Serious Injury from Inflator Explosion.” GovInfoNow, updated October 7, 2026. https://govinfonow.com/recall/1252258-audi-a6-2011-air-bag-recall-risk-of-serious-injury. Based on NHTSA recall #18V004000 (https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls?nhtsaId=18V004000).
Why it’s dangerous
The air bag inflators may explode due to propellant degradation from long-term exposure to humidity and temperature changes. This explosion can send sharp metal fragments toward the driver or passengers, causing serious injury or death.
Who’s affected
Owners of 2010-2011 Audi A6 Sedan, A6 Avant, and S6 Sedan vehicles registered in specific U.S. states are affected. Drivers and passengers in these vehicles are at risk during crashes.
How to tell if you have this one
Check if your vehicle is a 2010-2011 Audi A6 Sedan, A6 Avant, or S6 Sedan with a passenger air bag inflator. The recall covers vehicles registered in specific U.S. states or 'Zone B' and some 2009 Audi A4 Cabriolets and S4 Cabriolets.
- Brand
Audi- Category
Vehicle
What to do — step by step
Contact Audi for Recall Notification
Owners should contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834 to confirm if their vehicle is affected and schedule the air bag inflator replacement.
Have Air Bag Inflator Replaced
Audi dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator at no cost once parts become available, starting in June 2018.
June 2018
What NHTSA says to do
Audi will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. Audi mailed an interim owner notification March 02, 2018. When parts to perform the recall repair become available, Audi will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin in June 2018. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69U1. Note: This recall has been superseded by 18V427.
How this recall unfolded
Recall timeline
- NHTSA received the defect report
- Recall expected to begin (expected, per the notice)
Dates from the agency record only; steps without a date are left out.
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Where this comes from
The facts (hazard, remedy, dates, manufacturer) are pulled from the official NHTSA recall record. The plain-language summary and step-by-step checklist are written by GovInfoNow to make the official notice easier to act on — they don’t replace it.
- Official source: NHTSA Recall #18V004000 (April 1, 2018)
- Plain-language summary written by qwen3:4b on October 7, 2026, from the official record above. Not reviewed by a person — if it conflicts with the NHTSA notice, the notice is correct. Report an error on this page.
- GovInfoNow is an independent service and is not a government agency. We republish official NHTSA recall data; we don’t issue, amend or administer recalls.