When asked about different options for road charging, the survey respondents overwhelmingly supported paying $2.50 for a new road and half were willing to fork over $5 for a CBD-cordon toll.
However, 54 per cent opposed a $2.50 motorway network toll and the most unpopular option was a network-wide toll based on distance and the time of day, with 66 per cent opposing that idea.
The survey comes on the heels of analysis by the Auckland Transport Alignment Project (ATAP) which showed tolls of between 3c and 40c a kilometre would help reduce congestion though the Government and Auckland Council want to do more detailed research before committing to the policy.
Respondents to the AA survey were asked about tolls to pay for infrastructure projects and a third backed the idea but 37 per cent wanted a combination of road charges, fuel tax and rates.
But tolling existing roads was not popular with widespread "discomfort" with the idea, the AA said. One member said: "Tolling roads that are already built and paid for is theft".
Irvine said this scepticism showed just how complex and controversial congestion charging is.
Big improvements in public transport were also needed before implementing a scheme because even if faced with a $5 toll and twice as much congestion as they face now, most motorists would continue driving.
Transport Minister Simon Bridges said Auckland's roading and public transport network needed to be finished - including the City Rail Link - before road charges would be considered.
And even then, they would be implemented to change driver behaviour like changing work start times, and not to raise revenue.
At current rates, around 800 cars are added to the road every week.
A 2010 report by the NZTA found congestion in Auckland cost the New Zealand economy nearly $1 billion per year, or about 1 per cent of the country's gross domestic product.
