A6 Allroad 3.0l 2014

[OmegaV6]

Hi all, considering buying an A6 Allroad 3.0l (2014) model for use as a towcar for a 1700kg caravan. Does this model have any common/specific major problems, especially regarding suspension, gearbox and DPF ??

I understand that the suspension, although given a fancy name and 4 settings, is in reality, active self levelling ??

Also, does anyone have any experience, good or bad, with "Warranty Direct", as I am considering a two year breakdown policy to cover this private purchase ... ?

Ta muchly ..

[Scott K]

Hi,
Would help if you could tell us which engine. Depending on output they have either s tronic or tiptronic gearboxes. S tronic require gearbox oil change every 38k miles. The tiptronic doesn't although ZF do have a service regime for them. DPF should be fine as long as they are driven a reasonable distance. This is something which can be checked with VCDS for soot loading.
No idea about the suspension but there don't seem to be many complaints compared to the C5 and C6. I suppose just bear in mind it could go wrong and you may need a compressor and some bags. You might want to check if the warranty would cover these things.

[OmegaV6]

Hi, thanks for that .. apparently its the Audi A6 Allroad 3.0 TDI S Tronic Quattro 5dr 245BHP ... don't know any other details at the moment. I've had an email from another forum that tells me the cambelt needs changing at 75000 miles, at a cost of £1200-£1300 !!! but all my research seems to indicate this has a cam (timing) chain which shouldn't need changing ?? which is correct ???

What is VCDS & "soot loading" please ?? I've never owned a diesel so on a bit of a learning curve !!

I've tried (and failed ) to find an on-line source that tells me what needs servicing and when .. in my day simply published as a Servicing Schedule ... .. is there such a document for this car ??

Appreciate the help

[Whippy53]

Indeed, cam chain not belt, the dpf captures the particulate matter (soot) and when the sensors indicate it's getting full it burns off the carbon and turns that into ash. When the filter is full of ash that's it, can be cleaned by a specialist or replaced. It helps if you do longer runs which help the engine get hot enough for the car to go through a recent phase.

[bluezie]

I bought my 2014 3.0 CDUD engine code A6 Quattro 18 months ago at 30K.
This engine has been around a while, so all problems seem to have been solved. I checked the ash load on the DPF, and if I remember correctly it was 18 grams and the limit was something like 350 grams. So it had a very long way to go before full.
My wife mainly drives it, and does a lot of short journeys (2 miles) as well as some longer ones (10 - 15 miles), and the DPF is still happy, and the car is now on around 50K.
I changed the S-tronic oil at 40K, although I couldn't get anywhere near the 7L of oil out of it, I think it was about 4.2, there is another thread on here last summer on that.