A6 C6 reliability issues

Just reading on this forum there seems to be an alarming amount of technical failures on A6's

I've had my 59 plate 2.0 tdi for 5 months now but don't enjoy the car as much as I should for the following issues;

Mild clutch judder, slight vibration at high speed, sensitive steering, slight notch in engaging third gear mostly when cold.

My previous car was a Passat 2.0 tdi highline which I took out a warranty for and in the two years I had it nothing went wrong and it felt brilliant and robust to drive. I thought that the A6 would be similar to the Passat but not so sure.

I'm a believer in over servicing the car. When I bought it from 'AC' garage they had changed the oil but I got my own mechanic to change it again to make sure it had best quality oil.

The car has done 45000. Yesterday I changed the Air Filter Element which was absolutely 'Filthy'. Service schedule recommended 57000 mile change, they must be kidding!!

So far on the car I've tinted the windows, changed the brake pads for 'Ferrodo'. Upgraded alloys to 18 inch S line. Used a Clay bar on Body work, Autoglym polish and finished of with Farecla G3 High Gloss Paste Wax.

Car looks great but concerned it may not be reliable, only time will tell!

What miles are on the car and have you had the wheels balanced//tracked?

Car has now done 45000 miles. I've had the wheels balanced and plan to get tracking done. I'm also going to change the spigot rings on the alloys.

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Originally Posted by vwhighline

Just reading on this forum there seems to be an alarming amount of technical failures on A6's

I've had my 59 plate 2.0 tdi for 5 months now but don't enjoy the car as much as I should for the following issues;

Mild clutch judder, slight vibration at high speed, sensitive steering, slight notch in engaging third gear mostly when cold.

My previous car was a Passat 2.0 tdi highline which I took out a warranty for and in the two years I had it nothing went wrong and it felt brilliant and robust to drive. I thought that the A6 would be similar to the Passat but not so sure.

I'm a believer in over servicing the car. When I bought it from 'AC' garage they had changed the oil but I got my own mechanic to change it again to make sure it had best quality oil.

The car has done 45000. Yesterday I changed the Air Filter Element which was absolutely 'Filthy'. Service schedule recommended 57000 mile change, they must be kidding!!

So far on the car I've tinted the windows, changed the brake pads for 'Ferrodo'. Upgraded alloys to 18 inch S line. Used a Clay bar on Body work, Autoglym polish and finished of with Farecla G3 High Gloss Paste Wax.

Car looks great but concerned it may not be reliable, only time will tell!

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Agreed on the above comments.

Personally having had my car from new, now 6 years old and 102k miles I love it, this is despite an unbelievable amount of issues for a brand such as Audi.
This is noted across the models and years unfortunately, so looks like an epic fail from Audi on that as far as I'm concerned.

Issues such as tandem pumps, DMF, rear light clusters, chrome window surrounds and others should be resolved quickly, one would think. Instead they seem to permeate through to the next years cars and well beyond......such a shame

Yep, problem is once you spend money on them you tend to feel obliged to continue. Had a BMW 523 years ago, spend £2500 in 3 years on it. Changed it for a 530 and in three years only replaced a front wheel bearing. Its difficult to predict but with modern cars there seems to be recurrent themes of mechanical failures. Maybe another warranty might be a good idea??

I think also the problem is forums can bring out the worst in cars a lot of the times.
Every manufacturer and every model they do will have their own share of problems. There are still 1000's of drivers who will not come on a forum and 1000's that do to vent/ask advice. And some get lucky. My 2007 A6 was so bad, it spent 6 out of the 9 months of ownership in the dealership before they sent it to Germany and got it scrapped. This A6 to be fair has only really had wear and tear out of warranty. Within, the gearbox went within the first 20k of it's life.

Yesterday on the M25 from the M40 (start) to the M23 (Finish), I counted no less than 17 cars with hazards on and bonnets up. None were Audi's but majority were BMWs and Fords. None had flat/buckled wheels either indicating it was engine trouble of some sort.
On the way back from Crawley, I counted a further 4 on my side - again, none were Audi's.

So back to the beginning, don't let what you read on here put you off:) (even if you do feel like driving it of a cliff at times as I do!)


I had some very strange stuff going on with my wheels - slight vibration at higher speeds, wouldn't track straight even though I spent a fair bit on tracking/alignment. In the end, it took an alloy wheel specialist to remove the tyres and find that one of them was no longer "round". Sure enough, alloy was fine but the tyre was shot due to some pothole no doubt. After replacing it, it's been fine

That is the thing about forums Akash, you're right of course.

Most people that join, generally come to them due to an issue of sorts & looking for answers.......very few come to say how great their car is.

I like to think I've always been fair about my personal experience, from the start I have loved the car and still do, but it doesn't stop me from being honest & realistic about the faults / issues.

There are those that seem to follow marques blindly almost and won't hear a bad word said against them......that's just not real

^^^I'm one of the very few then...but admittedly only done 12k miles in 9 months of ownership.

Only a couple of things have niggled me, namely:

1) How does a modern car apparently eat brake pads/discs? My 17yr old Jag which weighs just 14% less has pads that last 40k miles and discs that have been on for over 60k with no signs of wear
2) Why are there so few aftermarket bits...e.g polybushes/sway bars etc?
3) Why did they make it such a PITA to change some components?
4) Why can't the freaking glove-box close with the push of a button :aargh4:


PS: OP, I'd still not drive anything else :biglaugh:

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Originally Posted by Akash

Every manufacturer and every model they do will have their own share of problems. There are still 1000's of drivers who will not come on a forum and 1000's that do to vent/ask advice.

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I agree :) ...IMO most people do a comparative of reliability against what they've owned as many of us can not have a fleet of vehicles...

Out of everything I've owned/immediate family nothing compares to the torment my car has put me through :( ...

I'm not in a bad financial position but always have bought used as depreciation is something I don't wanna have on me...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Akash

My 2007 A6 was so bad, it spent 6 out of the 9 months of ownership in the dealership before they sent it to Germany and got it scrapped.

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Now you see people with warranty can let go of issues easier than those who have struggled through paying out of their own pocket and that's not just me I can link in many a thread where people have spent £1000's and are unhappy about it :( ...

Is modern motoring more unreliable?

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Originally Posted by Akash

This A6 to be fair has only really had wear and tear out of warranty. Within, the gearbox went within the first 20k of it's life.

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A gearbox going in 20K is very poor IMO... I know a chauffeuring company owner which will not touch Audi's due to feeling they are not as reliable as other prestige brands... another acquaintance who had an A6 2.0 TDi 59 plate also had 2x gearboxes replaced under warranty...
This is the first car I've ever owned which I actually think I must set a monthly budget equal to a mortgage payment :zx11: to maintain it!...

Owned since Aug 11 (70k on clock, FASH), covered 14k miles in that period, last count I had spent £6.2k :mad:...

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Originally Posted by MarkTM

1) How does a modern car apparently eat brake pads/discs? My 17yr old Jag which weighs just 14% less has pads that last 40k miles and discs that have been on for over 60k with no signs of wear My discs have been on for 65,000 miles since I bought it (not sure how long before that too) and don't need changing. My pads have only been changed once in that time too & are still going strong.
3) Why did they make it such a PITA to change some components? That's the same for all marques
4) Why can't the freaking glove-box close with the push of a button :aargh4: lol, some people are never happy. :

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If it makes you feel any better lads, all cars have weaknesses their prone to & all manufacturers make a doozy from time to time. A friend of mine just bought a brand new Land Rover on a 13 plate, had the 'unveiling' at the dealership & everything. It lasted 3 days & 176 miles before going into limp mode & having to be repaired. Apparently the boost pipe to the turbo had somehow worn.

Brycie : But that's land rovers all over for you ;) Always been known to be bad in reliability



1) How does a modern car apparently eat brake pads/discs?
* I would tend to agree to a point but remember these cars are heavy and if auto, then you're constantly using brakes and not the clutch to slow down/stop etc. It's possible that the genuine pads/discs are quicker to burn out than other brands and that is something people on here are testing out recently.

In my case, I got only 20k with the first set of pads and discs from new but second set of discs are still fine 34k on and only needed rear pads replaced. You would probably make the Audi jump from the lights and then hit the brakes more than a Jag too ... because you can :- )

2) Why are there so few aftermarket bits...e.g polybushes/sway bars etc?
Can't answer as I don't get my hands dirty

3) Why did they make it such a PITA to change some components?
I think this is standard in newer cars. Always gets to me where EU driving = carry bulbs on you but you can't change them. The new Lexus, BMW's, Volvos and Audi's are all the same.

4) Why can't the freaking glove-box close with the push of a button
Agreed! But then again how many can you say come down with a push of a button. The A6 was the first car I've ever seen it on

114K miles and Ill never ever have another Audi - Piece of crap. I mean the paint is coming off of the window switches on the driver side - this is meant to be a quality car. and the paint coming off of the switches ? its not like Im using them every day, shoddy if you ask me....;)

seriously - its the first bespoke car I have had and its simply hewn from granite - it has the feel about it that it would do the same again without breaking sweat.

The trouble with some forums is that people will come on when they have issues and bitch and moan - its natural as they are venting and wanting some redress.
I know I had issues with an xtrail when I leased it, issues with the supplier and the nissan garage and trying to get an issue resolved with a faulty battery. I ended up having to get the RAC out 6 times to get the car started. And still they bickered between them about the issue. I ended up having to go to the nissan garage and then speak to the leasing agent and ask them to take it back as it wasnt doing what I required. A dependable vehicle - one that was costing me £430 a month should start on the key without any performance anxiety. Not impressed and enough to forget about nissan and also never to lease again.

As above....you don't go and see a doctor unless there is something wrong with you....same as a forum....99% come here when they have a problem that needs fixing. Think how many A6 drivers there are in the UK and what percentage of that are on here....way less than 1% I'd wager...
Mines been faultless for 30k miles and I bought it when it had just under 100k on the clock.:thumbup:

Sent from my phone...

I do think that top makes like Audi , BMW and so on are over rated but they do have that presence about them. Before I had Audi's which I've had for the last 7 years or so I always had fords and still do today run a ford transit and can honestly say I've never had any issues with them. My sister bought a brand new ford kuga two years ago and in 9 months it spend 4 months at the dealers. She now sold that and purchased a new one.
But I can say I've never really had any problems with my Audi's in that time either.
But and it's a big but i don't think they are much better than the cheaper makes like fords, I would have to say they just feel a lot nicer but cost twice the money.
we all know makers today push them self much harder and try to get more from the car for the money they put into it and that's where the fall down is. Although you don't see anymore ( running in please pass) they seem to have more issues now than ever

if you go back 20 years there was a significant difference between premium and common cars - as the public wanted their cars with the same features as more expensive cars the prices of these cars increased. Also quality improved - cost of electronics reduced and people moved up the ladder - this caused significant problems with the common cars such as ford and vauxhaul - leasing became more common and this brought about a shift in purchasing - with leasing the value of the vehicle is important at end of lease and these were significantly higher than ordinary cars - this brought about more base models of premium makes being used in leasing. The market share went up and they liked it - it made them see that they should go for the high end of ordinary cars. Senators and Granadas watch out ! Ford tried to grab that lucritive market by going for Jaguar and Volvo.... it didnt work out in the end but you see it became quite an interesting time in the car industry.

Iguess there is alot of luck involved I had

Well beside all the :rant:'s I've had about everything about my car ... I've noticed today my headlight washer pipes must be leaking! :zx11::cussing::banghead: ...
My wife confirmed she'd noticed the puddle occurring on drive a few days but not said anything :( https://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/i...es/cussing.gifhttps://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/i...ilies/zx11.gifhttps://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/i...s/banghead.gif...
So not only have I had engine/transmision out and interior fully out 2-3 times it will be the (n)th time I have the bumper off again :cussing::zx11::banghead:...

If someone knows a car exorcist please post or PM me contact details :( ....

:rolleyes:

Sorry laptop had a funny 5 minutes- I can now finish what I was going to say. There will always be a few unlucky cars of any make or model. I had 200000miles and still going strong with an Audi 100 Avant also my wife had an Audi 80 for 10 years and we still see it about - never any problems with either. You could buy a brand new £60000 car and have probllems.

This man speaks the truth!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

On a positive note when I was looking for a performance exhaust I thought I'd get a quote for a standard one from a few places

3 seperate convenience exhaust places couldn't remember the last time they'd had an Audi in with one remembering a 1988 Audi 80 as the last one he'd done some 15yrs earlier...the concensus was 'they are built so damned well'

My belief is that to the general public they are regarded as being very reliable if not a little boring (think Volvo here) and, even though it's only been 9 months of ownership when I've been asked what I drive and reply the answer is always "oooh very nice". When out say having a coffee with keys on the cafe table I've had 3 wimmin openly notice the marque and comment approvingly :biglaugh:

All of the premium marques have had major issues...think nikasil and Jag/MB engines from the 90's

No probs so far just some quite expensive preventative/standard maintenance.

Not had any issues as such! Just maintenance and a few choice mods.. One thing that ****** me off is why did they make it so difficult to change the headlight bulbs... It's as if they made the car round the bulbs!

Resident Curry Muncher

Oh dont get me started with the headlights - the guys at halfords even hate em..... absolute pain to change. maybe its cause cars last so long they design in such things to ensure that you take it to the garage for simple things like this....

Or perhaps its due to space issues within the engine bay... on the rear I think it is due to how the chassis is designed/built...

But :dunno: could be either reason that you suggest or I ...

Gup

The reason I disliked your post on page 2 was not because of the post but because I think your had more than your fair share of problems with your car and you don't need anymore

No worries mate :approve: ...

There's a number of things which on my car I can say "Hey it's (x)yrs old..."

Then I can say "Hey its done (xx)K miles...."

Then I can "Hey the date code of the replaced parts were factory fitted ones..."

But when I compare to other cars I've owned it is shocking...

Sometimes I wonder is she related to the Mary Celeste :scared:...

I do not own a A6/C6 so am neutral on this, I did have a C5 though and that was perfectly reliable!

But looking at this forum, the A6/C6 attracts more threads and posts than any other car by some margin.

I don't know if this is because this forum is more A6/C6-centric whereas other VAG models have their own dedicated forums but the sheer volume of C6 fault threads boggles the mind.

I think the next most problem ridden model on here in the B6 Passat, same engine in the 2.0 TDI which probably explains it!

^^^^ There we have it...we've all bought lemons!

Now if you have an A6 C6 & a B6 Passat in your possession you are truly blessed...Gup mate you need to go out and buy a Passat today to learn to appreciate Zesty! :p

Hey I'll a have full fruit basket to make "Five-A-Live" then! :p...

Think I best go straight out and px me A6 for a Kia Cee'd then as they never break down on Top gear

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gupsterg

Or perhaps its due to space issues within the engine bay... on the rear I think it is due to how the chassis is designed/built...

But :dunno: could be either reason that you suggest or I ...

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I personally think it's built by accountants...they figure if they make things inaccessible then a % of owners will get the work done at a dealer.

Was talking to a couple of breakdown people I know and they recommend buying a Kia, not only are they backed by a 7yr warranty but also cheap servicing £300 for 3yrs. They both agree that the secret with them is that individual parts as opposed to whole components can be changed...so a new washer seal instead of a whole new X...makes you wonder!

I think I detect some sarcasm.

And dare I suggest that there is some Stockholm syndrome apparent as well. These cars are holding you to ransom and yet you still love them.

Your all stark raving raving bonkers but this thread is aiding and assisting you to 'come out' and admit that the C6/A6 isn't really a very good car.

I think Gups Zesty accounts for at least 80% of all the faults reported with the C6 's on here :D.....take Zesty away and you have a generally reliable car! ;)

Sent from my phone...

I disagree that they're unriable. Yes the A6 C6 section is far more active than most others, but most of the activity is from C6 owners who ars on here because they enjoy it, not because they have faults. There are also lots of us who would definitely go with another A6 afterwards. So I'd suggest the majority are very happy with our cars, we're just a more sociable bunch than the owners of other models.

Have now traded in my C6 for a C7. Had one slight problem with C6 in that the rear window didn't raise properly. Fixed that by not using it! I am amazed at the difference between C6 and C7, but it was the only car I have traded in whilst still being in absolutely great condition. I would love to know if the new owner was on this forum, reg was pv55agy and the mileage was 100,000.
Daycartes
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Did it need a brake repair in 2011?

http://www.whocanfixmycar.com/Mechan...wJob/745/discs

Still taxed

Date of Liability 01 10 2013
Date of First Registration 24 10 2005
Year of Manufacture 2005
Cylinder Capacity (cc) 2698cc
CO2 Emissions 223g/Km
Fuel Type HEAVY OIL
Export Marker N
Vehicle Status Licence Not Due
Vehicle Colour BEIGE
Vehicle Type Approval M1
Vehicle Excise Duty rate for vehicle
6 Months Rate £154.00
12 Months Rate £280.00

and insured

YES PV55AGY IS showing as insured on the Motor Insurance Database today.

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Originally Posted by neilos100

I think Gups Zesty accounts for at least 80% of all the faults reported with the C6 's on here :D.....

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsqJFIJ5lLs

Yes I'd forgotten about that. My A4 went 60000 before new pads were needed, whereas the c6 went through 2 sets, due to the fact that it was automatic. I do feel that replacement disks is unwarranted, excuse the pun, my first Audi an Audi 80 lasted until 176000, both a4 and c6 needed new disks much earlier. Why is this? I have heard that it's because they no longer use asbestos in the pads, they use something that wears out the disks much more quickly. Of course cars are much heavier nowadays. I had it done at the main dealers though, the search that you highlit was just an investigatory quest.
Daycartes

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by BigCol

But looking at this forum, the A6/C6 attracts more threads and posts than any other car by some margin.

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I think this forum has a great number of A6 (C6) owners... there are sections which you can post and go to http://yoursmiles.org/tsmile/death/t10111.gif ...

There are other multi Audi forums/VAG and the C6 is http://yoursmiles.org/tsmile/death/t10113.gif...

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Originally Posted by BigCol

These cars are holding you to ransom and yet you still love them.

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Yes mine on both points http://yoursmiles.org/tsmile/illness/t2519.gif ...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...s__Handbag.jpg