Audi A6 Owners Issues / Experience Engine Gearbox Quattro

[gupsterg]

Hi to all forums members Firstly I would like to say VWAF is a super forum we have a great Admin/Forum team, we have Major Posters with great insight into problems (you know who you are) ... and members helping one another ... and the Sponsors who are making it possible for this to work ...

I have an Audi A6 Avant 3.0 TDi Tiptronic bought@70k on clock now 76k, I have chain rattle at startup intermittently, very occasionally starter motor will cut out and resume when starting. I had quote of max 2k fix, toying with idea of doing it or part ex... but this thread is not about me & my car but about others...

Please state what size Diesel/Petrol engine you have, with Manual or Multitronic or Tiptronic, Quattro or not, Saloon or Avant...

What major issues have you had with Engine/Gearbox/Quattro/Air Suspension? Cost of repair? Under warranty? Audi or Aftermarket? What mileage it occur? Dealer repair or Indi?

What service regime? eg Fixed interval/Long life Oil consumption figure? Driving style?eg motorway/mixed/local only Used for Towing? Remapped?

Reg year? How long you own? What mileage bought at? Current Mileage? Still got car? If not what mileage it sold at?

I would appreciate if people do not post bodywork/interior/electrical faults...we want major stuff injectors, turbos, swirl motors, to name a few big ones... problematic issues which are spiralling in cost...

We want data... No help requests please in this thread... If no faults have occurred please still post but provide data...

For readability can people post once, if things change come in thread and edit posts instead of reposting...

If you see something that someone has had fixed or want to advise/discuss PM member...

Idea is to have like mini log in one post of issues/experience/data again for readability/limit size of thread...Please & Sorry

Lets give ourselves and new buyers something to read and get feel for the cars we have... Thank You in advance

[Guest 2]

Nothing major - intake manifold runners x3 roughly at 40k, 58k and now at 70k. All replaced under warranty - Audi warranty - fixed at Dealer

3.0 TDi Auto Saloon Engine Code - ASB - Jan 2008 mfd Dec 2007. Longlife servicing until 30k (1st year of life) then fixed until present. Mixed driving - 50/50 split motorway/town

Current niggles - experiencing the intermittent starter dropout/turnover, intermittent slight car shake on cold starts, sweet smelling exhaust, occasional rough gearchange 1st to 2nd - Current mileage 73.5k (service due ~700 miles)

Gup, would you mind if I merged the 2.0 TDi with this post? They're the same so would benefit for just one thread.

EDIT - I forgot that I had C links changed in Jan 2011 (cant recall mileage) and have had 2 glowplugs changed at same time as the Manifold Runners.

[Chriseybaby]

Mines a 55 plate 2.7 TDi SE Avant with Manual gearbox, bought 1 month ago with 97k on it.

Only major repair I know of was the turbo replaced at 75k. Will give Audi a call to see if it was them.

Current issues are
A squealing slip ring, but doesn't happen enough for me to get it fixed.
Get a bit of judder when pulling off when the car is cold
Climate control has a habit of blasting me with boiling hot air sometimes, only normally one vent. Getting this looked at under warranty from the dealer who sold it.

Car has had 4 longlife services so far and is due another in 2k. Will probably be changing to yearly servicing since my driving is only on 60mph roads and I manage about 10k per year at most.

Next service, and any repair work, will be done at the Audi Indy in my village.

Fortunately these aren't major issues, so so far so good

[EssexGonzo]

OK, here goes with mine.

2.0 tdi PD DPF Multitronic. Engine code: BRE. Registered May 2007, I have driven since new. First 4 years company car so every little niggle was looked at.

91,000 miles - 80% motorway / 20% town/local.

Service regime: Fixed at 12,500 miles so has had 7 services, one cambelt change and 2 gearbox oil changes. All but one at an Audi dealer.

To date (and this is the kiss of death): NO engine or gearbox issues that I can recall.

[johnnyone]

inherited a raft of engine problems, it would appear. only bought this car in January. not really what i was expecting for £9000 worth of "quality" dealer serviced engineering.

A6 saloon. manual 6 speed 2007. 2.0tdi 140 PD. engine code BRE. 60000 miles

problems so far, and counting.....

1. turbo coked up, causing kangarooing and juddering below 1800rpm, then all power at once. (replaced by car dealer told it was nearly £1000)
2. new injector harness, on advice of audi, to cure lumpy tickover. (replaced by car dealer told it was £350)
3. longest bolt out of the 3 holding throttle body on loose and fallen out. (replaced by car dealer)
4. new EGR valve. old one coked up and eventually stuck open, causing the need for recovery whilst towing my caravan. (EGR valve £245.65 inc VAT from TPS, audi trade counter, replaced by car dealer)
5. another turbo. audi health check said control rod jerky in movement. turbo coked up again in 5 weeks apparently. (rebuilt by turbo supplier)
split intercooler, (2nd one in life of car) causing no end of P0299 underboost codes, oily intercooler, i even pointed out the whooshing noise when pulling away to my selling dealer, and an audi dealer mis diagnosed as well.. (£168 plus VAT, from TPS. bought and replaced by me after getting sick and fed up of dealing with idiot incompetent car dealers)
7. currently battling with tickover lumpy and hesitating/ misfiring when at about 1800rpm, even on cruise. intermittent.
8. cambelt changed by audi at 58000 miles / 2 months ago. (515.56 inc VAT audi dealer)
9. fuel filter changed by audi as they said blocked causing my lumpy tickover. (27.39 plus VAT, no labour audi dealer). but it didnt fix it at all.


9a. HERE'S THE GOOD BIT -- restricted EGR flow gasket fitted between EGR valve and cooler. Software updated to stop OBD light and codes ref reduced EGR flow, and to generally improve 2.0 tdi pd lumpiness and smooth running . All done by Audi - £117.12 + VAT. What an improvement. so, so pleased!
all the above since last week of jan 2012.
stuff lurking and waiting to cost me money.

10. drivers door doesn't always unlock
11. both rear lamps have moisture inside (known issue?)
12. some kind of scary message comes up on mmi basic screen saying a mystery ecu not compatible, visit dealer.
13. electronic handbrake failure visit audi appears on trip computer screen.

*** Update 18/06/2012 ***
Hi everyone, just thought i would update my entry. yesterday saw us return from a 240 mile (each way, 600 miles covered in total) caravan towing holiday. the car behaved flawlessly, so i just thought i would point out what a difference new software and EGR flow restriction has made. i think we now have the car we wanted. i am very pleased with performance now. no lumpy tickover, juddering, all gone.

also, items 10 12 and 13 have never returned. so all good!

[AdiHH]

Car: 3.0 TDI, Tiptronic Quattro Avant with Air Suspension

First registered: April 2006, bought in November 2010 at 190,000km (~119,000 miles) sold yesterday at 233,000km (~146,000 miles) in px for another A6, same spec but Allroad this time because I liked the look of it.

Problems: zero (exception being an action to fix the pipe taking water to the rear screen, but it never leaked with me, so was just a precaution. Covered by Audi 100%)

Servicing: The 1 previous owner and I did servicing according to the service schedule and only at Audi dealerships

Driving: ~50% motorway, ~50% urban, no towing

Engine Mods/Tuning: none

Additional Comments: The A6 allroad I am taking delivery of at the weekend will be my 3rd Audi in succession and my 4th overall. I have owned Mercedes E class and BMW 5 and 7 series. BMWs have been less reliable than my Audis and the Mercedes was a quality disaster. I have had no breakdowns with the previous 3 Audis and no unscheduled 'problems' at all (just replacement of wear-and-tear parts, like brake pads, disks and the occasional bulb, etc...certainly no major expenses). Touch wood. For me, there is no other brand worth considering.

[Brycie]

2.0 TDI SE Saloon, 56 plate, manual gearbox, BRE engine code, no chips or remaps, bought in October 2010 with 55,000 miles from indi car sales place.

On longlife servicing through local indi. Uses about a quarter to a third of a litre of oil every 1,000 miles or so.

Car now has just over 99,000 miles now with 80% motorway, 20% urban since my ownership.

So far only suffered from:

A split intercooler at around 65,000 miles (£250 bill at an indi). The diagnostic equipment wrongly indicated that this was the turbo at fault. It was thanks to suggestions from forum members that I asked the mechanic to check the pipes & intercooler before tackling a perfectly good turbo.

and....

At around 75,000 -80,000, started getting very harsh judder at clutch biting point when pulling away in 1st gear (and slight judder occasionally when changing from 1st to 2nd), this is worst when the engine is cold. I'm reliably informed that this is because the Dual Mass Flywheel is on it's way out, but not changed yet.

[rafletcher]

Car: 3.0l Quattro Avant Tiptronic, bought 3 weeks ago at 65000 mles.

Car was serviced by dealer (he ran it as his own car for a year) in November last year, one glow plug was shown as "weak", all 6 were replaced.

A week into my ownership the emissions warning light came on - code read as swirl flap issue (I haven't got the exact code). Went into indie VAG Tune Services in Aylesbury yesterday. Today the result is... inconclusive. No flap issues, no motor issues. Suspected that a general software update is required. It's now been booked into the local Audi main dealer for a repeat check / diagnosis but thats a few weeks away due to workload at Audi. So far all at no cost to me, which is good!

Otherwise - lovely, very lovely, big grin lovely!

[JimC64]

Audi A6 2.0 Tdi SE saloon, 07 plate, manual gearbox, remapped to 176bhp purchased approx April 2007 with 500 miles on the clock as "New" Demo car from Stirling Audi, part of the Lomond group.
The remap really makes a huge difference........The car is downright dangerous in first taking off without it tbh!
Its now much more responsive in all gears and throughout the range..............

I was doing reasonable mileage at that point, probably around 30k miles for the first two years and she was on the longlife servicing regime from new, getting changed around 18k miles or so. most of my driving was long haul motorway driving with some stop / start thrown in. She "used" around a half litre every few thousand miles for about the first 10k then started to settle down after that.

The car was at that point 100% dealer maintained, and generally still is. I found the dealer to be reasonable in their pricing and general attitude, and whatever was needed was done.

Now at just over 5 years old, she's sailed through her last 2 MOT's with nothing needing done as she's generally well looked after. She's now done around 93k miles with the last 25k or so being mostly now stop / start with some motorway stuff thrown in.

At around 60k miles or therabouts I decided to continue to still use longlife oil but changed servicing to every 10k or so.
However, as the dealer look at around £100 an oil change I have used National tyres a few times as they use the correct grade of oil ( Castrol Syntec longlife 05w30 / Cadtrol Edge ) and do a change for approx £34. I change the air filter myself and touchwood no other real costs to speak of.

One comment I'd like to make is the OEM pads n discs - for me, well worth the money as they really stop the car and just seem to last n last.
The last time IIRC I changed the front pads n discs was perhaps 2-3 years ago!
Albeit I'm not doing the mileage I once was but 95% of it is now stop / start. The front pads are still very healthy, the discs have a little lip but still very serviceable, the rear pads are getting low and may need changing in the next 4 -6 months at a guess but the discs are still fine.

I've kept a reasonably up to date log of most of my warranty issues or those that have been dealt with through goodwill, as below........





Although the list looks long n scary and in truth, sometimes its been a real PITA Audi have generally stepped up to the plate and dealt with them every time.

As there's been more than a few I pushed for and got and extra years warranty F.O.C as well as the RAC roadside assistance to cover it as well. Kudos to the dealer!

The real pains have been the non starting / poor starting issues that now seem to have been resolved thank god.
The mystery leaking coolant, porous cylinder heads replace twice.
The milky chrome scenario just really takes away from a car that is otherwise in beautiful shape for her age / mileage etc. Had them replaced I think around 4 times under warranty / goodwill...............now they're just the same again!
The rear light clusters..........least said about those the better. As with the chrome trim pieces I had those replaced around (( 7 )) times iirc through the warranty period as I complained so bitterly. I would not be fobbed off with the "This is normal and to be expected response"
I tried recently to seal them properly and they do seem a little better, but I still suffer from this as do many thousands of others it seems??

EDIT - Forgot to add I currently suffer from the steering wheel sqeak, slip ring probably needs replaced - known issue

Had the car in this am re what I thought was possible CV joint failure as I'm getting a clicking / whooshing noise when turning on full lock. The tech says no, its possibly the lip on the discs scraping against the backplate, no issues found there.
Downside?
I also had a metallic sounding "clinking" noise from the passenger rear, this turns out to be a broken spring??
Fortunately right at the base and not in the middle so no real difference in handling characteristics which is why I hadn't noticed it sooner. Booked in for replacement at around £290 all in on Friday.

Although I've had many problems / issues as documented, the dealer, for me, has stepped up time n time again and I love the car and the brand.
Would I buy another one?
In a heartbeat, but I'd be better placed to make a decision through a combination of my own experiences and of course with the help of this forum and the great guys here.

It'd have to be an A8 for me though

[joedredd]

Not a great deal of info as only had car for 3 months, here goes;

Car; registered 1 March 2006, A6 Avant 3.0 TDI Quattro, engine code BMK. Has had FASH up to 75K miles and been on longlife service. Changing this on next service(Oct 2012) to a fixed/ yearly oil change etc.
Replaced front pads & discs, due to previous owner fitting poor pads on last service.
Only problem that needed rectifying is OSF wheel bearing (done by 4 Rings £330)

From what service records I have, all that has been done to the car is usual servicing, no apparent issues or faults (fingers crossed).
Will try and keep this post up to date as have a few items I want done to car to make it a little bit special.