98Quattro

So right now I own a '98 A6 Quattro. I love the drive and feel of it. However, it is not very maintenance friendly.

I've just had my second water pump in 5 years replaced and if any of you know how intense of a job it is you know it can be very costly and time consuming to do. It requires removal of the whole front end and changing out tb belt, t-stat, drive belt, rollers, tensioner, lever, and any hoses required.

I think this design is ridiculous as it shouldn't require removing the timing belt to replace a t-stat or water pump.

My question for your C6 owners is, are the C6 Audi's just as frustrating to work on?
I'd really like to stay with Audi but if newer models are not more maintenance friendly than I may just stay with BMW (owner of one as well).

End of rant. I appreciate any insight you can give me into the newer A6's.

thanks!

occhis

I've owned my 06 A6 3.2Q for almost 3 years now and fortunately have not had to do much maintenance work to speak of. Front and rear brakes (rears had a learning curve to manually retract the e-parking brake)though pretty easy. Changed plugs without much trouble. The Bentley manual is a helpful tool to have. Ross-tech is on my short list if I decide to keep it long term. Almost traded it in on a 750Li last month, but someone got to it before me.
Been battling a CEL for some time now, and have not won that one yet.
Looks like all the control arms up front have some looseness, so may tackle them next summer. Procedure looks not terrible in Bentley.
You do have to drop the whole 2-piece plastic skid plate (not correct term) in order to change the oil. Not hard but a pain nonetheless.
On the plus side, I do have a dipstick!!!! More than there is on a 2006 5 Series.
I also have a 1998 528 bimmer and wouldn't trade it even up for the 2006 A6. Not that I don't like the Audi, but a driver's car it's not. The Audi is comfortable, etc, but the 528 makes me smile every time I get behind the wheel.

jeffry

First.. I love the picture and her quattro ads..LOL..are you a good owner??? if you do don't worry..its a nice car to have. Right now I spending $4,000 dollar in repair because I didn't repair the problem on time but if you maintenance your car in shape you won't have any problem..

KevinGary

I have pasted in two of my earlier posts, which I have slightly revised and updated.

I have an 05 4.2 that I purchased new almost 7 years ago. She currently has 96k on the odometer. As far as reliability, she is ok, but she is no Lexus. But she is a lot of fun to drive. Most of the problems have been nuisances.

1. The airbag light came on two weeks after I purchased the car. It took them 10 days to figure out the problem. Audi then came out with a TSB on updating the computer software for the airbags.

2. The MMI "crashed" a year after I bought the car. After having the car for 8 days, Audi wiped the hardware clean and reinstalled the MMI computer software.

3. The MMI had a few bugs with not updating the satellite radio stations, losing surround settings and sometimes not automatically linking with my bluetooth phone. Audi had the car for a day and updated the MMI computer software. Audi has a TSB on this issue as well.

I have written those three problems off to having a very early computer software version. To give you an idea of the number of changes in the software, my car came with MMI version 10 and now has version 33. Since being updated to MMI version 33, about a year ago, I have not had any computer issues. I understand that there is now a version 46 that is available. Since my MMI has been stable with version 33 I have not upgraded to 46. From fellow Audi owners I understand that the differences between 33 and 46 are negligible.

As far as non-computer issues. I have had quite a few.

1. All 8 coil packs had to be replaced.

2. The lid for the gas cap would not open from inside the car. In order to open it I had to wedge my credit card inside the lid and open it from the outside.

3. The frame for the front passenger seat came loose and the entire seat had to be removed and the bolts tightened.

4. A rattle in the glove box area of the dashboard that required installation of additional insulation.

5. A bad tire pressure sensor had to be replaced.

6. A mildew smell from the air conditioner vents, which required the replacement of a ventilation duct.

7. A rattle from the rear fold down seats, which required a new clamp.

8. A rattle from the driver’s side of the dashboard, which required additional damping material.

9. The fuel-filter recall, which required a new fuel filter.

10. The fuel gauge started reading empty even though there is fuel in the tank, which required a computer software upgrade.

11. The transmission developed a chirping and the transmission software had to be upgraded.

12. The low coolant light would come on for no reason, which required an upgraded electrical circuit.

13. The power steering reservoir leaked and completely emptied itself, which required a revised clamp.

14. The front brakes developed a vibration at slow speeds and the brake caliper seals had to be replaced due to a re-design.

15. The motor for the power tilt/telescoping steering wheel had to be replaced because of a groaning noise.

16. The MMI **** fell off.

17. The motor for the rear power sunshade had to be replaced because that motor was groaning and clicking.

18. The coolant temperature gauge stopped working and the sensor had to be replaced.

19. The trunk latch ceased working and had to be replaced due to a redesign of the latch.

20. The adaptive headlight malfunction light came on and the dealer had to upgrade the software for the adaptive lights.

21. The air bag light came on and the rear air bag sensor had to be replaced for a second time.

22. The Parktronic broke and the speaker had to be replaced.

23. The coolant gauge broke again and the sensor had to be replaced.

24. The coolant gauge broke yet again and the thermostat had to be replaced.

25. The gas struts for the trunk were replaced.

26. The air bag light came on and rear air bag sensor had to be replaced for a third time.

27. The LED unit had to be replaced in the rear right because the brake and turn signal light would fail to fire.

28. The coil packs were replaced under recall.

29. The air bag light came on and a rear air bag sensor had to be replaced for a fourth time.

30. The brackets holding the electric switch panel to the front passenger seat broke and had to be replaced.

31. The air bag light returned and the dealer upgraded the software yet again.

32. The upper control arms were replaced.

33. The motor for the power tilt/telescoping steering wheel had to be replaced yet again.

34. The air bag light came on and a rear air bag sensor had to be replaced for a fifth time.




Similar to the computer issues discussed above, Audi has TSBs on nearly all of these issues, seeming to indicate that the problems are not isolated to just my car. Audi has also issued dozens of other TSBs on issues that I have not experienced since I have the 4.2 engine instead of the 3.2 engine. In total, the 3.2 has over 200 TSBs. If you complain about these items while the car is under warranty, Audi will fix the problem for free, which sounds like a recall to me.

Despite the car being at the dealer for over 60 days for repairs during the last 81 months, not maintenance, I would certainly buy the car again because the 4.2 is a lot of fun to drive, especially on the highway, and the dealer gives me a loaner. However, I would check which MMI software version is currently in the car. If it is below 33, I would take it to Audi and have it updated as soon as possible. In addition, I would check the car's VIN and compare it to the Audi TSBs and see what issues you need to keep an eye on. You can get copies of the Audi TSBs at Erwin's website. The dealer will probably give you the car's maintenance records. While the car is still under warranty, I would make sure you complain about any issues contained on the TSBs issued for your VIN. If you are buying an aftermarket warranty I would get an exclusionary warranty that your local Audi dealer accepts.

Despite the issues with the car, I think that it is a great driving car. However, keep in mind that I am an original owner who paid close to $60,000 for my daily driver and who according to my wife is the President of the "More Money than Brains" club. For example, changing the transmission fluid costs over a $1,000 just for the fluid (the fluid is $57 per liter), not including labor. Also keep in mind that the 55,000 mile service is the "major" service for the car. The 75,000 mile service is also significant, in that the nose of the car needs to be removed on the 05 and 06 4.2s. If money is an issue, you may want to look for a car that is cheaper to "maintain". Regardless of your decision, you will enjoy driving an Audi, but you may not enjoy the maintenance. Good luck.

Kevin

Here is my post in response to a related topic:

I am afraid that Audi has TSBs on every one of the problems that I experienced indicating that I am not alone with these issues. As far as not hearing about these issues on the forum, I point out that I am one of the few original C6 owners on the forum with the corresponding 7 years of experience in owning one of these cars. I doubt that when these cars are purchased used that the original owners are so honest with the buyers. In contrast to my 7 years of experience, many of the C6 owners on this forum have less than a year’s experience with the "maintenance" on these cars. With that said, I think that the C6 is a great driving car and is a lot of fun on the highway. I would also buy it all over again. You just need to make sure that you are carrying some type of warranty coverage.

Kevin

ProtoFly

I'm a 'new' Audi owner, with my 2005 A6 4.2. I'll echo what Kevin has said, as it seems my car has typical issues, which I'm generally able to take care of myself with VCDS, a decent toolkit, and some ingenuity.

As to the differences between the earlier cars and the C6, one thing at least that I can say is that the 4.2 was updated in 2005 to use a timing chain, rather than a belt. This is, in theory, one less maintenance issue, but if/when it does go, it'll be a much larger job than a belt.

Audi claims the transmission fluid is 'lifetime'. I call BS on that. My car has 130k miles, and had developed what felt like going over rumble strips, which was getting progressively worse. Data logging with VCDS showed that the torque converter was 'slipping' when the sensation was happening. Figuring that I was in for an expensive rebuild, I took a chance, and based on forum member 'Turkeybaster''s analysis, purchased a few quarts of Mercon SP transmission fluid, and did a pan-on drain and refill. Problem is gone. (Just ordered the oil strainer and gasket in prep for doing the whole job now that the results are good).

Front suspension upper control arm bushing seem to be a common wear item. Again, dealer wanted 2k to do the job, not including an alignment. I did the job myself for 60 bucks, and an afternoon of labor. (ordered bushings from Rock Auto, new pinch bolts from World Impex). The worst part of the job was the bolts at the ball joint end. It's a steel bolt through an aluminum knuckle, and it's virtually 100% certain that the bolts will have seized due to galvanic action between steel and aluminum. The dealer tech I talked with warned me about this ahead of time, so I had the bolts on hand. Ended up having to drill them out, as no amount of penetrating oil was going to work its way in there. Otherwise, the job was easy. You could opt for bushings, or, replacement arms with ball joints. My ball joints were fine, and I have a 20 ton press, so pressing bushings was no problem. If I didn't have the press, I'd have ordered the arms (significantly more $).

I bought the car knowing that I'd be doing all the work, and that it would probably need some immediate attention due to the higher miles (126k miles), and I'm comfortable with that. Having the Ross-Tech VCDS cable and software is pretty much a requirement for DIY work on these cars. It's a worthwhile investment.

Bottom line: I absolutely love the car. The 4.2 is a smooth-as-silk powerful engine that delivers really pretty decent fuel mileage for such a big car. My wife loves the car, and has 'assumed ownership' of it LOL, preferring it over the Volvo wagon (which has its own set of issues typical of Volvo's). Will I buy another Audi? Yep. Saving my pennies for an S5 with a manual transmission. I'll give it a couple of years, and then they will be available for more reasonable pricing on the used market, much like this A6 I have now. All the little quirks will be known, and I'll take advantage of someone else's depreciation.... ;-)

uberwgn

We bought a '06 CPO Avant two years ago @ 17k miles. Car now has over 61k miles. We've really had no issues. Yeah, I guess the dealer did a pre-emptive strike on the coil packs, and a complex rubber door seal had to be repaired under warranty, but the car has been as good as a car be expected (for a European). And we thoroughly enjoy it. It has met and exceeded any expectations we had for our 1st Audi