xslim12

Hey Guys,

I have done quite a bit of research on Audi and am seriously leaning towards buying a used A6. I am only targeting 3.0T vehicles with 20K - 30K miles given that the second major maintenance is supposed to occur at that time. I understand that Audi vehicles are high maintenance vehicles and am comfortable with that, however, I came across a couple issues which seemed more like model defects that seem to persist. One of the recurring issues with those specific years appears to be the brakes and rotors. It seems like a lot of owners have experienced premature wearing of brake pads and warping of rotors (i.e. warped rotors by 7K). From my research, this seems to be a persistent in warm geographic regions. I currently live in Southern California and this worries me. Is this a known recurring issue within the community? Has Audi addressed this by updating the design of its replacement rotors? Any feedback on this issue would be helpful. My second concern is the design of the 2016 display. The display is built into the dashboard which pops out upon starting the vehicle. Has anyone experiences any issues with the motor that is responsible for that?

I would also love to hear from the community on their experience owning a 2015/2016 A6 and how it has held up. I understand that the 2016 model had an interior refresh and headlight refresh. Is there anything else I am missing?

Furthermore, any tips you guys may have in my search for the right vehicle (i.e. check maintenance records, check this specific component, etc.).

Appreciate the help!

-Slim

Acuransx

I'm in Michigan. All 4 rotors warped by 11,500 miles. I do not drive hard. Audi replaced all 4 together with pads under warranty. Now have 32,000 miles on the car -- all good with brakes. My guess is that in /15 and /16 Audi got a batch of bad rotors or there was some design defect. I'm 20,000 miles beyond replacement and everything is smooth. The board will tell you other issues. Aside from a gas filler door that didn't want to open (again fixed under warranty) my only other issue was replacement of the upper timing chain tensioners at 3 years/27K miles. There is a TSB about this for the 3.0T engines and the work was done under warranty. A bit confidence shattering in a 3 year old car w/27K miles that has been babied and over maintained (read: oil changes every 5K miles / new air filter every 20K miles). Car seems fine now. Tensioners have been upgraded from what was in car when built. Timing chain tensioners are a long standing VAG weak point. If you search on web about this issue you may well bump into my posts but it is all over the place -- you will bump into TSB and some videos that are worth watching so you hear sound that car makes on startup. Issue as I understand it is the tensioners do not have a check valve and they are oil actuated. If you leave car sit for a number of days (in my case took 4-5 days of non-use) the oil drains out of the tensioners and upon startup until oil pressure builds the tensioners do not do their job and the chain slaps around for a few seconds -- noise is kind of like machine gun fire. Audi says this does not damage (see the TSB). I don't believe that for a moment.

Make sure you see maintenance records and a thorough PPI is a must. If you can lay hands on a car with some CPO coverage left all the better. I hate the 10K oil change intervals -- many will disagree but IMHO you are much better off with a car that has had oil changed every 5-6K miles.

2016 cars have more hp -- 333 vs 300 for 2015.

Best of luck.

Jeff

xslim12

Jeff,

Thank you for the post! That was extremely helpful. I came across the tensioner issue on the forums actually. A lot of people said that was normal but I can already see that getting on my nerves. Did replacing the tensioner prevent your car from making that noise again after a cold start?

Also, what does TSB stand for?

Thanks again!

lardog

I'm in San Diego, and the rotors on my 2016 A6 3.0 warped - front rotors only. Audi replaced them no charge (but refused to change the front pads even when i said I would pay for them. Go figure). I felt the warped rotors as pulsating brakes starting around 12k miles but didn't get them replaced until about 19k when it became obnoxious. You need to check if the rotors were replaced. If not, don't buy the car unless your willing to pay for it yourself - my understanding is that Audi paid for some (like mine), but not others. I don't understand why they don't treat all customers the same, but they don't.

OEM tires lasted about 20k miles, so set aside ~$1200 for that if necessary - at a minimum. $1200 are lower priced tires, some tires are a lot more obviously.

The volume **** on the lower console is working intermittently - I'll have to have the dealer clean it when I take it in for the recall.

No other issues. I like the car - wish the ride was a little smoother though. Glad I didn't get 20" wheels.

Acuransx

Yes the replacement of the timing chain tensioners eliminated the noise which didn't happen always but clearly there was a pattern developing. All quiet now and the parts put in are the upgraded tensioners with the check valve. TSB = technical service bulletin. Rattling timing chain in my universe is far from normal. I don't care what the Audi TSB or anyone else says.

Go in with eyes wide open -- if you place a premium on Lexus like reliability you may be disappointed. Things are going to break as car ages and will not be cheap when compared to Honda/Toyota. That being said, a CPO car if available is worth considering and a good independent shop with VAG experience is a must.

The other thing I worry about with the A6 is the carbon issue as relates to the valves -- again, you are going to bump into this if you haven't already as you do your research. Although there have not been many who have posted that they have had to do the carbon cleaning -- my dealer says they have a way to accomplish this -- cost is approx. $1,000, for this reason and others I intend to keep the A6 for no more than 6 years/65,000 miles and then move on to something else. Love the way the car drives but just don't want to run the risks inherent in keeping the car too far beyond warranty expiration. Just my 2 cents. There are many on the board with mileage in excess of 65,000 that have not experienced any major mechanical issues. Perhaps I will feel differently if the next 2.5 years/30,000 miles are essentially trouble-free.

Good luck in your search.

Jeff

DB22

Acuransx

lardog, with respect to the volume **** working intermittently I've had the same issue a few times but only when radio set to xm/Sirius -- if switch to am/fm/aux volume control works fine. Whenever this has happened when I come back to car next a.m. or later in day everything is working fine. Weird. Is this your experience? I've not mentioned this to dealer figuring has something to do with xm/Sirius but maybe has something to do with module in the car. Please let me know what dealer says when/if you call this to their attention. Thanks.

As regards tires I'm running 19s w/sport suspension here in MI (still on OEM Continentals @ 32K miles -- confession -- have never rotated and I think that there's probably another 3K or so miles left before I get to 4/32nds and will replace). I'm looking at approximately $1,000 all in for Pirelli P7+, Continental DWS06 or Michelin A/S 3. I don't love any of those tires -- Pirelli has wonderful ride and is very quiet (had a set on wife's car) but per Tire Rack testing not good in the wet -- I drive conservatively but the long stopping distance in the wet per Tire Rack test is a concern, the Conti DWS06 is a bit mushy and flat spots easily overnight but rides well, albeit with more noise than the Pirellis (have the DWS06 on my spare car -- Acura TL) and my Dad had the Michelins on one of his cars and although they handled very well, this was at the expense of a serene ride. Since I have a dedicated set of winter wheels/tires, I'm going to try out a set of Michelin summer tires -- Pilot Sport 4S as they are reputed to be excellent all round including good road manners. The good news is that Discount Tire has a trial policy whereby if you buy a set and don't like them you can switch to something else. Thus, I'll give the Michelin summers a try.

Best,
Jeff

lardog

The volume **** has issues using internal media or radio, or using my iphone. I don't have XM/Serius. When turning the vol up it will either stop going up, or go down, then 'catch' and go back up again. You can see the issue on the graphic display of volume. I've had many old cheap radios that have had the same issue, and I fixed them by taking the **** off and squirting cleaner in the mechanism. Assuming this is the same issue, I'm surprised Audi would use cheap old technology prone to the same problems. I'll let you know what they say. I'll take my car into the dealer in Feb probably.

I have the DWS06 tires. Initially they felt overly light in steering but now (6k miles later) they don't. They also feel a little stiffer to me - I'm going to let a couple pounds out and see if the ride improves significantly.

I haven't had any chain tensioner related noise issues. Do you think I should ask the dealer about that?

Acuransx

Thanks for the input! As regards the timing chain tensioner issue find the TSB and give it a read. I'm pretty sure that if the problem manifests itself during warranty Audi's position is that they will install the upgraded tensioners. Then again, your car may already have the upgraded parts installed at factory since it is a year newer than my A6. You will know if you have this problem -- the noise is quite apparent upon startup in a quiet place with windows down. If you are really curious about whether your car has the issue or not leave car sit for a week and then start it. If you hear a machine gun-like sound for a few seconds that then disappears it is likely the tensioners. If I recall correctly the TSB was updated a while back -- can't recall if update was for purpose of including MY /15 or MY /16. Hopefully your car does/will not have this issue. Engine surgery at a young age is best avoided. It is not a rocket science procedure but there is always the potential for mistakes.

Best,
Jeff

DB22