26k miles. Coolant leak after driving 1/2 mile to the store. Audi Care will be getting a call in the morning.

 

THat sucks. IIRC, there is a recall for bad WPs on the 3.0T engine.

 

FWIW - this past week I looked under the hood of my 2010 A6 3.0 that had been sitting all night to add wiper fluid and happenend to notice that the coolant level was about 1/2 inch below MIN. I went to the dealer and they topped it off. The service rep looked at the water pump and said it was the "new aluminum one" so likely there are no water pump problems, just low coolant. I don't get what low coolant means in a car with 4,700 miles on it. I will be having the 5,000 mile service performed next Thursday (2/9/11) and will make sure they check out the coolant level and tell me something that makes sense if it continues to drop.

 

my 2010 had the bad water pump... failed about a mile from home -- flat bedded to dealer and total fix...BUT --agreed WTF??... on a mature design and quality build ??.. no issues since -(4 months) Good luck to others --

 

i was hanging out at my friends shop ( local indy shop) and a 2009 a6 3.0t came in with a failed WP. Lady didnt wanna go to the dealer FOR FREE. Thats her loss, but yea this seems to be an issue on the 3.0T

 

Yes ... it's true ... I had two fail on me over about 14 months. Incredible ... this '08 A6 (and i Loved my '05.5 ) has had a laundry list of problems .... besides the two (2!!) water pumps with less than 22k here's the list:


1. Air Bag Light on - diagnosed and re-set.
2. Right Rear Drivers side bulb assembly defective- replaced
3. Passenger Side drivers side window switch 'broken' - diagnosed and re-placed.
4. Passenger side headlight defective- replaced.
5. Front passenger running light - defective & replaced.
6. Blown blown water pump.
7. Rain leak into passenger side foot well. Still happening.
8. 2nd blown hose or blown water pump.
9. Sunroof breaks internally ... it 'worked' but plastic was rolling around in the roof cavity. Repaired.
10. Left Rear Drivers side bulb assembly defective- replaced

Not sure if this counts but brake pads dusted @ 21K all around as well ... dealer quoted $850 as a 'we're sorry your car sucks' price after my 13th visit in 3 years ... told them to eat it & went to my local European BMW, Benz & Audi place - $485 and not a squeal to be heard.

So ... that's it ... my lease is done in 45 days. Not sure what I'm getting but NOT another A6 and I don't like anything else ... A4 (ha), Q5 (chick car), Q7 (ugly and too much $$$), A8 (yes please but I'd have to sell one of the kids).

Infinity FX 35, Acura MDX and new Jeep Grand Cherokee (sat in one ... nice) are on the short list ... SUV time maybe.

 

My mechanic when we were talking about new 3.0T said that the BIG problem with them are the water pumps....

Apparently they are made out of a hard plastic, and they warp over time and cause leaks and failures. He works at an Audi dealer and was smiling ALOT when he told me this.

I think this is the source of the recall notice. Anyway - I would get it changed out and look to see if they maybe or wisely switched to metal as a material.

 

It sounds like you are yet another North American Audi driver (and possibly a disgruntled, judgmental one at that) on an Audi message board that has an incompetent dealer, a lemon or any combination of both.

 

my list i think is twice as long lol....
wont even start...

 

FWIW - As I mentioned in my earlier post on this thread, when I took my 2010 3.0 in to have the coolant level checked the Audi service rep looked at the water pump and said it was the "new aluminum one" - meaning I guess they have switched to metal as you mention as a possibilty/hope in your post.