Hi, 1st post to this group. My 2.8 A6Q (manual) is 3.4 years old. Has anyone else had these types of faults? The car has done 90K miles. I love the way it looks (Full Oettinger bodykit, TSW wheels etc.) and I find it very comfortable, but it's reliability leaves much to be desired. It is the most inconsistent car I've ever driven, sometimes it accelerates very well, other times it is completely flat and gutless, and the brakes..........

1) It is on its 3rd gearbox, 4th due anytime now. 1st gear breaks about every 33K miles.

2) Most WORRYING. About 1 month ago, the driver's seat broke...... The front stay snapped as I was pulling away at a set of traffic lights (doing 4-5000 RPM) and I literally ended up on the back seat with no hands on the wheel and no feet on the pedals. Managed to pull on hand-brake and avoided an accident!

3) Front passenger side wheel fell off after 9 months. I braked and the hub assembly snapped (No! I did not hit anything, 2 police officers and 2 recovery men can confirm!). For those of you in the UK, I had to suffer WEEKS of Reliant Robin jokes!

4) Power Steering pump
5) Water Pump
as well as the usual fuel sender problem (I'm on my 10th set!), brakes failing in the wet etc.

Now that it is completely mine, I am going to
fix those brakes with Tarox, Lower the suspension further and may consider the ABT Supercharger as I cannot have a manual S6 in right-hand drive.

Ashley

 

PS. PES makes the supercharger for the Audi V6 engine, and Abt makes one for the VW VR6.

 

No, you may own the worst CAR in the world? I don't think breakaway seats were an option that year. For your own safety--burn it.

 

So you had it lowered/tuned etc, maybe "spirited" driving contributes? No offense!

 

This thing is only good for parts. Leave it in a bad part of town with the windows down and the valet key in the ignition, and pray!

 

With so many major problems (3 gearboxes!!!) it is time to cut your losses and move on. Out of warranty costs are very high with today's complex car systems.

I had a similar experience in the late 80's with a Lancia Prisma (in the U.K.). Lovely looking car, great to drive, well appointed interior, but just too many problems. I kept on spending money on it because I loved it when it behaved. Ultimately I cut my losses and moved on to other more reliable and sporty cars.

 

sell it. BTW what is "Reliant Robin jokes"?

 

<center><img src="http://www.3wheelers.com/dirty.jpg"></center><p>
<ul><li><a href="http://www.3wheelers.com/relarch.html">Reliant Robin</a></li></ul>

 

Hey--I must have had Reliant Traction control on my 1995Q45

 

That Reliant is scary looking.