S6 4.2 Reliability

[andyrew]

So im looking for a daily wagon and I see there has been a nice 100k mile S6 wagon in a local dealer for a decent price. I've got a few questions for you experts..

How reliable is the 4.2 in the S6 model?
What typically fails on these cars?

What can I expect city and highway mpg? I see its rated at 14 and 21, are those real numbers? I know the A6 4.2 gets about 25, so not sure why the S6 gets so much fewer.



Thanks!

[v8a6]

What typically fails on these cars?

The transmission and the front control arms

[pecka13]

I'm pretty sure the gas mileage will be close to the b6 S4. That's about 18 average.

[Street Nasty]

I'm pretty sure the gas mileage will be close to the b6 S4. That's about 18 average.

The transmission and the front control arms

These two. Other than that, car is very solid including the engine. Just make sure the water pump, tb , etc. is all done and any regular maintenence. A6 has less hp. A6 is like 310hp vs the S6 's 340hp. S6 has lower gearing too.

[Castor Troy]

wish i could get 18 average. i get 15/19mpg in my 03

[mithril]

How reliable is the 4.2 in the S6 model?
What typically fails on these cars?

Like the others said; front upper control arms and transmission. That said, transmission failures were most common on the pre-facelift 4.2's and D2 A8's. While they do still occassionally occur in the facelifted A6 (which includes the S6) they are much less common.

What can I expect city and highway mpg? I see its rated at 14 and 21, are those real numbers? I know the A6 4.2 gets about 25, so not sure why the S6 gets so much fewer.

The EPA numbers are pretty accurate. The S6 gets worse mileage than the 4.2L A6 for 2 reasons; body shape and gearing. The avant shape is not a streamlined and slippery as the sedan so that hurts economy a little bit, but the main reason is gearing. While both cars use the same transmission the S6 TCU is programmed for more sporty shifts and, most importantly, the final drive is much shorter. The A6 4.2L uses a 3.70:1 final while the S6 and RS6 use a 4.11:1, great for sporty driving and staying in power band but not so great for economy. In my A6 I would be sitting at about 2100rpm when highway cruising (~130kph or 80mph), in my S6 I'm sitting at about 3200RPM when doing the same speed.

[Sparkstack]

wish i could get 18 average. i get 15/19mpg in my 03

This.

I get 14 around town. Gotta pay to play. Haven't been in the highway much yet, but I think I was getting low 20's cruising down from NY state the day I bought it last October.

[Asee]

Get the S6, becouse if you get the 4.2, you gonna blame your self for not buying a S6 in the first place..

























Edit who care´s about MPG when you buy a car with a V8 in it ???

[DNB01A64.2]

Get the S6, becouse if you get the 4.2, you gonna blame your self for not buying a S6 in the first place..

That's exactly how I feel sometimes lol

[_aegis_]

... as much as I love my allroad, I sometimes very much wish I'd taken a bit of extra time to try to find an S6

[Cole]

Fwiw, we have 199k on our S6 and it runs like new.

[andyrew]

This would be my commuter so MPG is a big factor. Sounds like I either need to find a 4.2 A6 or my original thought of a 2.8/3.0 A4/A6.

I had thought that if an S6 had good enough performance and mileage that maybe I would just sell my current A4 and have the S6 be my daily/track car instead of the a4 being my track car and an a4/a6 2.8 being my daily.

Any thoughts on the 2.8 A6's and maintenance to look for? I know control arms and timing belt like all audi's, just looking for anything specific.

Thanks guys!

[mithril]

Any thoughts on the 2.8 A6's and maintenance to look for? I know control arms and timing belt like all audi's, just looking for anything specific.

That's it. The common issues on the NA C5's are all the same regardless of engine. You'll also find that the 2.8L doesn't get that much better fuel economy that the 4.2, the 2.8's only weigh about 350lbs less than the V8 yet have 100bhp less (140 less than the S6). That means the engine has to do a lot more work to move a similar mass. I know rollerton noted only a small decrease when he moved from his 2.8L Avant to the S6 and the only place I notice a difference between the 4.2L and S is on the highway, in town they're essentially the same in terms of economy (crappy). C5's are not really well noted for their well mannered fuel habits...

[Cole]

We had a c5 A6 Avant 2.8l for many years (168k) and honestly we get better commuting mileage out of the S6 Avant.

[andyrew]

I just found a 3.0 at a dealer that only has 107k miles for 5k. Im going to see if I can convince my wife to let me jump on it. Heck its red to!

Called the dealer and they said its been on the lot for over 60 days so they need to just dump it. Carfax checks out and its had all its maintenance.

[2.7taudi]

This would be my commuter so MPG is a big factor. Sounds like I either need to find a 4.2 A6 or my original thought of a 2.8/3.0 A4/A6.

I had thought that if an S6 had good enough performance and mileage that maybe I would just sell my current A4 and have the S6 be my daily/track car instead of the a4 being my track car and an a4/a6 2.8 being my daily.

Any thoughts on the 2.8 A6's and maintenance to look for? I know control arms and timing belt like all audi's, just looking for anything specific.

Thanks guys!

The 2.8 is the best engine put in the C5 (wait for it) .....

in terms of reliability.


Its gives pretty decent MPG as my FWD gives 26 on hwy and like 18 in city. Usually i average 20-21 every time i fill up.

The 3.0 is good but CAT failure is much higher on that engine than any other. Cam lobes wear out.

All automatic V6 have issues with torque converter, oil leaks from valve covers and on the 2.8 its also the CCT.

[mithril]

The 2.8 is the best engine put in the C5 (wait for it) .....

in terms of reliability.

4.2L and 2.8L are equally reliable engines. The 3.0L had the cam lobe issues and the 2.7T has turbos, nothing really to break on the NA lumps.

[CALL AAA]

If mileage is an issue, the S6 is not the car for you. Unfortunately, the MPG numbers that everyone is giving you are not "worst case" or the lead-foot numbers. They're pretty standard for normal driving. Your results may vary...but not by much. I get 16.5-17mpg combined. (calculated many times, not the displayed number)
As everyone said, gearing and ECU (the extra HP) account for a lot of it. Another thing is the fact that most S6s have very touchy gas pedals. If you don't drive it often, you might forget how touchy the pedal is and accidentally rip a 14 second quarter out of a 7-11 parking lot.

Other than that, they're great cars. I'm not sure about options and interior combos and stuff, but I think there are some differences from A6s. (light/dark leather on the doors and stuff?)
I have had no problems with the engine and I have had maybe one control arm go bad in over 40K miles.

[mithril]

I'm not sure about options and interior combos and stuff, but I think there are some differences from A6s. (light/dark leather on the doors and stuff?)

I found my 4.2L to be the most reliable car I've every owned, very very few issues came with with it which is impressive given that I bought it at 10yrs and 176,000km.... basically the same point as where I bought my S. Of course what did go wrong was expensive (comparatively) but that's part and parcel of buying these cars. I expect my S to be just as reliable. I only changed the upper front control arms, they were pretty destroyed but they were also the factory originals with 175,000 so it's not like that was unexpected.

S6's had much fewer interior colour options than the A6 line, 2 in fact. Silver Nappa Pearl or Soul Black. In each case Sport seats were the standard although you could choose the Comfort Seats as an option, and both had the option for colour matched alcantara inserts on the seats and door cards. The headliner, door pillars and sun visors were all alcantara colour matched to the seats. In Europe the Recaro's were the standard seat and the Sport was the optional upgrade (the Recaro's did not have seat memory).

This is the Silver Nappa Pearl w/ Alcantara option, basically Soul Black is everything here that's silver turned to Black.


http://www.splendidauto.com/viewcar.aspx?carID=374

These are the European non-memory Recaros that have been swapped into a B6 Passat, I lusted after them until I learned they were not memory capable... my wife and I are too used to not having to set our seats everytime were get into to drive!!



In terms of options...

Leather/Alcantara Package:

- added alcantara seat and door card inserts

Warm Weather Package:

- added solar sunroof and manual rear door shades

OnStar
Motorola portable phone (required OnStar)
Rear Side Airbags
Navigation System
Parktronic
Heated rear seats
Rear Facing 3rd row child seat
Non-Sport front seats

[Sparkstack]

If you don't drive it often, you might forget how touchy the pedal is and accidentally rip a 14 second quarter out of a 7-11 parking lot.

QFT.

[dcgh]

If mileage is an issue, the S6 is not the car for you. Unfortunately, the MPG numbers that everyone is giving you are not "worst case" or the lead-foot numbers. They're pretty standard for normal driving. Your results may vary...but not by much. I get 16.5-17mpg combined. (calculated many times, not the displayed number)
As everyone said, gearing and ECU (the extra HP) account for a lot of it. Another thing is the fact that most S6s have very touchy gas pedals. If you don't drive it often, you might forget how touchy the pedal is and accidentally rip a 14 second quarter out of a 7-11 parking lot.



Other than that, they're great cars. I'm not sure about options and interior combos and stuff, but I think there are some differences from A6s. (light/dark leather on the doors and stuff?)
I have had no problems with the engine and I have had maybe one control arm go bad in over 40K miles.

Only having had my S6 for a whole week I may not be the best person to comment but I would like to agree with the throttle comment above....the thing does like to do a racing start if you forget to be subtle lol

[andyrew]

So I should stay away from the 3.0's due to the cam lobe issue? Is it that common?

[rollerton]

Economy?
There's no way anyone really gets 25mpg out of a 4.2, I don't buy it. Maybe coasting downhill, foot off the gas for a few minutes.
've only owned our S6 for a few months but so far so good.
I can't...quite..figure out...why...I ....keep ...having to...put gas in it. Maybe I'm just weird.
My S6 runs fairly great, I'd say perfect but I have no reference. From experience owning in the last 5 years: 3 C5 A6 Avants, 1 B5 S4 Avant, 1 03' A4 3.0 6Mt avant, and now the S6 I can say that for average driving in stop and go traffic all Audi's suck balls for economy. The S6 is marginally worse than any of the 2.8's 2-3mpg average I'd guess. The 2.8 did slightly better on the highway from what I can find~ I could get about 20mpg without trying too hard on a road trip over mountain passes. I haven't driven the S6 enough on the highway/ long trips yet but if you drive it normal* (*= a few hills, passing some slow people etc..)I honestly predict it'll max out at 20mpg.
Around town? My 3.0 honestly gets about 17mpg. Maybe 15mpg in the winter, stop and go. I don't know? Maybe I need a fuel filter? I can get 25mph on the highway with the 3.0 if I'm not hard on it.
All of my cars are fairly meticulously maintained- and I'm talking actual average consumption not the magic number in the DIS- and run absolutely perfect.

Otherwise, all this sounds pretty good.
If you have the cash for the S6 then do it. I wouldn't go into debt for a gas guzzler- but if you can buy it then DO, especially if most of your commute is highway. It really fucks with people on the highway.
The C5/ 3.0 is Ok, but...meh? It gets around but it's...blah. It's only worth a damn with a manual trans.

[CALL AAA]

Until my recent crash (look back a few pages for my "re-intro" thread for details) and our need for a car that could fit a wheelchair, the S6 had been a weekend and road trip car. So we didn't drive it that often. Sometimes it would get washed and then sit in the garage until it got washed again. Kind of sad. Anyway, when I did drive it, I would have to think about it if I had a passenger drinking anything. Because it's like human nature for people to take a sip of coffee just when the light turns green.

I just went back and reread this. 2 things:
I haven't actually driven since the crab. My wife has been doing all the driving, but all the miles are going on the S6.
I'm on oxy, so this all made sense to me.

[Scotty@Advanced]

I get 15 city and 19 highway traveling very fast.

For the most part it's a solid car.

[-C5-]

@ OP

i see your in methdesto (joke)
i found a nice S6 on craigslist in the bay area, might want to look it up. looks nice and clean and seems to be well kept. its one of the only ones i can find.

[-C5-]

as a matter of fact here it is.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/cto/3571911183.html

[2.7taudi]

So I should stay away from the 3.0's due to the cam lobe issue? Is it that common?

For a daily driver I recommend the 2.8. Best combo of reliability of engine and tranny. You can even get a manual in an a4. 4.2 scares me because of the tranny. Engine it self is a peach. Avoid the 3.0. They are harder to work on than the other engines too.

Sent from my HTC One V

[Castor Troy]

S6 is the only car i've ever owned where i smile every time i look at it. I'd say get it

[Bdubs]

Just find one with a new tranny if the tranny worries you.

[CALL AAA]

That's kind of funny that you HAD a 2007 S6, but you currently HAVE a 2002 S6.

[rollerton]

. Avoid the 3.0. They are harder to work on than the other engines too.

Sent from my HTC One V

not sure you want to get close to a 2.7t then!! I have had nothing but great luck with my 3.0, the hardest thing I've had to tackle was one combi valve. The timing belt makes you think things through a little, but if you're slightly careful it's no more complicated than any other " V " engine.
That S6 up there looks decent, not exactly priced to sell in todays market and with 130k on it...but not bad.
Has NAV: +1 Has comfort seats : -1.
Wonder what the cluster says here ? :

[v8a6]

Comfort seats in an S6? Someone must have swapped out the sport seats, or made a custom order when new.

[CALL AAA]

Just a note about the NAV system in the S6. It is very very basic and it takes forever to input anything. By the time you finish putting in the address of your destination, you will most likely run out of gas.
If you don't have a Garmin or a smart phone, this will get you there, but it takes a lot of getting used to. All you see are arrows telling you which way to turn, a street name, distance to destination and next turn. Oh, and that sweet voice.

[MCargill12]

Just going to throw my specs in here: my 02 3.0 tip gets 17-18 city and 24-26 highway. I couldn't say if the 3.0 has any more pep than the 2.8 because ive never driven one but it can be a fun highway driver/commuter. Ive put about 25k on mine since ive owned it and havent done anything besides a timing belt and vcg a few days after I bought it. Basically all ive done is changed the oil every 5k and threw a new air filter in. If you can find a 2.8 or 3.0(basically the same) that has been taken care of and meets your needs go for it. I myself have also looked into some S4 and S6's in the past few months but im going to drag my 3.0 out as long as I can until I feel that its going to need some work or until I just cant stand it anymore. But as for right now I drive it to and from work and school and it meets my needs. Hope that gives you some input, I may have dragged it on btw.

[Sparkstack]

Re the Nav. This is something that has bugged me. Was the S6 available new with the RNS-E? Mine came to me with it installed, along with the bluetooth phone kit and I can't imagine the PO fitted it.

OP, I'd go with an S6. Though I am biased. Engine is solid if cared for. Just be advised that pretty much any under the hood work lists step one as "remove front bumper"

[Korben007]

Comfort seats in an S6? Someone must have swapped out the sport seats, or made a custom order when new.

My S6 came with comfort seats. So much more comfortable then the sport seats my other S6 has

[andyrew]

as a matter of fact here it is.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/cto/3571911183.html

He's been trying to sell it since early november. So thats a bad thing, that and its out of my price range. Looks nice though.

[mithril]

Comfort seats in an S6? Someone must have swapped out the sport seats, or made a custom order when new.

Comfort seats where an option. Generally the people that can afford these cars new are in their 50s or 60s and therefore there is a market for those that still want the performance/badge but don't want/can't fit into the snug hip hugging seats.

Regarding the S for sale in the Bay Area, that's been up for a while now. I remember looking at the ad when I was shopping for mine. It's priced well by Canadian standards, but it wasn't worth the expense of the flight and import fees.

[andyrew]

So far im hearing good things from 3.0 owners.

I do my own maintenance (lift and tools...) so no worries about that. I do worry about catastrophic failures as the car being my daily for 60 mile commutes a couple times a week and 100 mile sales calls once a week will be requiring a solid car I can rely on.

I was hoping for 25mpg. I figure I can easy foot it and get maybe 27 when im bored. (My wifes Genesis coupe has an EPA of 30mpg, but I can eek 34.5 on a 140mile trip.. 35.5 was indicated on the onboard computer.. in town is another matter... fin 17mpg...)


Keep the reviews coming!