Advice Needed on A6 3.0t Avant purchase!

[Segboer6]

Hey guy,

I have recently been thinking about moving out of my A4 B7 Avant into a C6 3.0t Avant. I have had my fair share of issues over the years on my A4 and was wondering if I moved to the A6 if I would be right back in the same boat. Is the reliability overall better in the C6 with a 3.0t then the B7 with a 2.0t?

Potential car: 2010 A6 3.0T Avant
170Km’s
Serviced at Audi and respectable Independent shop
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[estomax]

3.0t is going to need more loving than the 2.0t, the car is bigger and has more features and power, so with an older car, you should expect more annoyances with more features. My friend has a b7 a4 2.0t and it has been dead nuts reliable for 150k miles, and he is not a car guy. With that engine you pretty much have to simply stay on top of the HPFP cam follower and you're good to go. My friend has an S4 with the 3.0t and he has had to have a lot of work done on it (and he is not a car guy either, so he pays). Not the biggest sample size here, but it should guide your expectations. Both 2.0t and 3.0t burn oil, 3.0t is fairly notorious for it.

the carrot is that the 3.0t avants are rare, and if you want to own something that almost noone else has, then that is a prize on its own.

[Audibot]

3.0T is a relatively bulletproof engine. I have heard issues on the S4s for the thermostat, but everything regarding the supercharger seems to be solid. And it seems like it's not terribly expensive to mod either, but I don't have experience doing so.

I'd completely be for the A6 over the B7, but, as stated, if you keep on top of maintenance for either car, they will treat you well.

[christianb5s4]

I bought mine in good shape but had been mechanically neglected or worse yet, had some very shoddy work done prior to my ownership. You have to be very particular about making sure you get the full maintenance history because there are several big maintenance items (PCV, thermostat, belts, crank pulley, variable valve timing cover seals, etc.).

That being said, these are relatively reliable cars if you take care of all those large issues upfront. I did all those items mentioned and more and mechanically the car is great. There are some little things that are annoying which erodes my enjoyment of the car, like my AC blower motor started squeaking sporadically, some areas of the headliner are getting loose, some rattles here and there, Bose woofers in front doors have the cone separation issue, etc.

[11A6]

Please note that with 6sp tranny on Avant's your mod options may stress tranny & engine more than what you see on the S4 forums where they have manual and 7sp DSG that can handle more power/torque . Also car is heavier so less tossable. Consumables like brakes and tires likely to wear faster if you drive like A4 and have more stop/go driving due to weight. I bought mine used @ 88k - now @ 113 & have had to replace one front Tie rod, rear alignment issue is contributing to tire wear (though solution maybe in sight) and looks like I should replace valve cover gasket as spark plug change showed some oil in there. That said I think engine is fairly stout esp if thermo and water pump have been replaced with upgraded versions. After valve gasket will be PCV and carbon cleaning since I need to take SC off for either of those. So yes it's a complex machine and that will bring repairs/up keep but overall not much else I'd rather drive for mix of luxury, flexibility and performance. Driving out outback every once in a while gives me perspective.

[C6Avant]

I've had my 09 for well over 2 years now and have put 40,000 miles on her (now sits at 133,000 miles). I do all my own oil changes and have done my own valve cover gaskets and plugs. All easy maintenance items that even amateur idiots like myself can do.

It does consume oil. I add a liter every 1,000 to 1,200 miles likely due to the PCV issue. I understand this is quite common. I just keep a 5 liter jug in the trunk and check the oil every time I fill up with fuel.

I plan on paying a shop to do a walnut blast carbon cleaning soon and the PCV/Tstat while they're in there which won't be cheap. Carbon cleaning quote was $800 alone, so I expect to pay $1,200-1,500 to have the other things done, but up to this point I think I've spent maybe $1,200 total on professional repairs (2 wheel bearings and tranny/differential service).

It has been a beast of a good vehicle for me, but your experience may differ.

[arjun90]

Consider yourself very lucky finding that C6 Avant

As with any 3.0T engine, perform oil changes every 5000 miles. I prefer Motul, but Castrol 5W-40 will work as well.

As far as oil consumption are concerned, you can read ShopDAP's article here, https://www.shopdap.com/blog/post/co...-engines1.html

Oil consumption in these engines isn’t as big of an issue as it has been with the first generation 2.0T TSI engines, but it’s still a concern that’s been addressed by Audi. Early first generation 3.0T engines produced before mid 2012 had a higher pressure regulation valve for the oil separator. This PCV unit is located under the supercharger assembly, vacuum lines, and fuel rails. This separator unit sucks air from the valve covers, under the supercharger, and into a heavy oil separating unit through a course of passageways and valves. Once the heavy oil particles have dropped, the small lighter particles are passed through a port into the base of the supercharger housing, and burned through the intake. The updated PCV valve has a lower pressure regulating valve which helps with oil consumption concerns. In the rare case that these updated parts didn’t alleviate the consumption, new, tighter fitting piston rings were installed in the engines. - ShopDAP (Deutsche Auto Parts)

It lists most of the issues that the older 3.0T engines were having (production year's 2009 - 2012).

I wouldn't get carried away too much by the article as it really boils down to owner's responsibility, performing preventive maintenance, and driving daily.

You may consider carbon cleanup too if you experience sluggish performance.

[FineSloop]

Both 2.0t and 3.0t burn oil, 3.0t is fairly notorious for it.

3.0T is a relatively bulletproof engine.

Interesting... the contradiction. My mechanic says my 3.0 supercharger is "bulletproof" as well.

[christianb5s4]

Interesting... the contradiction. My mechanic says my 3.0 supercharger is "bulletproof" as well.

The motor itself is very stout despite the oil burning on some. It's all the accessories and little niggles in the rest of the car that can go wrong, or if previous owners neglected the car.

[FineSloop]

The motor itself is very stout despite the oil burning on some. It's all the accessories and little niggles in the rest of the car that can go wrong, or if previous owners neglected the car.

Right... although I'm not quite sure what "little niggles" are? Nonetheless, yeah... what if previous owner did treat it great, garage kept, low mileage, regular preventive maintenance? Mine's got 62,000 miles on it and it's not burning oil. Maybe I just need to break it in a bit more?

[christianb5s4]

Right... although I'm not quite sure what "little niggles" are? Nonetheless, yeah... what if previous owner did treat it great, garage kept, low mileage, regular preventive maintenance? Mine's got 62,000 miles on it and it's not burning oil. Maybe I just need to break it in a bit more?

Well, here are a few general ones and issues I've personally experienced in no particular order:

- Bose speaker cones start separating and sound is distorted
- Transmission is known to not be the smoothest
- VVT cover leaks
- PCV and water pump issues
- OEM crank pulley failures
- Vacuum pump leaks
- Carbon cleaning

[kneel]

https://dealerinfo.com/evo2/fresh/eL...yID=3486280147


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[FineSloop]

https://dealerinfo.com/evo2/fresh/eL...yID=3486280147


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Hey! That's MY car! I'd say "get it now". I've two concerns. There's only 3 service records? That, I don't like. Otherwise, the second issue is trivial. The backside of the rear seats in the trunk photo is weird. What's with the stripes. Trunk appears to be used hard. Great, that's what it was made for. It looks fantastic and the mileage is still quite low.