Audi A6

markcincinnati · February 2002

On the Audi UK web site you can actually configure your Audi badgeless. I have had the dealer de-badge two of my Audis -- and I had it done because I thought it looked really cool.

I guess of your choices, I would say "stealthmobile" would be the spirit of the reason people do it. I haven't had one done (de-badged) for several years and I've never had my windows tinted, but when I see a silver Mercedes or Audi or BMW with tinted windows, massive 5 spoke wheels/tires and debadged, I think it looks pretty cool -- and then I think too that it looks like a pimp's car. Yea -- a pimpmobile, that's option code "pmb" on page 29 of the salesman's configuration guide isn't it? Just kidding

.

To each his (or her) own -- as my dear old mother used to say (she probably still does, since she is still alive and kicking). Sorry mom.

zuba · February 2002

OK guys, convince me that the reliability on a new or used (Like a 2000/2001 A6 2.7T is good. I was considering finding one, but every journal I find mentions reliability as poor, so I have focused my efforts on a BMW 528/530 or a Lexus GS 300. Let me know your thoughts!! Yes - AWD is a benefit, but not if the car is in ths shop!

timcar · February 2002

Luck of the draw, Dave. Most A6's are reliable cars. Some individual cars have had lots of problems. More have had niggly problems. Statistically, a 5 Series is likely to have fewer, and a GS a lot fewer. But the 5 Series isn't great in slippery weather. And the A6 will be GREAT to drive MOST of the time, while the Lexus will be BORING to drive ALL of the time.

P.S. Get the sport package.

markcincinnati · February 2002

I agree with Tim's comments completely. While watching Car and Driver television, I saw a description that underlines Tim's BORING comment. ". . .that new XYZ, from Japan, is a great appliance, it is quiet, reliable and basically asks nothing of the driver -- US drivers who have been responsible for buying literally millions and millions of Toyota's, Honda's and the like have been offered up yet another perfect example of an uninvolving, "perfect" car. This one will likely be a hit, just not with us" [sic]. This is, of course a paraphrase, but when I watched the report and listened to the narration and then read Tim's comments, I can only echo -- a car that is both perfectly reliable and perfectly BORING (like many of the most popular Japanese cars) will not get my vote. Sure, I wish that German cars (Audi's especially since I own them) were perfectly reliable -- and, truth be told, my Audis have been "mostly" bullet proof -- but not perfect.

But they are fun, great performing, confidence inspiring and safe cars.

P.S. Get the sport package -- and at least test drive the 6spd for a minimum of one hour!

humphreyxiao1 · February 2002

I have a similar problem, but vice verse. The computer say I only have 1700 miles left as of I have drove 8300 miles already, in reality, I only drove 2000 miles since the oil change and I was using Mobil 1 0-W30. It never happend during the first 2 oil change using dealer's regular oil.

I started suspecting Mobil 1 now, because on AMSOil website, Mobil 1 0-W30 was rated last in some test.

cdnpinhead · February 2002

Thanks for asking the question that keeps coming up in my mind.

Sometime in the next three years I'm going to be looking very hard at either an Audi 2.7T (or whatever the next iteration is) w/ manual, or an Infiniti G35 manual.

Time and again the Audi response is that Asian cars are dull as dishwater and have no "soul."

I've owned an MGB. It had lots of soul. The Miatas I owned later also had soul, but didn't break or leak oil.

You asked the key question that will help me decide whether the beautiful Audi interiors and mechanicals (Quattro) are worth the possible downside. I buy, rather than lease, and consider extended warranties crutches. The OEM warranty is (or was, at one time) meant to weed out infant mortality failures. Long-term reliability is either there . . . or not.

kirby2010 · February 2002

I can't give you a long-term perspective but I can tell you that I have had one year, and nearly 13,000 miles, of problem free driving with my '01 2.7T w/6-speed. I have another vehicle (SUV) for around town and only take the Audi when I know it's going to get warm - or on the occasional road trip. As much as I like merging on the highway I don't "wind it out" if the turbo temperature isn't up.

I guess there's been complaints about Audi reliability. I wouldn't dismiss them, of course, nor would I attempt to rationalize them. I do think cars need to be driven and maintained in the manner they were designed. I don't think taking the Audi to the convenience store (8 miles round trip - doesn't sound too convenient, does it?) is good for the car.

I settled on the Audi because it fits my style. I spent some serious time looking at just about everything in the class. In the end I went with Audi because I like the design, features, comfort, and performance. These are the real reasons to buy a car, in my opinion.

kirby2010 · February 2002

An uncharacteristic follow-up post (unrelated to the post above). markcincinnati comments in #2347 about the demise of the manual transmission. I read recently that only 8.7% of vehicles sold in the US are equipped with manual transmission. We're doing our part to maintain the tradition with four of five vehicles in the family equipped with manual transmission.

For what it's worth - I encourage you (if you have aspiring drivers) to to teach your kids to drive a car with manual transmission. And make their first cars manual. I'm convinced that if a study were done of accidents involving teenagers, and normalized for auto versus manual, there would be far fewer accidents involving cars with manual transmissions. Drivers with manuals are forced to pay more attention to driving. Another good reason - my kid's cars never got borrowed in high school or college. They were asked, of course, but nobody who asked could drive a manual.

Hope I didn't start a huge controversy (about manuals or using the A6 site).

markcincinnati · February 2002

I read the comments from time to time on this board about reliability and other 3rd party comments from places like Consumer's Reports. I have not spent time on a Honda, Toyota, Acura board -- perhaps people who are these brand's fans have their complaints about reliability and dealer service or whatever also.

My friends who do have some of these cars, Honda, Toyota and Acuras do grace the company parking lot -- do like their cars. The comments they make about their cars generally have nothing to do with performance, fun, safety or that generalized term "drivability." When the topic of cars comes up, the two folks who have Acura's talk about reliability and how long it has been since they last serviced the car.

The VW new beetle driver talks about how much he enjoys the car. There are 5 Audis in the company parking lot -- 4 A4's and 1 A6, presently. One of folks talks about the Audi in terms of how spoiled he has become because of the dealer and the Audi advantage. He comes in with just under 20,000 miles on the car and exclaims "they did all the work, replaced the wiper blades, even replaced the trim piece that I knocked off, loaned me a car while mine was being worked on and when I picked up the car it was washed and vacuumed." He has a mini-van which is a Chrysler product and while he appreciates the space for his wife and 2 kids and all the stuff that they need to haul around, he has lamented that it is not as well made or as reliable as his Audi. His last car before the A4 was a Jeep Grand Cherokee.

The other folks with their A4's also have remarked about the great service they get at the dealership in Cincinnati (Northland). But when they talk about their cars they discuss how much fun they have driving them -- "I got here early, turned off the ESP and did donuts in the parking lot while it was completely snow covered -- I got into a really cool four wheel drift." And so it goes. The 55 year old put the "factory" spoiler on his A4 1.8T quattro sport -- this is his second A4.

And so it goes. Anecdotal evidence to be sure, but it is similar to the Car and Driver TV show's comments about appliances and utility and reliability. No one wants an unreliable car, and my bet is that if these Audis were unreliable that their owners would not be repeat customers no matter how fun to drive they are (or were).

The Saab owners and the one BMW owner are cases in point. Both the Saab owners and the BMW owner discusses the great pleasure they have in driving their cars, but also comment about how they "have to visit their cars at the dealers" they are in for repairs so much. Actually, no one currently owns a Saab any more -- after their experiences with Saab, one fellow went Acura and one Volvo (the AWD "station wagon"). They both like their current vehicles (as noted above the Acura owner talks about filling the tank and forgetting it -- the Saab's fun factor plus reliability factor has soured him on "fun" when it comes to autos). The Volvo owner liked his so much he bought it off lease, gave it to his daughter and bought a second one for his wife (new) -- and this is the guy who had a Saab turbo that was often out of service for problems.

I do not think most of us on this forum are making excuses or rationalizing about our decisions to buy or lease Audi's. I have had dozens of them -- and I only kept one over 100,000 miles, so I may not be the poster boy for discussing reliability. But, my Audi's hardly ever go into the dealer except when I want them to. And, the only extra pampering I give them is more frequent oil changes than the manual calls for.

But, I do not claim that any of my Audi's have been as allegedly reliable as the stories I hear and read about from time to time that concern some Lexus or Nissan or other Japanese brands.

I have high expectations and the Audis have, for me at least, been almost trouble free.

Now, let me tell you about the fellow who owns an Avalon. . .he calls it his "bic pen" car. When it runs out of ink you just throw it away and get another, or words to that effect.

To each his/her own.

markcincinnati · February 2002

I agree completely with kirby2010 (who isn't named Kirby I find, but Mark). Drive a manual transmission, teach yourself, your family to drive them. After you have done this much, if you still like automatics, I have not one comment, they aren't for everyone.

But so many people don't know what they're missing -- and they criticize them. I figure you can't say lobsters taste bad until you have tried one, if you get my drift.

camster77 · February 2002

i have an audi a6 2000. over the last year have experienced a problem with the transmission while in the automatic mode. while driving it will unexpectedly shift to a lower gear and not shift back. and it does this while on relatively flat road conditions, like a highway. then with no exit in sight i will have to drive it slowly for miles at a time. this has happened several times and the dealer says they can't find any malfunction. just want to know if anyone else has had such an experience.

morphie · February 2002

First, I would suggest that you find a new dealer and never return to your current service department.

All Audi dealers have electronic diagnostics that allow them to download vehicle data, and analyze any irregularity. Even camshaft/valve malfunctioning can be diagnosed. It would seem that any such malfunction, as you describe, would be discernible by such a test. I recently had a driveablity problem that was easily traced by the dealer, using the approach I have related.

If a dealer will not assist you (hard to fathom, but possible), insist on obtaining the Regional Service representative's number, and call yourself.

Let us know the outcome.

kirby2010 · February 2002

markcincinnati (great Audi guru) - thanks for the vote of confidence. I couldn't wait to check the board tonight to see what people had to say about manual transmissions. I was pleased to see that you agree.

timcar · February 2002

Almost sounds like the limp mode for the tranny. Any warning lights? Ditto what Mike said.

camster77 · February 2002

no warning lights. by the time we get it into the dealer the problem disappears. they claim unless it's doing it when they look at it, the computer can't pick up anything. also, what is a limp mode.

morphie · February 2002

Your dealer is either incompetent or engaged in fraud; I was not joking when I said go to another dealer.

Tim's comment about "limp" mode sounds correct. It is a programmed operation that allows the vehicle to travel for short distances, at slow speed, when there has been a potentially catastrophic mechanical or electrical failure. My understanding, gleaned form an Audi engineer, is that its original intent was to allow a "damaged" vehicle to be removed from a potentially dangerous situation; i.e. in the path of traffic.

To reiterate: your dealer is caught in a time warp; the line: "we have to see it malfunctioning" was outdated by the the early eighties. Your problem is exactly what on board diagnostics were created to deal with. Give your service department a pink slip.

camster77 · February 2002

good info here. i am seeing them this morning at the dealership. i will let you know how things turned out. thnx

kovach1 · February 2002

I have a 2001 A6 & am told is wired for an analog cell phone and that Motorola is coming out with a digital product that will "adapt".

HELP PLEASE.....DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY CELL PHONE EXPERIENCE WITH THE 2001 A6??? I HAVE A 6 SPEED AND NEED HANDS FREE!

THANKS!!

timcar · February 2002

Sorry, Andrew, not personally. You might want to check this link and do a search using "cell."

http://forums.audiworld.com/a6/

You might want to ask your question there also.

markcincinnati · February 2002

I had the Motorola factory phone put in and of course it is wired into the sound system and works with the steering wheel controls -- the phone list is displayed in front of you on the dash board and the sound and clarity are great.

But the greatest thing is NO dropouts, better reception -- than digital by far. The phone is a full 3 watts of broadcast power and null areas that always seemed to effect me here in Cincinnati have all vanished.

Here is what I did. I went to Verizon and purchased a Morotola world wide digital, dual mode phone with "call forwarding option on it" -- My wife and I have in addition the Audi factory phones in our Audis.

When I walk out to my car, I push a button on my digital Motorola i2000 phone that says forward. Then I turn off my phone.

All inbound calls now "ring" in my Audi.

My wife bought a package of minutes for her car which has a unique phone number, then I (for an additional 10 bucks a month, added my unique car phone number to her package of minutes).

We have three "cellular phones" -- two of them are affixed as god intended in our 2001 Audi's -- indeed we ordered our cars from "the factory" with the factory phone option and that is the way they came off the truck. We bought one of those packages which is 1000 anytime minutes, free long distance and 5000 evening and weekend minutes or some huge number like that because it is so cheap, then we pool our usage and "ta da" -- I have a phone that I can carry in my pocket that works anywhere on the planet earth (105 countries) with the same number and two car phones that can share minutes and again when I am in the car, I forward the hand held digital phone to whatever car I happen to be in at the time (either mine or my wifes).

Problem solved --

My friends who use the Nokia digital interface (described in detail on www.audiworld.com) still have drop outs, digital garble and all the other maladies associated with digital low power phones -- while I have the super power analog phone that blasts through null signal areas like a daisy cutter!

bertram60 · February 2002

Hey Mark, I'm still here! You're really lucky with your cellular carrier. Here in the land of digital (S.FLA) I was unable to get any carrier to provide me with strictly analog service for the phone in my A8, in fact, Cingular ended up upgrading my portable cell phone as they had me drive to three separate service centers to try and get the phone in the car to work. ATT was willing to provide analog service, but at a ridiculous per-minute rate (I'm 1500 min/month average) even if i wanted to forward cell to car it was $40/month plus $.45/ minute!!!!

S. Florida has mandated hands free usage for fall of 2002 in certain areas, a move sure to be spreading across the state/country. While the hands free devices sold by cellular mfgs are better than nothing, the in-car phones are still the way to go. Unfortunately I think that auto mfgs are going to take advantage of this, case in point, in my BMW (sorry, bad word!)since I leased it off the lot, to add BMW (Startac) cell phone would require a cash outlay of $2,000 for the phone and installation, a lot of money for a $199 (retail for phone alone) phone!

Hopefully your analog service will remain available at reasonable rates. Down here we're out of luck, progress is good, right?

markcincinnati · February 2002

We traded posts regarding the brakes on our Audis -- correct? Well, I think I mentioned that Audi actually paid for cross drilled "racing" rotors some 4,000+ miles ago and I was basically happier than I had been.

But that old shudder seemed to always be waiting to come back and when it rains was pretty clearly audible and "feelable." I wrote Audi another letter and they sent me an explanation letter that said the brakes worked as designed and that they were out of options.

It was a really nice letter and in spite of some frustration and disappointment in the message, I was NOT pissed off. The responsiveness coupled with my great dealer care plus the great Audi cars, pretty much means I'm sticking with the brand.

A couple of weeks ago, the dealer service manager called me and asked the follow up question "how are those brakes" -- so I said, OK from a stopping standpoint, but they are shuddering again. He said, how about this, "the Audi Advocate (a person who's job it is to be a customer advocate and a dealer advocate -- but who is paid by AoA) comes to our dealership every few weeks, I could arrange a meeting for you with him, if you would like."

I said to my Audi svce mgr, not only would I like to meet him, I want to take him on a drive in my car -- a nice long drive, up and down the freeway, on back roads and around the block. Guess what? They said "no problem." Last Friday I spent an hour with an Audi Advocate (he even had a German accent) and I gave him a test drive with me behind the wheel and then turned the car over to him (this Audi employee's personal car is a 2001 A6 4.2, BTW). He agreed with me and did something I had never done at speed -- he got the car above 60 miles an hour and pulled on the emergency brake while holding the button in -- talk about rumble, shudder, shimmy and sounds like from a supernova sub-woofer! "I think ve founder der promlem, no?"

Turns out we had been replacing front rotors (three times now), turning the rotors once with a new piece of hardware that turns the rotors while they are on the car and replacing the pads twice, balancing the tires, getting new tires and performing 2 all wheel alignments (and all of this in 18,000 miles)! Whew!

Tomorrow or Wednesday, I get all new rear brakes -- I am very optimistic because of the clear indication of the problem (at least so it seemed) -- and that it was from the rear.

The heck of it is, I only have 14 months to go on my 30 month lease, which means I'll be ordering a new car in October or November -- just about when I get EVERYTHING the way I want it. So the way I look at it is -- I have perhaps helped all of Audidom discover that the front brakes may not have been the "bad guys" after all. What a world.

Did you ever replace your A8? (with another Audi, that is?)

timcar · February 2002

I was just discussing brakes with another A6 driver via e-mail, and then read your post. I don't know if what you get is constant under all conditions, if not, this text is a summary of what I've read described by many other A6 drivers.

"My brakes suffer occasionally from what feels like a warped rotor, but isn't. Sometimes at higher speed, or not so high speed, I'll feel the pulsing or shuddering that normally indicates a warped rotor. But since this is at other times wholly absent, I don't understand how it could be the rotor. Also, the caliper/pad combinations on our cars can tend to trap moisture, and produce high spots on the rotors from oxidation. Perhaps this is what I'm experiencing, and several applications take the high spots down."

Despite this problem, I still love my A6's brakes. I continued: "I'm in an Avalon rental while my car is in the body shop and, boy, do I miss my Audi. The brakes on the '01 2.7T really are VERY powerful, and if you are ever in an emergency situation, they can generate serious stopping power. But even more importantly, I now realize how much I've come to rely on the fact that I can easily, quickly and with no loss of control take off as much speed as I need to whenever I need to. Most sedans don't offer that degree of margin."

Note that for '02, Audi dropped the larger brakes from the 2.7T. I suspect in part that's because they've been problematic. I think you also monitor AW, and you've probably noticed that a couple of drivers have had success fixing warped rotors by having them cryogenically treated. Others have said it's nonsense, but those who've done has said it's fixed warping

bertram60 · February 2002

Yes that was me Mark, I had similar experiences with my A8 and never got the problem solved. As a matter of fact I was so frustrated, not with the dealer, but the fact that the car was at the dealership for at least a week out of every month from February '01 - August '01 and i still had brake shudder. I did all the same, including changing rear rotors, tires, alignments, etc, that I decided to buy another A8. It was September 29th and I called my dealer to see what they had in stock, or on order in an A8. They had an '01 A8L in Melange, or an "executive" 1,500 mile S8 in Black on black that the owner of the dealership had been driving. Ming Blue or Silver are my colors, but as I wanted to do a two year lease I didn't care too much, especially as they told me that they would give me a great deal. Well, after shopping around a little, I could have ordered a new S8, with my options and colors for about $600 less per month!!!!

Needless to say I was dissapointed at these numbers considering that my best friend and I have personally purchased about 15 cars from these guys (including 2 Ferrari's, 1 Aston Martin, 2 A8's, 1 A6's, 6 996's (911's including an '02 996 twin Turbo - "can you say Acceleration", and 3 Boxsters) all within the last 6 years! I then tried to get hold of "a friend of a friend" at another Audi store and found he had moved to a BMW store, so I went to him, gave him a ridiculous offer on a 4.4 X5 and asked for too much money for my A8 and they countered within $1,000 of my ask on my car and met my numbers on the X5.

I have put an order on an '03? S8 (a new co-worker has a relative who owns an Audi store in PA - would have liked to have met him about a week earlier!) and am waiting for information on when this new bodied A8/S8 will be here. Until then, I'm Audiless (except for my co-workers 2.7 6spd that i steal now and again). I always keep an eye on this board to see what's going on and how everyone's doing. Keep up the good work.

nosho · February 2002

I have a 2000 A6-2.7T 6-speed. On a recent road trip from NJ to FL, I experienced brake shudder, while slowing for traffic, on a long decline. I gingerly held the brakes and had a "warped-rotor" feel. Hasn't recurred. With a manual, I rarely need to use brakes at highway speeds but I can understand why this "feel" would be/is annoying. First time in 38K miles and 2 years. As Mark has stated, it doesn't affect actual stopping ability, just not a pleasant feel.

The Audi rotors seem to be soft iron, so the only solution is probably an after market performance rotor. But that's pricey, and probably not something one would want to do to a leased car.

markcincinnati · February 2002

And, I have a new A4 1.8T quattro with sport package (and, unfortunately a tiptronic). But, the A4 has 3K miles on it and is very very impressive -- bet it would be a real blast with a stick shift.

minos2 · February 2002

I finally resolved the problem of my CD player(2001 A6,4.2) unable to play high speed CD-R discs I burn on my TDK 24x 10x 40x Burner. I have to decrease the burn speed to 8x. This will allow my CD player to read the disc without an "err" message. Both music and non-music CD-R discs will play without any problems at the lower write speed. Just FYI.

Kirstie_H · February 2002

We are looking for lawyers (any age, sex, kind of car) who are car nuts.

Please respond by March 9 to lordusky@aol.com

Any questions? Contact Edmunds.com PR at jfallon@edmunds.com

Thanks!
kirstie_h
Roving Host
Edmunds.com

timcar · February 2002

After 8 days in an Avalon, I'm back in my 2.7T as of this past Tuesday. My '01 2.7T needed a new right front fender after I'd unintentionally customized it on some roadside debris. It's silver, and I've had it a little over a year. I called my salesperson at Audi of Mendham, Bonnie Manniello, for a recommendation and she recommended Foreign Specialties in Manville. Audi of Mendham and Audi of Bernardsville refer all their body work to this shop.

It's the best body shop experience I've had. The car looks literally as good as new, the cut lines are perfect and the paint is expertly blended. Just as importantly, the folks at Foreign Specialties are good to do business with. They're friendly, direct, and honest and do what they say they will. This is distinctly different from previous body shop experiences I've had. It looks like about half their work is Audi's. When I picked it up, we talked a little about their business, and the gentleman explained they started doing just restoration work. I think this helps explain their skill level.

And boy, am I happy to have my car back! I learned to appreciate it all over again. My initial positive impression of the Avalon faded fast because of uncomfortable seats, and handling limits that were low and scary as you approached them. This past weekend I had that car out on my normal two lane twisties, and it and I were unhappy. It didn't like them at even moderate speeds. It was joyless and worrisome as I attempted to transition through switchbacks. Poorly balanced, understeering, lacking in feedback with obviously no extra margins beyond it's intended uses. Even worse than my unlamented former ES300. It's OK, and even pleasant around town and up to 75mph or so on the highway, but go beyond it's comfort zone and you won't want to.

The quality of my A6 is second to none. It's beautiful, comfortable interior, build quality, handling (Yes, even with the non-sport compared to most other sedans.) and power are a total joy once again.

cncarlson · February 2002

I have a 99 A4 1.8T Quattro MANUAL, and I will say there is nothing like driving a manual Audi. However, I would not ever drive an Audi that was beyond it Audi Advantage Warranty (My A4 will be gone in May b/c out of warranty). I seem to have received one of those "problem" Audi's, In the almost 3 years I have owned it, I have taken it in to: Replace spider cracked headlight covers, replace airbag (no accident), replace hand brake cover (crumbled in my hand, and no I'm not that strong), Bad body leak on passenger side (told was a design flaw), Sunroof, Windshield washer pump, Timing belt tensioner (be sure to check yours this was a recall), Sun Visor clip, and the car only has 21,000 miles on it.

It is a blast to drive and none of these problems made the car undrivable, just annoying, I don't like driving a Mazda 626 as a loaner! The net of it is, while the car is a blast to drive, I cannot bring myself to get another Audi. Too much time in the shop.

timcar · February 2002

I've got an '01 2.7T with over 17K and my wife has an '01 A4 1.8T with over 20K. Neither car has had to go in the shop very often. In fact, I don't think my wife's A4 has had anything other than routine maintenance and a cracked windshield that was replaced in one day under warranty.

nyccarguy · February 2002

I'm sorry to hear you've had so many problems with your car. I honestly don't blame you for not sticking with the brand.

cncarlson · March 2002

I have 4 friends who all bought A4's after riding in mine and none of them have had any signifigant problems, I have a theory that I haven't driven mine enough. Much like the old BMW M-Cars, they had to be driven hard and often to run right. Who knows, maybe the car protests from sitting at the Airport to much!

markcincinnati · March 2002

I am no engineer, I read too many web sites, magazines and the like -- but Audis (and for all I know this applies to BMW's, Merc's, Volvos and Jags too) take 5,000 to 10,000 miles of "normal" driving to break in.

At 5,000+ miles, every Audi I have ever owned (over 2 dozen) becomes a "new car."

I generally do nothing really special during the break in period -- except I try not to have any panic stops and I also do not hold the car in gear until redline, even though I might go to 75% of red line (and this applies to either the manual or automatic Audis I have owned).

These cars just are incredible at around 6 months or 5 or 6K miles and then again at 10K+ miles another shot of B12 seems to be evident!

timcar · March 2002

Did they fix your brakes? And how are your Yoko's holding up?

timcar · March 2002

I think you're on to something concerning running your A4 enough. Most of my driving is two lane 35mph to 60mph. I've noticed that after taking a good long road trip at 80+mph, the car just seems even smoother and more responsive with everything working in sync.

markcincinnati · March 2002

My new rear brakes and pads and my "only" 4,000 mile old aftermarket cross drilled front rotor combination is about 96% silent and 99% vibration free. As the service manager said, keep the radio on and you'd never know.

With respect to the tires, I love them, would get them again, but have a comment about them -- they have a "tread wear" number of 360 -- the Pirellis P6000Z rated were 180, the Dunlop SP9000's were perhaps 200 (I'm a bit fuzzy on this). And, I know we are talking about three different company's tires -- but it is my hunch that the Yoko's tread life, to my comfort level at least, will not be twice what the Pirelli's are. Which is sort of understandable -- while they AVSdb's are all - season tires, they are also UltraHigh Performance tires. And, as you may recall they are 255 x 40 x 17" size -- a long life, all season, ultra high performance ultra low profile (super wide oval as they used to say) tire is like the old list of life which states:

You can have:

1. High quality
2. Immediacy
3. Low price

Pick two.

I get all season, ultra high performance but not long life -- this is my prediction.

On the other hand at $144 per tire from the Tire Rack, they are a lot less money than the Dunlop SP9000's.

The message: I like the tires, a lot. I will buy them again -- or one's like them if someone else builds a better mousetrap.

And, while not perfect, I am -- at least for the time being -- pleased with my brakes. Since I love the total car so much, I have put up with this issue, which as I have said previously is mostly really annoying (exacerbated by the fact that the car stickered at $54,000+).

pjcrage · March 2002

pjcrage · March 2002

I picked up my new 2.7T last week and so far it is superb. I was wondering if anyone out there has the Continental Sport Contact 2 tires on their 2.7T with sport package (235-45 17")? I prefer the Michelin Pilots but these came with the car. I understand the original Sport Contacts were horrid but wondered about the new version. Appreciate comments.

PC

timcar · March 2002

And thank you very much for the update on the Yoko's. Glad they've been so satisfying. They're my top contender for replacing the stock Conti touring tires when they go. But with only 17.5K, that's not soon. Your comments concerning wear are interesting. I too would be willing to trade long mileage for the other virtues you describe.

tmanlaw · March 2002

My 2001 2.7T with Sport Package (16", as 17" wasn't available when I purchased car) came with Dunlop SP9000's. I've been very pleased. I live in Seattle, so lots of rain but not much snow, and they have been great. They appear to be wearing well (as opposed to well worn) at 10,000 miles.

markcincinnati · March 2002

My 2000 A6 4.2 w/17" wheel option came with the SP9000's -- they were fantastic! Now, the SP9000's are, in the Tire Rack pecking order, above the AVSdb's -- the category is MAXIMUM performance. Audi sometimes calls these tires Summer tires. When my wife's TT needed new tires, we put the SP9000's on it (and Audi paid 2/3 of the cost!). Of course she has two sets of tires, one for summer and one for winter -- she is a purist.

BTW the SP9000's had to be changed out at 20,000 miles -- my service manager told me that 18-20K miles on that tire was normal (to keep the overall balance of the car optimum). There was still some tread on the tires to be sure, but at about 20,000 miles there was some loss of grip (wet and dry) and some increased road noise.

If our ambient temp here in Cincinnati never dipped below freezing, I would probably feel comfortable with summer tires (Max performance) + quattro. But the max tires do have some issues with really cold temps that the all season Ultra high performance tires don'w have.

So again, if you do not want to have two sets of tires/wheels -- the AVS db's are only a small compromise. And who am I kidding, I so rarely get a chance to use the performance that even these tires afford, the slight improvement of the SP9000's (in our climate) would be lost.

If you live where it doesn't have much of a winter, the SP9000's are probably the best tires I have ever had -- but for RiverCity Ohio, the Yoko AVSdb's make more sense (IMHO).

stp77 · March 2002

I have recently noticed a strong odor comming in from the engine while driving around town. The temp of the engine is ok but it seems to running hotter than usual. On the highway, no smell. I let it run at idle and the electric fan is not coming on. In addition I have the MIL light on. Coincidence or is something up? ... STP77

timcar · March 2002

It's probably nothing really serious, but it's better to get it checked out. In fact, the smell and the MIL could be unrelated. How old's your car? New A6's sometimes have Cosmoline protectant in the engine compartment that will burn off soon after being put in service. On the other hand, it could be a problem with wiring or lubrication, and that should be attended to ASAP. I suspect the reason you don't smell it on the highway is because the slipstream is strong enough to vent any odor away from air intakes. It's very unusual to smell anything from your car while moving, even if there is an odor. Typically, what you smell are the cars in front of you.

stp77 · March 2002

It,s a 1998 and I think your right. I'm heading to the dealership tomorrow. thanks

markcincinnati · March 2002

Other than a mis print on the price -- $71,000 not $45,000 the following I think will temporarily INCREASE market confusion, rather than increase market differentiation:

http://www.forbes.com/2002/03/04/0304vow.html

Look at it this way, if you could get this car with a 12 cylinder engine for $45,000 you would have to at least consider it. So, don't take this article to your dealer and demand one of these babies for $45 grand.

markcincinnati · March 2002

I spoke with my dealer today -- he said that we are approaching the end of the special order window of opportunity for 2002 model cars.

I asked him about the 2.7T engine and my favorite topic, manual transmissions.

He said that the buzz among the dealers is that there will be no more 2.7T that it will be a 2.9 (T I presume, but he didn't say T).

He also said that there may be some more shifting in the product line than he likes, for example dropping the 2.7T allroad and replacing it not with a 2.9T model but with the already known 4.2. He says this will mean the allroad will move up in price -- which is fine, but that there will be a gap between the the curren A6 Avant and the allroad -- and that the S6 Avant will just be a "and more so" Avant with the 340HP engine.

I hope this is incorrect -- what would be the middle engine, perhaps as Tim says the W8 (from the new Passat?) This doesn't wash as it would seem to "steal some thunder" from the Passat and NOT differentiate the Audi VW family perhaps as much as would be desired.

Anyway, anyone else hear of a "for sure" discontinuation of the 2.7T? Oh BTW, the dealer said the 2.9T would be "detuned" to 275HP -- hmm same as the W8 and way below its potential, but with the 4.2 at 300, it makes Marketing Sense. If this is so, the chipmakers and aftermarket breathers (turbos, air filters, cat-back exhausts, etc.) will have a field day with this engine!

2003 is looking like a breakthrough year for Audi (and then who knows who will up the ante again, but it is certain it WILL be upped).

brennt · March 2002

Can anyone shed some lite on why Consumer
Reports says the A6 should be avoided due
to reliability problems.... are they more prone to
problems than others in their class.... I'm considering
the A6 4.2 ...any info appreciated

timcar · March 2002

I find both CR's methodology and data to be suspect. They no longer distinguish minor from major problems. The A6 is a fairly uncommon car, and I question if the sample set of respondents to their questionnaire is truly representative. Still, it appears some '98 through 2000 A6's were quite problematic. '01 appears less so, so I also question the inclusion of that model year. There seems to also be a significant human element in CR's evaluation of the data when deciding to place an auto in categories such as "Cars to Avoid." I.e., you'll find cars with comparatively the same amount of CR defined "problem areas" either included or excluded from the "recommended" category. Once CR gets a bad taste about a model, it tends to stick. Conversely, if it's made by Honda or Toyota, they'll likely love it.

markcincinnati · March 2002

I agree with Tim's message -- but will add one thing -- if you are getting a used Audi (or any European or American car, IMHO) get the extended warranty. The Audi is breathtakingly expensive to maintain or fix (and this applies to Bimmers and Mercs and even VW's).

I love these things to death, but would not have one without a warranty.

As far as CR goes -- I think so much of their automotive writings are bovine scatology.

Audi A6

Comments

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles