2001 Audi A6 from North America - Comments

I have a 99 A6 Quattro and so far have regretted ever buying it. I have a coolant leak (which was probably there when I bought it) that needs to be fixed. Oh, by the way they also just told me the tie rod ends need to be replaced also. Oh also, my check engine light stays on all the time.

LOL :(

I have a warranty through the used car dealer that I bought it from, but they are very specific on what they cover.

What sucks is that to fix the coolant leakage, they'll probably end up replacing the water pump, which means that they'll have to take the whole front end off. While that's happening, I might as well replace the belt and tensioner (not covered under the warranty) which is gonna cost me an arm and a leg too.

Makes me want to buy a $3000 Toyota or Honda and be done with this mess of a car.

Side Note: When I fill up the gas tank, it's hard to start the car. Has anyone else experienced this problem.

LOL What a mess!!

Wow! After owning an Audi 4000 (totalled due to a stupid error on my part), 1987 5000 (had for close to 100k, and became intimate with it on repairs), 1990 200 wagon (another lover, why can't Audi get it correct on electricals???) I was actually (call it battered spouse syndrom) considering buy an 2001 A6 wagon with 48K on it. THANK YOU ALL for your comments that has brought me back to my senses! I think I'm gonna turn Japanese and buy a Toyota Siena... drove a 2006 for 5k miles on vacation up in Alaska/BC this summer and loved it... of course a totally different car, but... how many horror stories to you read about Japanese cars???

Dear car owner,

I bought an Audi A6 2001 2.8 Quattro and I love my car. It was used when I bought it. I anticipated having the expense of the timing belt, tensioner, water pump at 90,000 miles as with any car, so I am wishful I had the warranty you discuss, but not dismayed by the fact I have to replace parts. If I were 90,000 miles old, I think I might need a few parts replaced too.

It is true they do have to take the front end off the car. Once that is done though, the space to work seems fine. My mechanic, Sadik, at Damascus Citgo 301-253-3857 did a nice job. While he was in there I had the camshaft sensor replaced too which took care of a check engine light. From what I have been reading, to improve gas mileage I may also replace the oxygen sensors as they are scheduled 30-100k on most cars.

As for the coolant leak, it could be as simple as a hose or a seal. A/C Compressors, A/C Drier, heating core all could go too, luckily for you they have not.

My point really is, if we get our cars in good shape and keep up in the oil changes, they will work fine. Perhaps the former owner was not as meticulous with maintenance as they should have been and that is why it is costing you a little bit of money now.

Wow I thought I wrote the first comment, but see it is another Audi A6 owner. This car is not for the timid. I am an airline pilot and wanted a superb road machine. I found it in this car. I purchased it in Tampa, FL with 91,000 miles, had a great experience with Dan at Mirek's 813-891-9118. I had a lot of work done to it after I bought it. It had been maintained, but needed the big 90k service. I didn't want to skimp on the repairs or replacing parts that weren't broken (although I wish I had replaced the water pump as I ended up replacing it now $750 including new serpentine belt). This is a finely engineered car, but many things depend on sensors and computers to work correctly. After purchase I spent approximately $4,800 in 22 months. The car has 120,000 miles and still runs perfectly. $130 was for window tint, $600 was for Yamaha tires, $389 for alternator, $150 coolant temp switch, $260 to mount, balance, align new tires and mobil 1 synthetic oil changes. $330 for a/c leak resolution and recharge, oil service, mount & balance 2 tires, replace coolant expansion tank and take a ding out of a fender (from a small stone). Outer cv boots & front rotors $810, 90K service including valve cover gaskets, oil change, timing belt, tensioner, roller, serpentine belt, fuel filter, platinum plugs, a/c cabin filter. Battery $107 installed.

It is not a cheap car to run. It uses premium fuel and gets about 21 mpg on the road at an average 80 mph. If you drive it at 57 mph you should get about 28 mpg. The main thing is it is a dream to drive. The Bose premium sound system is fantastic. It has plenty of trunk & rear leg room. It is a very safe car with front, head and side air bags. So in my opinion, if you own the car since new you would have no maintenance expense the first 50k. The next 40k oil changes and then sell it to someone cheap so they can live with the maint expense!

Wow.

I was shopping around for a 2002 Audi A6 2.7T. I couldn't believe how cheap they were! For such a great car! And I love Audi's. Well, I guess I figured out why that purchase may not be such a hot idea.

It is true that any Audi is a relatively higher maintenance vehicle if compared with its Japanese competitor. However, in all due fairness, one simply cannot compare the drive and feel of lets say a Honda Accord (No pun intended, I’ve owned 3 of them in the past) to an Audi or vice-versa. That is like comparing apples to oranges. If you are looking for reliability then stick with a Japanese vehicle. If you are looking for something fun to drive then you may find any Audi (even an A6 2.8 with its under-powered engine) to be more fun than driving a lean production such as Accord or Camry. As for reliability of other Euro brands, MB and Jaguar seem to have issues of their own and vary from one model to another. Even BMWs are having a fair share of issue lately. They are all vehicles and vehicle need maintenance. You as a consumer have to decide what your specific threshold is. By the way, Audi are not cheap just because of the problems. Other factors also have to be taken into consideration…Brand-recognition and basic supply/demand since many are coming off-leases lately…to name a few.

I have a 2001 A6 2.8Q with 67K miles. It has had its share of "maintenance" but so did my 1998 Accord bought new driven with great loving care and whose Valve-cover Gasket leaked at 38K miles. Unsual? Yes. Did that make it a lemon, probably not!

I know it may be a shock, but there are cars called Acura and Lexus that compete with Audi directly.

A6 2002 with 62,000 miles - just started smelling oil burning. I just had the car serviced less than a week ago, after pulling the belly cover and wiping all the oil off it appears that the source is on the upper right hand side of the engine. After reading all the comments regarding valve cover gaskets I'll have to get a mirror and take a closer look. Good comments, great car's - far less to maintain if you're mechanically inclined.

I have a 2001 Audi A6 2.8 base model. I bought it brand new April 2001 and absolutely LOVED the car. It had its first oil change in October 2001 and ran peachy until September 2002, when I got the first recall notice.

I still love the car and decided that until it cost me more to repair this car than it would to make car payments again (I paid it off March 2005), I would pump the bucks into it.

Warranty ran out March 2005 and my first major visit was October 2005. That visit was $1,700, after I got the dealership to remove $1,800 over a repair they had already done once under warranty (this required assistance from Audi directly).

It has now cost me $6,394 in the last 16 months (18,000 miles) to maintain this car! That's $400/month or 34.3 cents per mile! The car was in the shop ten times for non-maintenance issues while under warranty, and five times since out of warranty, and it's had five recalls.

Here's what has been done (the short list)

*Replaced master window switch & rear lockout switch

*Brakes/rotors have been repaired/replaced six times.

*One motor mount replaced early on (17K) and just replaced all three today again at 70K

*One tail light, one headlight, one brake light replaced

*2 batteries

*Replaced engine coolant temp sensor (twice), fuel level sender, faulty reservoir sensor

*Replaced valve cover gaskets, cam seals, tensioner gaskets (36K)

*Replaced gasket set, temp sender, seal & spring

*CV boots (twice)

*Air conditioner electric cooling fan & control module (60K)

*Replaced faulty hood strut

*All four control arms and bushings.

Today's visit was to replace a rear brake light and reset the service reminder (oil change that I already did). Also I asked to have them look at my driver's window that rolls up REALLY slow (sometimes rolls back down instead) and check my heater that goes cold after a minute or so. They wanted $75 for my brake light and $139 to diagnose the other two problems. Well, I said no to the diagnosis - even though they would apply that to the total repair - it just seemed exorbitant. And what if they find something extremely simple wrong?

So I was expecting to pay $75 for my brake light - I walked out paying $1,061 after replacing all my motor mounts! I still have no heater and a cranky window. This scares me because every time I take it in the shop, "something" is always wrong and it ends up costing me $500+ every visit.

It was in the shop 3 1/2 hours today and there was $570 in labor. Wow, that's $162/hour...my brake lamp was $4.31 - and $63 to install it! And during this trip, there was a recall being done too - they had to do some rewiring of the headlamps - so I'm wondering how many people worked on the car. It was supposed to be in for 2-3 hours with the recall - adding the motor mount work didn't seem to add much time.

I do also have a slight complaint being charged $55.00 as "miscellaneous" (aka shop supplies). I don't understand it and I wanted to complain after I got home and looked over the bill, but I think I'm really just tired of the battle.

I'm giving it one more chance, but if it needs anything major done in the next six months, I'm leaving the car there and walking across the street and buying a Lexus IS350!

Hope this information helps anyone else with a 2001 A6 2.8 base model!

I bought an Audi A6 2.7 2001 with 50k miles in May 2005 for $20,228 with 2 years extended warranty (precertified warranty). First month, water pump failed, coolant leaked, air intake replaced, N gasket replaced, brake lights, ash trays. I was happy that my warranty covered those things and I had to pay only $50 deductible. What a fool am I to think of such simple terms. Within the first year, my left CV boot, tie rod failed. A month following that, my right CV boot, CV joint, tie rod failed as well. Dealer said those were wear and tear items and not covered under the extended warranty. Goodbye $1,200. In 2006, I did not have any problems. I became happy again, thinking the end of my problems have ended. Beginning of 2/2007, side cam gaskets leaked engine oil, valve cover replaced at 60k miles. Please note I drive this car very carefully, putting only 5k miles each year. The cost for that job was $1,500. A responsible mechanic/dealer would've advised me to change the timing belt. However, he did not. After reading numerous forums about the timing belt failing b/w 65 to 70k miles, I did not want to take the chance of damaging my engine and having a $16,000 repair. So, I've changed the timing belt, tensioner, pulleys, water pump, fixed another 3 front gaskets for a total of $1,400 (Cash at a gas station). The 60k mile service is due, so I changed my spark plugs and brake fluids for $500.

Here's a list of cost not including anything covered by warranty:

1) Right & Left CV Boots, joints, tie rods: $1,200

2) 2 Side Gasket, Valve cover leaks: $1,500

3) Change spark plugs + brake fluid for: $500

4) Change timing belt, tensioner, pulleys, water pump, fix three front seal leaks: $1,400.

Do the math and I am shocked to have put in $4,600 into this car (not including oil changes and anything covered under the warranty). The only upside is that I now know what a CV boot, joint, tie rod, gasket and basically what unreliability and stupidity really mean. Wow, what's next? I cannot imagine nor do I want to think about it. My brother bought a c320 benz at $25,000 at Rallye and has not experienced any problems (yet). I regret getting this car. I went to the dealer to ask for the trade in value and they gave me $10,000.

Price bought: $20,000

Trade In: $10,000

Repairs: $4,600.

If I were to trade in the car today, I would lose immediatley $14,600. I am now in tears. Some say this is a bitter sweet relationship. I say this has only been a very bitter relationship.

Hello, In response to all the negative comments, I own a 1999 A6 2.8 Quattro. I have owned the car for two years and have had minimal problems.

I paid $11,900 for the car and it had 49,600 miles on it. It now has 61,600 miles and I have replaced a CV-joint and a Tie Rod on the Drivers side. The Tie rod was $60.00 and the outer CV joint was $180.00 both were OEM parts. I replaced the parts myself and an alignment was $80.00.

I can tell the the upper control arms on the drivers side are beginning to have some play, so I am buying a kit that includes all eight control arms, two sway bar bushings, two tie rod ends and all the hardware for $465.00 and are made by Febi-bilstein, the OE manufacturer. Again, I will be doing the work myself and may do wheel bearings for $45.00 (FAG-OEM) a side while I have it apart.

I am just writing this to say that if you paid too much for the car to begin with, and are paying for the dealer to do everything from oil changes to replacing light bulbs, then of course it is going to get very expensive very quickly. Any car would, not just an Audi.

Any car owner in my opinion can do themselves a favor and buy a Repair Manual and some basic tools and save themselves thousands!!! For the big stuff then, Yes, go to the dealer. For the not so big stuff, find a good independent mechanic and cut your bills way down, especially if he/she allows you to purchase your own parts.

I just don't like to hear people complain about a car manufacture because they are spending thousands of dollars when they really don't have to. It's not the car manufacturer's fault.

Ask a Toyota owner how they felt when they paid $270.00 for a Charcoal Canister plus installation or $240.00 for an oxygen sensor, which go often on these cars.

Ask a 2002 or newer Ford Explorer owner how often they have to replace the rear wheel bearings or how about the front sway bar links on a Ford F-anything.

Every vehicle has it's flaws, it's a man made machine. Nothing man made is perfect.

If you don't want to ever do any maintenance to a vehicle, then go buy a Ford Focus or a Honda Accord with manual windows and manual door locks and dump it at 125,000 miles or so. Don't buy a luxury sedan with all the bells and whistles.

Just my opinion, sorry if I offended anyone, it was not my intention. Thanks for reading this and have a nice day.

I had written earlier on this thread about my AUDI A6 2.7T. The saga has continued. The drivers side window problem - I had that. There is now a fix from Audi - but no recall notice despite the inherent danger a driver's side window that gets frozen in the open position.

As to the odor: absolutely no luck despite the replacement of the cam seals/gasket.

One trip to the local Audi dealer tripled my resolve never to buy another Audi: bad attitude and high prices makes for a lousy business model.

Did I mention having to fix the entire front end!

Never, ever again.

I added the Feb. 22nd, 2007 comment about the consistent repairs. True, every car needs repair and maintenance. However, some needs more than others. If somehow someone is to take a general sample among the population of Audis in a particular year, I believe there will be overwhelming evidence that these cars will be proven unreliable.

If you look at the consumer reports (2005 to 2006) issue, CR rated Audi as below average in reliability. Consumer Reports even have a section on the history of the Car's reliability. Every year, Audi has been rated below average or much worst than average. To be fair, Benz, BMW received poor rating in reliability as well.

To add a general comment on repairs, not every one is good with their hands or mechanically inclined. Like you said, it is a luxurious / premium car. I have taken it to gas stations and independent mechanics and they want to charge a premium as well. Some even go as far as calling up the Audi dealer in my area to inquire about labor rates and hours involved.

I've read books on mechanics and cars, and they seem to suggest bringing your car to a discount auto franchise, such as Midas, Amco, Meneike to do the repairs. Anyone have any experiences with that?

Interesting comments vis a vis Audi A6.

I am very pleased with Audi as a car, as my wife and I own an A6 2000 avant and an A4 1.8T. Love the cars. Wonderful.

However, I do share some of the woes of the cost to maintain the A6 in particular. So far the A4 seems very cost effective. The A6 has had the cam belt changed at the prescribed mileage and all services done according to the normal plan.

My advice is to get a second opinion and get standard maintenance like oil changes and even brakes done elsewhere. Dealers vary, some care, some don't. If they are busy and have sold a lot of cars and have a full maintenance schedule, and you get your car back late on a regular basis, you may want to check around a bit. There are other service people around, car mechanics who care about their reputations especially if they service a neighborhood. There are others who will hose you with work that does not need to be done.

Personally, the maintenance cost bothers me. But I just love the Audi's. So I will stick with them for now, and be selective about who works on my car depending on what needs to be done on it.

I am the original poster of this chain. I thought I would check in to see what's new. The trail of complaints is both amazing and scary to me, so I am glad I did not keep the car past its warranty.

However, I do miss having an Audi. Just not the last A6 I owned.