2013/14 - A6 Avant - 3.0TDI - Need user experiences/input

[SlacksMeridian]

Hi All

I've been seriously considering an A6 Avant for some time.
I've had a history of cheaper Seat Ibizas and Leons and I'm older now, with kids and I really want something thats much nicer to be in and smoother.

Now... I've been looking at the A6 Avant and whilst the economy seems to be considerably better on the 2.0TDI's  I've already got a 170hp 2.0TDI and I want something with more poke so I'm looking at the Audi A6 Avant - 3.0 TDI V6 S line S Tronic quattro.
With 100,000 miles on the clock already I want to try and make sure I'm not about to buy a lemon and that I check all the right boxes, What sort of things should I be looking for?
They claim to have a full service history but I'm going to be checking closely on the DSG / Tronic and the Quattro (Does anyone know how often these should be done)

With less than 4 miles of driving at 20mph before I hit the motorways I will be spending almost all of my time on clear motorwarys at 60-70mph.
Official figures state that it should be around the 53mpg mark, Now my current 2.0TDI only gets about 47/48mpg, however it is a 6 gear manual.
If I'm gentle can I expect something similar?
Does anyone here mostly do motorway miles and adhere to the speed limits almost always?

How many of you have owned this car for 5+ years and what sort of issues did you have during this time?
I'm never intending to sell this car and I'm hoping that it can be my luxury estate that I'll cherish and care for so I'm hoping things should last.

Thankfully my local garage is a very reputable VW Specialist with some seriously good mechanics so it will always be well cared for.
Any common issues? I was looking at the BMW 5 Series grand touring but the issues with timing chains put me off a little.

Last but not least, Remapping both Gearbox and Engine ECU's
Anyone done it? Is it viable considering the power this already has or am I just going to blow something very expensive into a million bits.

Thanks all
Chris.

Edited December 30, 2023 by SlacksMeridian

[Steve Q]

Service history is key especially with the gearbox. Has the Cambelt and water pump been changed? 

Is there any juddering from the gearbox? 

Is there any whine from the turbo? 

Do all the electronic items work? As some can be expensive to change. 

Any spoke out of exhaust which could be caused by a blocked dpf. 

[SlacksMeridian]

2 hours ago, Steve Q said:

Service history is key especially with the gearbox. Has the Cambelt and water pump been changed? 

Is there any juddering from the gearbox? 

Is there any whine from the turbo? 

Do all the electronic items work? As some can be expensive to change. 

Any spoke out of exhaust which could be caused by a blocked dpf. 

Thanks for the info, Some great stuff to ask them about and check when I get there.
Also... Does it have a Cambelt and Pump or is this a timing chain deal?
I thought it was a timing chain but I could be very wrong!

[Steve Q]

7 minutes ago, SlacksMeridian said:

Thanks for the info, Some great stuff to ask them about and check when I get there.
Also... Does it have a Cambelt and Pump or is this a timing chain deal?
I thought it was a timing chain but I could be very wrong!

You're welcome and you're correct, 3.0 is chain. Listen for any rattling from the chain. 

[Steve Armstrong]

I'm on may third A6 Avant with the 3Litre diesel. I'm approaching 100,000 in my current Biturbo. Absolutely no mechanical problems with any of

them. The ZF eight speed gearbox is well tried and tested and doesn't require the maintenance of the S-Tronic. Likewise, no cam belt to change.

Servicing is done by local garage or specialist . I average 37mpg in mixed driving.

Best avoid any cars with panoramic sunroof - I'm in the middle of the well documented leaky sunroof carry on.

[SlacksMeridian]

2 hours ago, Steve Armstrong said:

I'm on may third A6 Avant with the 3Litre diesel. I'm approaching 100,000 in my current Biturbo. Absolutely no mechanical problems with any of

them. The ZF eight speed gearbox is well tried and tested and doesn't require the maintenance of the S-Tronic. Likewise, no cam belt to change.

Servicing is done by local garage or specialist . I average 37mpg in mixed driving.

Best avoid any cars with panoramic sunroof - I'm in the middle of the well documented leaky sunroof carry on.

Cheers Steve!
This one has the S-Tronic gearbox so sadly not as much of a durable monster as the ZF, Was hoping to remap the car but as the gearbox is pretty much at its torque limit I'm not sure.
Picking the car up tomorrow at midday, Honestly really excited.
Never had a car thats this nice and I hope to treat her well.

[56Doc]

My 2015 3.0 tdi dies about 45mpg at a steady 70 & 30-35mpg around town. But my overall  average is around 40, yours might be better, just dont floor it until it’s at full temp!

it improves a little in summer.

gearbox is full oil (both, hydraulic & Lub) at 30-40k intervals (I think - not sure without digging out more info). It’s also advisable to get it flushed as well.

timing chain, not sure if that year had 4 or a single but, yup, any hint of a rattle, walk away! Just had to have mine done at 65k so had the ‘in Vee’ water leak fixed at the same time. Nearly £3k for both. 

[Tigger]

Hi @SlacksMeridian,

My car's slightly newer than the one you're specifically asking about, but here's my contribution...

Mine's a 2017 A6 Avant - S Line - Black Edition (C7.5) (V6 3.0 TDI 272PS), so the most powerful of the three V6 Single-Turbo offerings (215, 242, and 268bhp), fitted with the 7 speed S-Tronic gearbox. I've had it three years now, with the only 'major' issue being the "in-Vee" water leak mentioned by @56Doc above... The part for that is around £40 and if you can replace it yourself then you're Golden! Sadly, I lack the space to strip the top of the engine down and gain access to it, so it cost me £650 in labour from the Audi lads to fit the part... The car's done 120,000 and is still going strong - I'm having the time of my life with it. Absolutely smitten.

I came from a 2.0 TDI (Ford Mondeo) that gave me around 40mpg and the figures for this one said around the same - so with the extra 1 litre, 2 cylinders, and the potential fun they offered I was hoping not to spend much more on fuel... However I was getting around 35mpg on a daily commute that had 2 miles of urban driving and 30 miles of Motorway - each way - daily. So I joined the community here and searched various other forums too and came to the conclusion that a Superchips ECU Tune for the engine would provide better mpg in general, and a little 'extra fun' when desired.

The figures given for mine on the Superchips website are:

Manufacturer claimed BHP & Torque
268 BHP & 585 Nm (432 ft lbs)

After Superchips Remap
334 BHP & 688 Nm (507 ft lbs)

So, in theory, a gain of 66 BHP and 103 Nm (75ft lbs). I have not measured it - either before or after - so cannot verify the figures. What I can tell you is that I now get at least 3mpg better economy, even with a relatively heavy right foot - even more so in 'economy' mode. And from the lights I can now beat RS4's & RS5's - much to their anger and disappointment when it says A6 TDI on the back of mine!

If you are going to go this route then in looking up the info above I saw they have a 'January Sale' on - almost half price! But most likely tomorrow is the last day!

Regarding the S-Tronic Gearbox; I had the same concerns around power/torque limits but I did my research and found on a variety of Forums people had applied the same tune to the same car with the same Engine & Gearbox with no adverse effects.

If I floor it from the lights it does give a tiny bit of a whine in First at full load, but it did that when I bought it before the Map was applied and I put it down to (relatively) high mileage @ 109k miles. The additional power/torque certainly did not change the sound it makes in any way... I do use a fairly heavy right foot from time to time, just for the fun of it when the roads are empty, but i have never done a Sport Mode 'Launch Control' take-off as I am concerned I'll break something...

Just flooring the pedal from the lights is more than enough... And I've done this with the car in Dynamic/Sport mode, fully loaded with 5 people and luggage, with no adverse effects - other than the temporary mental wellbeing of the passengers that were not expecting it! LOL!

I wish you fun and happiness in your new baby, and hope it brings you the same smile on your face that I get from mine - for many years to come...

Best Regards,

Tigger

[SlacksMeridian]

On 1/30/2024 at 6:38 PM, Tigger said:

Hi @SlacksMeridian,

My car's slightly newer than the one you're specifically asking about, but here's my contribution...

Mine's a 2017 A6 Avant - S Line - Black Edition (C7.5) (V6 3.0 TDI 272PS), so the most powerful of the three V6 Single-Turbo offerings (215, 242, and 268bhp), fitted with the 7 speed S-Tronic gearbox. I've had it three years now, with the only 'major' issue being the "in-Vee" water leak mentioned by @56Doc above... The part for that is around £40 and if you can replace it yourself then you're Golden! Sadly, I lack the space to strip the top of the engine down and gain access to it, so it cost me £650 in labour from the Audi lads to fit the part... The car's done 120,000 and is still going strong - I'm having the time of my life with it. Absolutely smitten.

I came from a 2.0 TDI (Ford Mondeo) that gave me around 40mpg and the figures for this one said around the same - so with the extra 1 litre, 2 cylinders, and the potential fun they offered I was hoping not to spend much more on fuel... However I was getting around 35mpg on a daily commute that had 2 miles of urban driving and 30 miles of Motorway - each way - daily. So I joined the community here and searched various other forums too and came to the conclusion that a Superchips ECU Tune for the engine would provide better mpg in general, and a little 'extra fun' when desired.

The figures given for mine on the Superchips website are:

Manufacturer claimed BHP & Torque
268 BHP & 585 Nm (432 ft lbs)

After Superchips Remap
334 BHP & 688 Nm (507 ft lbs)

So, in theory, a gain of 66 BHP and 103 Nm (75ft lbs). I have not measured it - either before or after - so cannot verify the figures. What I can tell you is that I now get at least 3mpg better economy, even with a relatively heavy right foot - even more so in 'economy' mode. And from the lights I can now beat RS4's & RS5's - much to their anger and disappointment when it says A6 TDI on the back of mine!

If you are going to go this route then in looking up the info above I saw they have a 'January Sale' on - almost half price! But most likely tomorrow is the last day!

Regarding the S-Tronic Gearbox; I had the same concerns around power/torque limits but I did my research and found on a variety of Forums people had applied the same tune to the same car with the same Engine & Gearbox with no adverse effects.

If I floor it from the lights it does give a tiny bit of a whine in First at full load, but it did that when I bought it before the Map was applied and I put it down to (relatively) high mileage @ 109k miles. The additional power/torque certainly did not change the sound it makes in any way... I do use a fairly heavy right foot from time to time, just for the fun of it when the roads are empty, but i have never done a Sport Mode 'Launch Control' take-off as I am concerned I'll break something...

Just flooring the pedal from the lights is more than enough... And I've done this with the car in Dynamic/Sport mode, fully loaded with 5 people and luggage, with no adverse effects - other than the temporary mental wellbeing of the passengers that were not expecting it! LOL!

I wish you fun and happiness in your new baby, and hope it brings you the same smile on your face that I get from mine - for many years to come...

Best Regards,

Tigger

Thanks Tigger

I've had the car a few weeks now and I've never been happier. It unfortunately needed some work but the dealer refunded me £500 and the Warrenty covered another £391 which only left me out of pocket about £350
It needed:
New alarm horn (Failed)
New Rear driver side doorlock (Sticky Causing Faults)
New Rear passenger light cluster (LEDs failing)

I really wanted the DPF knocked out and a remap but we will have to see how much is left over after all the work, also I've spent alot at AutoFinnesse on cleaning products for both the inside and the outside as I want the car to last as long as possible!
Was tempted to make the journey all the way to Darkside Developments as I've been aware of them for about 10 or 15 years now and Ive recently started watching their youtube channel and I cant get enough.

I had a Seat Leon FR (SuperCopa) and whilst it was a really, really nice car I treated it badly when it came to the paintwork and the interior (Parts I always spent good money on) and it showed its age really fast.
I want to make this one last as long as possible and the TDI was absolutely the right choice!

Thanks for the info and the feedback. I'm averaging about 38mpg at the moment but I've not been back to my studio in a while, Once I'm there reguarly its all motorway I'll see the average rise to 40+ I'm sure. I can easily get 45-50mpg on the motorway if I relax!