This is Getting VERY old!!!

[Bauer]

Well, I have been waiting to post this to try and confirm it myself.

Sounds like the input bearing in my rear diff is going bad at 19,000 miles:vgrumpy: . Car is going in Tuesday for the tech to check it out. Needless to say I am pissed and I have VERY serious doubts about the build quality of my car (again, you are right Nord).

Also, learned yesterday from a friend of mine who started working at a dealer on the other side of the bay (in your neck of the woods billbozila) that they have pulled the motor on 4 RS6's. If my memory servers me they sold 9. Not a very good ratio. Then I learned that the very first RS6 that my local dealer sold also had the motor pulled:mech: .

I will not be keeping my car past the lease period....that is for sure. I love the car but I am getting very tired of this. My car has been in the shop for 32 days out of the first year of ownership. That is totally unaceptable IMO.

Anyway, I am done with my rant. I hope the rest of you are having better luck than I.

Cheers,

[nyrs6]

dont get mad at me for saying this. maybe youre car was a lemon.

also i would think a highly tuned car (any manufacture) would have mechanical problems. Thats how it is, its also very hard to build a good quality high performance car.

But sorry about the problems. I hope you get it fixed soon.

Btw we just took the beast for 15000 mile service.

[Bauer]

dont get mad at me for saying this. maybe youre car was a lemon.

wouldn't get mad at all......the thought has crossed my mind and if I keep having serious problems, then I may approach that avenue. At this point I am going to wait and see. I would be way more agressive if I bought the car.....it is not really mine since it is leased...just a pain in the @ss.

[sturs6]

I have 15 pages of service recipts sitting in front of me and I am about to begin the lemon process on mine I currently have three problems that the dealer has tried to fix several times and they just can not fix them. The worse being the... of course... OnStar I am heading back in on september 8 for another battery and it will probably end up having to leave the car for them to run tests on. The service manager told me today not to be suppriced if there are about five Audi reps and techs in from Germany to look at the car.
If they agree to this I am not sure if I want to try the RS6 route again or go with something else.

[Bauer]

Originally posted by sturs6
I have 15 pages of service recipts sitting in front of me and I am about to begin the lemon process on mine I currently have three problems that the dealer has tried to fix several times and they just can not fix them. The worse being the... of course... OnStar I am heading back in on september 8 for another battery and it will probably end up having to leave the car for them to run tests on. The service manager told me today not to be suppriced if there are about five Audi reps and techs in from Germany to look at the car.
If they agree to this I am not sure if I want to try the RS6 route again or go with something else.

Well, that sucks.....btw my onstar works for about two weeks after the car goes in then goes red. Tech resets the system every time and I have totally given up on it.

Good luck with your problems and lets hope AoA and the techs can get things figured out.

[papadoc]

Bauer
Not a good story, but it would be a mistake to presume that there are major issues with the RS6. I checked with Carlsen and Stevens Creek, two of the four dealers on "this side of the Bay", and the only problems noted were one engine where a turbo went out, and one with a head gasket leak. Neither service department has pulled an engine or witnessed other significant issues. Out of curiosity, how early in the cycle was your car built? Did your friend give you any other specifics about these problem cars?

[Bauer]

Originally posted by papadoc
Bauer
Not a good story, but it would be a mistake to presume that there are major issues with the RS6. I checked with Carlsen and Stevens Creek, two of the four dealers on "this side of the Bay", and the only problems noted were one engine where a turbo went out, and one with a head gasket leak. Neither service department has pulled an engine or witnessed other significant issues. Out of curiosity, how early in the cycle was your car built? Did your friend give you any other specifics about these problem cars?

The dealer is Sonnen in Mill Valley and the dealer you spoke with is not telling you the truth as you have to pull the motor to change the turbo...it was done on my car. here is the link

http://www2.rs6.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4447

Unfourtantly, I will take the word of good friend who I have known and has done work on my cars for over 10 years over a service department who has a motivation to tell you everything is peachy, since they are in the business of selling cars. They would not continue to sell as many cars if they advertised all of the problems with them, regardless if it was BMW, Merc or Audi.

I have a another good friend who works in the parts department in another dealship (Diablo) on this side of the bay. He was trying to find parts for my turbo replacement since the guy who does the ordering for the techs messed up my parts order. he said that there were 3 other dealerships at that time that had the same parts on order, meaning there were three other cars with the motors being pulled and turbos replaced at that particular time. This to me is a bit distressing since there are approx 1200 of these cars in the states.

Please don't get me wrong.....I am a Audi freak, in fact I have owned no other make of car which should tell you something about my loyalty to the brand. I am however not totally blinded by my loyalty and I will continue to buy Audis as long as I don't always run into major issues with quality or service. This is the second Audi I have owned out of 8 that I have seen problems with. I am not at the point of yelling lemon, it is just giving me concern about the future reliabilitly of the car.

My friend at Sonnen did not give me any other details, but I will ask him and post what he found out. On the flip side, he said that it is suprisingly easy to pull the motor and that the transmisson and engine come down as one unit, Can't just pull the tranny since it is so tightly packed in there.

Also car was delivered in August...not sure what the build date is.

Concerned Audi Freak

[Aronis]

Originally posted by nyrs6
dont get mad at me for saying this. maybe youre car was a lemon.

also i would think a highly tuned car (any manufacture) would have mechanical problems. Thats how it is, its also very hard to build a good quality high performance car.

But sorry about the problems. I hope you get it fixed soon.

Btw we just took the beast for 15000 mile service.

I have to disagree with that one.

My M3 which I drove for 65000 miles over 5 years had no mechanical failures accept a loose wire on my Starter (not an M3 issue) and worn rear strut mounts (again not an M3 issue, and it took me 2 hours to change them in my own garage). I drove that car hard and it never failed on me..

My RS6 is doing just fine with 12,000 miles on it, but as the Brake posts scared me early on, these posts also scare me. If my car needs to go to the dealer for a major repair, they can keep it and good luck getting a lease payment out of me after that....

Mike

[Bauer]

Originally posted by Aronis
I have to disagree with that one.

My M3 which I drove for 65000 miles over 5 years had no mechanical failures accept a loose wire on my Starter (not an M3 issue) and worn rear strut mounts (again not an M3 issue, and it took me 2 hours to change them in my own garage). I drove that car hard and it never failed on me..

My RS6 is doing just fine with 12,000 miles on it, but as the Brake posts scared me early on, these posts also scare me. If my car needs to go to the dealer for a major repair, they can keep it and good luck getting a lease payment out of me after that....

Mike

Mike,

Sorry, I am not trying to scare you or anyone for that matter and I debated about putting this up on the board. People typically do not like to hear about problems or potential problems with their brand new 90k or 75k:D car and like I said I am very loyal to Audi.

I do believe that most people will not have major problems with their cars as there are many members that have not, atleast if they are they are posting about it. A good example is JJV-MA who has done many Audi events and I assume without any problems since he has not posted any. I know several other RS6 owners who I have done Audi events with that have also had no problems. If fact, I ran into Jimmy94507 last weekend and he has been to two events with no problems to report. So like I said, I am concerned for the reliabilty of my car and that it appears there are some other cars that have problems. This however does not mean everyone will have problems and most of you I believe won't. Just gives me some concern....that's all.

Cheers,

[papadoc]

Your original post is exactly why I view this board, not for debates about which tuning chip is best. This is my first Audi, having left the blue and white propeller marque after a series of disappointments, and so far, so good. I do expect that with this engine that problems may occur, but I want to hear that they are quickly handled without hassle. I'd never consider risking a voided warranty for the same reason. And by the way, both service depts. I referred to spoke of S4 issues openly, so I don't think they were just trying to make me happy.

No one is scared, just more aware...

[Bauer]

papadoc-

Welcome to the world of Audi ownership:applause: and I hope your experience with Audi is a good one. My experience with the service end has be fairly good with the exception of the screw up on the ordering of my parts. I have, however taking efforts to develope a good relationship with my tech and service writer, which I believe has helped.

I hope you enjoy your Audi. I know I do, but I wish it was in my hands more the the dealers:D

Cheers,

[nene]

Thank you Bauer for posting.
I am not sure why you would debate on whether posting this sort of thing here. This is the perfect venue to share your expiriences with us.

No one here expects all RS6s to be perfect. It's possible that a few were done with less carefullness then others I suppose.
Sometimes it could be that one thing just was not tight enough, and because it went down the wrong tube, or whatever, it just created chaos.

Look at the stupid timing belt for example. It costs something like $30, and it's about $200 service if you get it done at a good local shop. But if it goes, it's possible you could be in for a major fix!

Ultimately however, we're very sorry to hear this happened to you. You of all the people, have been the most patient with this sort of thing, and it saddens me that it just keeps going. Please continue to post, and if for anything, just to blow some steam.

Thanks again for all contributions so far, and many in the future, albeit happier ones we hope!

[Bauer]

The debate lasted for 2 sec:D .......lets put it this way, I don't really like being the bearer of bad news. Atleast, this bad news is just mine.

Anyway, thanks for the support and I am not going anywhere. It takes more than a pulled motor and bad diff to get rid of me:D :hahahehe:

Cheers,

[Benman]

Originally posted by Aronis
I have to disagree with that one.

My M3 which I drove for 65000 miles over 5 years had no mechanical failures accept a loose wire on my Starter (not an M3 issue) and worn rear strut mounts (again not an M3 issue, and it took me 2 hours to change them in my own garage). I drove that car hard and it never failed on me..

Mike

Then you are fortunate that you were NOT one of the HUNDREDS of 03 M3 owners who DID have engine troubles and were recalled by the manufacturer.

Bottom line is a lot of high performance cars work well but sadly some owners have the misfortune of being the ones who have all the bad luck. Bauer, it's a real shame you're having these troubles with the Beast. As you say it's a bum deal to put up with things like this when you're spending $75-90K on a car especially when people can buy a $10K Hyundai and beat the crap out of it for 100,000 miles trouble free! If you decide not to keep the Beast it would obviously be understandable as no one would want a car only to keep having problems with it. Hope your future luck with the Beast gets better.:cheers:
Ben:addict:

[StealthSix]

Ben,
As soon as you posted that you were going under the wrench. I talked to the service writer and the RS6 wrench at Sonnen, and they deffinately understood the process of motor and tranny change out and that it was part of the turbo exchange. (off with the front bumper and all the wiring and lights)

I should have asked if they have done any at Sonnen. (RS6's) I didn't think ask at the time since I hadn't heard of any other problems at that time. I'll be in there soon and see what they say.

I followed your lead and have developed a good relationship with the Service Department. I'll let you know what they say.

Regards Terry

[eph94]

Originally posted by Bauer
I do believe that most people will not have major problems with their cars as there are many members that have not, atleast if they are they are posting about it. A good example is JJV-MA who has done many Audi events and I assume without any problems since he has not posted any.

OK, as a superstitious Red Sox fan, I need you all to knock on some wood for me. I've done eight track days since March 30th and the biggest "mechanical" problem I've had is the hood latch getting stuck behind the grill without a pair of needlenose pliers (which I now keep in my track tool kit).

Joe :addict:

[iconcls]

Originally posted by JJV-MA
the hood latch getting stuck behind the grill without a pair of needlenose pliers (which I now keep in my track tool kit).

LOL, I just came back from the Audi Blackhawk Farms event and when I go to open the hood for the Tech Check, guess what, the hood latch is behind the grill AND the last time it happened to me was at the Audi Grattan event. Not too embarassing, eh. Is someone is trying to tell me something?

Like JJV-MA, I'm attending every driving event I can and have had no real problems of note. Sorry for your troubles Bauer

[StealthSix]

Middle of the track day two days ago the hood release wouldn't come thru the grill. One of the reasons I will be seeing the service Dept. soon....

Have already had the cable and latch replaced. (months ago) this would be the third time it has happenend at the track. maybe it would happen more often if evertime I drive the car I would bring it back hot and open the hood to improve cooling. On 110 degree days at the track the H2O has never be off the middle dash.

[eph94]

I had my hood latch replaced twice and countless "adjustments" before we discovered that the real problem was the front grill and not the latch assembly. I haven't had a problem since. There are a couple of plastic guides behind the grill that are prone to snapping off. If that happens, you need to replace the grill and not the latch. And when you close the hood, you need to do it ever so gently. I always hold me breath and hope that the little latch "tongue" is still peeking through the grill.

[iconcls]

Yes, the plastic guides in the grill break off, then the elusive hood release is free to roam behind the grill at the most inopportune moments.

[StealthSix]

The hood latch is on order and my rotors are slightly warped, but not out of spec. yet....

I did ask the RS6 tech if he knew of any RS6's that have had their motors removed. Answer: Other V8's and other turbo's, but not the RS6's....

Got to go pick up the beast.

Se ya later

Terry

[Bauer]

did ask the RS6 tech if he knew of any RS6's that have had their motors removed. Answer: Other V8's and other turbo's, but not the RS6's

Hmmm....a bit strange but as long as everyone is happy.

I did get my car back and they are ordering a new oil pan as they can get my oil drain plug to stop leaking:w: . Tried the seal and the plug....no luck, so now onto a oil pan.

The tech could not verify the noise, so I went for a ride with him. It was not making as much noise as the car was not warm enough. I get the feeling they are not going to do anything about it because it is not loud enough to them:w: .

I can tell you that when the car has been on the freeway for an hour or so, the noise can be heard at lower speeds. I think the service dept is not very aggresive as they just went through an audit by AoA so they have been comming down them about repairs......this is unbelievable.

Well looks like it maybe be time to try another dealer. They have been pretty responsive and have gotten my car back to me with in a day in most cases but if they are not going to fix the car then whats the point of having a service dept?

Cheers,

[Benman]

Originally posted by Bauer

I can tell you that when the car has been on the freeway for an hour or so, the noise can be heard at lower speeds. I think the service dept is not very aggresive as they just went through an audit by AoA so they have been comming down them about repairs......this is unbelievable.

Well looks like it maybe be time to try another dealer. They have been pretty responsive and have gotten my car back to me with in a day in most cases but if they are not going to fix the car then whats the point of having a service dept?

Cheers,
Ben:cheers:
Sorry to hear it's still an ongoing ordeal. Try taking the car in after it's warmed up after an hour or so on the freeway (like you said, it doesn't really do it till after it's been warmed up). Dealers can't fix problems they can't reproduce. Not trying in any way to stick up for them just help.

Ben:addict:

[Ernesto (ERT)]

"Well looks like it maybe be time to try another dealer. They have been pretty responsive and have gotten my car back to me with in a day in most cases but if they are not going to fix the car then whats the point of having a service dept?"

Ben-

Give Livermore a try. I've been using them for the past 6 visits, and haven't had a single complaint. They're in a brand new facility, and have one of the highest service ratings in the area.

If you do let me know when you go, and we can meet up for a beer, and I can show you the Stasis Ohlins on my A6.

Hope things work themselves out quickly, and as painless as possible.

Cheers-
Ernesto

[Bauer]

Give Livermore a try. I've been using them for the past 6 visits, and haven't had a single complaint. They're in a brand new facility, and have one of the highest service ratings in the area.

I think that is my next step.