Test drive Audi A6 2001 - 2004 sedan

Audi A6 (release years 1997-1999) $ 15,000-30,000

An expensive and technically complex car requires a respectful attitude. He meets the highest reliability and durability to care.
The second generation A6 with the intra -final designation B5 debuted in March 1997, but it can be safely considered the first - the previous A6 was only a modernized version of the last hundredth (series C4). In early 1998, station wagons with a traditional designation for Avant appeared. In May 2001, sales of the modified A6 began - newcomers can be distinguished primarily by the altered cladding of the front lattice, the new optics and the protruding exhaust pipes.
The A6 model gamut is very extensive - in Europe it began with a 1.8 liter gasoline engines (125 hp), but we have only their version with turbocharged (150 hp). The most common version with us with a power plant of a 2.4 -liter V6, which has a capacity of 165 hp, and most often on our market there is the most expensive modification with all -wheel drive (QUATTRO) and the automatic transmission of Tiptronic. In second place is the atmospheric engine of 2.8 liters with a capacity of 193 hp, which after 2001 is no longer proposed, as well as a 2.7-liter (230 hp) Audi A6 with two turbochargers (Biturbo). The latter was a top version until 1999, when a 4.2 liter engine appeared in the gamut (300 hp). Diesel is represented by a row four 1.9 liters (110 hp) and V6 with a volume of 2.5 l/150 hp. They are equipped with direct fuel injection and turbocharging - as in the rest of the Volkswagen products, this scheme is indicated by TDI.
 
A dignity is a specially prepared Quattro GmbH model Audi S6 (engine V8 with a volume of 4.2 liters and a capacity of 340 hp). It appeared in the fall of 1999, but no more than two dozen cars of this modification reached Russia.
Visorins. When choosing a used car, age and mileage can only serve as relative criteria for assessing the state of the machine. And not at all because the run meter can be twisted (although it is almost impossible on models released after 1999), but because the prospects for the second life are more dependent on the attitude to the car of the first owner. For example, there is practically the only reason for problems with automatic transmission is to get into the mud through the cracks of the crankcase after the blow. The neat owner will be repaired immediately, without waiting for the refusal. By the way, repairs are the only reason for replacing the transmission fluid in the machine. Because ATF in A6 is designed for the entire service life.
 
A possible criminal past is indicated by a home -made (not original) key, blinking of a yellow lamp of the anti -theft system (the silhouette of a car with a key), or that it does not ignite at all. In this case, the first thing the car should be checked for theft in the traffic police.
A sign of unprofessional body recovery after the accident is unequivocally uneven gaps: one of the reasons for the popularity of Audi lies precisely in the highest quality of manufacture and assembly, so that too large cracks between body parts, headlights and wings, and even more so, can be considered evidence that evidence is evidenced that The car was not repaired on a company service.
He is Russian - this explains a lot. The disadvantages of A6 with the Russian biography are dictated by the features of the psychology of our drivers: excellent dynamic characteristics encourage them to frequent intense accelerations and sharp inhibition. The first does not affect the durability of the car too much, and the second leads to a catastrophic decrease in the service life of the pads and brake discs. If on average the front pads operate 30-50 thousand, then in separate copies, especially with an automatic transmission, their service life can be 15 thousand km. For the same reason, the scatter of the life of the rear pads is great - it can be 70 and 40 thousand kilometers. The disks overheated with frequent braking, falling into puddles of liquids with some other experimental reagent to stimulate snowmings, can be crumpled (the price of the new is $ 105).
 
Seduced. Full -wheel drive provokes some drivers to a neglect of road conditions. Considering that the main purpose of QUATTRO is, first of all, an increase in traffic safety in difficult conditions on the roads, one does not have to be surprised that almost eternal, under the usual conditions, the inter -beard differential on our A6, which the owners force to portray Hummer, fails. By the way, its cost is $ 845, but the repair is cheaper.
But the greatest harm to the car is caused by untimely and inept service. For example, when replacing candles to remove wires, it is necessary to use a special puller. If they are simply pulled, there is a high probability of insulation damage or poor contact. Everyone costs $ 34, the replacement work is another thirty.
In any case, as in all cars, first of all, it is possible and necessary to check the presence and integrity of covers and seals on the details of the chassis. Cracks in the material, rust spots, stones indicate the need to replace the part as soon as possible. Of course, $ 44 per cover of Shrus is not so small, but the hinge itself costs several times more.
When the ignition is turned on, look at the instrument panel: all the lights and segments of the displays should light up. If this happens unevenly, then it may indicate a malfunction of the shield itself, and its replacement on expensive versions will cost a lot - up to $ 1.2 thousand.
 
Often fuel indicator fuel frankly, especially on Quattro models. This is due to an increased content of sulfur fuel, which pollutes sensors. There are three of them on all-wheel drive versions due to the complex form of the tank, so the probability of defects is higher. Some time ago, Audi began to use advanced sensors, so on new machines or after replacing ($ 184 plus a hundred for work) the probability of these problems is sharply reduced.
The engine, as the experience of Russian Audi services shows, can easily pass 400 thousand km (possibly more, but have not yet had time), if it is not too hard and how to care for it. On the power unit, such a trifle can affect the untimely replacement of filters: pollution of sensors creates opportunities for failures of the control system. Say, the failure of the temperature sensor leads to the fact that the default control unit considers the coolant temperature equal to 20 degrees. It is easy to guess that in the winter in such conditions it becomes a big problem in winter. The cost of the sensor is on average about $ 30, the work is a little less. The filter is cheaper - $ 23.
The unstable quality of gasoline and, in particular, the notorious additives based on iron salts make it difficult to predict, for example, the life of the candles: they can both without any problems reach a mileage of 60 thousand km, and to demand a much earlier. Each will cost about $ 15, the cost of replacement is about $ 30 per set.
For A6 with a mileage of about 100 thousand, it will almost certainly be relevant to replace the brake hoses (about $ 30 for each, work - about $ 70). Also by this time, the suspension levers may be required. First, steel levers were put on A6 in front, their service life in our conditions is just 100-120 thousand kilometers. And now they use aluminum, which, due to a decrease in the unsubstantiated mass (about five kilograms on each wheel), provide a tangible increase in comfort, but their service life is slightly less-approximately 60-70 thousand km. The cost of the most popular lower front levers is about $ 220 apiece, the rest are cheaper.
 
  Diesel - for an amateur. Many admirers of German brands - especially Audi and VW - are fans of diesel engines. The economical and high torque characteristic of these motors really look very attractive. However, in our conditions, excesses from the compression requires significantly more attention. The reason is the unstable composition of the fuel, or rather - its contamination of gray. Therefore, TDI can only be recommended if you know in advance where you will refuel and are sure of the high quality of diesel fuel. But in this case, you will have to change the oil every 7500 km. In addition, due to dust and sand, the life of turbines (and all Audi diesel engines are equipped with turbocharged) does not exceed an average of 150 thousand kilometers. And then, provided that all operating rules are respected: for example, after a stop, they always allow the motor to work at idle to cool the turbine.
 
Text Valery Chusov, photo Alexey Ilyin, drawings Alexander Krasnov
Audi A6 1.8T 2.4 2.4 Quattro 2.5 TDI
Working volume (cubic meter) 1781 2393 2393 2496
Power (L.S.) 150 165 165 150
Maximum speed (fur./Auth., Km/h) 217/213 222/217 214 218/212
Acceleration to 100 km/h (fur./Auth., Sec.) 9.5/10.7 9.2/10.4 10.9 9.7/10.7
Fuel consumption (fur./Auth., L/100 km) Highway/city 11.1/6.6/13.8/7.1 13.9/7.4/15.7/7.6 16.1 /8.1 9.9/5.3/11.6/5.8
The price in Moscow (1998) $ 16-19 thousand $ 16.2-21.5 thousand $ 17-25 thousand $ 16.5-25 thousand.
The cost of spare parts and work to replace them for Audi A6 2.4 Quattro TipTronic ($)
Oil filter 22 32
Air filter 26 14
Fuel filter 25 14
Candles (set) 78 32
Brake pads (per./Ass.) 156/75 81
Farah in the collection (halogen) 404 22
Lobovo glass 306 157
Brake hoses (set) 117 115
The wiper brush 19

 

Source: "Autopilot"