Audi S6 (C6/4F) 2006-2010

If you want a 4 door vehicle which is the closest to a real sports car and which also requires sports car maintenance → then choose the BMW M5 E60. If you want a more comfortable, more reliable fast car and you want to know who built your engine → then choose the Mercedes E-class AMG W211.

But if you need a car which can go fast in bad, and worse weather and you can’t live without a V10 engine → then choose the Audi S6 C6.

“Of course there is also the RS6 which is, let’s be honest, a much better choice-in every way basically. But we have to take into consideration that it is more expensive to buy, and in some places you can’t buy it at all, since the RS6 was not available everywhere in the World.”

So moving back to the Audi S6 C6. This is a car for those people who want something more fascinating than the regular A6 C6 but at the same time they don’t want to attract much attention (or they can’t buy the RS6).

The exterior of the S6 is really not special at all, so until you start the engine and until you push the right pedal-until that nobody really gives a damn about your car. And actually, there are plenty of people who proudly stick the S6 badges and sometimes even the S6 front grill and bumper onto their regular diesel A6 (at least here in Eastern EU it’s a pretty common sight). Of course the fake badges surely give an additional 152 HP in some unbalanced parallel universe, but if you don’t want to be that guy who will ruin the universe, just buy the real S6 → and the universe will be in balance.

Interior

The interior of this S6 is the same as in the regular A6, so:

• the build quality is good
• and there are basically no issues with peeling plastic surfaces (except the well-known windows control switch, the MMI center button surface or the keyless feature start/stop buttons which can be occasionally worn)

While the build quality is good, you have to keep in mind that nothing is perfect → which means that because of the very stiff suspension you can sometimes hear various rattles from the dashboard on bad quality roads.

The only difference in the interior between the S6 and the regular A6 is, that you can’t find a poorly equipped S6 since it already had numerous features as standard including:

• carbon interior trim
• 2-zone automatic AC with sun and humidity sensor
• leather wrapped multifunctional steering wheel with shift paddles
• interior lights package
• alcantara and leather combination or just completely leather seats
• electrically adjustable and heated front sport seats which are very supportive thanks to the big side bolsters. (The only disadvantage of these side bolsters is, that on the driver’s seat they can be more or less worn. But instead of the sport seats the previous owner could also choose the standard seats which are absolutely not supportive → but at least the side bolsters won’t be worn out on them.)

Body, paintjob, rust protection

body

Believe it or not, you can unveil a lot by simply checking out the body of this A6.

-First of all check out the front of the car which can be misaligned. What I mean is, that the upper gaps around the front grill should be even on both sides and the gaps around the headlights should be even as well. If they are not even then the bumper and the headlights were removed in the past. This can indicate a smaller or a bigger frontal crash or they just removed these parts to fix something in this area, and after the fix they didn’t align these parts back correctly. In the picture below you can see that the gap next to the headlight is wider than on the other side, and the gap around the grill is also inconsistent mainly around the upper 2 edges of the grill.

-Then check out also all the visible screws on the front fenders and on the door hinges – all of them have to be intact. If you can see that the paint around the screws is damaged, then someone removed these parts in the past – again maybe because of an accident.

-After this lets move onto the doors, because the doors in this car consist of two parts. The lower steel part and the upper aluminum door frame in which the window regulator assembly is mounted. Now, if someone had to readjust the door – again because of an accident, then he had to readjust this door frame as well. This is not the easiest thing and I have seen numerous examples when the door frame was not adjusted properly. But luckily you can check this very easily: the door has to be flush with the body, there has to be no gap around the upper seal, and if you press on the upper part of the door with your hand then it can’t make any creaking noises-which means that it has to sit firmly in the body.

rust protection

The rust protection of this car is mostly above average, but the road salt is a strong enemy and to top of that there are a couple of weak spots on the body:

-The lower parts of the doors are more prone to rusting, but you usually won’t see this until the rust spreads pretty badly since this part is hidden behind the lower door trims. So I would highly recommend to remove this trim on each door to find out if you got rust there or not.

-The next interesting place is the lower part of the front fenders next to the front doors. If you remove the front wheel well liner then you will most probably see a big amount of dirt in this area. You should definitely clean it and at least put some wax onto this place, because if you let the dirt there, then over time this area starts to rust.

-But if you want to continue to play this game of rust which you can’t see, then check out the place behind the rear wheels – specifically right behind the rear wheel well covers. Here you can in a lot of cases find rust as well.

-And the last place which is more prone to rust is the tailgate of the Avant version, but actually the tailgate of the saloon can rust as well. So check properly mainly the edges of the tailgate and it’s also good to put some wax inside the tailgate since it usually starts to rust from the inside.

the front hood and the front fenders are made from aluminum so there will be no rust on these panels

Possible problems

1. Some electronics

-The usual stuff like the door locks, the window regulators or the keyless entry door handles can of course break, so first thing first check these basic features. (how to remove the front door panel video)

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2. Front door speakers

-Then it’s good to check the main front door speakers which can rattle, so turn up the volume and listen for a speaker rattle. If you hear it then you should know that it’s caused by a plastic speaker dust cap which is glued on the speaker. The glue gets weak over time→the dust cap gets a little loose→and you get a rattle. In this case you can remove the dust cap and re-glue it back, or you can buy a new speaker, whatever you want.

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3. Steering lock

-After this there is the electronic steering lock which can fail and which can leave you stranded since you won’t be able to start the car. The faulty steering lock can be replaced by the dealer, it can be repaired or it can be even deactivated if you find the right person. I did a separate video about this issue so you can find out more here.

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4. Seatbelt buckle

-Then there is the seatbelt buckle which can be faulty. This will cause the annoying seatbelt warning noise to not go off even if your seatbelt is fastened. Surprisingly the new buckle is not that expensive, but you can also find someone with a diagnostic computer to deactivate this warning completely.

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5. AC system

-It’s also good to check the AC properly, because if one side is cooler than the other while the temperature is set to the same value on both sides, then this issue is usually caused by the heater valve which can clog and get stuck. In some cases it’s enough to disassemble and clean it but if this won’t help then you will need to replace it. To minimize the chance of this issue happening it’s good to occasionally turn the temperature on both sides all the way down, wait a little and then turn it all the way up to make the valves move. Since if you won’t change the temperature a lot then the valves won’t move that much + if you won’t change the coolant regularly then the debris in the coolant will clog the valve. So of course you should also keep the coolant clean, which means that you should change it completely at least every 4 years. Also make sure you do have clean cabin air filters → How to replace the cabin air filters video.

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6. Electronic parking brake

–Check the electronic parking brake which can occasionally seize up mainly if the owner not used it regularly, so at least engage and disengage it a couple of times

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7. Tail light condensation/water leak

-Mainly on the saloon models there can be an issue with the tail light condensation/water leak. This can be fixed by either replacing the black seal which is on the plastic cover → which is attached to the back of the light (on the picture below). Or if this wont help, then you can put silicone around the edges of the light-where the outer-red cover meets the plastic housing.

The Avant models:

• more often leaking and later completely broken rear windscreen wiper motor–so it’s good to check if it’s working
• inspect the plastic washer fluid hose which goes from the front of the car to the trunk lid, because it can leak in two places: The first place is under the driver’s seat-here the hose can crack and fill this area. And the second place is near the left trunk lid hinge. The first leak is still not very known, but the second leak is well known and it should be already fixed in most of the cars, since if this leak is not fixed then the leaking washer fluid will ruin the expensive electronic modules in the trunk.

The water leaks into the interior are also not uncommon so make sure that the area under the windscreen is clean → there are 2 drain holes under the plastic scuttle cover which will get clogged over time causing the water to leak into the interior + If the car is equipped with a sunroof then you should occasionally clean mainly the front sunroof water drains as well, since if they clog then you end up with water on the front carpet.

Suspension

This S6 was available only with the regular coilover sport suspension. With this suspension the car sticks to the road pretty well but it’s also very stiff, so keep this in mind if you have bad quality roads around you.

Because of the stiff suspension the various components can be worn earlier than in the regular A6, so check all the control arms visually for cracks, check the shocks for leaks and listen for weird knocking or creaking sounds. Be prepared to replace the front control arm bushings on cars which have around 150 000 km + be ready to replace the wheel bearings (but this of course depends if the car was used on good quality roads or not).

+ When it comes to handling, you can’t expect a sports car steering with plenty of feedback in this car, the steering is pretty numb without bigger feedback, so if you want a car with a precise sports car steering with great feedback then buy an M5.

Engine

This S6 was available with only the 5.2 l naturally aspirated V10 petrol engine. With 435 hp and 540 NM of torque it definitely is powerful enough. However the funny thing is that at this day and age a lot of these engines don’t have this much power – mainly because of carbon build up, injectors or because of the intake manifold. And these are basically the 3 main issues of this engine. On the other side if you are not like really used to a high performance car like this, then you won’t even notice that you missing for example 50 or 80 hp, lol.

Main issues:

CARBON BUILD UP

• because of the direct injection you can expect carbon build up usually after 100 000 km which will cause loss of power and misfires

“To at least minimize the carbon build up I would recommend to: use only high quality premium fuel, change the engine oil after max 8 000 km, use the car on longer highway journeys, and after warming up don’t be afraid to use the engine at high RPMs”

INJECTORS

• the injectors will fail at some point – causing loss of power, misfires, hesitation, or jerking during acceleration. They can be clogged, have bad spray pattern, but sometimes also leak. If they leak then they will slowly destroy the O2 sensors, and in the worst case the catalytic converters as well!

After 200 000 km its good to have the injectors tested or replace them preventively + Make sure that you are using only premium fuel in this car!

O2 SENSOR ARMY

This engine has 4 catalytic converters and an army of 8 ! O2 sensors (in comparsion the RS6 has only 4 O2 sensors).“

“If you get fault codes for the Cats then remember that the O2 sensors are very sensitive, which means that your catalytic converter can be still in an acceptable condition even if you get a fault code for the insufficient performance of the Cat! + While in most cars only the O2 sensors before the cat affect the engine running, in this car even the O2 sensors behind the cats can be one of the reasons for poor running!”

Because of the lack of space, to replace certain O2 sensors you have to remove the engine.

INTAKE MANIFOLD

• the complex variable intake manifold will have sooner or later issues. Specifically the intake manifold inside center plastic flaps will get loose over time, and they can simply fall apart too: this will cause loss of power, eventually fault codes with check engine light and misfires. Sometimes -in the worst case- the broken plastic bits can be sucked into the valves, or if you are like extremely unlucky then into the combustion chamber and cause bigger damage. All in all, you can expect play in the intake manifold flaps usually at around 100 000 km, so before buying it’s good to open the hood and check for a rattling noise from the intake manifold from 1000 up to 2000 RPM which indicates excessive play or broken bits in the intake manifold flap mechanism. (you can also use an endoscopic camera to check the inside of the intake manifold)

+ there are also the intake manifold front actuator motors which can fail but usually just in high mileage cars

OIL LEAKS

You should be also prepared that the engine can leak oil, mostly from the usual spots like the:

• valve cover gaskets (which you can replace easily)
• oil pan
• front crankshaft seal
• oil filter housing (the o-rings on the bottom of the oil filter housing can leak causing the oil to accumulate under the intake manifold-between the cylinder heads, and then it will leak out from the front of the engine)

But also from not that usual places–mostly in higher mileage cars like:

• the rear timing chain covers
• the spark plug tube seals

To fix the rear timing chain cover leak you have to remove the engine – this is not very nice but it’s still understandable since there is no space behind the engine.

However to fix the leaking spark plug tube seals you have to remove the engine as well, and why? Well, because this is not the valve cover gasket leaking, this is a separate gasket for the park plug tubes only. This gasket is located one floor below the valve covers → specifically under a frame which is bolted to the cylinder head and it’s also connected to the rear timing chain cover. The camshafts are under this frame as well and since the timing chain is at the end of the camshafts then you can’t move the camshafts because they are under constant tension of the timing chain. A little complicated, but all you have to know is that the leaking spark plug tube seals will cause the oil to leak onto the spark plugs (later causing misfires), and the only way to replace these seals on both sides is to remove the engine!

“You also have to remove the engine if you want to replace the: power steering pump, AC compressor or the starter motor.”

COOLANT LEAK WHICH CAN KILL THE ENGINE

-Behind the engine there are the timing chain covers. These covers do have a hole in them thru which the coolant flows. This would be fine, but it’s not. It’s not fine, since the coolant seal on these covers can fail and let the coolant leak directly into the engine-into the oil. Long story short: If you don’t catch this early then you will end up with a destroyed engine.

Other funny stuff

-As the engines in the regular A6, this V10 unit also has 4 camshaft adjustment solenoids which can leak oil → because of the faulty o-ring on them, or they can get stuck → usually because of long oil change intervals (in this case you get fault codes for the camshaft position, misfires / fluctuating, bouncing idle).

-The high pressure fuel pumps on top of the engine will sooner or later leak fuel externally (+occasionally fail), so keep extra money for them as well. (faulty HPFP symptoms: loss of power, bad/rough engine start and rough idle, external or internal fuel leak) high pressure fuel pump fuel leak location video

-The PCV valve will fail sooner or later, in this case you can have a bigger oil consumption.

-And lastly, there is a bigger bonus issue which is not like very common to be fair, but it’s still worth to mention it. It’s the excessive oil consumption which can be caused by the damaged cylinder walls. There are cases when the engine block was replaced because of this, but mostly just on cars made to 2008. However as I said this is not extremely common so there is no need to panic yet. A reasonable amount of oil consumption is acceptable, which means that if the engine takes 1L of oil for 7 000 – 8 000 km then you can remain calm. + A faulty PCV valve can cause excessive oil consumption too ! So if you got oil consumption then first check the PCV !!

The engine misfire is a pretty common problem on these cars. Sometimes the owners don’t have bigger issues finding them, but sometimes they replace so many parts that at the end they will wake up and say: fuck it I can’t stand it anymore! And they just sell the car. (based on a true story, actually more than one true story…)

So the misfires can be caused by basically anything – usually spark plugs or ignition coils but also because of faulty injectors, faulty intake manifold, faulty PCV, vacuum leaks, carbon build up, bad O2 sensors, high pressure fuel pumps, regular low pressure fuel pump, and sometimes if you are really lucky – it’s enough to clean the ignition coil connectors on the wiring harness or replace the plastic ignition coil connector tube which can be loose (the connector can back off causing a misfire → if the connector tabs are broken)

+ as a bonus (I like bonuses) there are also cases when the engine had misfire because of a bent valve which was caused by the loose intake manifold plastic part → which broke off and which was sucked into the valve and jammed it (so in the worst case even this kind of a chain reaction is possible)

Vacuum leaks

Keep in mind, that there are also many different plastic and rubber vacuum hoses which will over time (and because of the excessive heat from the engine) crack and cause vacuum leaks. By the way the intake manifold itself can cause vacuum leaks too.

+ It’s good to replace the accessory belt and the pulleys on cars which have more than 150 000 km as a preventive maintenance.

Lastly, it’s important to:

-check all the fluid levels before buying

-check the coolant: it has to be topped up, clean and pink without any oil smell or oil traces (check the coolant only while the engine is cold !!!)

-start the car when it’s cold and check for an uneven idle or shaking which indicates misfires, the engine has to run smoothly all the time!

Timing chain

This V10 engine is equipped with timing chains which are not known for being prematurely worn, but they are not gonna last an eternity. So as usual: check for a short rattling noise at cold start which will indicate worn tensioners or stretched chain which can occur mostly after 200 000 km.

Transmissions

The 6 speed automatic transmission in this car is not known for being weak or for having extraordinary issues, so just check if it’s shifting smoothly without shuddering and hesitation and change the oil in it regularly.

Quattro

The Quattro is still that good, old school, mechanical and very reliable permanent 4WD system. Usually it doesn’t have issues even in high mileage cars and it doesn’t require bigger attention/care. HOWEVER:

• it’s very important to have the exact same tires with the same tread depth on the front as well as on the rear axle

• it’s good to occasionally change the oil in the front and rear differentials and even in the transfer case (replacing the transfer case oil can help to eliminate the low speed “quattro growl”)

• in cars with more than 250 000 km it’s good to check the propshaft for excessive wear → check for vibrations or shuddering at hard acceleration from stand still or for a vibration at highway speeds which can indicate worn propshaft.

To summarize things up:

• buy only a car with proper maintenance history → ideally from the first owner
• find a good independent mechanic if you can’t work on the car yourself
• keep at least 5 000 € for the additional repairs (However if you are buying a car which doesn’t have at least the basic things replaced like the intake manifold or injectors then you should keep at least 8 000 €. Or buy an RS6 instead if you can.)

Now you can ask: OK, but isn’t the RS6 even more complicated and more unreliable? Well, yes and no:

The engine in the RS6 has 2 turbochargers, so it is indeed a bit more complicated. However it doesn’t have that damn complex variable intake manifold, it is not known for having issues with worn cylinder walls, and the turbochargers (with a bit of proper care) can withstand a while – more than the variable intake manifold in the S6. The thing is: sooner or later you will have to remove the engine from the RS6 as well-mostly because of the oil leaks and because of the parts which are simply not accessible with the engine in place. But at the end of the day you will still have a much more powerful, a more rare, and a more fun car than the S6.

And if you have personal experience with this S6, or more information about it, then you can write it into comments!