I bought a new A6 less than two months ago. It now has 2100 mi. There have been two small problems which have been corrected. However, I've found that there are other problems relating to performance, which make the car very uncomfortable. First, the acceleration leave a lot to be desired. I realize that the turbo will cause a surge in acceleration at 1600 rpm's. (At least, the service adviser says this). It takes a little "getting used to" when you feel the car surge forward from a stop. I realize that this is typical of all turbocharged engines, and I'll have to adjust to it. However this issue combined with a roughly upshifting or downshifting transmission at low speeds sometimes causes your head to snap back or forward. It is very evident at low speeds, such as in slowing to turn a corner. This is described as a luxury car, and I never expected this kind of driving experience.

The second and most aggrevating problem is the brakes. You cannot brake the car without experiencing a "snapping back" of the car as the car stops. This happens at all speeds, even a one mile per hour stop. With a little finess and extra card you can minimize the snap, but it's still there. For a normal stop, however, the snap is very pronounced.

My wife and I are senior citizens, and we're looking for comfort in a car. I've owned many cars, and have never experienced this discomfort in a car's performance. Audi USA simply says that they're sorry I'm disappointed. The local service advisor states that it's normal for the car.

Without exageration, I must say that, from a comfort viewpoint, this is the worst performing car I've ever owned. I'm already trying to get rid of it.

 

A turbocharged car, like your service adviser said, will have turbo lag. The A6 is a heavy car, so if you're looking for 0-60 seconds of 3.2 seconds out of a stock A6, you will not find it without some heavy tuning. The engine and turbo are matched very will for the size and weight of the car, however.

In regards to your upshifting and downshifting issues, I have heard rumors of being able to "reset" your car's "memory" (For lack of a better word) by turning the car into the accessory position (IE Radio and other electrical components on without the engine on) and tapping your accelerator three times. I have yet to try this myself, but I have read that this has helped for some people.

As far as brakes, it's hard to say what you could be experiencing. I know more aggressive pads and rotors need to be broken in before they really perform as they should. Depending on your driving style and how much you have used the brakes, they may still need to be broken in. I have mentioned a few times on these forums that I have put new EBC performance brake pads and rotors on my BMW M6 and two months later and about 1000 miles later I can say they are just about FINALLY broken in and I have done some heavy stops with them in hopes of bedding in the pads to the rotors.

I think 2100 miles is too soon to throw in the towel on a new Audi. Talk with your service adviser and see if either they or a tech can ride along with you and you can show them your concerns while YOU drive the car. They will be better able to assist you in that manner.

 

I am curious what car you were driving before?
Did you test drive an A6 before buying it?

It sounds like you need to ease off the brake pedal a little as you come to a stop and be a little more delicate when stepping on the gas. It also sounds like you are used to a very different car.

I believe as stated that these cars do adjust the transmission shifting to your driving style if you are not yet driving the car smoothly perhaps that is why it is not shifting smoothly. So maybe as you get more used to the car it will become more tolerable for you.

 

Same thoughts as, "RGT". Did you even test drive the model you bought prior to your purchase? If so, were the issues with your new car felt in the demo vehicle? If you do by chance throw in the towel on your newly acquired Audi, I've read that Caddillac and Lincoln both have larger, "comfortable" cars that you may want to consider.

 

What engine, transmission are in your car? The only turbo engine A6 in the US is the 4 cylinder 2.0T. Is this what you are driving? There is another owner of that car on one of these forums and he loves it.

The brakes on the A6 do require a very light touch compared to many other cars. My wife does not like them for that reason. But I must say that many other cars are like that also including the Honda Accord. This can be remedied with different brake pads but I do no know if you will be able to talk the dealer into installing aftermarket pads on a new car.

 

Thanks for the info. As far as the breaks are concerned, they stop the car fine. However, when the car comes to a complete stop, the car "snaps" back. If this were just a slight jolt, I'd consider it normal. But the car seems to recoil, very exagerated - very strong, snapping everyone's head forward. A local mechanic thinks that it might be a buildup of dust from the new brake pads, but I'll see on Wednesday when I bring it into local Audi dealer for repairs.

As far as the rough, jerky acceleration goes, I'm not as optimistic. I've accepted the turbo surge as normal. However I've noticed that at about 15 or 20 mph, when you hit the gas, the car will sometimes "slam" ahead. That is, it seems like the transmission is between gears, hesitates for an instant, and then engages with a hard jolt. It's especially aggrevating when you're slowing on a ramp to enter a highway, then accelerate and feel the jolt. It also acts a little strangely at very slow speeds (less than 5mph) with rough shifting.

 

When you bring it in on Wednesday, ask the service manager to either go with you or perhaps a tech go with you so you can show them exactly what you're talking about. I know the dealer I go to would gladly do this so as long as I gave them the heads up that I wanted someone to test drive with me. It makes their job a lot easier and can sometimes help avoid unnecessary lift time that's costly both for you and them.

 

it sounds like you are holding even or maybe even increased brake pedal pressure as the car is coming to a complete stop. You need to practice lifting off the brake a little just as the car is almost stopped, this helps unload the suspension and makes for a smoother stop. I have had cars and trucks especially that you can actually get to bounce back a little by keeping hard on the brake pedal right, and thus keeping the suspension fully loaded, right to the point the car is stopped. Try easing off a little, give yourself a little more room from the car in front if you are unsure about doing this as you should be lifting off of the pedal enough as your car comes to a complete stop so as to let the car roll on, once the suspension unloads and the car stops you can press a little harder again just to keep the car from creeping forward. If you really wanted to practice this and perfect it do it on a steep downhill when the weight of the car is already forward anyways and you can perfect exactly how much pedal effort to back off and keep the car from starting. Good luck

 

Thanks for all the feedback. I will certainly demonstrate the problems to the service advisor, so there's no confusion. I believe that the problem with the braking system is related to fouling by the large amount of dust from the new brake pads. For the first 2000 mi. it was producing a large amount of residue on the wheels. I hope that a thorough cleaning will solve the problem. I don't think that the problem existed when I first bought the car. Also, on a high-end car like this one I don't think that one should have to "finesse" the brakes to stop the car comfortably. I expect a normal braking system that doesn't require any special skill to operate. Just push the pedal, and the car stops.

The acceleration problem is more troubling. The more I drive the car, the more I'm learning. The rough, hard shifting occurs below 20mph. When you slow the car, then accelerate (such as entering a highway from a ramp) sometimes the car "slams" into gear. It doesn't happen every time, but enough to produce a lot of aggravation. Each time I drive the car I'm learning how to produce the hard shift. Between 15mph and 20mph, just back off the gas pedal for a few seconds, then press the pedal aggressively and I get the hard shift (like someone rear-ending me). It's worse than any car I've ever owned (expensive and cheap). It's bad enough, so that if Audi cannot remedy the issue with 3 or 4 tries, I plan on filing a Lemon Law complaint here in Massachusetts.

 

Im assuming you bought the model with the 8 speed auto? If it helps any maybe I can chime in.

I just had a new A4 as a loaner for about a month (2.0T, 8 speed auto) and experienced some similar shifting issues. Under most normal operating conditions it was smooth, but in traffic (stop and go) I found it to be pretty useless- demonstrating the jerkiness you're talking about.

The only thing I found that helped the issue was using the tiptronic feature to shift it yourself, or hold the gear you want (ie. for your highway ramp issue,downshift into a lower gear while slowing, upshift when you need another gear, and then throw in back in drive) so the transmission isn't constantly hunting for the "right" gear.

Also, I found the brakes to be really touchy on that car too, originally making smooth stopping a bit of a challenge. The initial bite was really sudden, so it may just take some time for you to adjust to it.

I hope this helps!