Why is it so costly to maintain the 2.7t's?

 

Havnt owned mine long enough to know from experience, but, if I were to be a betting man....

More moving parts = more things to break

 

Slurm said it: they're complex cars. The way I see it:

something like a Honda Civic: 2 wheel drive, no transfer cases, naturally aspirated, McPherson struts, single exhaust, integrated transmission. Simple, simple, simple.

An A6: 4 wheel drive, 2 differentials, complex transmission, forced induction, multilink suspension, dual exhaust, etc.... There's an awful lot going on, making for an awful lot that can (and does, sometimes) go wrong.

Sadly, there's a price to pay for performance, both in monetary cost and in time costs. But I think it's an investment worth making. I've found it's generally not a sledgehammer in terms of cost (meaning something 1000+ dollars does not usually go belly up), but it's a fairly constant parade of 100-300 dollar things that go wrong.

 

Really that doesn't answer my question haha. Everyone makes the 2.7t seem like the least reliable of the audi engines. I've heard of really common oil leaks, and problems like that. Is there a specific part that really needs to be changed? Of course Audi's are complex cars... What things do I have to look for to go wrong in the 2.7t that won't happen in my 3.0 besides the turbos really?

 

The head gasket oil leak is fairly common across all of the engines. In the 2.7t, besides the turbos.....not much. The afterrun pump is a common leaker, but that's not too bad to change by any means. The TBB often tears. The DV's can fail, but that's not too common. But as for the engine itself, they're pretty good and reliable. It's a strong block with some weaker external points.

 

Thanks I appreciate that, really helps.* No sarcasm

 

The auxiliary water pump is a weak link, too. It's an SOB to get at, therefore expensive to replace. I think leaking headlight washers are common, too. I just sealed mine off.

I've had mine 3 years, 80k miles (116k total) and replaced the clutch, flywheel, alternator, and auxiliary water pump. I know it sounds like a lot, but the previous owner towed and then I chipped the car, so that probably doomed a weakened clutch. Everything else has been maintenace like brakes, timing belt, regular oil changes. So far all the electronics are fine.

Treat the A6 right and it will respond back with love and a comfy but fast ride.