Hi all, first post here so I will try to be as specific with my information as possible. I am not the most car-savvy, but extremely interested about getting into the hobby. Any help is greatly appreciated!

About a month or so I purchased a used '06 A6 3.2 Quattro Automatic with 85k miles, from Florida. Story on it: son of a multi-millionaire is driving it up to a lake in Northern Minnesota when the serpentine belt goes out. The car had regular maintenance performed according to mileage, until 55k miles. Ended up selling to his buddy who owns an automotive store, where he does a lot of work in restoring Audi's with minimal front bumper damage for the most part. Was an Audi technician for 17 years, knows what he's doing. Before purchasing, I took it and had a pre-purchase inspection done to ensure I wouldn't buy a faulty product. They found an oil leak from the left cover seal gasket. Dealer replaced it for free before selling it to me. He buys his parts directly from Audi, so there is a two year warranty on parts. Last week I brought it in and had the brake light replaced, and the dealer scanned my car for codes. All he found were some minor electrical codes such as power window locks, AMI/buttons, and one other minor detail that I cannot recall at the moment.

The first issue I experienced was a jerking motion when the car would change to 1-2 and 2-3 gear, but I have found out that this is due to the car holding higher gear ratios while warming up to meet emissions standards. I addressed this issue by letting the car run a minute or two before driving and I haven't experienced the problem since.

Now onto the problems I'm facing today: The car has been shaking/vibrating while in idle about 75% of the time. The other 25% of the time the car is almost perfectly still while in idle. I've been trying to do some research and I cannot find the cause of this, or what I can do to fix this.

Second problem: About two weeks ago while backing up with the wheel turned (unsure which direction), I hear a lot popping sound. I was unsure what this was and made a mental note of the situation. Fast forward to this past weekend, and this time I hear two loud pops while in reverse with the wheel turned to the right. Shortly after hearing this sound, the steering wheel began to wobble/shake. This normally does not happen when I'm below 35mph, but once I hit 35-40mph, the wheel begins to wobble. I texted my dealer/mechanic about the issue and he said that he believes it is a tire issue, but after doing some research online it may sound like a control arm issue.

Third issue: I can occasionally smell Oil after driving the car. Is it possible that this is from the cover seal gasket again? Should I have him take a look at it again?

Car fax information: Last service mileage maintenance was at 55k (rear brake pads replaced), but the following was done at 63k: maintenance inspection completed, drive belt tensioner replaced, drive belt(s) replaced, spark plug(s) replaced, tire(s) balanced and rotated. Also at 35k service the car had 6 new ignition coils installed.

Let me know if any other information is needed! Thank you for your help, I really appreciate it.

 

You're listing a ton of issues and you really should be getting a mechanic to look at it

- Transmission jerking issue, could be a bad gear or even a timing chain issue on the engine

- Carb build up is a big deal on the valves die to the fuel injection system, that can cause similar behavior, even a bad maf can

- Poping sound, sounds like axels/cv boots


Get the car to a shop and confirm