I bought a 2000 A6 2.7T a year ago. The car was running good until a month ago when I noticed the car wasn't responding that good when I hit the gas pedal: it wasn't accelerating they way it used to (or supposed to). Then two weeks later the engine light came on.

I took it to a repair shop for a diagnose. They told me one of the two catalytic converters was bad (they were not sure which one), and that the transmission was reporting a code to, but they were not sure what it was...(they don't work with transmissions).

Since they weren't so confident about their diagnose, I took it to a Midas shop. They did a visual check under the car. They told a few things:
1st That my car had 4 catalytic converters, not two. (2 under the car, and 2 on both sides of the engine. 2nd One of the catalytic converters in the front (again, not sure which one) was bad. He could hear a tick, tick, tick, noise he said. (I don't hear anything)
3rd That the transmission wasn't performing well because of the bad catalytic.
4th because the bad catalytic was in the front with the engine, they said this job had to be done by the Audi dealer.

I finally took it to the dealer for a diagnose. This is what the report says:
TORQUE CONVERTER
CAT. CONVERTER BANK#2 IS NEEDED
OXYGEN SENSOR
EXAUST GAS TEM SENSOR BANK#1

WOW, all that in one shot? anyways, they estimated $4,500 plus tax. The guy at the dealer said that the first two problems listed are the most serious one. He said that the TORQUE CONVERTER code means that my car isn't shifting all the way up to overdrive.

My questions are:
Are the Midas guy's statements correct? if not, can anyone advise what did he say wrong?
CAT. CONVERTER BANK#2 is under passenger side or driver side?
Some websites list these as right/left CAT. Converters. which one should I get?
Can I get the CAT. CONVERTER fixed and see if the TORQUE CONVERTER code goes away as the Midas guy suggested?
I have an automatic transmission; how many speeds does it have (5 or 6-speed)?

Thanks in advanced and I appreciate any feedback.
Sorry for the long post

 

The cats have a 8 year 80k warranty, so see if they are covered first!

Yup, you have 4 cats. There part of the downpipes, that are a ROYAL PITA to replace. Honestly, you best bet is purchase a set of aftermarket downpipes & put them on. Not only will you see a bump in HP & torque, but you will remove a ton of heat from the turbo's. The EGT is super easy to replace when you do the DP's, it's like a $300 part & 1hr labor. This will also cause poor performance, but can also be giving a false signal due to the clogged cat.

I would not have the dealer do this work, find a good local independent, stay the hell away from Midas, & the likes.

The TC code can be bad! Honestly I have no idea if it's Cat related, but when any TC code pops up, it's usually a failing TC.

 

Thanks for the response.

Are your talking about downpipes as in this webpage: http://www.gmpperformance.com/index....ID=141370&VS=1
Will the engine need to come down for the DP to be installed? I am purchasing a complete set (both, from front to end).
You said something can "cause poor performance." What were you referring to?

I should add that I have 120K miles on it and that about 8 months ago my car was taken for a joy ride and recovered the next day.

 

The link does not work. If you go into the S4 section, read the FAQ there are a ton of link of places to purchase the DP's from. No, the engine stays put, it's just a really cramped place. Yes, you will need to replace both sides.

A bad EGT will lower performance, or a clogged cat leading to a bad EGT reading will also lower performance. Basically, your car will run like poop, until the problem is fixed.