19th Jun 2010, 09:41

I agree that the 2.7T engine is very high maintenance. It must be highly maintained by a good mechanic. A bad mechanic will turn one of these engines to junk quick. I'm an engineer and former Nissan dealer mechanic. I have my 2002 Allroad built with garrett turbos. However I would never buy an Audi with the 2.7T unless I was a very good mechanic with a deep pocket. If you like high tech engines that can be built to any spec, and you're a good mechanic, then this is a great engine to have. I believe this engine should be overhauled at 60,000 miles to be fully reliable.

19th Jul 2015, 16:38

This is why I am totally turned off from Audis. I'm a 10 year BMW certified mechanic and some of the stuff VAG does on VWs and Audis blows my mind.

Yes there's stupid stuff on BMW's too, they aren't without fault; primarily the plastic cooling bits on every single model that requires a complete system overhaul every 100k if you want to be safe.

Two years ago I finally got the chance to own one of my dream cars since I was a kid, an Audi TT with the 2.8L. This car ended up at the junkyard two months into ownership as I was hit from behind by an idiot in an F250 who was texting and didn't see me stopped at a light until it was too late. Luckily I walked away fairly unscathed.

Well I decided to give Audi another chance. I picked up a 2001 A6 with the 2.7L turbo engine as described here earlier this year. I knew going into this venture it was going to require a ton of maintenance (my expectation with Audis in general). This is an understatement (take it coming from a BMW mechanic who owns an 850csi which requires a ton of maintenance with the old electronics and the rather complex 12 cylinder engine used).

When I bought the Audi, it was a one owner car, from Florida (never seeing winter) who had it meticulously maintained at the dealer with all records available. The car was purchased with 60k original miles. I realized while the miles were low, that the time span wasn't, so things would need to be replaced simply due to age. In two months worth of time I spent about 50 hours of my time plus $3k in parts getting everything right, namely that 2.7L engine, rebuilding it and getting the car back up to spec, even with it being a dealer maintained car, never abused.

I really don't recommend any Audi employing this engine for the uninitiated or even somewhat skilled backyard mechanic. You're going to be very disappointed. To me Audis, unless you pick up a 90s model, aren't an easy enthusiast car like say an e36 BMW would be. There's just too much "engineering" that causes huge repair bills or time off the road if you do your own work. With that being said, some of the engineering is beautiful and they do make beautiful cars. I just wouldn't recommend one unless you have strong mechanic skills and time, or at the very least it isn't your only vehicle.

My biggest complaint is this. Why can't they use timing chains? While belts are fine and dandy, having to put a vehicle in "service mode" every time seems excessive. Yes I know the engineering to that is they couldn't possibly fit anything else into the space present, but that's why you go with a chain so replacement isn't needed.

19th Jul 2015, 20:04

Audi and its ilk keep sending North America their most complicated engines, which are rarely seen elsewhere in the world. So when they start giving problems, they're bad cars - difficult to repair, parts hard to get to. Anyhow, newer engines are chain drive, but VW has reverted back to a timing belt for the new Golf Mk 7, due to problems with chains from suppliers.