Newbie S6 questions

[c.scott]

Hey guys, I just picked up my first Audi a few weeks ago, a 2007 S6 with 92k miles. So far, I've been loving it!! I've got a few questions that I was hoping someone might be able to help me with, I've searched the forums and google but haven't come up with much on my own.

1) After I bought the car (from a dealer), I noticed that it has a Milltek exhaust. Awesome! But now I'm wondering what else has been done to it that has gone unnoticed by the dealership and myself. Namely, how can I find out if it's had an APR tune? And what else should I look for?

2) Where in the heck is the ECU located in this car?

3) The previous owner drilled a hole in the front bumper, next to the driver's side headlight, and installed what looks like an LED. There isn't a matching one on the passenger side. And if it is an LED, I've never seen it light up. What in the world could this possibly be for? I'll try to post a picture later, but has anyone ever heard of someone putting something there?

4) I get an adaptive headlight warning on the dash everytime I start the car. The headlights move vertically, but it doesn't look like they move horizontally. Any ideas?

5) Is the MMI worth updating? I forget what version mine has, but I do know it hasn't been updated since 2007.

6) Every once in a while, I get an ESP fault message. It only comes up about once a week, otherwise the ESP seems to be working fine. I mean, it's sort of hard to tell, it's really hard to break traction in this car even with the ESP turned off.

7) The little removeable covers in the front bumper under the headlights - what are they for, and how hard/expensive is it to get new ones? One of them is missing, and the other has paint pealing.

Those are all my questions so far, let me know if there's anything else I might want to know about! I'm already familiar with a carbon buildup issue, so besides that

Thanks!!!

[ichi d]

to answer none of your questions, i hope you have warranty on the car.

[v8a6]

Congratulations!!!

Check out the S6 Info Dump on AudiRevolution. It was setup as a single place to track all the info on the v10 S6. There are a bunch of S6 guys over there too, including myself, so I suggest you join and post some pics of the car. Post all the same questions over there in the C6 after joining, and I am sure someone will help out.

[c.scott]

I actually opted against the warranty, because the only one offered was for 20k miles and cost like $6000. And it doesn't cover pretty much anything that typically goes wrong with this model of car. Seemed like a better idea to set the $6k aside for repair work instead.

Thanks for the tip! I did read the info dump already, which answered a lot of questions I had, but hopefully I can find answers to my above questions on that forum, I'll head on over!

[v8a6]

Cool! It is quickly becoming the hangout for the v10 S6 guys. I think there have been four new S6 members join in just the last couple of weeks.

[IrishCreamPuff]

Please get a warranty from Fidelity or you will regret it. I have an '07 S6 as well, going on 5 months in the shop.
Go to your nearest audi dealer, and buy a Fidelity Warranty. Mine has saved me around $20k. My warranty was 4 year/50,000 miles and cost $4k. There are cheaper options as well, but PLEASE GET A WARRANTY.

[ichi d]

Please get a warranty from Fidelity or you will regret it. I have an '07 S6 as well, going on 5 months in the shop.
Go to your nearest audi dealer, and buy a Fidelity Warranty. Mine has saved me around $20k. My warranty was 4 year/50,000 miles and cost $4k. There are cheaper options as well, but PLEASE GET A WARRANTY.

I would take his advice!!

[Tarrant]

3) I imagine this is actually for a hidden laser jammer, anything under the dash? or weird switches that dont look factory?

5) version should be 4160 I believe.. or something like that.

7) The covers are for the headlight washers, super cheap - super easy to replace. Only expensive part is painting them.

All I know at this moment.

[v8a6]

I would not tell OP not to get a warranty, but the warranty offered for older, higher mileage cars may not be such a great deal.

First, they are priced higher, because they expect more things to break. Then, they may have higher deductible and lower caps. The aftermarket warranty may not have to replace parts with brand new ones. For example, if the transmission has a problem and you have 100,000 miles, then maybe they just replace with another 100,000 mile transmission.

Also, if you are planning any kind of aftermarket performance upgrades, then you could void your warranty. On top of that, you are possibly limited to who you can have service your car.

In addition, from what I have seen, certain garages take the 'replace everything' approach as soon as they know it is under warranty, instead of doing proper troubleshooting. This can actually cost you more money and downtime in the end.

So, I would never tell someone not to get a warranty on a used car, because it is your own gamble. But, at the same time, I would not tell anyone that purchasing a warranty is a good decision in all situations.

I personally didnt get a warranty on my S6, but I am in the middle of replacing and upgrading a whole pile of parts as part of a project. So, I wouldnt say my situation is the norm.

Good Luck regardless!

[c.scott]

3) I imagine this is actually for a hidden laser jammer, anything under the dash? or weird switches that dont look factory?

5) version should be 4160 I believe.. or something like that.

7) The covers are for the headlight washers, super cheap - super easy to replace. Only expensive part is painting them.

All I know at this moment.

I see nothing in the way of aftermarket electronics, buttons, or switches, but I'll keep looking! Thanks for the help!

As for the warranty, I would have loved to have bought one, but the options were terrible. $6k for about 15 months of coverage that likely would be denied whenever I needed it didn't seem like a good gamble.

[v8a6]

I was given the same types of options when I purchased mine. I dont think you made a bad decision.

$6000 (plus whatever deductible that would have been charged) can go a long way at a competent garage. Plus, we have to remember that the reason why these cars are so cheap now, compared to what they were a few years ago, is because more things are going to break and warranties will be more expensive. So, to some extent, you will have more repairs but you saved a significant amount on the purchase price.

[c.scott]

Thanks for the info guys, I'm going to continue this thread over at the other forum, not much point in talking on two forums about the same thing, so follow the thread over there if anone is interested

[AndreNY]

yes because one member on this board had nightmares with his S6 please do not forget to buy an extended warranty...

[IrishCreamPuff]

yes because one member on this board had nightmares with his S6 please do not forget to buy an extended warranty...

It's a little more than one

[FormulaElement]

S6's are very expensive to maintain and personally i wouldn't buy one if i didn't plan on doing my own work. I remember hearing that a oxygen sensor requires a engine pull, not sure if that was correct but if so thats a expensive fix!

[IrishCreamPuff]

S6's are very expensive to maintain and personally i wouldn't buy one if i didn't plan on doing my own work. I remember hearing that a oxygen sensor requires a engine pull, not sure if that was correct but if so thats a expensive fix!

I had both my O2 sensors replaced. It required half an engine drop.

[AndreNY]

It's a little more than one

Well honestly what happened to your car sucks and I cant even imagine what I would do, but to be honest with you im willing to bet 50% if not more of your problems is because of your "dealership" they seem to be doing the old "change whatever you want under warranty" routine, its hard for me to believe that all of the things you listed were really bad

[IrishCreamPuff]

Well honestly what happened to your car sucks and I cant even imagine what I would do, but to be honest with you im willing to bet 50% if not more of your problems is because of your "dealership" they seem to be doing the old "change whatever you want under warranty" routine, its hard for me to believe that all of the things you listed were really bad

Serpentine belt: making a squealing noies.
A/C blower: Made a really weird chirping/squealing noise.
Prop shaft: Bearing was bad, making an insanely loud rubbing/screeching noise.
Intake manifold: parts were rattling on the inside, falling apart.
Oil pan gasket: leaking oil everywhere
Oil pan: see above
Coolant reservoir: replaced by me, stopped coolant disappearance however.
Power steering fluid seals: power steering fluid dripping everywhere.
O2 sensors: Causing CEL.
Radiator replaced: Broke while driving, coolant sprayed everywhere.

Now here is where the misfire started happening.
Oil leaking into sparkplugs from spark plug tubes: replaced.
Still misfiring
Fuel injectors spray pattern checked, 2 replaced.
Still misfiring
Low fuel pressure code: one fuel pump running at 20% pressure.
no word back yet.

So while I see why you'd say that they're changing whatever they want, it wasn't until recently that the issues haven't been 100% clear and concise.