2015 vs 2016 3.0T

[1flossedS4]

I'm shopping again for another 3.0T A6 for a daily driver. There is roughly a 6,000 price difference in used options I've looked at 15vs16.

I am going to tune it anyway, so the extra power doesn't matter. The MMI is the only other difference and headlights correct?

[jpru2001]

its more than just the headlights, the grill is different, the tail lights are different, the exhaust tips and rear valance are different. But yeah not much lol.

[wootwoot]

2016 also has the CREC engine which should* be less prone to carbon buildup. Many 2016s also still have their warranty intact.

[Vinng86]

The 3.0T engine is slightly updated too as it has both port and direct injection (vs just direct injection) so may be less prone to carbon buildup.

[Qwery718]

If you’re willing to get a 15 might as well get a low mileage 13 and save even more money.


its more than just the headlights, the grill is different, the tail lights are different, the exhaust tips and rear valance are different. But yeah not much lol.
Bumpers are different too. Shifter

[A665]

If you’re willing to get a 15 might as well get a low mileage 13 and save even more money.

This is exactly what I did, and I'm very glad for it. Such a deal.

[MattyMarkey]

As others have mentioned, there are actually some differences with the MY16 CREC 3.0T motor - internal intercooler updates, direct port injection, SC changes, more HP - there was a good write-up with all the information in this forum, just didn't seek it out right now.

I had a MY16 A6 and one limitation is the TCU tune, being that APR or EPL does not have one currently. People in this forum have gotten around that with the help of one of the forum members, utilizing an HP Tuner and programming it. Looks are subjective, but I like the subtle changes for MY16, more than the MY15. If you are going strictly for tune and care less about the appearance differences, I would lean towards the MY15 - a few more readily available options

[Qwery718]

This is exactly what I did, and I'm very glad for it. Such a deal.

Amazing car for the money. I had found a 2013 Prestige with only 38k miles, all services up to 45k done for only $18750 private sale. I did 10k miles in 6 months. I loved driving that car.

[1flossedS4]

I owned a 13 Prestige and loved it, hence why I'm trying to get back into one for a daily but wasn't sure the premium on a 16 is worth it. Most 12-14's have a ton of miles on them.

[Qwery718]

I owned a 13 Prestige and loved it, hence why I'm trying to get back into one for a daily but wasn't sure the premium on a 16 is worth it. Most 12-14's have a ton of miles on them.

Yeah I sold mine last month and now I want another lol. I’m thinking about getting the 2016 just because I like the updated lights & bumpers. Just looks more modern to me. What’s a ton of miles to you? I’m seeing plenty on cars.com with 30-60k miles.

I really want a 2016 A7 but the best one that checks all the boxes is $28.5k. I’m hoping they go down by the end of the year some more. I’d do it for $25k

[A665]

Amazing car for the money. I had found a 2013 Prestige with only 38k miles, all services up to 45k done for only $18750 private sale. I did 10k miles in 6 months. I loved driving that car.

I just bought my 2013 Prestige this past October, 45k miles, all services to 45k, $20k from a dealer. Gorgeous in & out; fantastic ride & handling. In love.

[Qwery718]

I just bought my 2013 Prestige this past October, 45k miles, all services to 45k, $20k from a dealer. Gorgeous in & out; fantastic ride & handling. In love.

That’s a good deal. I can’t really think of a better car for $20k, especially when tuned.

[1flossedS4]

Yeah I sold mine last month and now I want another lol. I’m thinking about getting the 2016 just because I like the updated lights & bumpers. Just looks more modern to me. What’s a ton of miles to you? I’m seeing plenty on cars.com with 30-60k miles.

I really want a 2016 A7 but the best one that checks all the boxes is $28.5k. I’m hoping they go down by the end of the year some more. I’d do it for $25k

I was trying not to travel more than 200 miles lol, a lot of them have 75,000+

I agree with the 16+ looking more modern with the updated lights but I like how the LED lights look on the 12-15

[akingzkid]

I just bought my 2013 Prestige this past October, 45k miles, all services to 45k, $20k from a dealer. Gorgeous in & out; fantastic ride & handling. In love.

We have the same car, same color and similar miles. Got mine in Dec with 52K from Chantilly Va Audi. Where did you get yours?

[charrigan]

If you look around you can get premium plus 16's with sub 40k miles for a nearly the same price of 15.

I just got my 16 two weeks ago with 36k miles for under $24k and it was extremely clean.

[BobbyWatts]

16 CREC has no carbon buildup issues, next to no oil consumption issues, larger supercharger intercoolers/less heat soak, better fueling,... engine overcomes most of the typical 3.0T issues. All tuning options are relatively the same.

[Qwery718]

I was trying not to travel more than 200 miles lol, a lot of them have 75,000+

I agree with the 16+ looking more modern with the updated lights but I like how the LED lights look on the 12-15

No wonder lol, you gotta travel man. I actually wanna fly and road trip my next A6 back. I loved road trips in it.

Yeah the 12-15 lights don’t look bad, love the prestige pattern.

[wootwoot]

16 CREC has no carbon buildup issues, next to no oil consumption issues, larger supercharger intercoolers/less heat soak, better fueling,... engine overcomes most of the typical 3.0T issues. All tuning options are relatively the same.

Better gas mileage too.

[WatchMeSpend]

CREC superchargers have a magnetic clutch and can fully disengage. Some people have had it slip and needed to replace it (the clutch). Also I heard the SIMOS 16 computer on the MY16 have less memory than the SIMOS 8.5 and does not give you the option to hold multiple files to switch to. This means that whatever octane you select on a tune cannot be changed because multiple files cannot be stored.

I love my APR tuned 2016 A6

[xanmato]

Self Study Program for anyone who wants to know exactly what's been changed on the engine. It's quite extensive:

https://procarmanuals.com/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/ssp/SSP-624_Fourth-generation-Audi-3.0l-V6-TFSI-engine-EA837-evo.pdf

[A665]

We have the same car, same color and similar miles. Got mine in Dec with 52K from Chantilly Va Audi. Where did you get yours?

Same dealer.

[MattyMarkey]

Self Study Program for anyone who wants to know exactly what's been changed on the engine. It's quite extensive:

https://procarmanuals.com/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/ssp/SSP-624_Fourth-generation-Audi-3.0l-V6-TFSI-engine-EA837-evo.pdf

Exactly the info/website I was mentioning, glad you posted it - great information

[christianb5s4]

That's the first conclusive list of updates I've been able to find on the CREC engine, thank you for sharing.

[1flossedS4]

2017 vs 2016? No difference right.

[MattyMarkey]

2017 vs 2016? No difference right.

Yes, for MY16 thru MY18 I do not believe there were any changes to the CREC motor

[prestige.phantom]

2017 vs 2016? No difference right.

No major differences besides some minor option regroupings, however the biggest advantage of the 17 is Apple CarPlay. Personally, since prices for the 16/17 are very similar, I would be looking for a 17 over a 16. The 17s have CarPlay and 16 was the first year for the facelift, so marginally better reliability for the 17s. However, I'm sure you will enjoy the car either way! Good Luck with your search!

[wootwoot]

No major differences besides some minor option regroupings, however the biggest advantage of the 17 is Apple CarPlay. Personally, since prices for the 16/17 are very similar, I would be looking for a 17 over a 16. The 17s have CarPlay and 16 was the first year for the facelift, so marginally better reliability for the 17s. However, I'm sure you will enjoy the car either way! Good Luck with your search!

Or get the 2016 and pay another forum member to upload newer firmware to enable carplay functionality.

[christianb5s4]

That or can't you go to the dealer and pay $155 to have them install Carplay/Android Auto as well?

[akingzkid]

Same dealer.

Wow. That's pretty cool. And I had been looking online at cars at that dealership (and 5 or so other Audi dealerships in VA) and I did not see your car in October. If I had, you might not have it. LOL.

[A665]

Wow. That's pretty cool. And I had been looking online at cars at that dealership (and 5 or so other Audi dealerships in VA) and I did not see your car in October. If I had, you might not have it. LOL.

Lol
I discovered it by pure coincidence the very day that they’d offered it for sale, which was a Sunday—-they hadn’t even posted pics online at that point.

A6 wasn’t high on my radar, but I was talking with my neighbor earlier that day and by the end of that talk I believed A6 was a good idea.

I stopped by the dealer the next day and closed the deal less than two hours later. The car was so clean, the mileage relatively low, the asking price so attractive, and maintenance & records so thorough, it was almost too good to be true. Slam dunk.

[RedA7TX]

I do not regret buying my 2015 used for 30,999 at 51k miles . No problems . Replaced brake fluid , coolant , and switched to liquimoly leichtlauf. Haven’t installed my EPL stage 1 and TCU yet . People assume it’s a year or two old all the time . The only thing I am butthurt over is that I cannot upgrade to Apple play MMI , and that google earth layers will switch to normal maps at the end of 2020 rumor has it . I know that you can get the 2016 taillights for about 1.5k third party . I currently have a RS style grill and blacked out all the chrome trim . I was parked a few cars down from a misano red 2020 A7 and think they look too feminine / slender compared to the 15/16. Supposedly the tuning for the 2016 CREC engine isn’t finished yet from EPL/APR. if you’re keeping it bone stock , get the 2016 and consider taking advantage of the opportunity to extend your warranty . I am planning a trans flush and HX upgrade / segregation before I tune. ( no rush to , but will when I want to fall in love all over again .

[1flossedS4]

^ PRetty sure you can tune the 16 3.0T via APR?

[charrigan]

Supposedly the tuning for the 2016 CREC engine isn’t finished yet from EPL/APR. .

APR has fully released the CREC tune and I was told by the support team they just restarted TCU calibration for the ZF8.

IE will be releasing their CREC tune this year as well.

[MattyMarkey]

APR has fully released the CREC tune and I was told by the support team they just restarted TCU calibration for the ZF8.

IE will be releasing their CREC tune this year as well.

APR has been saying for quite some time now (couple years in fact), at least to my dealer, the TCU tune has been in the works. I would not be so certain when you say "releasing their CREC Tune this year as well", that will actually occur.

Personally, I did not tune my '16 A6 due to the fact APR does not have a TCU tune for the ZF8 - cannot harness all the ECU tune has to offer without it. Sure, I could've asked one of the forum members to help out with an HP Tuner, but the peace of mind not having a local APR dealer and warranty to assist with anything was a deal breaker for me. Just my 2cents and opinion.

[DeRico]

Im curious about this carbon build-up, what milage should one worry?

[1flossedS4]

OK, so no tune yet for via APR. I think EPL has one no?

[MattyMarkey]

OK, so no tune yet for via APR. I think EPL has one no?

Both APR and EPL have an ECU tune for the CREC engine. Both currently do not offer a TCU tune for the Zf8 (MY16+)

[MattyMarkey]

Im curious about this carbon build-up, what milage should one worry?

You would more than likely be getting a CEL if the build-up is bad. Many people have done preventative Walnut Blasting. I don't know if there is a specific mileage at which point to cause concern, but there are a lot of links on this forum with info.

Here is just one: https://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php/797705-3-0T-carbon-cleaning-maintenance?highlight=walnut+blasting

[Chris@EPL]

Both APR and EPL have an ECU tune for the CREC engine. Both currently do not offer a TCU tune for the Zf8 (MY16+)

Yes we offer a ZF TCU tune for the CREC cars and have tuned quite a lot of them and have been for a while. We have ECU and TCU tune for the CREC/SIMOS16 cars (2016-2018 A6/A7s)

[MattyMarkey]

Yes we offer a ZF TCU tune for the CREC cars and have tuned quite a lot of them and have been for a while. We have ECU and TCU tune for the CREC/SIMOS16 cars (2016-2018 A6/A7s)

Appreciate the correction, Chris! My apologies