kelisko

I recently purchased a 2016 Audi A7 3.0 TFSI with the CREC engine which should technically be fine despite its high mileage: 147K. It has the same engine as the A6 which is why I am posting this here. The second generation Q7 and performance variants of the A4, A5 and Q5 of the same period have the same engine in them. My car had been consuming a lot of oil and I thought it was something that I shouldn't worry much about and that I could fix with time. Well I was wrong! I hope the video below telling my story will inform, advise and warn.

UPDATE 1
All six cylinders have lost compression and cylinder 6 has zero compression. Bank 2 cylinder head has cracked and cylinder 6 piston has a hole in it according to the mechanic. FYI, the car was babied and was maintained according to the manufacturer recommendations at one single certified Audi dealership, always on time. Exterior and interior are in perfect condition. No abuse whatsoever. The car was consuming too much oil around 100,000 miles and it got worse as the miles added on. The PCV failed because I floored it at 147,000 miles. Replaced it. Cylinder 6 failed because I floored it at 148,000 miles. It turned out all cylinders compression are below spec.
Engine: 3.0 TFSI CREC
When new spec: 160 - 200 psi
Wear limit spec: 145 psi
My cylinders, 1-6 (psi): 110, 110, 110, 105, 70, 0
My decision: Selling my Audis for cheap and leaving the brand

UPDATE 2
Making a list of threads discussing this issue. Same engine. There are many other thread out there but I am keeping the list to thread with more inputs.
2018 Audi A6 3.0T: https://www.audiworld.com/forums/a6-...n-3-0t-3021257
2017 Audi Q7 3.0T: https://www.audiworld.com/forums/q7-...-year-3024173/
2017 Audi Q7 3.0T: https://www.audiworld.com/forums/q7-...ption-2955124/
2017 Audi Q7 3.0T: https://www.audiworld.com/forums/q7-...-plus-3037451/
2018 Audi S5 3.0T: https://www.audiworld.com/forums/aud...ormal-3036961/
2017 Audi Q7 3.0T: https://www.audiworld.com/forums/3-0.../#post25824466
2018 Audi Q7 3.0T: https://www.audiworld.com/forums/q7-...tions-3056733/
2014 Audi S4 3.0T, European, GRAPHIC: https://www.audi-sport.net/xf/thread...issues.431763/

VIDEO OF WHAT AN AUDI TECHNICIAN SAID about a 3.0T CREC engine which is dying at 53,000 miles. He advises the owner to go with a full engine replacement instead of a teardown and said it is NOT UNCOMMON for these V6 Supercharged CREC engines to FAIL


MY INITIAL VIDEO -------------------------------------------


MY LATEST UPDATE ---------------------------------------

urs6_ma

@kelisko Do you have the full maintenance history of your car? Do you know that it had been maintained properly, with correct spec synthetic oil? Without a comprehensive history, you cannot blame Audi for the issues. And then, sometimes, **** happens.

...all of the Audis in my stable have more than 150K miles on them, and I'm about to go buy another.

kelisko

I am not blaming Audi. I clearly said in the video that this is happening to every automaker out there. I also said in the video that I reviewed the CARFAX report of the car before choosing it and the history was very clean. 1-owner, no accident, regularly maintained as recommended at one single Audi dealership. It went straight from the Audi dealership to the car dealer I bought it from.

urs6_ma

Too long, didn't watch.

A TL;DR would have helped.

Yea. I bought a one owner, dealer maintained A4 and due to time constraints, could not do a PPI. Had to put $5K into it right away. Of course at 175K miles, some wear is to be expected.

My point is that "single owner, dealer maintained" means nothing. A clean CARFAX report means nothing. It should be a factor in choosing a used car, but not the deciding factor.

In my case, I expect that a couple of conversations between the PO and the dealer SM went like this "you really should address these issues or trade the car in."

It is what it is. Now I have a really sweet A4 avant in the stable that is providing trouble free transportation for a family member. I didn't mind putting the money into it as I know she has safe, reliable transportation... It's just part of the Audi ownership experience.

kelisko

Then don't start getting to conclusions. See my profile picture? That's three Audi's in "my stable", two A6's and one A7. You're not the only one who loves the brand and has more than one of their cars in a "stable".

Everything is said in the video. If you can't watch it to get into the "context", please don't comment.

urs6_ma

Nope, didn't notice.

Seriously.

You are asking people to work way too hard to figure out what you are asking...

kelisko

I am not asking for anything. I only took it on me to inform, advise and warn. I am not looking for a solution to a specific problem. I have my answers. I am bringing these answers to people on my will by sharing my experience in a video which is likely less boring than a five-page letter. You are not obliged to work hard to get the message. It's free and voluntary.

AudiAllTheWay

Other than oil starvation, cylinder wall scoring is most commonly caused by stuck open fuel injector and will eventually destroy the engine block if left undetected.

Try replacing the PCV Oil Separator in the valley of the V under the supercharger. There is a rubber diaphragm inside that can tear with age and increase oil consumption. Carbon buildup on DI intake valves is caused by oil mist coming thru the PCV and hitting the hot backsides of the valves, cooking off the liquid and leaving behind carbon deposits. Even a brand new PCV will accumulate carbon on the back of the valves, but a worn out PCV can cause noticeable oil consumption as well as increase the rate of intake valve carbon buildup.

Glisse

I do remember one of your earlier posts saying you were getting a new (to you) car, sorry it has turned into a disaster.

I agree that modern engine evolution has focussed on emissions and efficiency. What has suffered is driveability, reliability and longevity. Adding to that is the role of software to manage all these new additions. The result is that it has made the cars much harder to repair. To the extent where even amongst Audi dealers, at least per these forums, they replace rather than repair.

But your car seems to have had a chronic carbon build up that wasn't addressed until it became almost terminal. The previous owner probably sold it off aware that it wasn't optimum. This carbon build up is not universal, and seems to be affected by environmental factors, including fuel quality. AudiAllTheWay is probably right that there was an issue with the PCV valve which contribute to this build up, and it was never addressed.

The CREC variant is MPI is it not? So this degree of carbon build up is not typical. I had two earlier versions of this engine (C7 A7 and B8 S5) and did not have any issues other than water pump failure (S5) and timing chain slap on start up (A7). Neither used any oil, but then I sold both after 6 years or so, and under 100k km. Engines on both still felt strong - the S5 was still improving every year. I always used 98 RON premium (as in additives) fuels.

Given your abilities, you may as well keep going on rebuilding the engine, decarbonising what you can along the way. Importing a replacement engine seems impractical.

If you want to buy a high mileage car, and run it for a long time, a de-stressed diesel is always the best choice, I think.

Your video was great! Reading some long-winded complaint, usually by someone who has just joined up to complain, and ending with "Class Action Class Action!! Sue!!" is getting boring in these forums. Good luck with the next repair phase.

ElliottA6

@kelisko You bring up some very valid issues. I am very sorry that you have gone through this experience. I believe part of the reason the problems you mentioned exist is that they are exacerbated by prolonged maintenance schedules. To be clear, I am not saying the problems you mentioned do not exist. I am saying they exist but are further brought out by crazy maintenance schedules like 10K mile oil changes and lifetime transmission fluid. In my opinion, for these high pressure and high performance supercharged and turbocharged engines, a short and more frequent oil change schedule is essential to avoid or delay problems. However manufactures are pushing these long maintenance schedules to reduce "cost of ownership" in popular publications. All the manufacturers are doing this, but some are more susceptible to problems than others. So a vehicle that has been maintained according to the manufacturer is good, but that may not not be good enough. The manufactures do not care because these problems only manifest themselves after the warranty has ended, after which they become the responsibility of the owner. It is unfortunate but this is the reality of things. I am absolutely amazed by all the repairs I have seen you do on your videos. To have these done at an Audi dealer would have been impractical and cost prohibitive for most people.