<ul><li><a href="http://forums.audiworld.com/a4gen2/msgs/745077.phtml">Death of a 3.0 engine</a></li></ul>

The problem is that with the B6, they removed the oil temperature guage. If it had one, it's possible I would have seen the oil temperature go way up. Instead, the B6 has a sensor that should go off when the temperature goes too high.

It's possible the sensor failed. Fortunately, I do have extended warranty coverage. The engine will need replacement.

The extended warranty company (as to most warranty companies) has a policy to first find a used or rebuilt motor to be used as the replacement. If one cannot be found, then they will get new.

I have some friends who have checked some of the online databases for salvage yards. While some salvage yards do have a 3.0 V6 engine, all of them are damaged (all from front-end accidents). Those A4s that were hit from the rear have been 1.8Ts.

The warranty company also wanted a copy of all of my maintenance records. They want to make sure (with my 83,000 miles) that I followed Audi's maintenance schedule. Their thinking was that if I didn't, then they could charge me for abuse and deny the warranty claim. I told them they can get all records from the dealer as they have them in their computer system.

So now I wait to see what happens next...

Here's the lastest update...

Last week, I posted my concerns about the reliability of my car to Audi of America. Today, I talked with one of their advocates. All they could do was to say how sorry they were that I've gone through so many issues with my car. It's out of OEM warranty, so the best they can do is to keep a file on my concerns.

I called the dealer next. The service rep I work with was out sick today, but another service rep I know said that they got a call from the warranty company. The found two used low mileage engines.

Fortunately, my service rep is trying to argue with the warranty company that it has to be either a rebuilt (and certified by Audi) engine, or it has to be an entirely new engine. Everyone in the service department hates working with used parts (no prior history). Once again, the service team is stepping up to the plate to look out for me.

The next step will be to call late tomorrow morning to talk with my service rep (if he's not out sick). Right now, I'm going to go over the details of the extended warranty contract to see if they have the right to force the dealer to use the used engine.

The warranty company found a used 3.0 engine. I think it has something close to 30K miles on it. Since they were able to find one, my contract says that it will be used to replace the damaged engine.

Not too happy with this since I don't have any history on the use and maintenance on the engine, It will be close to impossible from a visual inspection of it if it was abused in any way.

they don't want to deal with this problem any more than you do. I'm sure that they aren't going to shaft you with a POS engine, otherwise they'll end up at square one with the situation. The less headaches you have, the less they have.