new 2004 3.2 v6 owner

TLDR: I am in love with a car, thank you for all the posts that have helped me make up my mind, has been invaluable. If you have any tips for living with DSG or general advice, I could do with it :¬). If anyone wants to know anything about what contributed towards my decision I am happy to put it down or make a list of links (mostly vs 2T, DSG, tax, mpg, options, servicing costs, potential nightmares)

Hey all,

I have been researching and reading forums for the past 3 months and eventually decided to pick up a second hand 2004 3.2 V6 DSG S-line. I considered pretty much every flavour of A4 avant to A3 to replace my oldschool '98 passat estate 1.8t (has served me very well), the less I spent initially the better and I wanted something to last that I could look after well and enjoy maintaining/paying to maintain.

I wouldn't have chosen this specific car if it wasn't for the people posting here, thank you to everyone for taking the time - a lot of really good posts with detail that has completely helped make up my mind, especially over the 2T and gearbox. I am really very happy with the car, still in the honeymoon period and it is booked in to have its 80k service, which I know what to expect, thanks to posters here and the previous 40k service (I am realistic about the chances of surprises, lets hope the FSH delivers). It's metallic dark red, lowered, with 18" ronals and vortex kit, imho it looks amazing and is the other reason I couldn't stop myself from buying it - the exterior seems more expensive to add than the GPS and possible MSFW with CC so my mind was pretty much made.

I am getting used to my first auto gearbox, which I could do with some advice on. 1st seems very short? Hill starts/reversing? And keeping it in auto all the time doesn't seem right, a good example is roundabouts; should I be putting it to manual before going into one, so you can smoothly drive out before putting the car back in auto? I am enjoying learning how to use it either way, but finding it interesting and don't have anyone to bounce this off, so I figured I would inflict it upon you :¬P

I could talk for a long time about how much I love the car, looks beautiful, great engine, great cabin... everything I expected. I also expected to be observing potholes more, which, with the ride (something I was expecting to be a little bit softer, no idea why), keeps me sensible where I should be. I didn't expect it to handle corners as well as it does (lowered?), however I haven't done too much testing as I would rather do this on a track (I need experience) - something I also didn't expect to be considering.

Only upgrade I am considering is factory sat nav, thanks to the posts here and videos I am confident I can do this. Might get CC, but depends on cost and whether I want to go all out and put the MFSW on too as it is just a vanilla wheel (and less confident about doing this myself).

Ye, I am in love :¬) I'll take some pics tomorrow as the ones I have at the moment don't do it justice!

edit: I just googled hill starts and DSG... seems I got some reading X¬D (use handbrake, although it is not really just hillstarts, was in a tractor queue on a 30 road for bout 100 meters up a hill and it was interesting, I also have a small hill just out of the drive, and the drive itself is up a small ramp so I guess practice makes perfect)... I know what not to do, which is forget there is a computer doing your clutch for you(!!)

Thank you guys! :¬) Some pics:

• 01
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• 05
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• 07

(doubt I'll be parking it on mud often after it has another clean :¬P, although I find a lot of it in Wales)

Yannis said:

I also find that sometimes at traffic lights or roundabouts, if you get the throttle wrong you can set off with an almighty jolt. I find that if you let the car start to creep forward itself then smoothly apply the throttle until you get moving. Don't preempt the jolt or it will catch you every time.

I tend to leave mine in automatic unless I'm ripping on a nice road, then I will switch it to manual. You will learn how the kickdown in auto works, you can get it to do what you want depending on how quickly and how far down you press the throttle.

Click to expand...

Thank you Yannis; I have been trying to avoid this jolt so much (feels horrible!), it only seems to happen when I need to accelerate quite quickly. As you say it is nice to let the car start rolling then smoothly apply throttle, do you do anything in particular if you need to make a move quickly from a standstill? I am guessing it is more getting used to how and when to apply more throttle. So glad its me and not the car, haha :¬D

I'll do some reading on the hesitation at 2k RPM issue and see how mine is fairing, such a bummer about the RNSE laser, hope its not too troublesome - given the choice would you go for the RNSE or something aftermarket? I have a double din concert radio at the moment that I will replace, thinking RNSE at the moment. I work with computers, have time and love the car so maybe it would be a missed opportunity adding RNSE (I think the factory 'look' is solid tho).

Really cool to hear you're doing your service yourself, I hope to get to this stage of understanding (don't think any garages will let me watch, I'll ask anyway :¬P). Cheers for posting, really helpful, and damn... this car! :¬D

I would never search out a car in this colour, but I am loving it - prefer it to black or silver! Feel very happy and lucky, I bet yours looks great as well - I am not having any problems with this lowered either btw. Curious about what yours looks like if you have any links.

I wouldn't miss the Bose speakers much, the ones in the passat were so much better than these, it feels like I am swimming in bass in this A3... having to seek out music that has had a lot of work put into EQ so they don't just bass-out :¬D doubt I will change them for a while though; Service, RNSE/Sat Nav & a bit of love will set me back enough... and would rather think about taking it to a track than drowning out the sound of the 3.2.

edit: I thought you said you didn't have the bose when I first read that - I think it's fine really, but do think they got it better in the old passat, could be just me - I am sure some people love it. Guess I should start looking for opinions on RNSE vs aftermarket.

Sweet Yannis! :¬) Propper Q ship that one too, bet you get to surprise a lot of people :¬). How did you get into servicing it yourself by the way?

Service from audi specialists came back great, no surprises, was a lot cheaper than I expected, but I need to double check the DSG oil went in. So nice to take a car to people and they are happy to work on it, bless my poor passat!

Been busy ( :sadface: )

Landy looks awesome - did you have it before you passed your test (small world off-chance)?

I had a go replacing the pads on the A3 with a mechanic friend, after dealing with an array of time consuming situations (hardcore nutz) I needed to get back to work and took it to a garage to fit the pads (Brembo) which they kindly did for £30. It would be nice to have the time to look after it but I respect the time and skill that goes into to do doing things properly, so massive respect for all your work on those things! Maybe one day for me!

I have been looking into paint restoration (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYed_Hnrql4), would like to take it somewhere to have the current blemishes fixed up properly and a fresh clear coat, I heard ensuring you got good wax on the outside helps too... I may be vein enough to get it a cover :¬P I think the car looks so good! :¬D

Could talk about the car for ages... absolutely love it, maybe too firm (but keeps you in check and makes corners better) and I am no good with the DSG in heavy traffic up any hill, or pulling out of peoples drives which involve a small incline into a road (stalled both of them :¬P) :¬D... flip side of DSG is you get to change gear in 0.5~ seconds, and on a 3.2 v6 that is fun :¬D Also, auto is ok.

Hope all is good!

Thanks so much for that Jason, will definitely get that looked into ASAP. Sad to say that it excites me a lot to hear an ECU update could make a big difference :¬) can't wait to see.

The only other prob I have had is the door handle cover (drivers side) decided it didn't want to be part of the car anymore, thankfully it fell off in a car park... although it upset me that it hit the floor first :¬P looking into getting this fixed as nicely as possible.

Might also be worth noting that since getting this car my colleague is now getting an S3 and my old man is considering some new wheels :¬D

Thanks for the help all, I could talk about this car for days! :¬)

Sounds exactly like mine ~

http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/a3-s3-...3-2-v6-misfire-fixed-ecu-software-update.html
http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/a3-s3-sportback-8p-chassis/180237-tpi-2010289-3-ecu-update-3-2l-v6.html

I just got off the phone with Hereford Audi and after talking to a mechanic there about the risks attached to the update, and the fact he hadn't seen this fix being applied before (but noticed notes against my car saying things like "gearbox judder", "check haldex oil") it is booked in this week £80 + vat... pretty much what I expected from dealership, they better clean it good! (I am only slightly upset as I saw someone get it done for £39 :¬P)

I used the SVM number, but here are all the details if someone else needs to do it (I think the Audi-sport community is making sure there are no more 3.2 v6's with this problem :¬D)

SVM: 8P01A005 (this was all I needed to provide them with)
TPI: 2010289/3 (it also worded gearbox judder poor acceleration when changing gears at high revs)
CD: 4F0 906 961 N (although I think my update is going to automagically pulled from audi germany)

Thanks so much for the heads up Jason - will post back when its done. w00t! :¬)

Ouch.

This 3.2 has a whole bunch of West London Audi receipts too and those visits were not cheap.

Hey Johnny,

Like this?



Liking the red a lot myself too man! This one is Yannis's (scroll up) and AFAIK is the facelift version.

Edit: hmm, I have no idea what I am talking about, or even if those are the same reds :¬D ... I think they are different! Will have a look to see if I can find out the exact colour.

Moar edit: 2004 Audi A3 Colors of Touch Up Paint, think mine is: "Rubinrot Pearl"

ECU done! Is lots smoother pulling away and overtaking seems quicker. I had noticed something happening at 1.8k~ in the revs before but had dismissed it whenever it occurred and carried on, that is gone now too and all in all it seems better behaved in towns. Very happy. Audi garage was nice, lifted me into town and back, pointed out issues, figured I might as well share:

:: Need new tyres (seems a lot of people who had looked at them, like me, weren't looking right in the middle :¬P) Any recommendations on new ones?
:: OSR Suspension coil fitted incorrectly (lol? Will ask a bit more on this)
:: Front Suspension Lower arm bushes warn (typical?)
:: Right inner driveshaft boot damaged (done some reading on this now, hopefully not too bad)

Going to annoy my friends and two garages I know with it and see what they think. Found a video that explains what piece I am missing from my door handle cover (the important things ;`P) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaWI9htGvwU

UPDATE:
> One suspension coil fitted upsidedown (I find this mostly funny, because car handles fine like this and the thought of some guy fitting it wrong, going to see how much it will cost to turn up the right way)
> Driveshaft boot split, seems fairly standard, I'll get this fixed.
> I'm asking about the most efficient way to get fresh bushes on.

Thank you :¬D I hadn't realised how unusual it was until Johnny asked bout it. I love it :¬D

Hey RapsterUK, missed your post last time, glad you loving this car too! Definitely a lot of foot down temptations :¬D Do you have the sat-nav unit in yours per chance? (wondering if I want to see this through or come up with another option).

I would recommend checking receipts to see if it had the ECU done, and if not, getting a price from a local dealership - there is a mixture problem that is resolvable, helps behaviour in towns and overtaking abilities.

Saw a garage today; gave me a hand with door handle cover, they said suspension coil spring upside-down shouldn't (tm) make much of a difference. After shopping around for a little bit on tyres I figured I would give Vredestein a go:

Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta | the Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta reviewed and rated - TyreReviews
http://www.blackcircles.com/catalogue/vredestein/sessanta/225/40/R18/Y/92/ (booked on Wednesday)

(plus they were easier to chose than the options from Michelin and Goodyear, and they look like they shouldn't grip, but apparently do, so ermm... must buy!).

Going to see what Tyre fitter thinks of reported inner CV boot damage as it might be easy for them to see what state it is in.

Will PM you Yannis, I swear I was talking someone was talking about that landy! And I should really get a copy of those docs if you have them handy.

A cool, ye I have the same setup inside, I originally planned on changing it for RNS-E but have been happy with either current setup or car noise :¬P I have a tape adapter to plug my phone in for music, and pretty basic phone clip which I can use if I need to prop it up to have some GPS. I am considering some kind of solution that allows me to mount whatever phone I have in a decent location so I can use it for music and navigation, two main probs are connectivity and charging... or just go RNS-E still unsure.

There are some really nice and informed articles on the update which I wouldnt be able to match:
http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/a3-s3-...3-2-v6-misfire-fixed-ecu-software-update.html
http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/a3-s3-sportback-8p-chassis/180237-tpi-2010289-3-ecu-update-3-2l-v6.html

AFAIK VAGCOM will show your current ECU version, although the tell-tale signs will creep through if they haven't made themselves known (orrrr your car is fine and it doesn't need it!) - I would personally wait until you experience the problems (I was brushing my issues off as my fault most of the time), after a decent drive, put it neutral and try holding the revs around 1.8-2k (at different points), if it starts consistently dipping (by about 0.2-0.5k~ revs) when being held at a particular point, then this can be resolved with an update (and there are probably a couple of other niggles that get patched). I noticed it several times moving in slow traffic, where it felt like it kept coming out of gear... I shrugged it off most times as the idea of DSG failure didn't seem worth entertaining ("it must be me and my wonky feet!" "Maybe I am not not pushing down enough?" "This car is not designed to go slow") :¬P I had also somehow completely forgotten all the threads about the update thinking it would have already been applied... nope! :¬D Car is quicker now and a lot smoother/confident at slower paces (I can still confuse it if I try or am sleeping at the wheel). HTH!

Hi Haytch75,

I will do my best, I basically googled "A3 3.2 V6 problem(s)/issue(s)" until I satisfied myself that there weren't that many, or that fixing them would still be cheaper than an equivalent 'sensible' A4/A3 _and_ that if I had to pay out to fix it, that I would still enjoy owning it, knowing that these things have been properly fixed. As people kept reminding me, any second hand car can have random problems.

Compared to the problems listed with 2L TDI - and having just owned a 1.8T I believed there might be value in owning a car without a turbo. Most of the ex-owners of the 3.2 on here (Paddy, 3.2 Ju) spoke highly of the car and mentioned they missed it, there is no denying the engine is solid (it's just big and expensive to get behind). These things definitely impacted my purchasing decision, I even watched a DIY 3.2 cam chain fix video/pictures to see if it would put me off.

http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/a3-s3-sportback-8p-chassis/79230-a3-3-2-quattro-buyers-guide.html
http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/a3-s3-...-2-v6-dsg-quattro-sport-2004-help-needed.html
http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/a3-s3-sportback-8p-chassis/48345-a3-3-2-dsg-04-problem-2.html
http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/a3-s3-...3-2-v6-stretched-timing-chain-lumpy-idle.html
http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/a3-s3-...7-prnds-flashing-audi-a3-3-2-v6-dsg-help.html
http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/a3-s3-sportback-8p-chassis/128160-problem-my-3-2-v6.html
http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/a3-s3-sportback-8p-chassis/98467-3-2-cam-chain-stretch.html
http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/a3-s3-...at-engine-issues-have-you-had-your-3-2-a.html

After reading these I understood Cam Chain stretch is expensive to fix because it involves moving the engine, as would serious clutch or gearbox issues, I also concluded it is fairly rare (cam chain is supposed to last lifetime of vehicle), and that there was a lot of 3.2 v6 (under 60k miles) choice on autotrader for 4-5k~. I put this down to MPG and potential scares which I was now aware of and up for risking. I asked the seller to provide a warranty for Cam Chain and Gearbox which he did. After driving DSG for a while, I have noticed the computer wont really let you do stupid human things to it and have some faith that it will live for a while. Because I am besotted with how the car is (looks and drives), I would happily find the funds to fix any of these problems, and continue to drive the car knowing that these problems would be fixed.

I also looked at what I needed to retrofit RNSe (basically you want the latest RNSe model if you are going to do this (£500~), and for the car to be already setup with a double din unit).

I looked at the different factory bodykits, and what it would cost to fit them... basically too much, so I identified that it was important the car looked the way I wanted when buying.

The car is by no means perfect, but I don't think there is a car more perfect out there for me, especially not at this price. My colleague just got a new(ish) S3 and his almost looks as nice as mine ;¬) and I don't think my 3.2 is much slower (certainly doesn't feel any!), and there is a 35k difference in that...

I call the 3.2 v6 a "Sensible stupid decision", and I absolutely love owning and driving it. I should be cycling to work, but I just enjoy rolling down in the car :¬P

Some other things I noticed:
> R32 is overpriced.
> the A3 exhaust is discrete and polite, unless pushed, it is tempting to do so.
> the ride is firm, especially with lowered springs on 18", but it keeps me in check.
> DSG box is cool because you can change gear fast, but is uncool because you don't control the clutch and it likes to make you look like a newbie when in slow moving traffic, or carparks.... but again, I dont care, I love it (on a serious note, I would say DSG is useless unless you have the engine to back it up).
> Garages like working on it.
> Something about Torque and acceleration, it doesn't feel that fast, but it is.
> I don't really need/want to go faster than X on firm suspension on public roads, looking fwd to track day.

I just remembered you wanted links, but I just can't stop talking about it as I love it too much :¬P

To provide some context;
I am single, 32 and owned a '98 1.8T Passat Estate which my bro borrowed a few years back, he enjoyed it so much that he got a S-Line A4 2L TDI Quattro Estate with 60k on the clock (for about 11k~) - I fell in love with his A4 but didn't want to put down as much money for a car, but still something as solid with relatively low miles on it. Coincidently he has had to spend an additional 2k fixing Diesel issues on his A4 :¬( - either way my Passat was costing a lot to keep together, I felt this money would be better spent on another car that would hold value... so far so good.

EDIT: I did experience the PRNDS issue 2-3 times over 200~ journeys (twice on startup, once when coming out of a carpark), I put this down to software caffufle, restart fixed it everytime. It hasn't done it for a long time and definitely hasn't since running the ECU update.

I do have some problem doing slow speeds smoothly (seems to rock a little bit), I had put this down the engine & gearbox combination not being good at going slow. It doesn't bother me at the moment.