3 Audi A6 2.0t With Navigation & 11k Miles on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Audi A3 E-Tron launching at $51,500 in Germany

Audi has put a price tag on the A3 Sportback E-Tron plug-in hybrid, for which presales begin this month in Germany. To get your hands on one of these little guys, Audi is asking for ˆ37,900, or about $51,537 according to current exchange rates. Of course, the base MSRP doesn't include any incentives, but in Germany, those savings would come from certain annual tax exemptions that apply to PHEVs. Buyers in other countries might have more luck in getting into an A3 E-Tron for less. Audi lists its most important markets for the A3 E-Tron as Germany, Sweden, Norway, Holland, the UK and, despite no firm date for the car's arrival here, the United States. These countries, according to Audi, are where buyers are willing to spend their green (or the more colorful banknotes of Europe) on green cars. These places also enjoy nice things, or in Audi's words, "They appreciate the classic strengths of the Audi brand: high-end technology, uncompromising workmanship, sportiness and elegant design." In Germany, Audi will sell the A3 Sportback E-Tron at select dealerships. The service departments of those 100 or so dealers will get special training to work with the high-voltage technology used by the plug-in hybrid. These locations will also feature free-to-use charging stations for customers. The Audi A3 Sportback E-Tron's lithium-ion battery stores 8.8 kWh of juice, and is supplemented by a four-cylinder, 1.4-liter TFSI engine which works parallel to the electric motor. Total output is 204 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque, directed to the front wheels via a six-speed S Tronic transmission. The car can reach 60 miles per hour in 7.6 seconds and has a top speed of 138 mph. It can travel of to 31 miles on battery power alone. Deliveries for the 2015 Audi A3 Sportback E-Tron will begin in Germany and Central Europe this winter.

Audi and Jaguar Land Rover recalls address seatbelt issues

Audi and Jaguar Land Rover are each recalling several thousand vehicles for separate potential seatbelt issues. The recalls cover the 2022 Audi A3 and S3; 2022 Jaguar F-Type, F-Pace and XF; and the 2022-23 Land Rover Defender, Discovery, Discovery Sport, Range Rover Sport and Range Rover Velar. Examples of these vehicles may have shipped with seatbelt pretensioners that will not function properly in the event of an accident.  Audi is recalling its sedans for tensioner devices that may not adequately restrain drivers or passengers during a crash. The issue was discovered during Korean market crash testing of the high-performance RS 3.  "The seat belt tensioner in the affected vehicles serve the purpose of holding the passenger in his position in the seat," Audi said in its defect report to NHTSA. "In the event of a crash, the retention force of the seat belt may not reach the intended level. As a result, the position of the body can be further to the front of the seat, which leads to a negative influence on the whole restraint system, increasing the risk of injury." A different company, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), meanwhile, also has an issue with a batch of pretensioners installed in its cars and SUVs. Pretensioners are the devices that fire off to rapidly retract the seatbelt when a crash is detected. Most utilize an explosive charge and pressure tube JLR says that some pretensioner devices provided by one of its suppliers may not have properly-specified pressure tubes that may not channel the gasses to the retraction mechanism correctly.  "A damaged front seat belt pretensioner tube may have been installed on the seat belt retractor," JLR's report said. "This may result in a reduced level or complete loss of pre-tensioning in the event of a crash and increased occupant injury." Owners of the models included in both recall campaigns should receive notices from the manufacturers in the coming months.  Related video: Recalls Audi Jaguar Land Rover Ownership Safety SUV Sedan

VW recalling 2.64M vehicles worldwide over engine, light issues

Volkswagen is staging a massive, worldwide recall that's already grown from 1.68 million to 2.64 million vehicles and covers three different issues across a number of vehicles. We already reported on 61,000 Tiguans getting recalled over lighting issues - that was just in the US. Globally, however, VW will be recalling 800,000 Tiguans, according to Automotive News, with the focus on CUVs built between 2008 and 2011. The issue with the Tiguan relates to a simple fuse swap, so this is rather unremarkable, aside from the sheer number of vehicles being fixed. The real, troubling issues relate to gearboxes and pickups.
239,000 Amarok pickups (pictured right) are being recalled over fuel leaks, while 1.6 million vehicles are being recalled to swap the synthetic oil in dual-clutch transmissions with mineral oil. Now, the transmission issue is one for the global Volkswagen Group to address, not just the VW brand - vehicles from Audi, Škoda and Seat use the same seven-speed DSG and are covered under the recall, as well.
Why the switch from synthetic to mineral oil? Apparently, using the synthetic oil in a DSG and then subjecting it to stop-and-go conditions or heavy loads in a hot and humid climate can lead to electronic malfunctions, according to a Volkswagen press release. The switch, from the sounds of it, is largely a preventative measure.