Newer is better. That's the assumption that sells cars, and most of the time the data backs it up. Audi's 3.0-litre V6 is the exception that should make every used buyer slow down and check.
The older, supercharged EA837 scores 84/100 (BUY). The newer, turbocharged EA839 3.0 scores 65/100 (CAUTION). If you walked onto a forecourt assuming the more recent car is the smarter buy, the data says you'd be walking toward the bigger bill.
Quick answer: The supercharged EA837 (84/100) is the safer used purchase. The turbocharged EA839 3.0 (65/100) is the subject of an Audi piston-skirt warranty extension (knocking, scored cylinder walls). US owner quotes for a rebuild or a replacement engine run to about €11,000–29,400, and the bulletin covers cars up to model year 2025 — a later build is not a way out. Check the VIN and get a borescope inspection before you buy.
The "old" one that quietly does its job
EA837 3.0 TFSI Supercharged — 84/100 (BUY)
Audi's supercharged 3.0 V6 (2008–2017) sat in everything from the A6 to the SQ5. A supercharger instead of a turbo means less heat-soak drama, and the engine's faults are the kind you can plan around — annoying, but rarely catastrophic:
| Problem | Severity | Repair cost |
|---|---|---|
| Thermostat and water pump failure (under the supercharger) | Moderate | €500–1,000 |
| PCV (crankcase ventilation) valve failure | Moderate | €400–800 |
| Fuel rail leak — fire risk (2011–2013 recall) | Moderate | — |
| Upper timing-chain tensioner rattle at cold start | Minor | — |
| Intake valve carbon build-up (direct injection) | Minor | — |
Nothing here is cheap, exactly — but nothing here is frightening either. The worst case is four figures at the low end, and every item is a known, bounded repair. The fuel-rail leak is a recall item: check by VIN that it was done.
Found in: Audi A4, A5, A6, A7, A8, Q5, S4, S5, SQ5.
The "new" one with a catch
EA839 3.0 TFSI — 65/100 (CAUTION)
The single-turbo EA839 3.0 (2016→, 340–354 hp) replaced it with more torque and a more worrying risk profile. One issue is critical, one is high-severity on early builds, and both can end in a replacement engine:
| Problem | Severity | Repair cost |
|---|---|---|
| Piston-skirt wear and cylinder-wall scoring (Audi warranty extension, MY2018–2025) | Critical | ≈ €11,000–29,400 |
| Rocker-arm needle bearings (engines built to about August 2018) | High | €2,500–8,000, up to engine replacement |
| Coolant pump leak (Audi TSB) | Moderate | €800–1,500 |
| Crankcase breather membrane — oil at the filler cap (Audi TSB) | Moderate | €600–1,200 |
| Oil consumption and carbon deposits (Audi TSB) | Moderate | — |
That top line is the whole story. Audi's service bulletin on knocking 3.0 V6 TFSI engines routes cases to a "3.0l Piston Skirt Warranty Extension", and US owners report piston-skirt damage at roughly 120,000–151,000 km. Audi has published no root cause. An engine-replacement risk is in a different league from a water pump, and it's why a newer, more powerful, more advanced engine scores 17 points below the one it replaced. (The repair range is converted from US owner quotes, and the extension is documented for US cars only — no EU or Greek campaign was found.)
Found in: Audi S4, S5, SQ5 and the 55 TFSI A6, A7, A8, Q7 and Q8; VW Touareg 3.0 TSI.
The uncomfortable table
| EA837 (supercharged) | EA839 3.0 (turbo) | |
|---|---|---|
| Era | 2008–2017 | 2016→ |
| Power | ~354 hp | 340–354 hp |
| Score | 84/100 | 65/100 |
| Verdict | BUY | CAUTION |
| Scariest fault | Thermostat / water pump (€1,000) | Pistons (≈ €11,000–29,400) |
The nuance that saves the EA839
Two important caveats, because the EA839 isn't a write-off:
- Build date matters for the rocker arms, not the pistons — the rocker arms were revised in August 2018, so a later engine avoids that fault. The piston-skirt bulletin, however, runs to model year 2025, so on that point a newer car is not automatically safer.
- The 2.9 twin-turbo is a different story — the 2.9 TFSI twin-turbo in the RS4 and RS5 is not named in the piston bulletin and shows no internal-failure pattern; it scores 80/100. The 65/100 figure is the 3.0 single-turbo in the S4, S5, SQ5 and 55 TFSI models — the version most used buyers will meet.
The verdict
For a used purchase today, the EA837 is the lower-risk buy — and that's the point worth remembering. The newest engine on the forecourt is not automatically the safest one. A supercharged V6 from 2014 with a water-pump history beats a turbo V6 from 2017 with a piston question mark.
If your heart is set on the EA839 3.0, have an Audi dealer check the VIN for the warranty extension, get a cold-start noise check and a borescope look at the cylinder walls — a compression test can read normal on an affected engine — and budget for the worst. Otherwise, the older badge is the smarter money.
This same "newer isn't always better" lesson plays out on the diesel side too — see OM651 vs OM654, where the year is everything.
Scores are calculated from documented issues, repair costs, and failure patterns. Reviewed by the EngineScope editorial team. Methodology →