3.0 TDI CCWA

V6 diesel with the timing chains at the back of the engine. Fast, quiet and expensive to fix. A chain job means the engine comes out.

Overview

The 3.0 TDI is the CCWA diesel version of the Audi A4 sedan (B8), sold 2008–2015 with 240 PS and manual or automatic. High risk at level 4. Fast and quiet, but the timing chains are at the back of the engine. A chain job costs more than these cars are worth. 13 failure modes are recorded against its engine, gearbox, chassis and shared components, one of which is a walk-away item without documented proof. Prices on this page are illustrative placeholders rather than a sourced market sample. See the methodology for how the bands are derived.

Power240 PS

Torque500 Nm

Years2008–2015

Fueldiesel

Drivequattro

EnginesCCWA

Biggest risks

Ranked by probability × repair cost. 13 recorded in total.

32High risk

Rear timing chain wear (3.0 TDI)€2,500–€4,500checkablewalk away
DPF clogging and forced regeneration€250–€1,800partly checkable
Front control arm bushing wear€300–€700checkable

Risk level −33 · Walk-away failures −12 · Likely spend vs price −23 · all issues →

System by system9 systems reviewed · 2 with no recurring fault reported

Engine⚠ attentionRear timing chain wear (3.0 TDI), €2,500–€4,500. Walk away without proof.

Fuel system✓ clearNo recurring fault reported for this system on this engine.

Intake & air✓ clearNo recurring fault reported for this system on this engine.

CoolingwatchCoolant expansion tank cracking, €120–€250.

Emissions⚠ attentionDPF clogging and forced regeneration, €250–€1,800.+1 more in this system

TransmissionwatchxDrive transfer case actuator failure, €600–€1,200.

ElectricswatchFootwell module (FRM) failure, €150–€700.+2 more in this system

Suspension & brakeswatchFront control arm bushing wear, €300–€700.+3 more in this system

Body & interiorwatchCorrosion at the rear subframe and arch seams, €300–€2,000.

Pre-facelift or facelift, this engine spans both

The same badge either side of the changeover. Bands are split at the facelift year from the generation record.

Phase	Years	Low	Average	High	Good buy	What differs
pre Pre-facelift	2008–2011	€5,200	€9,800	€16,500	€7,500	The specification the car launched with.
LCI Facelift (LCI)	2012–2015	€5,650	€10,700	€18,000	€8,200	Revised grille, lights and bumpers (B8.5); EA888 gen-3 replaced gen-2 in the 2.0 TFSI, addressing oil consumption; Eight-speed multitronic replaced the earlier CVT on front-drive cars; Revised MMI and interior trim

Known issues, ranked by expected cost

Faults recorded against this engine, its components and its chassis, ranked by likelihood × repair cost. Costs are indicative ranges with a stated labour basis.

Rear timing chain wear (3.0 TDI)CCWA 3.0 TDI€2,500–€4,500

Rattle on start-up that settles, chain noise from the bulkhead end, timing correlation codes. The V6 diesel runs its chains at the back of the engine. The chains and guides wear, and access requires the engine out.

Check: Cold start only, listening at the bulkhead. On a car this age treat any sustained rattle as the chain and price accordingly.

EngineoccasionalDetectable at viewingwalk away without proofevidence: documented180–300k km

DPF clogging and forced regenerationDPF€250–€1,800

Warning light, limp mode, oil level rising above the maximum mark from fuel dilution. The filter needs sustained hot running to regenerate. A car used for short urban trips never completes a regeneration cycle.

Check: Read the DPF soot load and the distance since the last regeneration on a scan tool, and check the engine oil level and smell it for diesel. Ask what the car was used for. A short-trip city diesel is the wrong car regardless of mileage.

EmissionscommonPartly detectableevidence: documented120–250k km

Front control arm bushing wearE9x chassis€300–€700

Knocking over bad surfaces, vague or wandering steering, uneven front tyre wear, steering shimmy under braking. The front lower arm bushings are a known wear item on this chassis and go well before the ball joints.

Check: Drive over a rough road at low speed with the windows down and listen. Check the inside edges of the front tyres for feathering.

SuspensionuniversalDetectable at viewingevidence: documented80–150k km

Electromechanical steering rack failureB8 body€900–€2,000

Steering assistance warning, heavy or inconsistent assistance, knocking from the rack. The electromechanical rack's motor and control unit fail. Replacement is expensive and usually done as a complete rack.

Check: Turn lock to lock at a standstill and listen. Check for steering warnings at start-up and scan for rack fault codes.

SuspensionoccasionalDetectable at viewingevidence: reported120–250k km

Run-flat tyres and kerbed or cracked wheelsE9x chassis€150–€900

Harsh ride, vibration at speed, slow punctures. Stiff-sidewall run-flats transmit impacts straight into the rim, and these alloys crack rather than bend.

Check: Inspect the inner rim edge of every wheel for cracks and hairline splits, not just the face for kerbing. Budget for a set of conventional tyres; most owners switch and the ride improves markedly.

SuspensioncommonDetectable at viewingevidence: documented

Corrosion at the rear subframe and arch seamsE9x chassis€300–€2,000

Bubbling at the rear arch lip, scaling on subframe mounting points and rear suspension components. Age plus road salt. This generation isn't a notorious rotter, but nothing from 2005–2013 is immune in a salted market.

Check: Put it on a lift and look at the rear subframe mounting points and the arch lips from behind. Largely a non-issue on cars from southern Europe, a real one on northern and Baltic cars.

Body & corrosionoccasionalDetectable at viewingevidence: documented

Footwell module (FRM) failureE9x chassis€150–€700

Headlights, indicators, windows, wipers and central locking stop working at once, usually right after a battery change or a jump start. The module's memory corrupts when supply voltage dips. It is the single most common electrical failure on this generation.

Check: Test every window, both mirrors, the wipers, all exterior lights and the central locking before you drive. If any cluster of these is dead, this is why.

ElectricalcommonDetectable at viewingevidence: documented

Rear shock mount wearE9x chassis€250–€500

Knock from the rear over speed bumps, a hollow thump from the boot area. The rubber mounts perish. On hard-used cars the mount can crack the surrounding turret metal, which is a far bigger job.

Check: Lift the boot floor and look at the top of the shock towers for cracking or a lifted mount. Listen for a knock over bumps.

SuspensioncommonDetectable at viewingevidence: documented100–180k km

Ranked by probability × repair cost, not by how loudly a failure is discussed. Inherited from the engine, gearbox, chassis and shared components, each written once. All 13 issues in full →

Mileage and servicing

What the odometer does and doesn't tell you here, plus the service items whose neglect causes the expensive failures above.

These are motorway cars and 300,000 km isn't unusual. But what matters is whether the chain rattle has started; at this age it's the difference between a good car and a scrapper.

Service item	Interval	Cost
Engine oil Chain wear tracks oil condition and the job is engine-out	15,000 km or annually	€130–200
Timing chain listen It's the failure that writes the car off	every cold start	free
Gearbox service Torque converter and clutch wear on a 500 Nm car	80,000 km	€400–650

What to pay

What this engine sells for, against the median of every engine in the chassis. All figures are illustrative placeholders. See the basis chips.

median €10.3k

€5.2k€7.5k€18k

Cheapfind the reasonGood buyif it checks outFairnormal moneyOverpricedneeds justifying

Asking price (€)Mileage (km)

Enter an asking price to get a verdict against this variant's band: cheap, fair, good buy or overpriced.

United States vs Europe

1 EUR = 1.08 USD · 2026-07

🇪🇺 Europe · EUR€7,500band €5,200–€18,000

🇺🇸 United StatesNot sold3.0 TDI CCWA was never a US-market car

What that meansNo US band exists to compare. Any car you find there's a private import, parts and specialist knowledge are thinner, and the price says more about import cost than about the market.

US figures are the EU band converted at a stated rate. No US market differential is modelled: we hold no sourced US asking prices, and inventing one would be worse than saying so. What the comparison does show for real is availability. Most of this range was never sold in the US.

ModelAudi A4 3.0 TDI
ChassisB8
EngineCCWA
Years2008–2015
MarketCentral EU
Windowrolling 12 months to 2026-07

Good buy at or under the marker · Median asking price · bar spans the 10th to 90th percentile · dashed line is the b8 median, all 5 engines

Good buy isn't the same as cheapest. Any car without documentation for rear timing chain wear (3.0 tdi) should be priced as if the repair is still owed. Full breakdown by facelift phase →

Buyer notes

Our judgement, kept separate from the records it's built on.

Our read, not a record

The 3.0 TDI quattro is the B8 to own if you cover distance and want the car to feel expensive: 500 Nm, genuinely quiet, and capable of high-sixes on a run. Yet the catch is structural: the chains run off the back of the engine, so the engine comes out to do them, and that bill exceeds the value of most of these cars. Everything else is manageable. Buy on cold-start noise and service history. Budget for the emissions hardware, and accept that this is a car with a cliff edge rather than a slope.

Everything above this line comes from the issue and specification records. This paragraph is our judgement on top of them. See how we reach it.

Full specification

Manufacturer figures for this engine and body, as recorded in the variant and engine data.

Engine code	CCWA 3.0 TDI
Configuration	V6, turbocharged · 2967 cc
Fuel / injection	diesel · common rail
Model years	2008–2015
Facelift phase	Sold either side of the 2012 facelift, 2008–2011 pre, 2012–2015 LCI
Power / torque	240 PS · 500 Nm
Transmissions	7-speed S tronic · 8-speed tiptronic
Gearbox families	0B5-S-TRONIC
Drivetrain	quattro
Economy (real-world)	6.5–8.5 l/100 km mixed
Markets	EU

3.0 TDI CCWA

Overview

Pre-facelift or facelift, this engine spans both

Known issues, ranked by expected cost

Pre-purchase inspection

1Cold startYou get one. If the engine is warm when you arrive, come back another day.

2Static checksEngine off, ideally on a lift.

3On the driveInclude low-speed manoeuvring, not just an open road.

4PaperworkOn these cars the folder is most of the value.

5OBD scanMandatory. A seller who refuses a scan has answered the question.