Owners have filed 945 complaints on the Audi Q7, covering 2007–2025. The system named most often is Electrical System (163 reports). Worst years by volume: 2017, 2018, 2007; cleanest: 2024, 2025, 2009. 27 reports describe a crash, 6 a fire. On average the car was 5.6 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Audi Q7
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 945 Q7 complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Electrical System 163 Read
On Sep 17 2023 my wife was driving her Audi Q7. Which has 25,780 miles. She drove to a parking lot for a hiking trip, pressed on the brake and the car instead of stopping accelerated. She kept trying to press the brake, however the car did not stop until it hit a tree. The car has been towed to our house and it is not…
The vehicle was parked on a sloped driveway. After the driver exited the car, the automatic parking brake/Auto-P fail-safe failed to engage. The vehicle rolled backward unexpectedly, causing the driver-side door to strike a fire hydrant and rebound into the driver's body. There is significant property damage ($6000)…
Was driving around 30 MPH. Audi Q7started showing malfunctions on the dashboard, stabilization control malfunction, transmission malfunction, startup system malfunction, backup system malfunction, drivers assist malfunction, tire pressure malfunction, drive system malfunction. The vehicle started to brake on it own,…
Exterior Lighting 131 Read
Hello! I have an 2012 audi q7 and my airbags never deployed at 50 mph impact. It's a total loss. Do I have grounds for a lawsuit?
Matrix adaptive headlights are not working. Night driving with increased adoption of LED headlights become challenging due to high glare level and associated temporary vision sensitivity reduction, I was hoping that matrix adaptive headlights will improve this (especially in states like Michigan where extra side light…
I am filing a complaint and request for a recall on 2019 Audi Q7's side marker light. This is 2019 Model Audi Q7.It has about 60K miles. I start getting a warning message pops up frequently saying "Right front side marker light faulty See owner's manual". Searching online it appears many user with same model years…
Engine 122 Read
Coolant leaking @ 50K miles and also their warning system is not as effective. I got into a fender bender 2 months in owning the car as brand new
I was driving my 2009 Audi Q7 last June 27,2021 at 5 pm in interstate 5N my speed is 70mph when i heard a beep sound , Air bag and Hood light on flashes in the dash board and i decided to pull over on the shoulder lane when my wife noticed that smoke coming out in front of the engine, i stopped the engine but i can`t…
During a routine service on my 2021 Audi Q7, the shop found the coolant level low and traced it to a leak. The Audi dealer later diagnosed failure of the water pump, thermostat, valves, and related parts, with a repair estimate of nearly $5,000. I discovered that prior model years (up to 2020) were included in a class…
Fuel/propulsion System 87 Read
I am writing to report on the results of a call on 08-01-22 to Audi USA regarding the current recall on Audi Q7 automobiles. I asked if the car was safe to drive and the representative could not answer the question. Her comment was that Audi has not issued a Stop Drive Action. The recall notice states ". . .there may…
My 2020 Audi Q7 with 49,500 miles had a complete engine shut down while driving. Towed to Audi. Fuel Pump was recalled and replaced on 1/2023. Audi stated it was the jet suction pump inside the saddle fuel tank. Research discovered that this saddle tank has been problem for this model and year. Audi only covered a…
The component that failed was the fuel level sender. The attachment shows that I had it repaired by Audi. They found low static resistance which is the same issue they recalled 46,000 other vehicles for including 2019, just not Q7. The car is available for inspection. My safety was put at risk because the gas and did…
Suspension 60 Read
Right rear tire has worn excessively compared to other tires. There is a recall for this issue on some 2021 Audi Q7 but ours what not part of that recall
Rear passenger side coil spring failed during vehicle operation. Vehicle has only 61,000 miles and has never seen any heavy duty including trailering anything
2019 Audi Q7 rear spring broke despite having only 28,000 miles. I heard a loud banging noise when driving on highway which I initially thought was a loose exhaust pipe. Took it to a service center which diagnosed a broken rear spring with high risk of tire puncture. Never driven off road or with heavy loads (heaviest…
Steering 53 Read
Vehicle stability while driving on automatic driving /lane keeping system failed 3 times almost causing vehicle to loose control and crash. On 4 other occasions the vehicles lane keeping failed to keep between lanes and instead vear vehicle in different steering directions, forcing me to pull against the stearing…
While turning onto an exit ramp from the highway at a low speed, my son said the steering wheel suddenly locked up (it stiffened to the point of no movement) and he couldn't turn the wheel and crashed into a guard rail.*dt consumer would like to disregard the report
My son driving at low speed could not maintain control of the vehicle to avoid hitting the guard rail coming off a highway. It was like he hydroplaned without a puddle in existence
Power Train 42 Read
I am filing a formal complaint regarding serious safety-related defects in a newly purchased Audi vehicle. Immediately upon delivery, the car presented: • A faulty solenoid, a critical engine component, creating risks of engine misfires, sudden stalling, loss of acceleration, and transmission malfunctions while…
I was driving on the freeway and got off on an exit ramp at high speeds and began to slow down and break. As I was breaking the car became clunky and slowed down and suddenly shut off. The warning lights “transmission failure and “ESC failure” came on and I was unable to drive or put the car into gear. The car flashed…
The contact owns a 2020 audi q7. The contact stated while driving at 20 mph, the vehicle started making an abnormal noise from the passenger's side rear of the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to exceed 20 mph. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to audi indianapolis…
Visibility/wiper 35 Read
Turned on the car and within a few minutes smoke filled up the whole car. The smoke was coming from the rear wiper from the inside. Seems to be coming from the wiper motor but can't tell until I take the plastic cover off. Started smoking immediately every time I turned the car on, tested it a total of 3 times.…
[XXX] Mobile: [XXX] October 1, 2021 Audi Motor Sales USA, Inc. Re: Assurant Warranty Claim Number: [XXX] Dear Sir/Madam: I am writing to you in hopes of finding a swift and satisfactory resolution since my Audi dealership-issued extended warranty claim is not being honored despite repeated efforts to resolve the…
My 2019 audi q7 has now gone through 4 winshields in 2 years. I drive an expressway to work and have never had a crack on any car before. I have read into this and other audi q7 owners are complaining of the same problem. The windshield is nearly $2000 to replace. I have appealed to audi, they deny a problem. People…
Q7 years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Back Over Prevention | — | — | |
| 2024 | Unknown Or Other | — | — | |
| 2021 | Electrical System | 3 | — | |
| 2020 | Electrical System | — | 1 | |
| 2019 | Air Bags,vehicle Speed Control,service Brakes | 5 | — | |
| 2018 | Air Bags | 2 | — | |
| 2017 | Air Bags | 7 | 2 | |
| 2015 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 2014 | Air Bags | 2 | — | |
| 2013 | Air Bags | 3 | 1 | |
| 2012 | Engine | 1 | — | |
| 2011 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 2010 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 2009 | Air Bags | — | 1 | |
| 2008 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | 2 | 1 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 397 |
| Average complaints per series | 2.4 |
| Worst single series | 21 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 5.6 years |
A model average of 2.4 hides a worst series at 21. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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- No ads, no tracking — and much more
How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Q7?
By complaint volume, 2017, 2018, 2007 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Q7 years are the cleanest?
2024, 2025, 2009 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Audi Q7 have?
945 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2007–2025. Of those, 27 describe a crash and 6 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.