SovietBeans

I have a 2007 Q7 3.6 with 137k miles, and this time last week the EPC and check engine light came on at the same time one morning. Now it seems as if the ECU will not let the engine go past ~3.8k RPMs, whether in normal driving, or in neutral. The car behaves normally under partial throttle, but if I open it up it stops accelerating in whatever gear it's on at 3.8k, as if the gearbox knows it's at full throttle, but something is limiting the RPM, so once it reaches the limit it stops accelerating. The engine runs as smoothly as ever and it sounds the same, but this is obviously a huge problem as I can essentially only drive at max ~40% throttle to stay under 3800, which isn't safe.

I took it to my Audi dealer for them to have a look that Thursday night after work. I figured the problem might be a faulty camshaft position sensor, as many other people have had, leading to the ECU going into a "safe mode". After the weekend, my service adviser called me and said that they had been looking at it and so far hadn't found anything. Yesterday, he called me again and said that there must be something wrong with the camshaft, and that further investigation would require removing the transmission and engine and dismantling of the engine, and could run as high as $12k...

Needless to say, I picked up my car today and now am scrambling for ideas on what can be wrong. I am considering taking it to a VW dealer which is very highly rated and is only ~5 miles away, to see what they have to say since this is a VW engine. I am also considering ordering a VAG scanner tool to pull the error codes myself to make sure it isn't just a simple malfunctioning electronic part. I am even thinking about just selling it to the highest bidder and buying a new car. I was seriously looking into the 2017 Q7, but that would mean I drive this vehicle in its condition for several more months, which I can't do. I'd probably end up with something like the new XC90, or even a Mercedes GLE.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

D3Audi

Definitely take it to the other dealer for a second opinion... $12k is almost the value of the car.. Not worth it at all..If you're looking for a cheap scanner buy the app Carista on your phone and buy an OBD adapter.. That would scan for fault codes.. Good luck!

SovietBeans

I think I'm just going to seen what the dealer will give me for it and trade it on a lightly used 2014 Q7. They only have 2 right now, because the majority were TDIs... I really want a TDI for the long-term reliability, but I don't think I will be able to buy a TDI from the dealership for a while. I may just look elsewhere and get a TDI from a 3rd party.

D3Audi

Well, that's a good idea, but if I were you I would absolutely make sure that the problem is actually what the Audi Dealer said.. Get a second opinion because if it is something minor you could fix it and then you wouldn't lose all that money on the trade.. Then you could get that 2014 Q7... Dealerships can be shady and I don't know what dealer you take it too but they could very well be "scamming" you into buying a new car... It's always a possibility.. You should take it to another dealer and have them look at it and see what they have to say but don't tell them what the last dealer said.. If that dealer says the same then it's true.. But you never know.. Just my $.02 Good Luck!!

SovietBeans

I got a second opinion from a different Audi mechanic not affiliated with my Audi dealer, and he said the timing chain and belt are both worn, and that some other intermediate gears between the camshafts and something else?(I didn't really understand what he said) could be very crunched. I could have chosen to have those repairs performed, which he said could be done for ~$3k. I just went ahead and traded mine for $5k on a new 2015. The salesmen and finance guy were extremely friendly and funny, and I got $6k off MSRP on a heavily optioned Premium Plus, so I think I got a good deal. I'll be enjoying my new Q for the next 5 or 6 years now. Thanks for the info and advice.