jackles

I thought I’d share my comments from another site about my experiences of owning a couple of Q7’s in case there were others on this forum searching for opinions:

Here are my experiences after owning 2 Q7 TDIs - 2011 & 2014.

First off, a little about my current & past garage- I own a 2016 Audi A8 Sport (current), 2005 Ford Excursion 6.0L (current), and had a 2004 Acura MDX (prior to the Q7) and 2001 Acura CL Type-S.

I purchase the first 2011 Q7 as a CPO after my MDX was totaled (DUI driver drove head-on into me). It was 3 years old when I had purchased it but it came with an extended warranty which totalled 3 additional years of coverage. I owned the vehicle for about 3 year before VW bought it back due to the diesel scandal. The engine and transmission were flawless the entire time I had owned it. All I did was the regular interval oil changes using Mobil 1 Synethic for Diesel engines. It had great MPG at or better than the EPA ratings. The engine was amazingly quiet and had little tell-tale signs of a diesel (unlike my Ford).

The electrical, OTOH, left much to be desired. For starters, the passenger side Driver Assist proximity mirror (it flashes when a car is in your blind spot), would randomly blink even though there were no cars in sight after being driven for a few hours. The dealership was unable to reproduce the problem and therefore not able to fix it. The other issue was with the keyless entry. Sometimes the doors would unlock, sometimes it didn’t and this was after replacing the battery and key fob Same with the keyless start- sometimes the key would not be recognized. Fortunately, there was a physical key so I was never locked out or stranded. The MMI (3G) and radio did not turn on a few times, albeit this was rare. But, I did learn to put up with these electrical gremlins as an owner of older Audi’s.

As for my newer 2014 Q7 TDI which was also bought used, shortly after receiving it (purchased from out of state and shipped to me), the CEL came on for a Diesel particulate sensor fault. It went back to the dealership several times which they did a bunch of work under the extended TDI warranty as part of the VW settlement. This Q also had the B&O sound system which the left tweeter was problematic and would sometimes stick when rising up from the dash. I suspect that this will need to be replaced soon and it is not a cheap part.

I should also mention that both my Q’s were Prestige S-Line models with the adaptive air suspension and 21” sports wheels.

For this model, there are somethings that you need to be aware of and walk into into with both eyes-wide open:

1) These SUV goes thru 21” summer tires like there is no tomorrow. You will be lucky to get over 15k miles off of a set even with religious tire rotations. Consider changing them to all-seasons but even then you will unlikely be getting the full rated wear out of them. YMMV depending on your driving style but buyer beware. It’s a heavy car with amazing traction and handling but there’s a cost involved for this luxury and sporty feature.

2) They also go through brakes and the OEM pads create a lot of brake dust that constantly covers the wheels. So, expect to replace the brakes on a much higher frequency than a typical sedan and the need to regularly wash your wheels to keep them looking clean.

3) As previously mentioned, there will likely be electrical gremlins that randomly appears and disappears. It can be frustrating when it happens but IMHO it goes with the territory of owning any Audi new or used (don’t get me started with my A8).

As long as you go into a purchase with these in mind, then you will be less surprised when issues do arise (and they will). I certainly do which is why I turned around and purchased another Q7 TDI after VW bought the first one back. With exception to the electrical gremlins, there were little my ‘04 MDX could hold a flame to (e.g. MPG, styling, fit & finish, material, performance, etc). That said, I haven’t driven the newer MDXs which has been totally redesigned.

Anyway, hope this helps with any new Q7 TDI prospects considering to buy the discontinued Q7 TDI.

FranklinQ7

not2fast

Interestingly you mention the Acura MDX. I had a 2008 MDX sport before my 2007 Q& V8. They are really similar in a lot of ways. The Q7 is a better tow rig, but they feel very very simukar. (I tow a boat about a dozen times a year)

Right now I am looking to upgrade to something newer and wife and I went out and drove a 2011 Lexus GX460, 2012 MB GL450, and 2014 Q7 S-Line back to back to back at the same dealer. It is a shame that Audi didn't put a twin turbo
V8 in the Q7 like Mercedes did.

jackles

My guess is probably because of mpg. In any case, the newer MDX's do look much nicer than the early gens. That said, I'm a diesel fan and the TDI Q7 is hard to beat especially if you plan to tow.