vw754

First of all hi to all..........thinking of buying a q7 and wanted to get some usefull info on common faults,what to look out for etc?

Will be buying privately, maybe around 56 plate 2006/2007 3.0 Tdi s-line.

Is there issues with air suspension? engine? also what mileage is cambelt due?

thewiz

The air suspension is more reliable than in the older Audi Allroads, and many members of various Audi forums have had a good experience with it, even with high mileage. I highly recommend it, as long as you understand that repairs will cost slightly more, although you can get used and aftermarket parts for it much cheaper than at the dealership.

The most common faults are sunroof drain leakage on early model year 2007 (called 2006 in Europe I believe) VINs (particularly 30000 and below), air conditioner drain blockage (easy and cheap to fix - there are DIYs available), and people complain the cupholder is too close to the MMI controls when they spill their coffee.

I don't have experience with the TDI, but my understanding is that it's good for reliability. Not sure on belt for that engine, it was not available in the US until 2009 for Q7s.

vw754

THANKS FOR THE INFO.

Jusforfun

There is no cambelt. You are outside US Canada if you are looking for 2006/2007 TDI. There are two different output versions of 3.0 TDI in that time frame as Audi upped the power from 233 to 240hp and torque went up from 500 to 550nm. The increase resulted in marginal improvement 0-60 and fuel economy.
Make sure it does not have a sunroof or that it is the revised version or that it had a retrofit. Otherwise you could be buying a pile of trouble with leaks and associated electrical fails.
The revised version with later drain pipes does not give problems.

Air suspension is fine. There have been no fails other than control module fail from sunroof leak (extremely rare) water ingress from failing sunroof. The VCDS can report an overheat problem intermitttantly without affecting performance or needing reset. It seems to be the air gets hot from compressor just as it reaches pressure and triggers a sensor.
No one ever reported a failure or remedy. I expect (pure guesswork) Audi just upped the sensor actuation temp a bit.

Common faults in 2006/2007 ( listed in the spreadsheet by US system as model year/MY 2007):
Failing door locks. These remain active after locking causing a battery drain. Replacements do not fail.
Failing Modules for Amp, Bluetooth, Trailer, Suspension, Nav. All due to water flooding in from blocked, disconnected, overflooded sunroof drains or cracked sunroof frame. Replacements do not fail.
Tiny steering vibration at 65 mph (specific road surface). This is in the control arms of very early production. Revised versions do not have this period vibration. It only ever affected 20" or 21" rim size. Most people blamed poor tyre balance and never even found out about it. Mine has had it for 6 years with different tyres and doesnt bother me. I only feel it on the M50 (Dublin) when I speed
Intermittant bluetooth deafness. Mic does not work. Only solution turn off pull key and start again. Never heard of a proper solution. Doesnt seem to affect later production.

This post may sound negative but overall the vast majority of Q7s have been excellent and we have not had a repeated complaints about older cars.
By now any Q7 has probably had remedial work done to correct all of the issues I mentioned but it would be worth taking the VIN to any Audi service dept and getting them to run a check on all TSBs carried out or outstanding for it as well as finding out what parts have gone in.

Keep us informed of your progress.

vw754

thats brilliant news ! well.........good news and details from yourself,so im i right in saying the 3.0 tdi has a timing/cam chain and no cambelt?

Jusforfun

Correct, there is no cambelt on this engine.

That is just the serpentine belt you see in the pic.
3.0 TDI has chain and tensioners set to last lifetime of engine.
Watch the video (its a bit slow but shows all.)

vw754

thats brilliant! at least no cambelt worrie about....thats some releif.thanks for all the help i need to get as much info together as i can,my a3 tdi and golf mk5 are up for sale ,soon as they sell.......im ready!

thewiz

Yes, the two places to check are the spare tire compartment to see evidence of water leakage and also the fuse boxes on both passenger and driver side. If you see evidence of water leakage or rust, the car likely hasn't been repaired. Some people also check the drainage holes too, although that may require pulling down the liners under the fenders.

A lot of times the sunroof leakage wasn't caught until the second owner, particularly when the first owner kept the car garaged or if the first owner leased. It shouldn't be a problem in most cases for model years after the 1st model year (called 2007 in US and 2006 in EU).

mpelanti

Very good news, I have been a bit worried about my air suspension because this overheating fault code seems to occur quite often.

vw754

would just like to ask.....is the 'auto' box bullet proof or not ? ive read of so many audi auto/dsg/paddle shift causing problems.
I take it they are a 3.0 turbo charged engine? ......does the q7 suffer from the usual turbo failure?