AlbertQ7

I have a 2012 Q7 TDI which I bought used. I am getting ready to do the 35K mile service soon. I see that the fuel filter needs to be changed at 35K.
Are there 2 filters? When I open the hood, I see this one right away that looks like an inline filter:





That represents part numbers 8K0127400A ; 8K0127400; 8K0127400C; 8T0127401A (different numbers, all the same part).

But when I was researching fuel filters there seems like there is a version that is vertical rather than horizontal with a drop-in/pull-out filter unit within a housing, similar to an oil filter.
When I follow the lines out of the fuel filter pictured above, they seem to lead to an area under the silver Audi cover and likely to that second filter unit. The part numbers for that part based on my research are any of the following (all the same actual part): 7L6127434C ; 7L6-127-434-B; 7L6127177B; 7L6127434B


So, do they both need to be changed?

Thanks,
Albert

DUTCH VanAtlanta

Pop off the engine cover and see. On the 2010 Q7 TDI, the fuel filter is a large round vertical can with multiple hoses going in the top.

AlbertQ7

I'll have to do that. As you can see in my pic in the original post, they must have changed something because the canister you are pointing to is next to the hydraulic fluid reservoir, which is visible in my engine bay even with the cover on, and that canister filter is not there. However, when I follow my fuel line out of the horizontal filter I photographed, I wonder if it goes to a similar canister on the other side of the engine, so I will pop the cover to see the area more clearly.

2 shops I talked to seem to think that the only filter that needs to be changed is the horizontal one I photographed. My apprehension comes from the fact that a similar horizontal canister is visible in your photo too, just up and back from the one you pointed to. They are connected with a fuel line.

Can you check to see if you can read the part number on the horizontal canister in your engine bay?

So my initial question still stands - do they BOTH need to be changed?

AlbertQ7

OK. Scratch that. I went outside over my lunch break and popped the Audi plastic cover off the engine (didn't realize that would be so easy to do, LOL). The fuel filter I have pictured is the only one that I can see. The other round one pictured by Dutch VanAtlanta above is nowhere to be seen. Looks like they must have changed it between the 2010 and 2012 model years.

I also spoke with the dealer service department - they have the ...400A part listed as the one that needs to be changed. I don't have VAG COM access and was debating buying that so that I could prime the pump and do other convenience changes through VCDS. But I found a reputable indy Audi mechanic that will change the filter for $70 parts/labor, which is more reasonable than the dealership's $150. The MSRP for that filter is $53, though I've found it online for $46 after shipping. 20-30 min labor seems right, contrasted to the 1.5 hours labor quoted by yet a different shop!

Barney rubble

Hi. Just wondering if your confirmed it was just the one horizontal filter to change and also that the system had to primed with a vcds tool after? I also have a 2012 q7 tdi and am just about to start some maintenance. Have you also done your own oil change and if so does your '12 vary from the online tutorials for earlier year tdi's. thanks in advance

AlbertQ7

I ended up having the Indy mechanic do the oil change because he and two other service departments all said that they do indeed prime the fuel pump and I didn't want to take the risk of doing it without vcds.
That mechanic and the dealer parts dept independently confirmed that the visible horizontal fuel filter is indeed the only one.
Good luck.

Edd W

I changed the filter on my A8 without priming the pump - no problems. As you turn on the ignition, the lift pump will run and fill the new filter. As far as I can tell, all you need to do is turn on and the off, the ignition a few times until you hear the note of the pump drop, and you then know the new filter if primed.

AlbertQ7

Great to know. Thanks.
I was too late last time adding the AdBlue so I had that message which I needed the mechanic to clear as well. (Why would they make it so that the message didn't go away once the tank was filled?!?). But I plan on preventing that message from popping up again, so maybe I'll do my own oil change/fuel filter change next time using your info.

DUTCH VanAtlanta

If you have the VAG-COM, you can reset the AdBlue warning.

f5air

im just a bit lost here, o the TDI Q7 i have seen and almost ready to pay there is no long metal fitler like the 1st picture. I just see a blue line where is suppose to go:



Why the difference?.