10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
6,215 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2018 Audi Q7:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

Get free help with your lemon!
close ad
problem #17

May 152024

Q7

  • miles
Audi Q7 sunroof front sunroof glass spontaneously exploded while driving on freeway at 8:30am going 75mph. No extreme temperature swing, no water on glass. Heard loud gunshot sound and looked up to see hole about 5-7" wide in sunroof. Tempered glass pieces falling onto fabric sunscreen.

- Salt Lake City, UT, USA

problem #16

Mar 292023

Q7

  • miles
Right engine mount fluid leaking under factory warranty(diagnosed at 50k service, 44k actual mileage). The leaking is not obvious and cant be identified unless lifting the car up.

- Santa Clara, CA, USA

problem #15

May 122022

Q7

  • miles
Sunroof exploded. No trauma to the sunroof it just popped and glass shattered going down interstate

- Roswell, GA, USA

problem #14

Mar 102022

Q7

  • miles
After the shutdown of 3G network, my 2018 Audi Q7 Prestige lost some great features. Audi USA sent a recall 91CD which is basically the notice that 3G network will be shutting down from 2/22. This deactivates app based features like lock/unlock, vehicle monitoring, vehicle related data etc. When taken to the dealership "Audi Minneapolis" with letter from Audi USA, dealership just upgraded the software but refused to upgrade the hardware. They asked $400 to upgrade the hardware. This is really inconvenient for the customer and also a safety issue as I am thinking. Please look into this and pressure Audi USA to come up with a resolution. Attached is a chat script with AudiUSA. Basically customer has to live with the issue.

- Brooklyn Park, MN, USA

problem #13

Nov 252021

Q7

  • miles
Low coolant, and found coolant leaking from waterpump

- San Diego, CA, USA

problem #12

Jun 202021

Q7

  • miles
Dear Leadership @ NHTSA, On July 5th, I reported an incident of Air conditioner not working on my Audi Q7 car with Dealer- Audi Bellevue, located at 1533 120th Ave NE, Bellevue Washington 98005. Findings from the service team was, faulty Control Module and it was replaced. However, this replacement did not fix the problem. Further Investigation led to puncture in the Condenser as the cause. I was told the Condenser had to be replaced. I spoke to my service advisor and Supervisor of the service advisor. My question to them was -??How can the condenser get punctured, which is under the hood of the car. My car never met with any accident-??? Per Dealer Supervisor, While driving rocks from the road, can make its way through the front grill and make a hole on the Condenser and this is a known issue. My concern is, if this is a known problem, why is Audi still sticking to this Design where it can let rocks pass through the front grill to make a dent on the Condenser. This is causing a huge inconvenience/hardship to customers like me. I had to spend $1,542.62 for the condenser replacement(though I had a Platinum extended warranty) and had to leave my car at the workshop for 11 days. Now that the Condenser is replaced and working fine, the issue does not resolve here, rocks can potentially come through the front grill and can make a dent on the condenser again. This is still an OPEN issue. If that happens again, I will have to go through the same cycle of hardship/hazard/inconvenience. From inspection standpoint, the punctured condenser should be available with my Dealer. I have not made a claim through insurance, so no inspection is made on this condenser. I am not certain when the rocks would have puncture the condenser and there is no indication when the condenser was punctured. Since I noticed my Air conditioner not working on June 27th, I believe this incident of condenser puncture could have happened a week before.

- Issaquah, WA, USA

problem #11

Mar 112021

Q7

  • 20,000 miles
At times, the "stop-start" system seems to falter when the vehicle has slowed to almost a full stop, but not quite. If I try to accelerate I get a few seconds when nothing happens. I feel that it is either a transmission caught between shifts or an engine falter. I have mentioned this to the dealer, but was told that "that's how it is".

- Aurora, CO, USA

problem #10

Jan 262021

Q7

  • 27,000 miles
Sun roof spontaneously exploding while driving straight on a highway.

- Huntington Beach, CA, USA

problem #9

May 202020

Q7

  • 27,500 miles
In may of 2020 I severely hit my head (left side of forehead) on the C-pillar while exiting the left-rear seat. The vehicle was parked at the time at the time of my head injury. The injury was caused because the C-pillar is very close to the rear headrest, and to exit the vehicle one generally has to look down at the ground where one is about to step. It is my understanding that there is currently a safety recall (70H8 NHTSA: 20V658) for this vehicle, a 2018 Audi Q7. (the C-pillar is the third vertical beam from the front of the vehicle.) the recall states "an increased risk of injury if an unbelted passenger's head contacts the C-pillar in a crash." My experience is that there is also an increased risk of head injury on the C-pillar as passengers exit the vehicle from the rear doors while the vehicle is parked. I reported my problem to the manufacturer and they responded on Dec. 22, 2020: "Audi of America has reviewed your concerns and we see the experience as being no fault of the vehicle or the 70H8 campaign."

- El Paso, TX, USA

problem #8

Oct 072020

Q7

  • 0 miles
I went to pick my 3 yo twins at school. Opened my door, got off the car and closed it, with keys inside my purse at front passenger seat (my usual routine). Was able to open passenger's back door, buckled my son to car seat and closed his door. When turned to other side to open the door for my girl, noted car was locked and ignition turned off with my 3yo son inside. All doors were locked despite keys being inside car and ignition off. Remote control was operable with batteries functioning well. School director called 911 and fire department went to assist. They were unable to open door and after ~20minutes of my son being inside, buckled and in Florida heat, emt and fire fighters had to break a window to get him out. When I was able to get him, he was extremely hot with elevated temperature and soaked in sweat. Thankfully I was not with my 3month old baby that day. Since my boy's temperature was coming down nicely with supportive measures I did not take him to the hospital and decided to observe at home. Car had service 6 days prior to this event in Audi fort myers next day on 10/08/10, took car to Audi fort myers and reported event to service department, computer system was checked and no event was registered. Then I was told by employees at Audi, they could not explain the event but nothing they can do and no need to report to Audi usa.

- Fort Myers, FL, USA

problem #7

Apr 142019

Q7

  • miles
Kept light appears on dash that add 1 qt of oil for 6 times. Before this light appears, car always suddenly stopped while im driving or parked. Last saturaday 1/11, my car was suddenly stopped on highway and engine was running and so loud after car stopped but cannot change any gears for few seconds. I'm so frustrated and scared to operate this vehicle. I went to Audi service but they don't found any problems and refilled oil again. In my 6 times of this experience, light will be appeared and car will be stopped while operating again. Must be fixed this matter by Audi

- Palisades Park, NJ, USA

problem #6

Jun 152019

Q7

  • 11,000 miles
Vehicle gets locked and can't unlock it even when keys are in pants pocket. Need to go to driver seat and unlock it. It happened to multiple times when I had the key in my pocket and I came to back seat to get something and closed the door. Car got locke and could not unlock it from rear seats. I had to climb over to driver seat to unlock from there. This is a safety issue to me because toddler can be in the back seat and get locked. To me it does not make sense when keys and inside the car. Please look into this matter. This is a $80K car and this is what happens. These companies are nothing bit money grabbing organizations!!!

- Brooklyn Park, MN, USA

problem #5

Jan 262019

Q7

  • 3,000 miles
The car can be locked by a toddler from rear seat even when the child safety is enabled while the car is idle. It does not matter whether the remote/key is inside or outside the car. When the car is idle, you cannot unlock the car using the remote and the toddler will be locked inside the car. This case is the same problem as the case of NHTSA id number: 10626358, which was reported for 2014 Audi Q7 in 2014. I searched online and found lots of people are reporting similar problem. But this case potentially can be deadly for the toddler if the car is parked in a non-open space. The 2014 case report mentioned that this problem has been there for at least 5 year before 2014. So, it has been almost 10 year since the problem was reported. Fortunately, the mother was inside the car together with the toddle and she unlocked the car from inside. Otherwise, it will be a tragic day for us with almost 0 degree and the snow storm. Audi need to disable the 'lock all door from rear' function. This is a very serious safety concern and Audi should pay attention to fix the problem. In summary, there are two situations that the toddler can lock himself inside the car: 1. the car is not running. The toddler can lock himself in the car if the parents accidently left the remote in the car. For this case, the parents can unlock the car with the other set of remote. 2. the car is running. The toddler can lock himself in the car no matter where the remote is. But in this case, the door cannot be unlocked with the remote. So, if you are outside the car (for example, just finished buckling up the toddler), you are out of luck. I don't know what you can do before the car is out of gas. And this situation is more dangerous.

- Hinsdale, IL, USA

problem #4

Sep 132018

Q7

  • 14,500 miles
Car is equipped with 360 degree cameras and system defaults to graphic mode (vs camera mode) in an unpredictable manner. This requires the user, while in reverse, to change the settings back to camera mode in order to see the vehicle clearly in the system. This is a safety-related defect due to the distracting nature of the unpredictability of the state of your backup camera, the cognitively complex and distracting steps needed to change to camera view while you are backing up, and the safety issue caused by not having the cameras work properly. I understand that this affects nearly every Audi with this option sold in the 2018 model year. It is also my understanding that Audi has acknowledged this safety issue but has refused to offer any solution for over a year -- and more importantly, has continued to knowingly sell thousands of vehicles with this defect, and has misrepresented the safety features of these cars.

- West Orange, NJ, USA

problem #3

May 012018

Q7

  • miles
The overhead camera view will not stay set. This is a safety issue as one cannot see the area around the car when parking. This is apparently a software problem and has been known to Audi since August 2017. They have yet to address it.

- Charleston, WV, USA

problem #2

Jul 022018

Q7

  • 50 miles
Reverse birds eye camera often flips to a different mode and you never know what camera view you will get. Happens once out of every 2-5 reverses. This is a safety-related defect due to the unpredictability of the state of your backup camera. I must then go through a multi step process to revert it back. This appears to affect nearly every Audi with this option sold in the 2018 model year.

- Dunwoody, GA, USA

problem #1

Apr 092018

Q7

  • 2,600 miles
The 2018 Audi Q7 has been in for service three times since I leased the car on 9/11/2017. My initial inquiry related to technology issues was back on December 22, 2017 that was shortly followed up by a service appointment. After your team assessed the issue and allegedly reset the system, I checked out of the service department, only to experience the same technology issue as I was driving off the lot. Your team proceeded to check the vehicle back in for further investigation. Aside from continued reboots of the Audi computer system or mmi system, the car would flag Audi pre sense warnings and force the car to stop in the middle of intersections, mid turn. Oncoming traffic was estimated at 150 yards from the intersection when the car jammed to a stop. The sensors appear to stop the car after identifying a false read. The car is then stalled in the middle of an intersection causing significant safety risk. Audi replaced the mmi system and the fuel tank after identifying a faulty valve. After the repairs, the vehicle continued to have the same issues. Audi was not able to identify the source of the issue and claimed that the pre sense system sensors were set to a high sensitivity. They also claimed that a pothole or a bird could set off the sensors, causing the vehicle to stop in the middle of an intersection. This seems like a serious safety issue. By the way, I was driving a loaner car for over three months while they attempted to fix my vehicle and false pre sense warnings are common.

- Phoenix, AZ, USA