2021 Audi Q7 Problems

On startup, the instrument cluster (Audi Virtual Cockpit) takes an abnormally long time to illuminate. When it does come on, the check engine light and multiple other warning indicators are illuminated. First noticed about a month ago when the panel with the speed indicator wouldn't light up or took a long time to illuminate. I took the car to three dealerships before Audi mentioned that this is a manufacturing issue. The vehicle was taken to Jim Ellis Audi, Marietta, GA (Repair Order 106862U) in August 2026. The technician's diagnostic notes recorded a fault described as "control module for instrument cluster — optical data bus — no communication." The dealer referenced an internal Technical Service Bulletin describing an intermittent hardware defect in the Audi Virtual Cockpit logic module, attributed to a manufacturing/semiconductor issue at the supplier level. Per the TSB, if the instrument cluster's production date is before February 1, 2025, the cluster must be replaced. The dealer quoted $3,093.81 to replace the instrument cluster assembly. I am aware that NHTSA recall 25V201 (Audi internal number 90VC) covers 2021 Q7 vehicles for a related virtual cockpit shutdown defect, remedied with a free software update.

My independent repair shop has just diagnosed a coolant leak weeping from the vacuum line connection at the water pump; they referred to this problem as “coolant migration”. As documented extensively by Audi in Technical Service Bulletin 19-23-45 (2070349/2), this indicates an internal seal failure of the water pump, causing pressurized engine coolant to migrate directly into the vehicle’s vacuum system. While I understand that my vehicle is technically past its 4-year factory warranty timeline, a mechanical failure of this nature at just 43,000 miles is highly premature and points to a known manufacturer design defect rather than standard wear and tear. More importantly, this defect poses an immediate, severe safety risk. Because the vacuum system directly services the power brake booster, the migration of coolant into these lines risks catastrophic contamination of the braking system. This results in a stiff brake pedal and compromised vehicle stopping ability. I am deeply concerned about operating this vehicle with an active, manufacturer-acknowledged safety hazard affecting my brakes. At this time, I have not had this problem confirmed by the dealer, but plan to in the next week. The vehicle it available for inspection upon request.

waterpump is leaking- known issue that is currently being investigated for class action lawsuit. My car is now out of warranty.

My independent repair shop has just diagnosed a coolant leak weeping from the vacuum line connection at the water pump; they referred to this problem as “coolant migration”. As documented extensively by Audi in Technical Service Bulletin 19-23-45 (2070349/2), this indicates an internal seal failure of the water pump, causing pressurized engine coolant to migrate directly into the vehicle’s vacuum system. While I understand that my vehicle is technically past its 4-year factory warranty timeline, a mechanical failure of this nature at just 43,000 miles is highly premature and points to a known manufacturer design defect rather than standard wear and tear. More importantly, this defect poses an immediate, severe safety risk. Because the vacuum system directly services the power brake booster, the migration of coolant into these lines risks catastrophic contamination of the braking system. This results in a stiff brake pedal and compromised vehicle stopping ability. I am deeply concerned about operating this vehicle with an active, manufacturer-acknowledged safety hazard affecting my brakes. At this time, I have not had this problem confirmed by the dealer, but plan to in the next week. The vehicle it available for inspection upon request.

On startup, the instrument cluster (Audi Virtual Cockpit) takes an abnormally long time to illuminate. When it does come on, the check engine light and multiple other warning indicators are illuminated. First noticed about a month ago when the panel with the speed indicator wouldn't light up or took a long time to illuminate. I took the car to three dealerships before Audi mentioned that this is a manufacturing issue. The vehicle was taken to Jim Ellis Audi, Marietta, GA (Repair Order 106862U) in August 2026. The technician's diagnostic notes recorded a fault described as "control module for instrument cluster — optical data bus — no communication." The dealer referenced an internal Technical Service Bulletin describing an intermittent hardware defect in the Audi Virtual Cockpit logic module, attributed to a manufacturing/semiconductor issue at the supplier level. Per the TSB, if the instrument cluster's production date is before February 1, 2025, the cluster must be replaced. The dealer quoted $3,093.81 to replace the instrument cluster assembly. I am aware that NHTSA recall 25V201 (Audi internal number 90VC) covers 2021 Q7 vehicles for a related virtual cockpit shutdown defect, remedied with a free software update.

My rear backup sensors have fallen out of my vehicle and the dealership wants to charge me $200.00 to diagnose the problem. All they need to do is reattach the sensors which were originally put on the vehicle with double sided adhesive tape which is a poor design. I cannot afford this $200.00. This is a big safety concern because I rely on those sensors when backing up. Can you help me?

My independent repair shop has just diagnosed a coolant leak weeping from the vacuum line connection at the water pump; they referred to this problem as “coolant migration”. As documented extensively by Audi in Technical Service Bulletin 19-23-45 (2070349/2), this indicates an internal seal failure of the water pump, causing pressurized engine coolant to migrate directly into the vehicle’s vacuum system. While I understand that my vehicle is technically past its 4-year factory warranty timeline, a mechanical failure of this nature at just 43,000 miles is highly premature and points to a known manufacturer design defect rather than standard wear and tear. More importantly, this defect poses an immediate, severe safety risk. Because the vacuum system directly services the power brake booster, the migration of coolant into these lines risks catastrophic contamination of the braking system. This results in a stiff brake pedal and compromised vehicle stopping ability. I am deeply concerned about operating this vehicle with an active, manufacturer-acknowledged safety hazard affecting my brakes. At this time, I have not had this problem confirmed by the dealer, but plan to in the next week. The vehicle it available for inspection upon request.

The vehicle was parked on a sloped driveway. After the driver exited the car, the automatic parking brake/Auto-P fail-safe failed to engage. The vehicle rolled backward unexpectedly, causing the driver-side door to strike a fire hydrant and rebound into the driver's body. There is significant property damage ($6000) and personal injury. Complete home security video footage of the incident is available [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

My car first had a warning “Electrical system: malfunction! Please contact Service.” I made a appointment at my Audi dealership 2 days later, but the next day i got more warnings. “Automatic start/stop system: malfunction!” then my power steering was not working. I decided to drive straight to the service department that afternoon, but never made it. In rush hour traffic on a busy street, my Q7 started beeping every warning - “Electrical system: malfunction! Safely stop vehicle”, “Drive system: malfunction! Stop vehicle safely” and the vehicle decreased speed then abruptly turned off. I was so scared that I would get hit by the traffic zooming around me. It wouldn't go into neutral and my parking brake was engaged blinking. I put on my hazard lights and called 911 for traffic assistance while sitting in my car. I was able to safely exit and after calling Audi, I could get my car into neutral and move it off the busy street with the help of some good Samaritans. I had the car towed to Audi. The service department said they have seen this a handful of times and that it's a problem with the accelerator/generator.

Battery light on dash red and yellow abs light on.. multi Electric faults. On my massage board and car died on the road.

Driving on highway at 70 mph and high engine temp light came on. Said to pull over and continue to run car until temp decreased. I got over as quickly as I could ( no more than 1/4 of a mile) and sat on side of PA turnpike as engine cooled. I was at bottom of an exit ramp. I slowly proceeded up the ramp and warning came on again and red temp light reached again. I pulled right into the gas station at top of TP exit ramp. It still said to continue to run the car. I sat with my son in the car and ran the car in the shade. The temp was decreasing and then all my electrical lights came on, yellow battery warning light on and then suddenly the red battery light and all systems failed. Car turned off. Called AAA to take to my mechanic as Audi was a 3 hour wait for a tow and 3 weeks for service appointment with no loaners available. My certified mechanic said water pump completely dislodged. He replaced water pump, thermostat (which was already replaced bc it failed in year 2 of ownership). After repair, 48 volt battery would not take a charge. Assumed faulty alternator and/or battery. Alternator was already replaced once at year 1 as car died while driving as well. We had car towed to audi and they are reporting known issues with water pump but not issuing recalls. Also known issues with alternator repair parts that were used in year 1 but no warning to consumers. They are diagnosing problem now and if alternator and subsequent battery issue, it will be covered but not if battery issue comes back as electrical in nature.

The contact owns a 2021 AUDI Q7. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V516000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

The contact owns a 2021 Audi Q7. The contact stated that the rear-view mirrors on the driver's side failed to indicate when another vehicle, person, or object was nearby the vehicle. The passenger's side rear-view mirror's audible alarm occasionally erroneously alerted the driver that there was a vehicle, a person, or an object nearby the vehicle. The infotainment screen occasionally blacked out, and the following day, the screen activated but failed to finish uploading all the systems and functions. The back-over prevention camera alarm made abnormal sounds compared to the normal sound. The infotainment center intermittently failed to display the icon indicating that the key was in the ignition after the vehicle had been started. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The contact was unaware that the vehicle was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V900000 (Back Over Prevention). The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 44,000.

[XXX] Mobile: [XXX] October 1, 2021 Audi Motor Sales USA, Inc. Re: Assurant Warranty Claim Number: [XXX] Dear Sir/Madam: I am writing to you in hopes of finding a swift and satisfactory resolution since my Audi dealership-issued extended warranty claim is not being honored despite repeated efforts to resolve the issue. Incident: On Saturday, September 25, I was driving on Route 42 when a pebble hit my front windshield and made a small crack underneath the rearview mirror. Action Taken: We immediately reached out to report the issue, but being a weekend, received no response. We did not use the car again, but by the time someone responded to us on 9/28 - 3 days later! - the crack had spidered out from its original size. Details: When the crack appeared, we immediately called Audi Fort Washington (where I purchased my car) and left a voicemail for the service advisor and then called Audi Cherry Hill (closest dealer) and left a similar voicemail. Then we started to text on the Audi website but the response seemed to be a bot that did not lead us to a human contact. Meanwhile, while we have NOT used the car since the incident happened, the crack has spidered out on its own beyond the size of the initial crack! We continued to try calling Audi on Sunday 9/26 and on Monday 9/27 and still received no response! On 9/28 we finally heard from [XXX]f, who contacted the warranty company and reported back to us on 9/30, that it was denied because of the size of the crack. I explained how if this crack happened on a Tuesday and was immediately taken into the dealership it would have been covered, and it is not our fault that it happened on a weekend and no one responded when we immediately reached out - to several sources - several times! I spoke with Assurant directly today on 9/30; they forwarded the information to process the claim. The replacement of the windshield and car rental should be covered under the warranty. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6

The seat belt has now come unlocked from the locked position multiple times without unbuckling the seat. This is an issue because it's the seat belt used to install an infant car seat, so the car seat is not locked into place, which could be a major issue in the event of a crash. The seat belt retractor has randomly unlocked multiple times after being locked into place. The car dealership was unable to replicate the problem, but it has since occurred multiple times at home.

The right rear seat belt locking retractor, which was locked when I put my son in his car seat, became unlocked in motion during our trip while his car seat was in use. I check the lock each time I place him in his car seat, and it was locked at the beginning of our journey. Having an unlocked safety belt puts a child at risk since their car seat can't be properly secured with an unlocked safety belt. The retractor had worked prior to this instance since I started using it with our car seat 3 months ago. I have reached out to the Audi dealership and have not heard back.

285/40R21 I was pulling out of a parking lot onto Rt 40, a secondary, 2-lane road, at approximately 6pm. As I accelerated to approximately 30 mph, without warning I heard a loud noise and felt the pull of the right front tire. I pulled off into a gas station parking area that was nearby and was very fortunate to have avoided an accident due to the significant traffic at the time. Upon inspection, the tire had a complete and catastrophic failure of the sidewall, stranding me at that location until Audi roadside assistance transported the vehicle to our local dealer approximately an hour later.

285/40R21 At the end of a Vermont ski trip, left to return home on the morning of 3/15/23 at approximately 8am. Outside temperature was approximately 30 deg F and it was snowing. Due to partially snow-covered roadways, speeds were limited to 35-40 mph. After driving for approximately 20 minutes, the tire pressure warning indicated, followed approximately 30 seconds later by catastrophic sidewall failure and complete tire deflation. The rapid loss of tire pressure combined with the slippery road service was extremely dangerous and we were very fortunate in steering the car to a safe parking area without losing control or colliding with other nearby vehicles. Audi roadside assistance was contacted and the car was towed to a local dealer. Upon inspection, the failed tire (original OEM supplied) showed no evidence of puncture, only catastrophic failure of the sidewall. The failed tire is being held at the dealer in Rutland, VT. Because of a similar failure on 11/12/22 with another of the (4), original OEM tires, all (4) tires were replaced with Pirelli tires as it was no longer safe to continue driving on any of the original Continentals.

Right rear tire has worn excessively compared to other tires. There is a recall for this issue on some 2021 Audi Q7 but ours what not part of that recall.

Right rear tire has worn excessively compared to other tires. There is a recall for this issue on some 2021 Audi Q7 but ours what not part of that recall.

I was driving on the freeway and got off on an exit ramp at high speeds and began to slow down and break. As I was breaking the car became clunky and slowed down and suddenly shut off. The warning lights “transmission failure and “ESC failure” came on and I was unable to drive or put the car into gear. The car flashed “stop. Pull over” and “not safe to drive” and see “Audi dealer”. The car would not turn back on. We were stuck in the middle Of the freeway off-ramp with cars flying by us with no sidewalks or safe ways to exit the vehicle. I had my wife, dog and 2 and 4 year old kids with me. I then had to be towed to my local Audi dealer. At the Audi dealer, I told them what happened and asked for a full diagnostic. They then called me the next day and said they ran codes and nothing popped up. I said can they run a full diagnostic further and see what happened. They called me the next day and said they did a “deeper dive” and I needed to replace my transmission intake body valve and gave me a repaid quote of $8,000. My car had been serviced 2 months prior on 10/16/25 with the transmission being checked and said great.