2016 Audi S7

On March 29, 2021, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Preliminary Evaluation (PE 21-009) after the agency received 58 reports alleging engine stalling in 2013-2016MY Audi vehicle models A8, S6, S7, S8 & RS7 equipped with the 4.0L, twin-turbocharged engine. Complainants reported the vehicles would stall with no warning while driving at highway or city traffic speeds. Several of the complainants alleged an inability to restart. The complaints alleged the major contributing factor to the engine stalling was the failure of the turbochargers. The complaints cited the turbocharger failure was a result of oil starvation due to a clogged oil strainer in the turbocharger oil supply line.The location of the oil strainer in the turbocharger oil supply line is in the inner valley of the engine. It is not easily accessible, making servicing the component difficult. The oil strainer removes particles and carbon deposits from the oil before lubricating the turbochargers. Over time, if the debris is not removed from the oil strainer, it becomes clogged and prevents oil from flowing to the turbochargers. This causes the turbine bushings to run dry and overheat resulting in turbine shaft failure due to thermal stress.On April 04, 2022, PE21-009 was upgraded to an Engineering Analysis (EA22-001) to further assess the scope, frequency, and potential safety related consequences of the alleged defect. Volkswagen filed recall 22V-178 to replace the 30?m mesh oil strainer with a 90?m mesh oil strainer in the subject vehicles. VW introduced the larger mesh oil strainer into production in March of 2017 effecting the 2017-2018MY vehicles.ODI reviewed information from VW for vehicles that had the larger mesh installed in production. The data received showed, since the new oil strainer size of 90?m went into production for the 2017-2018MY, there has not been any reported incidents of turbocharger failures due to oil starvation or other failures that could be related to the larger screen mesh. In view of the recall being conducted by VW and lack of any detrimental side effect to the turbocharger caused by the larger mesh, ODI is closing this Engineering Analysis (EA). The agency reserves the right to take additional action if warranted by future circumstances.11502847,11506565,11494663,11488813,11486393,11480926,11479882,11476289,11466761 11464663,11463254,11460580,11460496,11458973,11458804,11457556,11454753,11452668 11452589,11452584,11452383,11452175,11452111,11451724,11451724,11450995,11450988 11449661,11447092,11443657,11442867,11440536,11440052,11439959,11438691,11436461 11435619,11433925,11433733,11432336,11431661,11431421,11429704,11429584,11428128 11426929,11424203,11423603,11423337,11422431,11421084,11420626,11420342,11419693 11418884,11418437,11418433,11418135,11417635,11417351,11416095,11414578,11414235 11414064,11413359,11413285,11413214,11407510,11407450,11406897,11406821,11406637 11406460,11406416,11406291,11406287,11406277,11406273,11406263,11406256,11406251 11406229,11406222,11406208,11406204,11406197,11406182,11406015,11404665,11404426 11404348,11403823,11403430,11403268,11402684,11399435,11397821,11396241,11394763 11391037

On March 29, 2021, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation (PE) 21-009 after the agency received 58 reports alleging engine stalling in 2013-2016MY Audi vehicle models A8, S6, S7, S8 & RS7. The subject vehicles are equipped with 4.0L, twin-turbocharged engine. Complainants reported that the vehicles stall suddenly with no warning while driving on the highway or in city traffic. Several of the complainants alleged an inability to restart. The complaints allege the major contributing factor to the engine stalling is the failure of the turbochargers. The complaints further allege the turbocharger failure is a result of oil starvation due to a clogged oil strainer.The location of the oil strainer in the turbocharger oil supply line is in the inner valley of the engine. It is not easily accessible, making regular service difficult. The oil strainer removes dirty particles and carbon deposits from the oil before flowing to lubricate the Turbochargers. Overtime if the debris are not removed from the oil strainer, it clogs the strainer and prevents free flow of oil to the turbochargers and makes the turbine bushings to run dry and overheat which causes the turbine shaft to break due to thermal stress. In VW's response to ODI's Information Request letter, VW provided approximately 611 warranty claims with unique VINs, 70 Field Reports and 45 Consumer complaints. These reports allege engine stalling due to turbocharger failure similar to the NHTSA reports described above. To date, NHTSA has received approximately 98 allegations of stall due to turbocharger failures. The total of 824 reports shown in the table above eliminates duplicate reports received by both ODI and the manufacturer.This Preliminary Evaluation is being upgraded to an Engineering Analysis (EA) to further assess the scope, frequency, and potential safety related consequences of the alleged defect of engine stalling due to turbocharger failureThe ODI complaints cited above can be viewed at www.NHTSA.gov under the following ODI identification numbers:11452589, 11452584, 11452383, 11450995, 11450988, 11449661, 11447092, 11442867 11440536, 11440052, 11439959, 11438691, 11436461, 11435619, 11431661, 11429704 11429584, 11426929, 11424203, 11423603, 11423337, 11421084, 11420626, 11420342 11418884, 11418437, 11418433, 11417635, 11417351, 11416095, 11414235, 11413359 11413214, 11413285, 11413133, 11407510, 11407450, 11407289, 11406821, 11406416 11406291, 11406277, 11406273, 11406256, 11406251, 11406229, 11406222, 11406204 11406197, 11406182, 11404665, 11404426, 11404348, 11403430, 11403268, 11399435 11397821, 11396241, 11394763, 11391037, 11388662, 11387166, 11377446, 11363283 11354107, 11344193, 11342497, 11342360, 11340302, 11325065, 11324163, 11322168, 11321144, 11318477, 11306754, 11279429, 11268109, 11256706, 11252723, 11246579 11234853, 11234714, 11231582, 11231013, 11230589, 11229484, 11222281, 11218822 11218749, 11217604, 11209168, 11209142, 11197149, 11191243, 11175842, 11170776 11164032, 11152418.

Carvana sold me a 2016 Audi S7 (VIN [XXX] ) with what was later discovered to be an odometer discrepancy. I submitted a formal complaint to the Ohio Attorney General, and Carvana subsequently issued a refund. However, after refunding me, I learned that Carvana resold the vehicle at auction without disclosing the odometer issue or branding the title as required under federal law. Play also did disclose the damage that was done to the engine, turbo chargers, or from the car catching on fire. This raises serious concerns about odometer fraud and title washing, and I believe it warrants federal investigation under 49 U.S. Code § 32705. I request NHTSA open a case on this matter and audit Carvana’s practices relating to odometer disclosures and resale. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11673598

Incident

Mar 19, 2023

The car was driving perfectly fine until last week heading to drop my kids to school and the vehicle stopped on the middle of the street. I had no previous issues or notice. I had multiple warnings on the dashboard and now the car won't crank. I have seen several post with people with this same issue and can't find a clear answer. I had to push the vehicle out of the road with traffic behind

NHTSA ID

11576319

Incident

Feb 6, 2024

Submitting an official complaint since there has been a lack of status update or repair resolution. I am concerned that I will have a failure resulting in injury or death since I cannot get this fixed.

NHTSA ID

11470277

Incident

Jun 21, 2022

I have a 2016 Audi S7 that uses the notorious 7-speed DSG transmission. I started to notice some random jerking when I pull the car from the red light a month before the car completely dead on me in April 2021. One time when I was driving on the highway at 70mph it throws a "transmission malfunction" code on my dash and put my car in Limp Mode (only 1,3,5,7 gear available). I also experience gear slipping when putting the car in reverse, when putting the car in reverse, 9/10 times the R gear won't engage at all, and the onetime the R gear will only engage when the gas pedal is pressed way down, resulting in the car shooting backward and potentially putting anyone behind the car in danger. One time I almost got rear-ended when the car suddenly stalled at a crossroad when pulling from a red light, because the car decided to shift in neutral instead of 2nd gear. I had to restart the car couple of times to drive it in Limp Mode and created a traffic jam at a very busy crossroad. After I did some extensive search on this issue, I believe the mechatronic unit has design flaws that after some miles (in my case 40000 miles) are bound to fail. And since the manufacturer's warranty only covers the drivetrain for cars that is either 5 years old or within 36000 miles, I have to replace the mechatronic unit out of my pocket, which is a major burden on my financial situation. There weren't any warning lights prior to the failure, and the only symptom is the random jerking when upshift or downshifting but I was told it is normal to the 7 speed DSG gearbox my car was using. I had Audi Tysons Corner did a diagnosis and they respond that a new mechatronic needs to be put in. I have attached the report they send me. They also send me a picture of the leaking fluid in the transmission pan which I attached also. I ended up putting a new Mechatronic Unit in and I was told it is an Upgrade version from a local Audi-authorized dealer I am attaching the invoice here.

NHTSA ID

11460580

Incident

Feb 28, 2021

The engine died on the New Jersey turnpike going 70 mph. Had to coast to shoulder. Sat on the side of the highway with children in back seat for 45 mins waiting for tow which is extremely dangerous. No warning lights before or after the issue. Had to be towed to dealer. Dealer confirmed turbo system failed.

NHTSA ID

11452584

Incident

Nov 28, 2021

The car drove normally at highway speed for approximately 4 hours. Upon leaving the highway and attempting to accelerate onto a secondary road into oncoming traffic, the engine shuttered. The car drove erratically for about a mile with hesitation and shuttering. After stopping at a stop sign at a very busy intersection, the engine failed completely. The Electronic Power Control warning light appeared. The engine would not restart on repeated attempts. After dealing with following traffic for several minutes, a passer by assisted with pushing the car to the side of the road. During this time, the steering and brakes barely worked and I was just able to avoid hitting a parked car due to these disablements. Note that the manual for the car includes very little information about this warning light other than "to have the function corrected as soon as possible" by an Audi dealer. There were no prior warning lights or degradations in performance. This was a catastrophic failure. The car went from performing normally to complete failure in a matter of minutes. During this sequence my wife and I were at risk as well as the drivers who were forced to enter the oncoming traffic lane to go around me and the passer by who assisted. Due to the position of the car, the tow truck operator was also at risk as were passing drivers at the time of the tow. I am told by the Audi Dealer in Rutland, VT that both turbochargers failed. This is apparently due to the clogging of an oil screen which filters oil before entering the turbos. My understanding is that this is known problem to Audi. It is very expensive to access the oil screen to determine if it is clogged. My car has only approximately 48,000 miles on it and it has received all indicated services and oil changes. There are aftermarket solutions to fix this problem which Audi has failed to implement or recommend. I was never made aware of this being a potential problem by Audi or my Audi dealer.

NHTSA ID

11429704

Incident

Aug 14, 2021

Car only has 29,489 miles and has been serviced at Audi for every 1yr and now has turbo failure at a cost of 12k.

NHTSA ID

11419693

Incident

Jun 1, 2021

AT 40K MILES, I'VE BEEN NOTICING THE SYMPTOMS OF A DYING MECH UNIT (BANG/JERK TO STOP, SHIFTING FROM DRIVE TO REVERSE), ETC. THOSE SYMPTOMS HAPPENED WHEN I PULL UP FROM STATIONARY, PUT THE CAR IN REVERSE. CAR WILL ALSO THROW TRANSMISSION ERROR CODE ON DASHBOARD AND PUT IN "LIMP MODE" FROM TIME TO TIME. SINCE IT WAS OUT OF WARRANTY, AUDI QUOTED ME $5800 TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE MECHATRONIC UNIT. MANY THREADS ON THE AUDI FORUM CONFIRM THE ISSUE WAS DUE TO QUALITY CONTROL ON AUDI'S PART, AND AUDI REFUSED TO ISSUE A CALLBACK OR PAY FOR THE EXPENSE FOR OUT-OF-WARRANTY CARS WITH FALUTY 7-SPEED DSG TRANSMISSION.

NHTSA ID

11414578

Incident

Apr 10, 2021

Mileage

40,000 mi

This bulletin provides a statement regarding the bottleneck of supply for VW approved oil types VW 504.00 and VW 507.00.

This bulletin provides informatoinw hent here are scratches or a coating on the cover of the instrument cluster, or particles inside of the housing.

This bulletin provides information when there is a film/visible rings on the clear glass cover of the headlight when the dipped beam is switched on.

This bulletin provides information when there is increased oil consumption; >0.5ltr/1000 km.

This bulletin provides information when there are noises from the area around the instrument cluster.

This bulletin provides informaiton when the engine is not running smoothly, misfiring.