Q7 4.2 TDI - owner reviews and tips sought
Discussion
Finally got round to changing my car after 12 years in a Mercedes CLK 320 (bought new).
What a beast of a car and superb spec, which took a while to find.
2008 (58) Grey metallic, S-Line, 2G MMI High with AMI and DAB, panoramic sunroof, heated front and rear seats, 4 zone climate control, 21 inch alloys, power fold mirrors, advanced parking with camera. 61,000 miles and great service history.
Very happy with it so far but looking to start a thread to share 4.2 TDI owning experiences and create a focused thread about running one and considering upgrades and "tweaks".
First observations and thoughts about improving over time are: -
- Planning on doing around 8,000 to 12,000 motorway miles a year, so may look into the long life service. Let me know if anyone has any experience with this choice
- Upgrading the MMI and maps to 5571 code and 2014 maps (shame that 2G doesn't do full postcode searching)
- Mild chip tuning (Superchips or similar) would like to get some ideas of options.
- The dealer put some of the cheapest tyres on the car, Nangkang AS1, and so far feel OK and a little noisy, so would like to get some recommendations on tyres others use for all year round use. I would typically use a well known brand, so will run these out and change in about a year, assuming they last that long
Thanks in advance for any contributions
Chris
What a beast of a car and superb spec, which took a while to find.
2008 (58) Grey metallic, S-Line, 2G MMI High with AMI and DAB, panoramic sunroof, heated front and rear seats, 4 zone climate control, 21 inch alloys, power fold mirrors, advanced parking with camera. 61,000 miles and great service history.
Very happy with it so far but looking to start a thread to share 4.2 TDI owning experiences and create a focused thread about running one and considering upgrades and "tweaks".
First observations and thoughts about improving over time are: -
- Planning on doing around 8,000 to 12,000 motorway miles a year, so may look into the long life service. Let me know if anyone has any experience with this choice
- Upgrading the MMI and maps to 5571 code and 2014 maps (shame that 2G doesn't do full postcode searching)
- Mild chip tuning (Superchips or similar) would like to get some ideas of options.
- The dealer put some of the cheapest tyres on the car, Nangkang AS1, and so far feel OK and a little noisy, so would like to get some recommendations on tyres others use for all year round use. I would typically use a well known brand, so will run these out and change in about a year, assuming they last that long
Thanks in advance for any contributions
Chris
Quick update.
Current MPG averaging 19MPG to 22MPG (really trying not to hoof it.....too much), mainly town speeds from home to the offices in Chiswick and occasional longer runs and getting up to almost 27MPG, which is quite respectable.
Upgraded the MMI to 5570 code with no issues at all (kept the engine running and didn't touch any other gadgets) which seems to have changed a couple of settings such as convenience open, which no longer does the panoramic sunroof with the windows, nor does it have the option anymore (no real issue). Response seems faster and with the 2014 maps loaded, seems to be a little quicker in dealing with route recalcuation, but maybe that's me wishful thinking.
Connected with Audi Volkswagen Specialists in Leatherhead, which is close to me and has a growing reputation. I want a good place to take my car going forward for service and repairs (should it need any) and they are a family business who seem to know their stuff.
Looking to explore extended warranties with Warrantywise (Quentin Willson endorsed and backed), but the price of around £1100 per year is making me do some more due diligence. If anyone has any experiences with warranty companies for the Q7, please let me know your thoughts.
Forums indicate things such as air suspension and sunroof drains (rear blockages fill the boot with water, where the expensive elecronics reside!) being items to keep an eye on, as well as excessive tyre wear if not checked for tracking and pressure regularly.
Current MPG averaging 19MPG to 22MPG (really trying not to hoof it.....too much), mainly town speeds from home to the offices in Chiswick and occasional longer runs and getting up to almost 27MPG, which is quite respectable.
Upgraded the MMI to 5570 code with no issues at all (kept the engine running and didn't touch any other gadgets) which seems to have changed a couple of settings such as convenience open, which no longer does the panoramic sunroof with the windows, nor does it have the option anymore (no real issue). Response seems faster and with the 2014 maps loaded, seems to be a little quicker in dealing with route recalcuation, but maybe that's me wishful thinking.
Connected with Audi Volkswagen Specialists in Leatherhead, which is close to me and has a growing reputation. I want a good place to take my car going forward for service and repairs (should it need any) and they are a family business who seem to know their stuff.
Looking to explore extended warranties with Warrantywise (Quentin Willson endorsed and backed), but the price of around £1100 per year is making me do some more due diligence. If anyone has any experiences with warranty companies for the Q7, please let me know your thoughts.
Forums indicate things such as air suspension and sunroof drains (rear blockages fill the boot with water, where the expensive elecronics reside!) being items to keep an eye on, as well as excessive tyre wear if not checked for tracking and pressure regularly.
Edited by bridgland on Monday 31st March 17:35
This evening has been a little disturbing. I have found what seems to be a significant oil leak from the engine, just in time for the Easter Weekend, with no one to fix it until next week. I will be getting it up in the air tomorrow to see if I can identify the source as the under tray seems to be covered in oil.
Any suggestions of where to look first would be welcome.
Chris
Any suggestions of where to look first would be welcome.
Chris
So pulled the under-trays off and it turns out the sump plug was leaking and had spread all the way back under the car. Not very impressed as it had apparently just been serviced by the selling dealer (looked like they reused the sump washer). £100 down with all of the oil I had to put back into it (10 litres on the beast) as well as all of the cleaning I had to do. Seems to have fixed the issue, but I am now a little over on the oil level, so will be syphoning some out over the next couple of days.
Chris
Chris
Good information.
Right now I am finding it difficult to get more than 24 mpg on a decent run, however I have been able to get 30 mpg on one run, but I had to really drive gently (almost embarrassingly so). I would like the to pay the same you do for your tyres, but with the 21 inch wheels, I can't get decent ones for less than £250 each corner.
Have you done, or considered a remap for the car to improve the MPG?
Chris
Right now I am finding it difficult to get more than 24 mpg on a decent run, however I have been able to get 30 mpg on one run, but I had to really drive gently (almost embarrassingly so). I would like the to pay the same you do for your tyres, but with the 21 inch wheels, I can't get decent ones for less than £250 each corner.
Have you done, or considered a remap for the car to improve the MPG?
Chris
Edited by bridgland on Wednesday 9th July 22:16
I have been comparing the MPG from the computer display to the receipts I get from each fill up and recording the mileage, which I reset at the time. I also did a significantly different amount of driving conditions, as my job has me going into town, on motoways and country roads (especially when the motorways are congested), so my MPG will vary as you would have expected.
To minimise variances I have tried to fill up with the same fuel, at the same pump, at the same petrol station (only one time at another petrol station).
Interestingly, if I believed the trip computer, I would have been averaging 25.3 MPG, however the calculations from the fill-ups are saying: -
Overall MPG 21.85498955
The lowest MPGs achieved were when I had to go into London for several days, combined with going back out to Reading to the head office.
The last fillup, I drove very conservatively, with no hard acceleration (unless necessary), typically tried to keep the car over 55mph on NSL roads(but withing the speed limit) to get 6th gear engaged and drove whn the traffic was expected to be light.
So you may ask, what this tells anyone, especially me? All in all, the computer is being ambitious with the MPG figures so I can take it as a guide only. When I drive the car fairly hard, or drive in slow moving town/city traffic, I drop from 1.4 MPG up to 3.72MPG respectively, so basically I can feel happy that when I need to go swiftly it's not that bad an effect on overall fuel consumption.
Man Maths Rules!
To minimise variances I have tried to fill up with the same fuel, at the same pump, at the same petrol station (only one time at another petrol station).
Interestingly, if I believed the trip computer, I would have been averaging 25.3 MPG, however the calculations from the fill-ups are saying: -
| Mileometer | Miles | Litres | Gallons | MPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 64078 | 0 | 84.89 | 18.67318949 | N/A |
| 64541 | 463 | 93.86 | 20.64631365 | 22.42531078 |
| 64920 | 379 | 81.44 | 17.91429558 | 21.15628819 |
| 65366 | 446 | 97.29 | 21.40080817 | 20.84033446 |
| 65812 | 446 | 90.34 | 19.87202189 | 22.44361457 |
| 66175 | 363 | 82 | 18.03747836 | 20.12476427 |
| 66678 | 503 | 95.9 | 21.09505091 | 23.84445537 |
Overall MPG 21.85498955
The lowest MPGs achieved were when I had to go into London for several days, combined with going back out to Reading to the head office.
The last fillup, I drove very conservatively, with no hard acceleration (unless necessary), typically tried to keep the car over 55mph on NSL roads(but withing the speed limit) to get 6th gear engaged and drove whn the traffic was expected to be light.
So you may ask, what this tells anyone, especially me? All in all, the computer is being ambitious with the MPG figures so I can take it as a guide only. When I drive the car fairly hard, or drive in slow moving town/city traffic, I drop from 1.4 MPG up to 3.72MPG respectively, so basically I can feel happy that when I need to go swiftly it's not that bad an effect on overall fuel consumption.
Man Maths Rules!
Edited by bridgland on Monday 7th July 14:13
Edited by bridgland on Friday 11th July 08:48
Interesting on the tyres.
The cheapies I have on the car are showing signs of the torque effect, with the leading edge of each block rasing up (I have reduced the amount of hoofing I do now). I have now done some 5,000 miles since geting the car and a lot of these out of town thankfully and expect to get at least another 7K to 10K out of them, based on how they are wearing today. I may well look at Dunlops next time round as they were always good on my other cars and had a longer than normal lifespan. It is always down to "better the devil you know" with me, unless I can gt a superb recommendation.
The cheapies I have on the car are showing signs of the torque effect, with the leading edge of each block rasing up (I have reduced the amount of hoofing I do now). I have now done some 5,000 miles since geting the car and a lot of these out of town thankfully and expect to get at least another 7K to 10K out of them, based on how they are wearing today. I may well look at Dunlops next time round as they were always good on my other cars and had a longer than normal lifespan. It is always down to "better the devil you know" with me, unless I can gt a superb recommendation.
I just put an order in for the load area securing system, which the Audi dealerships had issues finding on their systems. If anyone has the running rails down the sides of the load area, you can order the kits using the following part numbers
4L0860378D = £55.24 + vat for telescopic rail
4L0860378C = £55.24 + vat for the fabric strap
Latest update.
Just bought some refurbished 20" Q7 V12 10 Spoke Alloys. Why? Slightly smaller alloy, slightly better ride/road noise, a "little" less chance to scuff up, but the same 10 inch width and a broader choice of tyres. Going to run the cheap Nangkang tyres out before I swap the wheels. Looking to go with Michelin Latitude Sport 3.
I will be replacing the 21 Inch alloys which look lovely (same as below), but have all been scuffed now and I wanted a slightly better ride, so if anyone wants a set of alloys, in their current state (they will all need refurbishing), then make me an offer before I put them on eBay, and I might swap them sooner. 21 inch, 10J, ET44 offset
Also, with the cold weather, I noticed that as the car is warming up and I stop in traffic, I get a massive smell of Diesel fumes through the car. I have turned off the supplemental heating and the smell has stopped. With heated seats front and back, it isn't too much of an issue with it taking a little longer to warm up the interior, but it is certainly concerning that such a stink can come through. Anyone else suffer from this?
Still loving the car.
Just bought some refurbished 20" Q7 V12 10 Spoke Alloys. Why? Slightly smaller alloy, slightly better ride/road noise, a "little" less chance to scuff up, but the same 10 inch width and a broader choice of tyres. Going to run the cheap Nangkang tyres out before I swap the wheels. Looking to go with Michelin Latitude Sport 3.
I will be replacing the 21 Inch alloys which look lovely (same as below), but have all been scuffed now and I wanted a slightly better ride, so if anyone wants a set of alloys, in their current state (they will all need refurbishing), then make me an offer before I put them on eBay, and I might swap them sooner. 21 inch, 10J, ET44 offset
Also, with the cold weather, I noticed that as the car is warming up and I stop in traffic, I get a massive smell of Diesel fumes through the car. I have turned off the supplemental heating and the smell has stopped. With heated seats front and back, it isn't too much of an issue with it taking a little longer to warm up the interior, but it is certainly concerning that such a stink can come through. Anyone else suffer from this?
Still loving the car.
Adrian E said:
I've noted aux heaters seem to have more issues with supermarket fuels than the premium brands - might be something to consider if you fill up at Tesco etc?
That won't be the cause as have only ever filled it up once at a cheaper fill-up. I generally only fill up at Shell, with their V-Power Diesel if possible.Edited by bridgland on Thursday 11th December 06:47
MPG Rolling Update
Overall MPG currently 22.09MPG, still mixing town and motorway/dual carriageway driving at sensible speeds
| Mileometer | Miles | Litres | Gallons | MPG |
| 64078 | 0 | 84.89 | 18.67318949 | |
| 64541 | 463 | 93.86 | 20.64631365 | 22.42531078 |
| 64920 | 379 | 81.44 | 17.91429558 | 21.15628819 |
| 65366 | 446 | 97.29 | 21.40080817 | 20.84033446 |
| 65812 | 446 | 90.34 | 19.87202189 | 22.44361457 |
| 66175 | 363 | 82 | 18.03747836 | 20.12476427 |
| 66678 | 503 | 95.9 | 21.09505091 | 23.84445537 |
| 67108 | 430 | 91.73 | 20.17777915 | 21.31057124 |
| 67564 | 456 | 91.79 | 20.1909773 | 22.58434514 |
| 68043 | 479 | 93.26 | 20.5143321 | 23.34952938 |
| 68530 | 487 | 93.02 | 20.46153948 | 23.8007507 |
| 69059 | 529 | 98.6 | 21.68896788 | 24.39028002 |
| 69536 | 477 | 93.12 | 20.4835364 | 23.28699452 |
| 69972 | 436 | 90.91 | 19.99740436 | 21.80282961 |
| 70405 | 433 | 96.57 | 21.24243031 | 20.3837317 |
| 70833 | 428 | 92.92 | 20.43954255 | 20.93980327 |
| 71336 | 503 | 96.55 | 21.23803092 | 23.68392822 |
| 71774 | 438 | 87.83 | 19.31989908 | 22.67092588 |
| 72157 | 383 | 80.64 | 17.73832018 | 21.5916725 |
| 72513 | 356 | 80.35 | 17.6745291 | 20.14197934 |
| 72889 | 376 | 78.8 | 17.33357677 | 21.69200305 |
| 73298 | 409 | 92.04 | 20.24596961 | 20.20155161 |
| 73726 | 428 | 89.85 | 19.76423696 | 21.65527568 |
| 74140 | 414 | 81.81 | 17.9956842 | 23.00551595 |
Overall MPG currently 22.09MPG, still mixing town and motorway/dual carriageway driving at sensible speeds
Latest on Supplemental Heating option, which helps speed up the warming of the heating system in the car. As explained, the exhaust of this exits under the passenger wheel arch/footwell. When running it puts out a really pungent smell of unburnt diesel and if you stop in traffic while it is still active, it comes into the car through the ventilation. There are several discussions on the web about it. The simplest way to overcome the smell, is to disable it in the ventilation settings, but it then means that it takes a while for the interior of the car to heat up. The next simplest thing to do is to put the recirculation on until the car has reached normal operating temperature, then turn off recirculation. For the last few days I have taken this approach and it seems to work without an issue and the fumes stay outside the car.
So the auxiliary heater finally packed up.
Now for the fun part about the cost for replacing it. It's £1050 for a new unit. Apparently, you can't just go to a Webasto reseller/repairer as the unit is coded to the Audi and cannot be pulled from another model of car......it has to be a Q7. I have found one on EBay for £200, which looks good and comes from a 2010 car. All the research I have done has told me that this will work. Got it booked in to be changed on the 13th (Friday)......wish me luck!
Now for the fun part about the cost for replacing it. It's £1050 for a new unit. Apparently, you can't just go to a Webasto reseller/repairer as the unit is coded to the Audi and cannot be pulled from another model of car......it has to be a Q7. I have found one on EBay for £200, which looks good and comes from a 2010 car. All the research I have done has told me that this will work. Got it booked in to be changed on the 13th (Friday)......wish me luck!
MulsanneKinky said:
Just joined ‘the club’. Delighted to find this thread. I’m a big Audi advocate and also run a Mk.1 TT 1.8l as my daily shuttle. Check out my thread under Big Mileage Log if at all interested.
The Q7 is absolutely epic. I picked it up last week from a dealer in Hartlepool. A long up there from Kent but worth the trawl. 86k miles so only just about run in.
Amazing spec. Beautiful S-Line presentation. The previous owners ticked a lot of upgrade boxes.
The 2G MMI is showing it’s age but I have managed to bypass lack of Bluetooth music streaming capability with a cigarette plug in gadget you wouldn’t even know was in the car. Not even the slightest of hisses and it blends in brilliantly with the Bose sound system.
A few gremlins to iron out. A slight fault with the handbrake sensor which can fool the car into believe the brake has not been deactivated. I’ve got the part and a fix lined up. Faulty driver heated seat which is a bigger issue so just waiting on diagnosis and likely bill. Expecting that to sting.
Put all this aside and I am absolutely thrilled. A huge amount of car for the money (just over £11k).
- Bluetooth module needed replacing
- Auxiliary heater that I got secondhand to replace the old one that failed, which worked perfectly and is already being called on now the weather has turned cooler.
- A hole in the air con condenser
- Most recently the oil level sensor and pressure switch, but the sensor is a sump off replacement.
If I had to replace it, I really can't think of another car to consider, as I need the space occasionally with a motorbike restoration underway and eldest at university, so my days of going smaller are still a while away.
I Still have mine and it has been a superb car. Obviously people give it a bit of a sneer occasionally, but with everything it has in it, I wouldn't find another car with the same spec for what I would be able to get if I sold it. Youngest going to Cardiff university, so it will be put back into relocation service without a doubt.
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