28 complaints reported

2018 Audi Q7 Engine

Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.

Reports
28
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

Sep 2026

The car has always (including during warranty period) required addition of engine oil in between scheduled maintenance interval, and problem got worse as function of age/miles. Audi has diagnosed this issue and it has been determined that the engine consumes excessive oil and requires new piston skirt. The cost of the labor is not something Audi is willing to pay for and there is a class action lawsuit. Audi has sent an email/letter to certain owners of the vehicle. My VIN for some reason wasn't included but now Audi has verified, but not willing to pay for the cost to replace the engine or fix it.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 AUDI Q7, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Feb 2020
Apr 2026

Excessive oil consumption and potential for engine to blow up

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 AUDI Q7, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Jan 2020
Nov 2025

2018 Audi Q7 piston melting diagnosed by a certified mechanic due to excessive oil consumption due to defective pistons. A class action suit was filed. And a warranty extension extension issued. There is no record of a warranty extension and should be. Please advise

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 AUDI Q7, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Jan 2025
Nov 2025

This vehicle developed low oil alerts within 6 weeks of me receiving it with normal city driving. Multiple testing visits and comprehensive consumption testing later, it continued to have the low oil alerts very frequently and various random malfunction alerts like parking brake alert etc. For each complaint I took it to the dealership and did whatever they recommended but no eventual resolution was found. Early October this year, in the middle of traffic multiple alerts came on including drive system malfunction, parking brake malfunction and start stop malfunction. So many that the whole console just lit up and the car started rocking in the middle of traffic and I had to slow down to keep the vehicle in control. The car was rocking visibly and I had difficulty in maneuvering it to a safe location . I contacted the dealership and they gave me an appointment 4 weeks out saying that since the lights were solid and not flashing I could choose to drive the car. However it didn’t look safe to drive so I didn’t use it thereafter. They later told me after a diagnostic evaluation that the engine needed to be replaced as the slapping piston rings had scraped the cylinder walls.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 AUDI Q7, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Jun 2025
Nov 2025

Catastrophic engine failure, this occurred 2 weeks after a service appointment where nothing was detected. The car only had 86,000 miles and it is unrepairable. We have now found that this could be due to a design flaw in this model which we were unaware of.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 AUDI Q7, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Dec 2025
Nov 2025

I am reporting a progressive oil consumption defect that led to a catastrophic engine failure in my 2018 Audi Q7. The vehicle was purchased Certified Pre-Owned (CPO). I reported the excessive oil use to an Audi dealer. The dealer attempted to address the issue by performing an engine cleaning/flush, but the engine failed shortly afterwards. Over time, the vehicle required frequent top-offs between service intervals. Eventually, the engine suffered a mechanical failure, resulting in a broken exhaust valve and internal engine damage while driving on the highway. The Audi dealer provided a repair estimate of approximately $12,000. Audi of America offered 40% assistance to make the repair, but does not recognize the underlying excessive oil consumption issue. Furthermore, the proposed repair only replaces the damaged valve and related components, but does not address the underlying excessive oil consumption that caused the failure. This means the vehicle may still: •unexpectedly run low on oil, •lose power while driving, •suffer additional internal damage, or •again experience sudden engine failure while driving. These conditions can cause dangerous drivability issues, including loss of acceleration and potential stalling at highway speeds. This appears to be a serious safety-related defect involving lubrication failure, component breakage, and potential loss of power. I am requesting that NHTSA review this issue to determine whether similar failures are occurring in other Audi Q7 vehicles with the 3.0T engine.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 AUDI Q7, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Oct 2025
Oct 2025

#1 CYLINDER LOST COMPRESSION CAUSING CAR TO ALMOST IMMEDIATELY STOP WHILE DRIVING 78MPH ON THE INTERSTATE. CAR WAS TOWED BACK TO MANUFACTURER WHERE I BOUGHT THE CAR. THE CAR 2018 AUDI Q7 HAS 68,000 MILES, ALL SERVICING OF VEHICLE WAS DONE AT DEALERSHIP WHERE I BOUGHT THE CAR. NEVER ANY PROBLEMS WITH ENGINE EXCEPT THE OCCASIONAL NEED FOR ENGINE OIL REQUIRING BEING TOPPED OFF.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 AUDI Q7, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Mar 2025
Oct 2025

First time on highway since getting it back from the car repair vendor two days prior. Drive system malfunction occurred on the highway drive approx.13 miles from my house. Car lost power and would stall and would barely idle. Stopped in the middle of highway traffic 3 times. Got the car towed to vendor that had serviced my car 2 days prior which involved changing rear brake pads and rotors, 6 supercharged spark plugs and air filter. Estimate of issue was damaged exhaust valves on cylinder 2 & 4. Recommended service was remove the cylinder heads, replace all exhaust valves, clean pistons and combustion chambers $8,032.99.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 AUDI Q7, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Aug 2025
Jun 2025

This is a well known issue and multiple People have reported on this issue to Audi. It’s is very common in Audi Q7 models from the year 2017 - 2023 where the PCV valve have a defect and the marker on the front passenger and driver side lights as well are out. These are both very costly repairs that are thousands of dollars that truly hurt the consumer. They know that the 3.0 L engine had a severe problem with the PCV valve and crack case and they have not warned customers and it’s truly hurting the consumer in this economy. Please file this petition and I bet customers flock as I saw a Reddit thread with thousands of people complaining about the same common issue and problem with their Audi Q7. CRANK CASE VALVE/OIL SEPARATOR. LOUD WHISTLE NOISE COMING FROM ENGINE Parts: BOLT, Qty 14.00, CA TRIM, Qty 1.00, CA REPAIR KIT, Qty 6.00, CA GASKET, Qty 6.00, CA GASKET, Qty 6.00, CA TUBE, Qty 1.00, CA TUBE, Qty 1.00, CA WASHER, Qty 1.00, CA

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 AUDI Q7, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Jun 2025
May 2025

Water pump failure

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 AUDI Q7, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: May 2025
May 2025

The vehicle developed a misfire on cylinder 1. The dealership ran a 3 hour diagnostic that included using a borescope on all cylinders. One of the valves on cylinder 1 was identified as bad. The dealership indicated the only solution was to replace the engine and suggested trading the vehicle in for a new car.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 AUDI Q7, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: May 2025
Apr 2025

Engine Rebuild/Replace: Cylinder 1 intake valve has broken causing misfire/ oil consumption. Due to piece of valve falling into combustion chamber, damage/scoring on cylinder wall. Recommend replacement of engine

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 AUDI Q7, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Mar 2025
Mar 2025

For over 24+ months now, the engine has been showing signs of excessive oil consumption. I've had the engine light come on requesting for me to add a quart of oil...on average, every 2,000 miles. I'm concerned with this excessive oil consumption as it is a major safety issue, as the piston rings may fail due to a possible faulty engine design (most likely since this excessive oil consumption is a frequent occurrence with other drivers of this vehicle). When discussed with the dealership, they are aware of the situation (2017-2019 Audi Q7 excessive oil consumption) and they request that I pay for an engine compression test. This amount of oil consumption shouldn't happen.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 AUDI Q7, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Mar 2025
Mar 2025

The engine burns oil. At about 60k miles started to burn about a liter every 10k miles. Once the engine got to about 80K engines it started burning a leter about every 1K miles. The high amount of oil consumption fouled the spark plugs, coils, injectors and sensors. This resulted in a drive system malfunction, caused loss of power in the engine that ultimately ruined the engine with less than 100K miles.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 AUDI Q7, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Feb 2025
Nov 2024

Valve three burnt causing engine failure and replacement

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 AUDI Q7, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Oct 2024
Oct 2024

We were driving down the expressway when the car began to vibrate. We pulled over and had lights on the dash. We had it towed to a dealership where it was diagnosed as a burnt valve and ruined motor. I believe a new Audi engine quote was around $26,000. We took very good care of this car. This is a common issue and will become more common as these engines fail.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 AUDI Q7, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Oct 2024
Jun 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Audi Q7. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the low oil warning light illuminated. In addition, the contact stated that the oil level was topped off every 700 miles. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a failed piston and excessive oil consumption. The contact was informed that the piston needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 75,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 AUDI Q7, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Feb 2023
Mar 2024

Noticed a lower level of coolant (below the MIN mark) at the coolant reservoir - checked with mechanic and was told there is a slow coolant leak at the one of the water pump seals (which has corroded). Need a water pump replacement. Was told it is a very common occurence with these cars - but was surprised to experience this issue on a car with less than 20K miles driven.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 AUDI Q7, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Mar 2024
Feb 2024

I have received two "cylinder misfire" notifications. The first occured in December 2023 on a remote stretch of freeway. The second occured in June 2024 on a remote stretch of highway. In both cases, I immediately lost power and put myself and cars around me at risk because I had to pull over onto the side of the road to re-start the car. After the second incident, I now have no confidence in taking my car, only 6 years old and with 74K miles on it, out of the city and into the countryside. The symptoms of this issue include frequent oil burn / oil top-offs. My car requires a quart of oil every 200-300 miles. There are no leaks in my driveway. The leaking all seems to be coming from the cylinders. I am taking my Q7 into a mechanic, again, next week and I am concerns the solution will be "new engine" which costs more than the car is worth.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 AUDI Q7, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Dec 2023
Jan 2024

We have had major problems with our 2018 Audi Q7 that are consistent with allegations made in various lawsuits against Audi and Volkswagen Group of America for alleged defects with Audi piston rings and piston ring assemblies. The defects have purportedly caused excessive oil consumption, engine damage, and engine failure. As noted in one such lawsuit (that apparently settled), the engine failure caused by the defective Audi piston ring and piston assemblies could result in sudden loss of power to the engine. “It goes without saying that a sudden loss of power poses a clear-cut safety risk—it can prevent the driver from accelerating, maintaining speed, and even adequately controlling the steering wheel, engaging the brakes, all of which drastically increase the risk of collisions …” [XXX] v. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. {XXX]) The problem with our Audi is consistent with the reports by plaintiffs in these lawsuits, as well as other Audi owners—including Q7s—who have shared their experiences online. Starting at around 60,000 miles, our vehicle increasingly consumed oil until eventually, we needed to add a quart of oil less than every 600 miles. And that’s despite our: 1) having followed all of the required oil change and other related maintenance standards published by Audi; and 2) having replaced the car’s CCV valve and PCV breather, which we were told sometimes corrects the problem. Most recently, in December 2023, I was driving with my children in the vehicle, and the engine started sputtering and laboring. Then the check engine light appeared. I was able to drive the car home but have been advised that, in order to make the car drivable, we’d have to replace the engine. Obviously, even if we have the engine replaced, the rebuilt Audi engine could have the same problems. Given the risk that the affected Audi engines will fail in vehicles traveling at high speeds on U.S. highways, the NHTSA should investigate this matter immediately. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 AUDI Q7, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Dec 2023
Apr 2023

While driving, car stops and message " Drive System:Malfunction! Please Contact Service" comes on along with check engine light and message indicator.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 AUDI Q7, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Apr 2023
Jan 2023

Water pump failure. This can lead to catstrophic engine failure if not addressed. Dealer has confirmed the failure. No fault codes appeared in any scans. Only warning signs were rapid coolant loss & the smell of burning coolant.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 AUDI Q7, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Feb 2022
Dec 2022

Engine coolant leak reported only at around 30K miles. Leak detected and fixed at owners cost.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 AUDI Q7, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Dec 2022
Aug 2022

At approx 56,600 miles I received a low engine coolant error on my vehicle. Upon inspection, all engine coolant was gone from the tank. Engine coolant was refilled by me at home. The next day, I received a low oil error on my vehicle. Upon inspection, the oil was below the minimum level. 1 quart of oil was added to my vehicle and we promptly took the vehicle in for inspection as this did not seem like a coincidence. Upon inspection at Motor City Euro Repair, it was noted that the water pump was leaking causing the engine coolant and oil levels to decrease. Water pump replacement required, which should typically not be a required repair until 100,000 miles. Audi is aware of this issue, but no recall has been made. There is also a class action lawsuit for this issue, but the 2018 Q7 Prestige 3.0 is not part of the vehicles in the suit. Total cost of repair was $1,375 as the vehicle is 6,600 miles out of warranty. Again, this is a know Volkswagen/Audi issue and Audi US is not recalling.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 AUDI Q7, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Dec 2022
May 2022

I purchased car July 2nd 2021 with 74956 miles, I just had it towed to audi do to coolant level light coming on. I purchased extended warranty at time of purchase and though this would be covered but was told warranty only covers water pump not the thermostat. Now they are demanding over 2100 to fix. I have seen several other audi owners that have experienced similar issues and believe this could be a dangerous to the owners especially when going on a long trip which my leave you stranded.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 AUDI Q7, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: May 2022

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Quick Summary

The 2018 Audi Q7 has 28 Engine complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.