Q5 3.0 TDI problems after fix need performance upgrade

donavonknight

Member
Joined
Mar 13, 2006
Location
Spring Hill, TN
TDI
2014 Audi Q5 3.0 TDI
So I have a 2014 Audi Q5. I had the fix done and both the gas mileage and performance seem to be getting worse. It is so bad my wife has noticed.

Is anyone doing performance upgrades after the fix that work?

Is anyone else having issues.
 

740GLE

Top Post Dawg
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Aug 19, 2009
Location
NH
TDI
2015 Passat SEL, 2017 Alltrack SE; BB 2010 Sedan Man; 2012 Passat,
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donavonknight

Member
Joined
Mar 13, 2006
Location
Spring Hill, TN
TDI
2014 Audi Q5 3.0 TDI
Had it for several months

I have had it for several months. The mpg and performance have gotten to the point that my wife wants to know if it can be fixed. We purchased the care because it offered both.


I have reached out to Malone and waiting to hear back.
 

DanB36

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 13, 2003
Location
Savannah, GA
TDI
2014 Q5 Prestige TDI, Monsoon Gray
The discrepancy is interesting--I also have a 2014 Q5 TDI, and had the fix done in late April. Since then, I've put nearly 10k miles on the car, mileage hasn't changed in the least, and I haven't noticed a difference in performance either. Shift points are higher, especially when cold, but "when cold" doesn't last long at all. Strange to see that the result isn't more uniform.
 

donavonknight

Member
Joined
Mar 13, 2006
Location
Spring Hill, TN
TDI
2014 Audi Q5 3.0 TDI
We use to get mpgs in the 30s. Now it has gotten as low as 27mpg. Where we could confidently pull out in traffic now is a noticeable hesitation and lack of overall power. I have read a little about Malone Tuning but I want to make sure it will increase both the mpg and performance. I’m still waiting to hear from them.

Has anyone else had the tune done after the fix was completed?
 

Mythdoc

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Jan 28, 2017
Location
Tennessee
TDI
2011 Touareg, 2015 Q5, 2015 Golf
We use to get mpgs in the 30s. Now it has gotten as low as 27mpg. Where we could confidently pull out in traffic now is a noticeable hesitation and lack of overall power. I have read a little about Malone Tuning but I want to make sure it will increase both the mpg and performance. I’m still waiting to hear from them.

Has anyone else had the tune done after the fix was completed?


I’d guess you have a problem unrelated to the fix.
 

740GLE

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Location
NH
TDI
2015 Passat SEL, 2017 Alltrack SE; BB 2010 Sedan Man; 2012 Passat,
how many miles on the Q5, service history of the car?

Also is the driving the same? mostly highway or mostly around town/city traffic?

While the MPG drop is 3MPG that could be touted to bigger rims/stickier tires of your set up vs someone elses Q5.
 
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donavonknight

Member
Joined
Mar 13, 2006
Location
Spring Hill, TN
TDI
2014 Audi Q5 3.0 TDI
It has just over 65k and all service has been performed at the dealer. I’ll tried to look for boost leaks but I have not found anything loose or leaking so far.
 

dyehead

Active member
Joined
May 11, 2017
Location
Los Angeles
TDI
2013 Q7 Prestige
I had a 2013 Q7 TDI and here's what I can say about it:

Audi service knows the performance and MPG are worse. They just can't say it verbally or put it in writing. I only got apologetic looks from the lead technician at my dealership every time I complained and a sigh saying that he can't do anything but follow Audi's mandates.

They counted on TDI owners to not be car people - Soccer moms, luxury sedan owners etc who typically don't know what the 'feel' of the car should be, or get used to the 'new normal' quickly. It's possible that if you put them in a fixed version and then a pre-fixed version they may not even notice the difference.

That and I live in the foothills at about 1600 ft of elevation which makes it much more obvious on a daily basis. People who live in relatively flat areas won't feel it as often. I went from averaging 23+mpg combined to 18 on an average week with about 250 miles 40/60 local + freeway

I seriously considered a Malone tune but was worried about maintenance costs on a 5-10 year old German SUV should something go wrong.

I ended up trading mine in for a Tesla and I don't regret it. Good luck, hopefully you find a way to make it bearable. I went half a year trying to accept it and had enough.
 

donavonknight

Member
Joined
Mar 13, 2006
Location
Spring Hill, TN
TDI
2014 Audi Q5 3.0 TDI
We have considered getting something else but my wife custom ordered her Q5 really liked it.



We are now hesitant to pull out in heavy traffic let alone try to pass on a two lane road. We went from getting over 32 mpg to around 27 mpg.



I have talked with Malone and seriously considering the tune.
 

dunerking

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2009
Location
Saugus,Ca
TDI
04 Jetta TDI
I had a 2013 Q7 TDI and here's what I can say about it:
Audi service knows the performance and MPG are worse. They just can't say it verbally or put it in writing. I only got apologetic looks from the lead technician at my dealership every time I complained and a sigh saying that he can't do anything but follow Audi's mandates.
They counted on TDI owners to not be car people - Soccer moms, luxury sedan owners etc who typically don't know what the 'feel' of the car should be, or get used to the 'new normal' quickly. It's possible that if you put them in a fixed version and then a pre-fixed version they may not even notice the difference.
That and I live in the foothills at about 1600 ft of elevation which makes it much more obvious on a daily basis. People who live in relatively flat areas won't feel it as often. I went from averaging 23+mpg combined to 18 on an average week with about 250 miles 40/60 local + freeway
I seriously considered a Malone tune but was worried about maintenance costs on a 5-10 year old German SUV should something go wrong.
I ended up trading mine in for a Tesla and I don't regret it. Good luck, hopefully you find a way to make it bearable. I went half a year trying to accept it and had enough.
Great feedback...I'm considering doing the same for our 13 Cayenne diesel...love the vehicle but since the fix the noticeable decrease in MPG and loss of power with strange shifting patterns has me wanting to tune it. But I'd rather not void the warranty,so the Tesla conversion has been brought up. Which model Tesla did u go with?
 

Zawurah

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 2, 2018
Location
The Morning Star
TDI
3.0
My Q5 gets much worse mileage after the fix, and AdBlue usage has gone up a lot.

My A8L has the fix, and it's terrible!

AdBlue usage is now double (dealer was the one who first told me...when I was picking up after getting fixed).

The engine is noticably down on power (especially low end torque, which is the crown that diesels hold).

Engine has harsh idle after starting up.

Engine is much louder (especially on first start).

Overall, it's a real mess. I hate bringing it to the dealer, because they give me a crummy A4 or some other turkey, and can't seem to figure out what's wrong (it's the fix!!)
 

KITEWAGON

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Joined
Jun 29, 2009
Location
Seacoast, NH
TDI
2014 Touareg Exec, 2014 JSW
I have talked with Malone and seriously considering the tune.
Makes sense to me. You lose the warranty, but get the car back to the way that you like it. And you have lots of extra $ in your pocket should something go wrong. I'd tune it now and delete it eventually if the urea system acts up.


I am not the primary driver of our Treg. I have to admit that it still feels powerful to me. Urea consumption has definitely gone up and mileage has gone down. Both to be expected. I don't know if I'll eventually tune it or not. My wife doesn't really need to drive any faster than she already does.
 

dyehead

Active member
Joined
May 11, 2017
Location
Los Angeles
TDI
2013 Q7 Prestige
Great feedback...I'm considering doing the same for our 13 Cayenne diesel...love the vehicle but since the fix the noticeable decrease in MPG and loss of power with strange shifting patterns has me wanting to tune it. But I'd rather not void the warranty,so the Tesla conversion has been brought up. Which model Tesla did u go with?
We ended up with the S 75D, Silver, White Interior, EAP, Carbon fiber. Considered the X 75D but based on a few factors and that the S is "big enough" it was the logical choice. May get an X in a couple of years when my Alfa lease is up just to have extra room for passengers.

I'll warn you though - don't test drive a Tesla if you're not ready to buy one. You'll just set yourself up for massive disappointment when you get back into your 'fixed' diesel. The instant torque is addicting.

Funnily enough when the Tesla sales guy came to my house to give me a test drive (yes they do that, and in a P100D) after he left my Q7 refused to start up. Had to get a new battery. I think it knew it was destined for a used car lot and didn't want to leave the garage or give up its spot.
 

gkstar

New member
Joined
Feb 27, 2018
Location
Canada
TDI
Q5
Great feedback...I'm considering doing the same for our 13 Cayenne diesel...love the vehicle but since the fix the noticeable decrease in MPG and loss of power with strange shifting patterns has me wanting to tune it. But I'd rather not void the warranty,so the Tesla conversion has been brought up. Which model Tesla did u go with?
Why not go for the new all electric Audi SUV coming soon? They are taking pre-orders and specs are rather impressive!

https://www.audiusa.com/models/audi-e-tron
 
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flargabarg

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 31, 2005
TDI
2011 Touareg Lux TDI
We ended up with the S 75D, Silver, White Interior, EAP, Carbon fiber. Considered the X 75D but based on a few factors and that the S is "big enough" it was the logical choice. May get an X in a couple of years when my Alfa lease is up just to have extra room for passengers.
I'll warn you though - don't test drive a Tesla if you're not ready to buy one. You'll just set yourself up for massive disappointment when you get back into your 'fixed' diesel. The instant torque is addicting.
Funnily enough when the Tesla sales guy came to my house to give me a test drive (yes they do that, and in a P100D) after he left my Q7 refused to start up. Had to get a new battery. I think it knew it was destined for a used car lot and didn't want to leave the garage or give up its spot.
Did you drive the X? Because I drove both and that's how I ended up an X90D. You are totally right that you should never drive one if you have the means to afford one, unless you are ready to buy.
 

dyehead

Active member
Joined
May 11, 2017
Location
Los Angeles
TDI
2013 Q7 Prestige
Did you drive the X? Because I drove both and that's how I ended up an X90D. You are totally right that you should never drive one if you have the means to afford one, unless you are ready to buy.
We didn't drive the X. Looking back we probably should have just to avoid future "we should have" conversations but I was pretty set on shifting to a car smaller than the Q7 for a while.

We'll look at it again in a couple of years but I try and wait a while before investing in a new(ish) model and with all of the fit/finish issues I kind of led with the S. The extra ~10-15k on the price tag also helped with that choice too I guess :)
 

flargabarg

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 31, 2005
TDI
2011 Touareg Lux TDI
The Y is coming soon, and without the silly doors I would expect it to be much more reliable and sensible. Probably good to wait if you wanted smaller, too.
 

MPMN

Member
Joined
Apr 14, 2018
Location
MN
TDI
A8L TDI
Q5 seems ok

So i have a '14 A8L TDI and am waiting till the last moment to get the final fix on it. However because I like diesels so much i just bought a used '15 Q5 tdi. Since i have not driven a "fixed" audi tdi yet, when i test drove this Q5(its had final fix done) i found it fine to drive so we bought it. Its for my kids to go to/from school and had 36k miles on it. For the first tank it got almost 28mpg which i was pleased with since it was mainly to/from school city driving and we live in MN which means its cold here. I havent really noticed any issues that Ive read about, however i never drove a pre-fix Q5 tdi, so we are happy at this point.
 

Uberhare

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 3, 2006
Location
Ontario, Canada
TDI
Too many.
If you read the Audi warranty doc, it explains the MPG will decrease by about 1.4L/100K and adblue usage increases by 40%.
 
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