Q7 Ownership Question

Hi All,

I have been looking for a good vehicle replacement for my wife's 2011 VW Routan and I came across the Audi Q7 TDI and I got really interested in this one especially at the prices that I am seeing. I just purchased a 2013 Passat TDI and would love to add another TDI to our fleet.

I wanted to see what your all's experience has been with the maintenance of these vehicles? I have heard they chew through tires, although that seems to be due to soft OEM tires and can be remedied with less sporty/more durable tires. The one thing that did catch my attention though is the amount of brakes this thing can go through (reportedly) and I'd hate to have to replace rotors/pads every 20K miles. Are there any other things I should be aware of as well? I understand this is a luxury type vehicle and know that the maintenance will be higher but I wanted to make sure I understood what I could potentially be getting myself into.

Thanks for any help!

mattbevans said:

Hi All,

I have been looking for a good vehicle replacement for my wife's 2011 VW Routan and I came across the Audi Q7 TDI and I got really interested in this one especially at the prices that I am seeing. I just purchased a 2013 Passat TDI and would love to add another TDI to our fleet.

I wanted to see what your all's experience has been with the maintenance of these vehicles? I have heard they chew through tires, although that seems to be due to soft OEM tires and can be remedied with less sporty/more durable tires. The one thing that did catch my attention though is the amount of brakes this thing can go through (reportedly) and I'd hate to have to replace rotors/pads every 20K miles. Are there any other things I should be aware of as well? I understand this is a luxury type vehicle and know that the maintenance will be higher but I wanted to make sure I understood what I could potentially be getting myself into.

Thanks for any help!

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We bought one at 42k'ish miles and have 62k miles now. Luckily the 45k service was included with the vehicle, because I think someone bought Audi Care or something like that.

We replaced the tires at 57k miles, but no idea how many miles were on the originals. We did replace the brakes and rotors at 55k miles, and again, no idea if this was the first time they been done or not.

My This is over 10 years ago, but my sister had an 07 Touareg and supposedly my brother in law complained about changing the brakes and rotors every 20k miles that he had her get rid of it, lol. She did lots driving, and most of it was in the city.

When we replaced the tires at 57k miles I went with Pirelli Scorpion Verde All Season Plus II. The ones we replaced were the original Scorpion Verde's, and I kinda liked them. Right now I'm really liking the Verde II's. We just rotated them at 62k miles and they still have tons of tread left. My wife isn't driving as much as she used to, but I'm hoping the brakes, rotors, and tires last much more than 20k miles.

My brother in law did the brakes and rotors for us for free. He said he thought he'd never have to deal with this again, and told my wife to not drive as much, LOL!

Audi services are super expensive if you go to the dealer. I'm only taking it to them while the car is under the TDI warranty, but two services cost us $1,300. I can do the oil and stuff, but I think the 55k service said something about the brake fluid or something, so I told her to just take it to them. After the 65k service I'm kind of tempted to just do it myself since I have a VCDS scanner. I'm sure the oil is easy, and the transmission doesn't need to be changed out as much as my 2015 Passat TDI.

It's an awesome vehicle. I'll keep you updated about the brakes/rotors, but like I said, my wife doesn't drive as much as she used to, so it might be a while before we reach the 20k mark that they've been put on.