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Spent the morning tuning up my Q7. Did plugs, Coils, Oil, Filter, Air Filter, flushed brake system with new brake fluid and topped off the power steering fluid. And it still runs. And it's almost paid off.
It has 54000 miles on it. I did new brakes last year, but probably needs new rear rotors (did front rotors before). Wonder when the cam tensioners are going to s(*& the bed on me?
Clips on the coils are easy when they are not stuck.....so 1/2 were stuck.....LOL.
Passenger Side requires moving the Air intake and the rear most coil is a bit tighter to get out due to a rather stiff coolant line just in the way.
Brake Calipers have two drain points each front and rear (rear surprised me) as these are pretty nice brakes.
Oil drain plug in PITA location. My M5 has small circular hand screw out cover to get at the plug. Q7 has typical Audi under pain PITA cover. It was better this time since I was prepared. When I did it last year I had to figure out a way to direct the oil, used a dust pan with open handle. Worked great.
Oil Filter easy enough on top of the engine, just good to have the correct sized socket (bought one last time I did an oil change).
My power steering is noisy, as it has been for a few years. I was told that was normal? Sure.
Listen closely now, doc, if you'd bought the TDI version, all you'd be doing is changing oil, brake fluid and maybe some filters depending on your timeline for those items. Not much to do on the TDI engines except feed them clean, low-sulphur diesel and change the oil every 10K. As a perk, the TDI has much better torque and significantly better MPG and off the line performance vs the gas engines, and you really cannot tell it's a diesel from inside the car; very quiet and no smoke or stink. I just picked up a 2015 TDI Prestige S-Line and drove it back 1000 miles taking the mountain roads for fun. It was completely effortless going up the mountains, and fun too after dropping the air suspension into dynamic mode to tighten up the steering response. As a side note, I also found out the brake pads, which had just been replaced prior to purchase, were some aftermarket garbage with almost no initial bite. Having a slightly older Q7 with OEM brakes, it was easy to tell the pads were selected by cost/convenience rather than maintaining safety and performance of the vehicle. I noticed this on the test drive and got the dealer to reimburse me for new pads/rotors as the rotors had been gouged, which is why they replaced the pads, and cannot be turned. Ordered new brakes from FCP Euro, which you should look up if you aren't already a customer of theirs since they warranty all parts for life...even the wear parts like brakes/pads.
I'm not dissing the gas engines as they are ok, but I just drove a Q3 Sline for a week, and also had a 2021 Q7 demo for a few days while my '10 Q7 TDI was in for warranty work, and honestly both were super nice and loaded with tech and the latest and greatest gizmos, but I wouldn't buy one without the TDI engine in it; they just felt 'gutless'. My '10 TDI Prestige also has the benefit of the B&O sound system in it, and you have never heard car audio until you heard the B&O setup in a Q7...just WOW!
Yes the TDI is the top of the model line now that the V8 is gone. Sort of surprised they went with an RSQ8 and SQ3 but the Q7 gets no love from Audi RS. Too bad.
Our new Sienna (2019) has towing package so I may be trading the Q7 toward a Spyder.......we shall see....vs Boxster GTS (fight between GT performance vs Electric Top)
I have to flush the power steering on the Q next. I read up on it. There's another recent thread on this....look it up....posting an idea there next.
Funny that, power steering is the one fluid haven't changed yet since bought the 2015 Q7 TDI in mid-December. Buyer beware on used Audi's that Audi only changes oil and brake fluid at regular intervals; the rest are left to fester in their putrid ilk, or as Audi would say, 'It's a lifetime fill/sealed system'. First thing we did on both cars was order a scheduled service kit from FCP Euro, which has oil & filter, brake fluid, fuel filter, engine air filter, and a cabin filter. And then we ordered the transmission fluid (amazon/Liqui Moly fluid), filter and seal kit from FCP Euro, and appropriate transaxle and differential fluids from Blau/Ravenol. The tranny service we outsourced to a shop as it's a bit of pain and quite painful if you get it wrong, but the rest of the drive-line is relatively easy to service. When you can hear whirring noises as the car is moves from a stop and crunching or hesitation when shifting from park to drive, it's time to change/service your drive-line fluids. What's crazy is I bought a 20 L jug of Liqui Moly ATF for the 2015 TDI (Tranny capacity is 12.5L) with free shipping for much less than if i had only bought just enough fluid to refill it. Buying just enough with old fluid that has been in for 95k miles is no bueno; only about 6.5L fluid comes out when you drain or drop the pan to change filter/gasket, so you have to repeat the cycle a few times to get as much clean, fresh fluid in as possible. Audi's 'sealed system' /lifetime fluid fallacy means you are headed for a big repair bill; the additives and antiwear properties of the fluid are only rated for 100K miles, and by all accounts should be changed at regular intervals according to the tranny's mfgr.
I was just thinking the other day where the heck is the steering hydraulic fluid reservoir, so I could suction out the old fluid and refill with new...didn't see it anywhere and have not looked it up as yet. That's typically how you change it though...using a turkey baster or other fluid suction device to remove as much old fluid as possible, then simply refill with correct, fresh fluid from sealed container.
I'm sorry to hear your Q7 is on the chopping block in favor of a convertible, but i won't argue the point if you have a few children as the modern minivan is the best kept secret to keep you and your spouse sane while arriving in comfort. I actually donated my old minivan conversion about 2 years ago, but that was really the best family vehicle ever; made some great travel memories in that thing, we did.
As for your conundrum with the Q7 vs Spider vs Boxster; well now, the lovely, uprated Boxster S 6 cylinder is at the top of my list for topless grins also. No modern 4 cylinder turbo meh for me, nosiree. Give me that sweet, sweet, primal 6 cylinder howl and a manual tranny to tap-dance pedals and row for myself.
We are none of us guaranteed tomorrow, so be sure to enjoy today and share your joy with others!
So many nice cars out there.....M8 convertible is very nice too. LOL.
Power steering reservoir is on drivers side right in plane view. Perhaps not so easy in the TDI? The rear most hose is the return. I am going to try to empty the reservoir and then put a piece of tubing in the return form the inside and avoid disconnecting anything. Then flush with car on jacks and manually turn the steering wheel. We shall see.
Funny that, power steering is the one fluid haven't changed yet since bought the 2015 Q7 TDI in mid-December. Buyer beware on used Audi's that Audi only changes oil and brake fluid at regular intervals; the rest are left to fester in their putrid ilk, or as Audi would say, 'It's a lifetime fill/sealed system'. First thing we did on both cars was order a scheduled service kit from FCP Euro, which has oil & filter, brake fluid, fuel filter, engine air filter, and a cabin filter. And then we ordered the transmission fluid (amazon/Liqui Moly fluid), filter and seal kit from FCP Euro, and appropriate transaxle and differential fluids from Blau/Ravenol. The tranny service we outsourced to a shop as it's a bit of pain and quite painful if you get it wrong, but the rest of the drive-line is relatively easy to service. When you can hear whirring noises as the car is moves from a stop and crunching or hesitation when shifting from park to drive, it's time to change/service your drive-line fluids. What's crazy is I bought a 20 L jug of Liqui Moly ATF for the 2015 TDI (Tranny capacity is 12.5L) with free shipping for much less than if i had only bought just enough fluid to refill it. Buying just enough with old fluid that has been in for 95k miles is no bueno; only about 6.5L fluid comes out when you drain or drop the pan to change filter/gasket, so you have to repeat the cycle a few times to get as much clean, fresh fluid in as possible. Audi's 'sealed system' /lifetime fluid fallacy means you are headed for a big repair bill; the additives and antiwear properties of the fluid are only rated for 100K miles, and by all accounts should be changed at regular intervals according to the tranny's mfgr.
Hey Carl, I have a used (I’m third owner) 2015 3.0TFSI and I am curious about servicing the driveline. Can you please tell me more information about this and share some links to the products you used for your service? I am currently at 76k miles and do not have problems, but would like to do some preventative maintenance. Thanks! -Alex
01-16-2021, 11:51 AM
2015 Q7 Sline Tune up.....done.....:)
