aw235235345

Just trying to learn as much as i can before plunging in to 2025 Q7 55 Prestiege.

As i'm learning more, i am really thinking what people are saying about Audi, as a "money pit".

Audi Q7 requires "annual" service? I get it, preventative is good, but what kind of vehicle in 21th century requires each year to be serviced?

And Audi has no such condition based service.

Good god, Audi !

MoInEd

What car do you know that doesn't need annual service?! Even the 1 year oil change is really a stretch to satisfy people who don't want to be bothered to do what is expected to keep the machine working properly. Maybe EVs require less maintenance work.
I am not an Audi fan by any stretch but I take care of the cars if I want them to serve me well. A lot of service items dealers try to put on you are really to make money but regular fluid change and making sure other critical components changed as needed (belts) should go a long way...

aw235235345

Okay, okay. I am all for everything stated above.

Reason i'm going through this mental exercise is, i'm (strongly) on a fence to purchase a 2025 Q7 55 Prestige. And trying to understand Audi Q7 reliability from (all) different. angles.

I know nothing about Audi. I've only nothing but BMWs (and Honda Odyssey, the wife's daily).

Seems like Q7 reliability, overall is a hit and miss.

And i know nothing about the 3.0 TFSI V6.

But i am all for maintaining, proactively taking care of the vehicle.

This will be the wife's daily, and she tend to drive the average ~10K miles/year. So, i would expect to be spending 10k, 20k, 30k, 40k, and so on. And i would rather pay up front for these prepaid services.

MoInEd

The engine on Q7 is the same as on Cayenne and has been around for some time (my MY2018 has a supercharged one which seems less reliable than the turbo charged one, or maybe the newer models haven't aged enough yet, don't know).
When I bought the car new I had the option to buy 5-year service for $1k CAD upfront that I negotiated and bought with the car. It seems it has gone up in price lately but you can use that as a bargaining item if you wish. What it really covered was yearly oil change and two brake fluid changes.
One thing that several models of Porsche and Audi have suffered over the last decade or so is their transfer case (or center differential) develops a sort of shaking at full lock wheel (imagine starting a complete U-turn from stand still) that sounds like driving on rumble edge of the road. Seems swapping the transfer case oil more frequently helps with avoiding (or delaying?) this.
This is common between Q7 and Cayenne, Macan and other models.

Another silly thing that Audi says is that the ZF 8-speed transmission fluid is life-time but ZF itself says to change every 60k km or so. So I am going to change mine soon even though Audi says not needed. In general my feeling is Audi (and perhaps many other manufacturers) are not requiring to do these maintenance work (although it is needed) as a selling point to tell customers less work is needed. By the time components start breaking down it's not their problem....

mhoran89

Audi's policy for service is 1 year or 10k miles with a 10% grace period. I have had 6 of their vehicles and have some insider dealer knowledge. If you don't want to adhere to this and need something fixed under warranty and haven't followed these requirements you are playing with fire. the service could easily be an oil change at jiffy lube. as long as you have receipts you are fine.

if the dealer claims your wheel bearing failed because you didn't change your oil on time they might not have ground to stand on. however if the sunroof drains clog and you never took it in for the annual maintenance at audi you have no ground to stand on.

you have to pay to play whether you like it or not. the barrier to entry was the purchase price of the car, however now you have to continue to pay to play. just the name of the game.

2kwik4u

This is the key difference between a Japanese engineer and a German engineer. The Japanese will engineer something so that it will continue to function (with reduced performance) in the face of poor maintenance, the German engineer will expect maintenance to be performed, on time and to schedule, in order to maintain adequate performance. It's seriously a mentality change in the design ethos from the home countries, just that simple. I'm quite surprised this isn't completely obvious from a former BMW owner. Neither option is inherently better or worse, you just need to be informed when you make your decision, and choose what's right for you and your wife.

SO, ​​​​@aw235235345 if you want to buy something that just works, with little to no intervention; I suggest a Lexus or Acura SUV for your wife. The trade off is a rather lackluster, somewhat soulless driving and ownership experience in comparison to a German vehicle though. Which, if she's driving an Odyssey now, won't be that much different other than the shape of the thing.

kelisko

As much as I despise the brand right now, I have to say that a yearly service isn't something out of the ordinary. It is recommended to change the engine oil whatever the mileage after a year. It is recommended to change the brake fluid every two years. Those are just isolated examples. When you are in, they inspect the car to detect anything wrong and correct it. A yearly service may not even be enough to properly maintain a car in my opinion. Like someone said, they reduced the service intervals to make the cars appeal to people. You should normally go in more regularly for service especially with today over-complicated cars that require a calibration for everything. I am barely past 15,000 Km with my Suzuki and it's been only 8 months but I have been in already 3 times for service, based on a 5,000 Km oil change interval.

aw235235345

Ok, thanks.

And yes, i am soiled by the BMW's CBS (condition based service). But i do (religiously) adhere to the "scheduled" maintenances.

It's just that even in the world of BMW's, and "currently"have 2003 e39 m5, 2004 e46 m3 and 2019 x3 m40i, i have never heard in BMW scheduled service world, this (strict) regiment of "every" each year "maintenance" service, or at each 10K miles.

But if that regiment is what will help keep the Q7 working at its (peak) performance with less breakdown down the road, i'm all for that, no issue, what so ever.

And yes, at the moment, our choices come down to these vehicles,

(Lexus is out, their TX 500h F-sport, does not feel all that premium inside the cabin)

a) 2025 Q7 Prestiege
b) 2025 Acura MDX Type S
c) Telsa Model X Plaid <<-------------- or perhaps the upcoming Q6 e-tron, but too small for me

mhoran89

LOL "not that much different than the shape of the thing"

at least you've admitted to your hatred of the brand.
surprised a new car these days has a 5000 km OCI. synthetic in modern day cars can easily go 5000 miles. the old school mentality of 3000 mile oil changes is rather antiquated.

what didn't you like about the lack of premium feeling inside the TX? I will admit it doesn't have as much leather as a Q7 but it is just as quiet and people say the ride of the f-sport is good along with the heavily bolstered seats unless you're a bigger person. I think you get more for your money with a Lexus, especially after paying less and putting 7500 miles on one in 3 months. what is more premium about an MDX (genuinely asking as I did not drive one)?

Lego_Maniac

Of the 3, B. At least until there is a known 100% fix on the BSG.