What 16 owners told NHTSA about the 2022 Audi Audi Q7

I was traveling at highway speeds in active, high-velocity traffic when my vehicle suffered a sudden, catastrophic mechanical failure that nearly resulted in a severe multi-car accident. Without any warning, the vehicle completely lost its ability to accelerate, flatly refusing to pick up speed or maintain momentum despite pressing the gas pedal. ​This unexpected, immediate drop in propulsion marooned me in high-speed lanes, leaving the vehicle dangerously vulnerable as oncoming traffic rapidly closed the distance behind me. Drivers behind me were forced to aggressively swerve and brake to avoid a high-speed rear-end collision. Moments after this life-threatening loss of power occurred, the Check Engine Light illuminated on the dashboard. ​Subsequent technical inspection revealed a severe engineering defect: the internal seals of the factory coolant control components failed, forcing pressurized engine coolant backward into the engine’s primary vacuum system. This pressurized fluid completely contaminated the vacuum lines, the vacuum reservoir tank, and the electronic solenoids—including the N75 boost control solenoid. By filling the vacuum infrastructure with liquid coolant, the engine was instantly starved of its ability to regulate turbocharger boost, triggering a critical "limp mode" and a P0299 underboost fault. ​The catastrophic failure of an internal cooling seal directly compromising an active drivability safety system represents an unreasonable and severe defect. It transforms a routine drive into an immediate, uncontrollable highway hazard. I am filing this report because this known coolant migration pattern presents a clear, present, and life-threatening danger to owners operating this engine platform.

NHTSA ODI 11742674

While parked in my residential garage with the engine shut off and car door closed, the vehicle suffered an un-commanded rollaway incident due to a suspected defect in the electronic parking brake or automatic-park transmission software. The vehicle was completely stopped, the driver exited the vehicle and the driver's door was closed. Moments later, the vehicle shifted out of its parked state or failed to hold, rolling backward down the driveway and colliding with a basketball pole in the driveway, causing vehicle damage. No warning chimes or dashboard alerts were observed prior to exiting. The vehicle's electronic failsafe to automatically engage 'Park' upon the door opening failed to secure the vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11742245

I drove home after shopping, opened my garage door by remote, and pulled into the garage. I placed the vehicle in park, and shut off the engine via push button. I retrieved my purse from the passenger seat and exited the vehicle. I exited the vehicle with the intent of retrieving my shopping bags from the rear hatch. As I walked towards the rear of the vehicle I noticed my next-door neighbor had stopped at the end of my driveway with the driver’s window down. I did not make it to the hatch door and instead walked to the end of my driveway. [XXX] was the only occupant of the car. He was the driver. We started talking for several minutes with my back to the garage the entire time until neighbor hollered “[XXX] is going on?” The last thing I remember is my Audi Q7 slamming my body into one or both vehicles. I was thrown to the driveway with my right foot wedged under the Audi Q7’s driver’s side rear tire. I worked my foot free from my shoe and got myself up to a standing position with clear pain in my back and foot. Vehicle rolled on its own with transmission in Park. Note: ~Vehicle transmission was in Park on a flat surface when I exited vehicle with car keys ~ I was stuck by vehicle, vehicle in question also struck another vehicle ~Not to my knowledge ~None of the agencies or companies have inspected vehicle ~No warning lights INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11739903

My car has suddenly tried to stop in the middle of an interstate highway. It happens when the adaptive cruise control is active. Even though the lane in front of the car is clear, a warning sign appears in the dash that the pathway is obstructed and the car tries to stop quickly. This has happened on this vehicle four times now. It happened on my previous Audi as well. At that time, the car was taken off the highway and the dealer would not return it to me for a period of six weeks. During this last incident, the dealer said that they searched the information in the car. I had provided the odometer reading and date to the dealer when it happened. I was told that there was no information found about any malfunction. Of course the car thinks that there is an obstruction there in front of me and thinks it is properly functioning and now error message is created. This creates an extreme hazard for accident on a busy highway. It is a recurring problem and should be investigated. I have uploaded a picture of the error message displayed in the instrument cluster. This is not a trivial problem.

NHTSA ODI 11682323

My wife was driving the car with the adaptive cruise control set at 72mph on 5/11/2025. The milage on the odometer was about 37165. A car was close behind when suddenly on of the systems in my car slammed on the brakes and attempted to stop the car. There were no warning indicators to suggest why this had happened. My last Audi, a 2020 A6, did this as well. It had a number of safety systems malfunctioning around the same time. At one time, I was told by the Audi dealer that the car was unsafe to be driven and it would not return the car to me. It was impounded for about six weeks as I recall. Whatever the reason, this is a serious safety issue when an vehicle suddenly tries to stop at that rate of speed on a highway with other vehicles on the road.

NHTSA ODI 11660362

I drove on [XXX] from Los Angeles towards San Diego in the morning. I followed the traffic in the middle lane and turned on the ACC, including the lane-keep assist, at the same time. The speed was set at 78 mph, but the traffic was moving faster than that. The distance was set to level 3 for ACC auto brake. After passing a speed limit sign, the head-up display suddenly showed a speed limit warning light, and at the same time, the vehicle suddenly braked and reduced speed to 65 mph. The vehicle behind me almost crashed into me. The ACC didn’t behave the same way as in the past, and I didn’t receive any notice from the dealer or manufacturer about this significant change. This could definitely be a major problem when using ACC in traffic. For example, if the traffic is moving at 80 mph and you set ACC at 80mph, when pass a 55 mph speed limit sign, the vehicle will quickly reduce speed to 55 mph, which could cause a serious problem for the cars behind. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11614483

The sunroof of the car exploded on my way to work. No one else was on road except for me. Sounded like a gunshot went off. I pulled over to inspect what happened, and noticed that the sunroof had exploded in an outward manner.

NHTSA ODI 11565022

The contact owns a 2022 Audi Q7. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was related to Technical Service Bulletin: 10244468 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The vehicle was taken to the dealer and was diagnosed and determined that the failure was an EVAP leak detection from the circuit with trouble code: T240700. The failure was confirmed and related to TSB: 10244468 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The vehicle was not repaired due to parts not being available. The TSB stated that parts would be available by the end of the 2nd quarter of 2024. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the parts were not yet available. The approximate failure mileage was 20,000.

NHTSA ODI 11564237

I was driving in the Rocky Mountains and head what sounded like a gun shot. I pulled over to inspect the vehicle and found that my moonroof had exploded. I was not behind any cars or trucks so I know it was not caused by a rock. I took the car into Audi where they told me it was a known issue. A few days later Audu said it was not going to be covered with warranty and we were responsible for the damages. I have found multiple forums thay show this is a known issue and that audi fails to inform their customers about the serious safety risk.

NHTSA ODI 11555791

While parking the car, the gearshift got stuck in “Neutral” even though N was not pressed. I was not able to restart the car once I turned it off. Every time I pressed the start button, a warning would come on the screen “ please put the vehicle in Park. Risk of roll over”. When I pressed the park button, nothing would happen. I got out of the car, but it wouldn’t lock. Unable to start the car for over 2 hours. Finally had to get the car towed to Audi dealership. It’s only one year old SUV. No prior similar problems.

NHTSA ODI 11537304

Since purchase of this vehicle, it randomly trips a critical engine failure error do not exceed 1200 rpm. When it does this, it will idle at a much higher rpm than the do not exceed value, which causes the vehicle to come to a stop. The vehicle went into the shop during the winter of 2022, and they determined that it was a computer failure and replaced the car's computer system. The error went away until the winter/spring of 2023. In 2022, this error always occurred within a few blocks of home at low speed; but now this critical error will trip while driving on the roads at faster speeds, which causes the vehicle to rapidly decelerate. The dealership and service center looked over the issue and found that Audi has a technical bulletin out for this, and they expect a fix by fourth quarter 2023. Until then, they advise that it is not a problem and when the vehicle does this error wait until you're stopped and then turn the car off and back on to return the vehicle to normal operating conditions. Audi told the dealership there is no safety issue, and I'm telling the dealership that it will stop rapidly and without warning, and I was lucky the last time this happened that the cars behind me were paying attention. Neither Audi corporate or Audi Bellevue consider this a safety risk, and that having a car stop suddenly and without warning to the driver or other cars on the road is perfectly fine. I've tried dealing with them all and the dealership states Audi says there is no safety issue and no fix so there is nothing we can do, and Audi USA customer care says that the dealership says it is safe so there is nothing we can do. It's a circle of nobody dealing with a serious safety issue. They state it's a rare occurrence, but I've had this happen several times over the 16 months I've owned the vehicle. See picture from text communicaiton.

NHTSA ODI 11522094

My 2022 Q7 behaved strangely today when the sunroof just was busted by itself. My Q7 is just 8 months old & to my surprise even when nothing hit the sunroof, it was busted. I have officially logged a complaint with Audi. But I am unsure of any response. I was with my wife while this incident happened & lucky that my kids weren’t with me at the same time. This vehicle is apparently the luxury model & safety should have been the first consideration for the driver, passengers & any vehicle following while on the road. I need your help here to understand how to address this issue.

NHTSA ODI 11517760

Purchased brand new 5/11/22. A few days later my air bag warning light came on so I made an appointment and took my car in for service. Audi service told me that the light was in error and they fixed it. After I left the air bag light came on again that same day and I took the car in again...at which time they told me the passenger side air bag was bad and does not work so they disabled it. I have complained to my Audi dealer that not having an air bag for passenger side is not safe ... they disagreed. They said an air bag is on order...no date on when it will arrive...but, it's safe to drive with a passenger. How can this be when the air bag is not working for my passenger side. I also called Audi customer service and filed a complaint with them. This has been on going since May 2022 when I purchased my brand new audi and is still not rectified and I still don't have a working passenger side air bag. In my mind, a serious safety issue! Not having an air bag for my passengers is not safe. I drive the car daily with the air bag warning light on. I call my Audi dealer daily asking when I will have an air bag and they continue to tell me they have no date. 1) passenger side air bag failure-yes it is available for inspection 2) Passengers are not safe to ride in my car 3) Yes, dealer confirms the air bag does not work 4) It's been inspected by the dealer 5) Warning lights/lamp comes on when car is started and does not go off until the car is off

NHTSA ODI 11491663

THE INCIDENT HAPPENED ON OCTBER 2ND. I WAS DRIVING AND THE VEHICLE JUST STALLED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY WITH A LOUD NOISE WITHOUT ANY PRECAUTION. THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NO SIGN OR NO ENGINE LIGHT THAT WAS DISPLAYED. LUCKILY, JOHNS CREEK POLICE DEPARTMENT VEHICLE IN GEORGIA WAS BEHIND ME AND HE HELPED ME TO PUSH THE CAR TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. I REACHED OUT TO AUDI HELP AND A TWO TRUCK WAS DISPATCHED. THIS WAS A CRITICAL SAFETY ISSUE SINCE THE VEHICLE STALLED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. THE VEHICLE IS STILL WITH THE DEALERSHIP - AUDI NORTH ATLANTA, GEORGIA. THE DEALERSHIP EXPLAINED TO ME (YET TO RECEIVE A WRITTEN STATEMENT) THAT THIS A FAILURE IN ENGINE AND AUDI USA HAVE AGREED TO REPLACE THE ENGINE. AS A CONSUMER I BELIEVE, LIVES WOULD HAVE BEEN LOST HAD THERE NOT BEEN A POLICE CAR BEHIND ME AT THE RIGHT TIME. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A MAJOR ACCIDENT SINCE ANYONE WOULD HAVE HIT ME, OCCUPANTS FROM THE REAR. I STRONGLY URGE AND REQUEST NHSTA TO INVESTIGATE AND FOLLOW-UP PLEASE.

NHTSA ODI 11490238

I'm writing you today with a MAJOR CONCERN related to the safety of the current model Audi Q7. The problem is with the left and right 2nd row belt buckles. Both are attached to a plastic fixture, sit a few inches in front of the back seat, and cannot be moved beyond a forward 45 degree angle. The position and orientation prevent you from safely/correctly installing ANY child seat using the belt path. Latch works fine but it has an upper weight limit. We took the car to the local police dept and the certified child seat expert confirmed the buckle design would NOT ALLOW US TO SAFELY INSTALL ANY FORWARD FACING CAR SEAT USING THE BELT PATH. We tried to install our Nuna Rava car seat rear facing as well - one of the safest and most expensive convertible seats available - and the buckle position prevented me from securing it properly as well. The belt kinks and the position creates a slightly forward angle from the passthrough on the seat to the buckle. Leaving way too much lateral motion. I took the car to my local Audi dealer recently and they confirmed there is no available solution from Audi. I asked the service rep to escalate this with HQ but no progress. As a result of this, we are unable to safely install ANY car seat using the belt path, FORWARD and REAR facing, on either side of the Q7 second row. Please investigate for yourself. This is serious issue. Audi needs to take action here ASAP before someone gets hurt. Thank you in advance.

NHTSA ODI 11486815

2022 AUDI Q7. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO UNINTENDED ACCELERATION. THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE EXPERIENCED MULTIPLE DIFFERENT ISSUES. THE VEHICLE WOULD LUNGE FORWARD WHILE THE BRAKE WAS DEPRESSED. WHILE DRIVING SLOWLY AND MAKING LEFT TURNS THE VEHICLE WOULD ACCELERATE TO AN UNSAFE SPEED. ON A FEW OCCASIONS, WHILE STOPPED AT A LIGHT, THE VEHICLE WOULD ROLL BACKWARDS SEVERAL FEET. WHILE DRIVING, THE VEHICLE WOULD MAKE ABRUPT STOPS, CAUSING THE SEAT BELTS TO RESTRAIN THE OCCUPANTS. THE DEALER WAS NOTIFIED AND STATED THE VEHICLE WAS OPERATING AS DESIGNED. THE CONSUMER NO LONGER OWNS THE VEHICLE.

NHTSA ODI 11476273