2011 Audi Q7 TDI 3.0, what is it good for ?

[Jim Flower]

fth,
Please don't get discouraged. Your comments are appreciated by those of us who wish to choose alternative tow vehicles. Jim


Sent from my iPhone using Airstream Forums

[Isuzusweet]

Congrats on your purchase and I hope you have better luck than my boss with his TDI Touareg which has required almost $15,000 in service and repairs over the last three years including.....

Almost $2,000 for a new driveshaft after the hangar bearing cookied, as you just can't buy a new hangar bearing.

Then VW had to undo all they had done, including taking down the exhaust to replace the driveshaft, to replace the Urea heater sensor to the tune of almost $1,000 a month later.

New calipers, rotors and pads after calipers seized solid (twice).

Numerous services to try and fix limp home status as engine detects particulate filters are clogged. A VW tech actually suggested to him to go WOT on the highway and take the truck to 100mph to clean out filters. (explain that to the officer that's impounding your truck for racing).

He's just waiting for the $5,000+ bill to replace the particulate filters which he's due for anytime now.

Not to mention his wife's 2010 TDI Jetta that at four years and 200k kms lunched its turbo which then allowed oil to travel down the exhaust, trashing the catalytic converters and particulate filters all at once. JUST the parts to fix the car came to almost $7,000.00.

He will never buy another modern diesel again.

With the price of diesel compared to gas now and the added cost of diesel maintanance, it's not worth it, (a VW diesel techs word, not mine).

The one lesson he has learned from the experience is to ask for future maintanance service costs for a vehicle BEFORE he buys it.

Goodluck
Tony

[Road Ruler]

Originally Posted by Isuzusweet

Congrats on your purchase and I hope you have better luck than my boss with his TDI Touareg
Goodluck
Tony

Every car manufacturer has produced a lemon.

[JerryMcMunn]

We use our 2014 Touareg TDI (3.0 clean turbo diesel & 8 speed transmission) to tow our 25' International AS. It was setup by Can-Am and tows really well. We use the Eaz-Lift weight distribution hitch with two anti-sway bars.

[SteveSueMac]

Originally Posted by fth

Boy am I sorry I replied to timhortons! I got jumped on for answering his question with what I knew. In my opinion if they had nothing useful to contribute than their silence would have been appreciated.



I will be much less interested in contributing in the future after this experience.

There are lots of opinions here - some express them better than others. Keep expressing yours :-)

[Road Ruler]

Originally Posted by fth

Boy am I sorry I replied to timhortons! I got jumped on for answering his question with what I knew.

Buddy.... Your post was most valuable. Please keep posting.

[Isuzusweet]

Originally Posted by Road Ruler

Every car manufacturer has produced a lemon.

Quite true, but if the Touareg is the lemon, what is his wife's 2010 Jetta TDI which did $7,000.00 in just parts damage to the motor?

That's a lot of lemonade for just one family.

Don't get me wrong I love VW's and in my family have had Super Beetles, a 411 and two Westfalia's, a 72 and 93. I also admire Audi's but have owned none.

That being said I also am a realist, and understand that when they work there're great, and when they don't.....it's bloody expensive, especially the modern diesels.

Cheers
Tony

[rostam]

Audi actually has a good reliability for a German vehicle, much better than Porsche or VW. And Q7 TDI is a good vehicle (third row seat, nice payload, refined interior, and great fuel economy). Still, its common place for some folks in the towing threads to recommend vehicles with questionable reliability as the "perfect tow vehicles", sometimes just based on an RV magazine article. Some of those vehicles break down often when taking you to grocery store, let alone towing, and are very expensive to repair.

[fth]

We bought the gas Q7 and would consider it again if they fix the Nav system. I have researched gas vs diesel and can find only one advantage to diesel which is torque. Their better fuel mileage is offset by increased fuel cost. They cost more to buy and service. They smell bad and some are noisy. I've decided on a used Ford F-150 with a 5.3 and 3.71 rear end. Haven't found one yet but I will eventually. I'm not concerned about having to go slow up hills. I live in SW Virginia and have been driving a gas Class C for 5 years. Going 35MPH up the Blue Ridge mountains is old hat and doesn't bother me a bit. I can't say the same for those stuck behind me but I do pull over and let them by when possible.

[cameront120]

Originally Posted by rostam

Audi actually has a good reliability for a German vehicle, much better than Porsche or VW. And Q7 TDI is a good vehicle (third row seat, nice payload, refined interior, and great fuel economy). Still, its common place for some folks in the towing threads to recommend vehicles with questionable reliability as the "perfect tow vehicles", sometimes just based on an RV magazine article. Some of those vehicles break down often when taking you to grocery store, let alone towing, and are very expensive to repair.

And some make recommendations based on real world experience. Please remind us all how much of that you have. Oh yeah, I forgot...
Please, stop trolling these threads.

[tjdonahoe]

Not much.

[rostam]

Originally Posted by cameront120

And some make recommendations based on real world experience. Please remind us all how much of that you have. Oh yeah, I forgot...
Please, stop trolling these threads.

Yep, we all know in order to opine on reliability of a vehicle, you need decades of experience towing an Airstream. Makes perfect sense. Not sure why I missed it.

p.s. Please stop insulting me. If you do not have anything to add to this thread, you can just not post.

[timhortons]

Originally Posted by JerryMcMunn

We use our 2014 Touareg TDI (3.0 clean turbo diesel & 8 speed transmission) to tow our 25' International AS. It was setup by Can-Am and tows really well. We use the Eaz-Lift weight distribution hitch with two anti-sway bars.

Thank You.

[kscherzi]

Just wait for the one ton diesel dually propride advocates to chime in as the only "safe" way to tow any sized airstream.

[SteveSueMac]

Originally Posted by kscherzi

Just wait for the one ton diesel dually propride advocates to chime in as the only "safe" way to tow any sized airstream.

Yeah - like that guy in response #8...

😳

[timhortons]

Originally Posted by fth

We bought the gas Q7 and would consider it again if they fix the Nav system. I have researched gas vs diesel and can find only one advantage to diesel which is torque. Their better fuel mileage is offset by increased fuel cost. They cost more to buy and service. They smell bad and some are noisy. I've decided on a used Ford F-150 with a 5.3 and 3.71 rear end. Haven't found one yet but I will eventually. I'm not concerned about having to go slow up hills. I live in SW Virginia and have been driving a gas Class C for 5 years. Going 35MPH up the Blue Ridge mountains is old hat and doesn't bother me a bit. I can't say the same for those stuck behind me but I do pull over and let them by when possible.

Only a month of ownership:

I don't find the TDI Q7 smells bad. I'm getting 25+MPG highway. The engine loafs at 1300RPM while I'm on the highway.8spd keeps it between 1 and 2k 90% of the time. Stated service intervals are more than 2x what they are on my gas car, and up here in Canada, diesel is still 10% less than premium used by my car. So the 5700lbs SUV, is using 10% more fuel at 10% less and consting me no more to fuel than my 3400lbs car. Also I have over 600miles highway range AND 406lbsft of torque.

These things come off 3 year leases for half price or less. Even if I have the maintenance "nightmare" described, I'll be ahead of anyone who bought a new large pickup truck or Excursion size SUV. VAG has over 20 years in these small diesel engines. The turbo may crack one day, the manumatic dual clutch transmission may blow and fall out, and before any of this the vehicle may turn into an orange rusty husk that destroys my neighbours property values and has them run me out of town, but the diesel block itself is good for 500k mi or beyond.

It's an experiment, let's see what happens. I appreciate everyones feedback. Even Rostram and Isuzu.

[timhortons]

Originally Posted by Pivot429

I have been towing with a 2011 Q7 TDI for the past 2 years. I already owned it when we bought our Airstream. After reading through all of these hitch threads and doing other reading I made the trip to see Andy at Can-Am and he installed a new hitch receiver that is reinforced for preventing twist when the weight distribution torque is applied. The set up is spot on and tows beautifully. If I were to replace it I would get another Q7 TDI. It is that good.

Thank you again for the response. If you don't mind my asking what kind of mileage are you getting towing the 25ft ?

[Isuzusweet]

Originally Posted by timhortons

Only a month of ownership:

Stated service intervals are more than 2x what they are on my gas car, and up here in Canada, diesel is still 10% less than premium used by my car.

It's an experiment, let's see what happens. I appreciate everyones feedback. Even Rostram and Isuzu.

This rational is why my boss bought his Touareg and Jetta TDI.

However I do STRONGLY suggest you discount VAG's service schedule for oil changes and take it in at half the rate or 7,500kms versus 15,000kms, even just to change oil and oil filter and nothing else. The reason for his wife's turbo problems was metallic particles suspended in the oil chewed through the shaft of the turbo eventually leading to failure. The oil filter is suppose to remove these particles, but if the oil filter becomes saturated the oil filter goes to bypass mode then these particulates have free rein through your engine. As the old mechanics saying goes "You can pay me now or pay me a lot more later". Oil is cheap compared to new turbo, cats and filters.

VAG is also interested in the owners that lease, buy and return vehicles with in the first three or so years. To the owner that purchases an off lease vehicle out of warranty, you're their means to send their kids to Harvard.

Also having your brakes (noticed I wrote brakes as opposed to breaks) caliper sliders lubricated every time you replace winter to summer rims will negate having to buy new rotors and pads as the caliper can't move on the slider and causes the pad to remain in contact with the rotor.

The last time I gassed up my 3.5SE Altima 6 sp manual with premium at $116.9 per L, (the cheapest being 97.9) it was still cheaper than diesel at $117.9 per L. The fuel costs will be a wash but how you take care of your AUDI will dictate how much you loose in the future.

I also can't reccommend Krown rustproofing enough for reducing future repairs as I have Krowned my vehicles since new. My 03 Tracker LT 4wd will one day do great service to my daughter who is youger than the truck. I haven't replaced fuel or brake lines or had any electrical problems associated with salt getting into and corroding connections.

Talk to you local VAG tech and ask him what problems are prevalent with your vehicle and what preventative action you can take to mitigate future problems. The tech will be honest with you, the service manager though will state you have the best vehicle in the world.

Cheers
Tony

[timhortons]

>I also can't reccommend Krown rustproofing enough for reducing future repairs as I have Krowned my vehicles since new.

see .... we agree on something. The waxys stuff, not the tar spray ... that will end your car.

My 10 year old Acura TSX went up on the lift a few months ago and the bottom of the car looks even cleaner than the top.

Diesel is a lubricant, Gasoline is a detergent, and the previous owner already broke the TDI in for me. My Q7 will get a new batch of synthetic oil (proably mobil 1 since i like their logo)every 10-12k miles, not before.

Since we're trading 3rd party stories rather than facts, the rumor was that since VW had no competition for diesel in cars for so long they cheapened the parts for a decade to the bone to pay for Veyron R&D. Whereas audi screwed up so bad in the 80s they had to overspend on parts to work through their bad reputation, and the Porsche group, well when you charge your customers 1000 bucks for an oil change, you do whatever you like.

100 posts ... I need to get a life !

[cameront120]

Originally Posted by rostam

Yep, we all know in order to opine on reliability of a vehicle, you need decades of experience towing an Airstream. Makes perfect sense. Not sure why I missed it.

p.s. Please stop insulting me. If you do not have anything to add to this thread, you can just not post.

Then stop giving advice about something you have no experience with. You keep inserting yourself into these discussions about alternative tow vehicles without any experience of the vehicles being discussed. Many of us are trying to learn from those who do have practical, real world experience with these setups (a big thanks to those who have been generous with their experience and patient with their detractors). So, kindly stop insulting our intelligence with your inferred knowledge of all things towing! You don't see alternate tow vehicle proponents hijacking the big truck threads so how about extending the same courtesy. Don't like the discussions, ignore them.