My 2015 Q7 TDI is apparently qualified for the TDI repair. To be perfectly honest I like the TDI's performance and economy and I only regret that it is not a SQ7. Is there any information yet on the repair and what the outcomes are of the repair? Loss of economy? Less performance?

I know a lot of people are making SWAG's but what is the real world saying and what is VAG saying?

Thanks in advance for any feedback

Doug

 

I have a 2013 Q7 TDI, and I had the repair done about 10 days ago. I have not noticed any change in performance (power, acceleration, etc), but I believe the diesel noise is louder until the car warms up. It is possible that the observation is nothing, but I am going to take it back to the dealer to make sure there's nothing wrong. The sound disappears after the engine is warmed up.

I posted this observation in another thread on this forum to see if others had experienced the same. You can follow that thread as well.

I will wait to take it in to the dealer until I see if others have seen same phenomena.

(I don't remember seeing this noise listed as one of the post-fix issues that are to be expected.)

 

And here's another update on my repair:
I drove 400 miles this past weekend to do some hiking and biking. After I finished a hike I returned to my car to find that it would not run properly. I started the car but it just lurched forward slowly. I managed to limp in to a dealership that happened to be close by (driving about 15 miles per hour, and having no acceleration at all). The Glow Plug warning light was on on my dashboard. I left the car there for service. They quickly diagnosed it as being related to the recent diesel repair, and they got the Audi engineering department involved. They made it a study case. They found it to be a failed EGR valve, which they replaced. They said they are still tweaking the engineering fix for the diesel engines. The repair left me stranded in a town 400 miles away from home. I drove their loaner car all the way home, then had to turn around and drive back to get my car when the repair was complete.

BOTTOM LINE: IF I HAD IT TO DO OVER AGAIN, I WOULD WAIT AS LONG AS POSSIBLE BEFORE HAVING THE REPAIR DONE.

 

I had the TDI emissions fix completed this past Tuesday. I first my give a shout out to Audi South Burlington for the manner in which the repair was done. Top drawer service. Had a 2018 A4 for a "loaner". Very nice. When I picked up the Q7 it was clean in and out and paper work was all done and good to go. One piece of paper was like a new window sticker that shows there was a modification to the emissions system and announced that combined fuel consumption was 22 with a city of 19 and highway of 27. Using the vehicle computer I am going to believe the label. Right away I am in the 24 to 26 range of combined. Have not taken a meaningful trip to see what happens. I think the power "could" be off a smidggen. But the last few days the weather here has been frightful. When the day starts off at near 0 degrees, acceleration is not a priority. Diesel noise at start up is no different to me.

The one odd thing I have noticed is that the end of a drive the cooling fan runs on after much longer than before and there is a slight burning smell. I wonder if the Cat is running hotter. The odor is similar to labels on a exhaust system or salt residue on the exhaust system. Have contacted service and they indicate new exhaust item and could have some burn off. They are not surprised by longer fan run time but expect that to go away shortly. Will need to keep an eye on it.

Fuel mileage will need more time and I must take into account switch to dedicated winter tires and the fact that driving in the cold and snow is going to result in less mileage.

In short everything is as before and the bank account will get a boost.

Good luck to those that go that route. And a Merry Christmas to all.

 

I had my '13 Q7 TDI modification done in November of last year. The significant thing I noticed was different shift points for the transmission which caused power levels to change ranges. As for any degradation of power, I could not detect any. My last highway trip netted 29.7 mpg which was better than my previous best or 28.5. I have towed a 4000+ tool trailer an found the torque to be excellent. This week, we headed for our annual trek to the NC coast 6+ hours and broke down in Raleigh. The glow plug light began flashing and t started to loose power quickly. I was able to get off the interstate and it would barely pull itself.. It was towed to the Audi dealer which was luckily only 6 miles away. BTW, because of the extended warranty that comes with the modification, Audi Roadside Assistance is also is in effect, so no cost for getting it to the dealer. The diagnosis was an exhaust leak and a defective catalytic converter. The extended warranty is covering it all. The vehicle has 82k miles so without the modification I would have been out about $2,250. The warranty alone makes the modification worth doing. Also, Leith Audi in Raleigh has been wonderful to work with. My breakdown was last Saturday and I have a 2018 Q7 loaner until I go back through Raleigh on my way home next Saturday and pick up my car. Yes, the mod is worth it , especially if you have quite a few miles on you car.

 

Pleased to report that after 6 months of use and about 8,000 miles the TDI fix on the Q7 has preformed flawlessly. Seat of the pants tells me that there is not any loss of power and the difference in fuel mileage is almost non existent. Have pulled at least 5,000 pounds with no difficulty so torque is still there.

Trip to Florida and back this past spring gave 28 to 29 MPG all depending on how far the loud pedal was pressed.

From my viewpoint the concern over bad things happening was a non event. Makes me wonder why they did not do this in the first place and not destroy the availability of TDI in the US.

Now I am waiting for the State to release restitution forms to all owners of VAG TDI's in order to claim some added VW funds paid to the States.