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2013 Audi Q7 problems, recalls and owner complaints
What the 2013 Audi Q7 has been recalled for, how often it fails the UK MOT and what owners report, from official government data. Updated October 25, 2026.
- 3safety recalls
- 44owner complaints
- 3crash reports
- 1fire report
- 17%fail the UK MOT
44 complaints, against an average of 62 for the other 13 Audi Q7 model years.
Every Audi Q7 model year with its number of owner complaints. Pick a year to compare.
What goes wrong with the 2013 Audi Q7?
The components named most often in the 44 owner complaints. One complaint can name several, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
What symptoms do 2013 Audi Q7 owners describe?
Found by reading the text of all 44 owner complaints. Tap a symptom for the answer, a real owner quote and any related recall.
Has the 2013 Audi Q7 been recalled?
3 U.S. safety recalls. Repairs are free at a franchised dealer; some are done over the air.
Equipment: Other: Labels Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2009-2015 Q7 vehicles. The Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR) listed on the certification label is incorrect, which can allow the vehicle to be overloaded. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims," and Part 567, "Certification."
Risk: An overloaded vehicle can increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will install an overlay label containing the correct rear GAWR on top of the existing safety certification label, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 24, 2023. Owners may contact Audi's customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 50G5.
Fuel System, Gasoline: Delivery: Fuel Pump Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2013-2017 Audi Q5 and 2013-2017 Audi Q7 vehicles. These gasoline-powered vehicles have a fuel pump flange that may crack, allowing fuel to leak.
Risk: A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source increases the risk of a fire.
Fix: Audi will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel pump flange if cracks are present. Flanges that do not have cracks will have a protective film applied. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began July 3, 2017. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 20Z8. Note: This recall is an expansion of recall 16V-660.
Engine And Engine Cooling Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2013 Audi Q7 vehicles manufactured June 5, 2012, to November 29, 2012 and equipped with a 3.0L TDI engine. In the affected vehicles, a check valve in the engine may become contaminated with plastic debris and allow engine oil to leak into the brake booster.
Risk: If oil leaks into the brake booster, the brake booster diaphragm may rupture causing a loss of power braking assist, and increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace a vacuum line, free of charge. Dealers will also inspect the brake booster system for oil contamination and, if oil contamination is present, additional components will be replaced, free of charge. The recall began on September 24, 2014. Owners may contact Audi at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 47L8.
Is the 2013 Audi Q7 recalled in the UK or Europe?
Recalls issued by the UK's DVSA and through the EU's Safety Gate system that cover this model and build period. European models can differ from U.S. ones, and "years estimated" means the recall gave no build dates, so confirm your own car with your registration or VIN.
UK DVSAReduction in braking performance
Risk: On affected vehicles engine oil may in isolated instances enter the brake servo via the vacuum feed lie.This may cause the brake servo diaphragm to rupture and loss of brake servo assistance.
Fix: Replace vacuum line on affected vehicles.
EU Safety GateThe vehicles are equipped with control software regarded as unauthorised by the competent authorities.
Measures: Type of economic operator taking notified measure(s): Importer; Category of measure(s): Recall of the product from end users; Date of entry into force: 23/04/2021
EU Safety GateIn certain vehicles, fuel can leak onto the engine fuel rail.Fuel leakage close to a source of ignition may increase the risk of the vehicle catching fire.
Measures: Type of economic operator taking notified measure(s): Manufacturer; Category of measure(s): Recall of the product from end users; Date of entry into force: Unknown
EU Safety GateIt is possible that, in isolated cases, oil arrives into the brake force amplifier through the vacuum hoses.This can lead to damage of the amplifier membrane and consequently to reduction of brake force, which could lead to an accident.
Measures: Type of economic operator taking notified measure(s): Other; Category of measure(s): Recall of the product from end users; Date of entry into force: Unknown
How often does the 2013 Audi Q7 fail its MOT?
Why they failed: the share of failed tests with at least one fault in each area (a test can fail on several). Cars first registered in 2013, tested in Great Britain in 2023; first registration is usually, but not always, the model year. Source: DVSA anonymised MOT tests and results, Open Government Licence v3.0.
What do 2013 Audi Q7 owners report?
12 of the 44 complaints, the most recent for the most-reported components, as the owners wrote them. NHTSA removes names and VINs; long reports are trimmed. CarHooq has not verified individual claims.
The initial recall (17V298) was performed in 2017 and then the problem reoccurred in 2026 (cracked fuel flange) making it dangerous to drive. This was subsequently fixed at an Audi dealership and they have refused to cover it. Under terms of the recall, it states that this should not be charged to the customer however the charge of $1,670.36 was levied against me. I subsequently opened a case (#07770420) with Audi and they said that they were not obligated to perform that identical fix mentioned after 12 months from the first, even if the same problem occurs again. This shows that the defect…
The contact owns a 2013 Audi Q7. The contact stated that there was a fuel odor inside the vehicle that became stronger over time. The vehicle was taken to a certified mechanic and was diagnosed with fuel pump failure. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The manufacturer informed the contact that the vehicle was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V298000 (Fuel System, Gasoline); and the recall repair had been completed on May 14, 2018. The contact was referred to the dealer for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 156,000.
About 3 weeks ago I started to slightly smell gas around my car. As I drove it the smell started getting worse and I noticed what looks like a gas leak leaking from under the drivers side back door area under my car. So I took it to Meadlins Auto Care to be diagnosed and they said that the lower intank fuel pump needs to be replaced and that the car is very dangerous to drive because of the gas fumes leaking inside and outside of the vehicle.
On XXX, I was driving northbound on US-101 from [XXX] to [XXX] to pick up a family member for an appointment. The vehicle had been operating normally at freeway speed. As traffic slowed for a construction zone near Summerland, I intentionally reduced speed to approximately 20 mph. At that point, I heard a sudden abnormal rotational mechanical noise from the engine compartment, best described as a flapping or rubbing sound. The noise had not been present earlier during the drive. Within moments, the engine lost power and shut down. The vehicle lost propulsion while in traffic, and power…
Limp mode. started shortly after my purchase in May 2024. On highway and would go into limp mode, almost got hit and caused danger to other traffic. thought it was fixed and it happened again. went to pull out and make a left hand turn and had no rpms again, limp mode. Almost got t-boned. multiple electric issues. drivers side light. windows not wanting to work at times.
Lights on dash were flashing in cluster which made it look like it was low tire pressure. I had a portable air pump which showed tires were fine. The vehicle went into some kind of limp mode which prevented the vehicle from driving the speed limit. It was taken to Auto service center. The diagnosis was Engine failure due to a burnt valve. It's been confirmed through the dealership, mechanics and consumers that is a common problem with this particular make and model vehicle. This engine failure left me on the side of the road and not feeling safe at all while being approximately 3 hours from my…
Lately, I have been adding coolant to my car - 2013 Audi Q& TDI and Motor Oil for unknown reasons why it was happening. It started last year, 2023. I thought it was a normal thing that the oil level and coolant level kept on getting depleted. Comparing with my other car, i.e. a 2016 Toyota Avalon, I never encountered these problems My Audi car was serviced sometime 2018 and apparently all gaskets of the engine were replaced after I complained about severe leaking of oil inside my car garage. Until I went online to get if there were similar complaints of other users of this car were reported…
1. Entire Passenger windshield wiper arm flew off of car during a rain storm on the highway. Needed replaced. This caused me to have obstructed vision. No warning lights or symptoms before it happened. 2. Passenger windshield wiper got stuck straight up, caught by driver wiper and pulled off. Needed replaced again. Obstructed vision, not able to use wipers until I was able to pull over and correct it.
On expressway, rear-ended and pushed into car in front too, so hit on both ends and no airbags deployed in the Audi Q7. Four vehicles were involved and the other three cars all had airbags deploy. Both front passengers hit their heads. Driver has whiplash and passenger has forehead skin abrasion. The car was always serviced by Audi only and was not on the airbag recall list. It apparently should be on the list, something is defective and owners have a false sense of assumed security in this car.
First thing is fuel smell in cabin very dangerous for me as well as any passengers Next is transmission there is no way telling how much fluid is in the vehicle that should be monitored by the consumer they have a right to know Front & rear axles seem to get worn quickly must be a problem in the drivetrain somewhere
I WAS DRIVING TODAY ON THE HIGHWAY AND THE WINDSHIELD MECHANISM ON MY 2013 AUDI Q7 SNAPPED IN HALF AND FLEW OFF THE CAR IN HEAVY RAINS. ADDITIONALLY, THE ONLY SIDE AFFECTED BY THIS IS THE PASSENGER SIDE WINDSHIELD WIPER; THE DRIVER SIDE AND BACK CONTINUE TO WORK
THE VEHICLE HAS PERFORMED POORLY AFTER COMPLETING A US DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE MANDATED "FIX" OF DIESEL (3.0 LITER TDI, ENGINE CODE CNRB) EMISSIONS EQUIPMENT RELATED TO VW/AUDI EMISSIONS CHEATING. THERE IS NOW SPORADIC LAG IN ACCELERATION, ESPECIALLY AT LOW SPEEDS, OR ACCELERATING FROM A COMPLETE STOP. THERE WERE TIMES WHEN I HAVE PULLED INTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC, AND THE POWER DELIVERY WAS NON-EXISTENT, FOLLOWED BY, AFTER A 1 SECOND DELAY, RAPID OVER ACCELERATION. THERE HAVE ALSO BEEN MANY PROBLEMS RELATED TO THE REDUCTANT METERING MODULE FAILURE THAT HAS CAUSED DANGEROUS DELAYS AND LAGS IN…
2013 Audi Q7: questions owners ask
Is the 2013 Audi Q7 reliable?
NHTSA data alone cannot rate reliability, but it shows what owners reported. Owners filed 44 complaints with NHTSA about the 2013 Audi Q7; the most common categories were fuel/propulsion system (14, 31.8%), engine (11, 25%), visibility/wiper (7, 15.9%). There are 3 safety recalls. 3 complaints mention a crash, 1 mentions a fire, 60 injuries were reported.
What are the most common problems with the 2013 Audi Q7?
Across 44 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the categories mentioned most often are fuel/propulsion system (31.8% of complaints), engine (25% of complaints), visibility/wiper (15.9% of complaints), power train (9.1% of complaints), electrical system (6.8% of complaints). One complaint can name several components.
Does the 2013 Audi Q7 have any recalls?
Yes. NHTSA lists 3 recalls for the 2013 Audi Q7; the most recent (campaign 23V086000, 2023-02-15) concerns Equipment: Other: Labels. Recall repairs are free at a franchised dealer; check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Why does my 2013 Audi Q7 smell of fuel or gas?
10 of the 44 owner complaints NHTSA has on file for the 2013 Audi Q7 (22.7%) describe a fuel or gasoline smell, or a fuel leak. One owner wrote: "About 3 weeks ago I started to slightly smell gas around my car. As I drove it the smell started getting worse and I noticed what looks like a gas leak leaking from under the drivers side back door area under my car." (NHTSA complaint 11766029, September 2026). If it happens to your car, check your VIN for open recalls at nhtsa.gov/recalls and report the problem to NHTSA; complaints are what trigger investigations.
Why does my 2013 Audi Q7 stall, lose power or shut off while driving?
6 of the 44 owner complaints NHTSA has on file for the 2013 Audi Q7 (13.6%) describe the engine stalling, losing power or shutting off while driving. One owner wrote: "Steering wheel intermittently gets really HARD to turn. Like a total loss of power steering assist. This only usually lasts a moment or two, then functions as normal. Always while driving, but not always while navigating a turn." (NHTSA complaint 11454228, February 2022). If it happens to your car, check your VIN for open recalls at nhtsa.gov/recalls and report the problem to NHTSA; complaints are what trigger investigations.
Has the 2013 Audi Q7 had engine failures?
3 of the 44 owner complaints NHTSA has on file for the 2013 Audi Q7 (6.8%) describe complete engine failure or a replaced engine. One owner wrote: "Rumbling sound from a cold start. reported problem to service department when car was still under warranty in april 2015 and was told it was normal sound. now engine failure with timing chain and tensioners." (NHTSA complaint 11209515, May 2019). If it happens to your car, check your VIN for open recalls at nhtsa.gov/recalls and report the problem to NHTSA; complaints are what trigger investigations.
Check your own Q7
Counts are a starting point, not a verdict: popular models collect more complaints because more of them are on the road, and NHTSA does not verify individual reports. To see whether a recall is still open on your car, enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls (U.S.) or your registration at check-vehicle-recalls.service.gov.uk (UK). Had a safety problem? Report it to NHTSA; complaints are what trigger investigations and recalls.
Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation recall and complaint databases (public domain), DVSA anonymised MOT results (Open Government Licence v3.0), DVSA vehicle recalls (Open Government Licence v3.0), EU Safety Gate alerts (© European Union), retrieved October 25, 2026. Model year 2013 only.