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Audi Q7Model year report

2017 Audi Q7 Problems

Compared with other Audi Q7 years

More complaints than typical for this model

100/100 11× a typical year · 50 = typical

Nearby years with a typical complaint level and no open NHTSA investigation: 2014, 2015, 2020

Based only on NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations. Not adjusted for how many vehicles were sold, and not a reliability rating. How this is calculated

Complaints
322filed with NHTSA
Median mileage
33,150miles, 76 complaints with mileage
Recalls
7campaigns on record
Trend
RisingComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% higher than in the 3 years before.
NHTSA crash rating
—no overall rating published
EPA fuel economy
22 mpgcombined, 2.0L 4-cyl AWD · 20 city / 25 hwy

Sources: NHTSA records for the 2017 Audi Q7 (complaints, recalls, investigations), EPA fuel economy. Report an error

What owners report

Owners of this 2017 Q7 most often describe lighting warnings, mainly messages that a front side marker light is inoperative, and many say the dealer told them their VIN was not covered by the side marker recall. Reports also cluster around fuel odors near the fuel rail or high-pressure pump, steering that becomes hard to turn, and fast wear on the outer edges of the front tires. Complaints in the sample range from a few thousand miles to over 100,000 miles, with the lighting reports spread across roughly 40,000 to 100,000 miles and the fuel and tire reports appearing early in the vehicle's life.

  1. Exterior lighting

    Front side marker and headlight warning messages

    • 126 complaints (39%)
    • median 67,000 mi at 6.3 yrs old (15 state mileage)
    • owner-quoted repair $5,000 (median of 34 quotes)
    • filed 2020–2026

    Owners describe a warning message that a front side marker light is inoperative, or that a headlight assembly has failed, appearing at start-up or while driving. Many say they checked the recall covering side marker software and were told their VIN was not included, or that the recall work had already been done. Several report that the dealer's remedy was to replace the entire headlight or marker assembly rather than a bulb or module, and some say the repair was not covered. Others mention headlights and turn signals intermittently not working, and one owner had a headlight module replaced for corrosion. Mostly reported between about 40,000 and 100,000 miles, and the message often reappears each time the lights are switched on.

    Recall 16V642000

    What to check: Ask whether recall 16V642000 (side marker software) was applied to this VIN, and switch the lights on and off to see whether any marker or headlight warning returns. Get a quote in writing before agreeing to a whole headlight or marker assembly replacement.

    2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

    “The contact's husband owns a 2017 Audi Q7. The contact stated while driving and activating the headlights, there was a message stating that the side marker lights were inoperable displayed. The contact stated that the failure recurred whenever the headlights were activated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. …”

    NHTSA complaint #11608656, filed 2024-08, 64,000 miles

    “The contact owns a 2017 Audi Q7. The contact stated while driving 55-60 MPH, a message regarding the exterior passenger’s side marker light was displayed. Additionally, the contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle shuddered and hesitated upon depressing the accelerator pedal. The message Malfunction System. Contact Service was displayed. The contact stated that the failure recurred intermittently. …”

    NHTSA complaint #11542904, filed 2023-09, 80,000 miles
  2. Fuel system

    Fuel smell and leaks at the fuel rail or pump

    • 12 complaints (4%)
    • median 5,000 mi at 2.1 yrs old (5 state mileage, few)
    • filed 2017–2025

    Owners report a strong gasoline smell in the garage or after a short drive, and in some cases the dealer found a leaking high-pressure fuel pump fitting or traced the odor to a vacuum pump. Several describe repeated recall notices for the fuel rail and dealers telling them the parts were not yet available, so the repair could not be scheduled for months. Some owners link the smell to the earlier fuel rail recall on these vehicles and ask whether their car is affected. Mostly reported under about 30,000 miles, and the odor is usually noticed while the car is parked or right after a short drive.

    Recall 19V035000

    What to check: Ask whether recall 19V035000 (fuel rail leak) was completed on this VIN and whether any fuel pump or fuel line work was done. After a drive, park the car and smell around the front and under the hood for raw fuel before walking away.

    2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

    “Our Q7 is less than a year old. I smell gas when I park the car even after a short drive of about 3 miles. The idi service had said that this was related to vacuum pump and fixed it last week. I still smell gas and I am concerned with safety. I saw previous models have been recalled due to potential fire due to gas leak and I am worried that this might be the case with 2018 models as well.”

    NHTSA complaint #11151643, filed 2018-11, 5,000 miles

    “I have received multiple letters from Audi concerning NHTSA recall 19v035. Each time I attempt to schedule the suggested repair, the dealer (Audi, orange park--jacksonville, fl) tells me parts are not yet available! When will Audi make parts available to dealers for this recall on the fuel rails?”

    NHTSA complaint #11221219, filed 2019-06, 30,000 miles
  3. Steering

    Hard steering and loss of power steering assist

    • 16 complaints (5%)
    • median 47,000 mi at 2.6 yrs old (7 state mileage, few)
    • 2 mention a crash, fire or injury
    • filed 2017–2025

    Owners describe the wheel suddenly becoming very heavy to turn in either direction, sometimes with a power steering malfunction warning, and one car had to be towed. Dealers in these complaints replaced the steering control module and steering gear, or the steering shaft bolt, in some cases at the owner's expense. Other owners report buzzing or clicking while turning at low speed without a warning, and one describes the wheel locking after the vehicle lost power. Some say their VIN was not covered by the steering recall. Reported from roughly 45,000 to 75,000 miles, both at highway speed and while turning at low speed.

    Recall 20V149000Recall 16V648000

    What to check: Ask whether recalls 20V149000 (steering shaft bolt) and 16V648000 (power steering assist) apply to this VIN and were completed. On the test drive, turn the wheel slowly at parking-lot speed with the engine running and listen for buzzing or clicking, and confirm the assist feels even in both directions.

    2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

    “Clicking noise while stoping and buzzing while turning. I am not alone, but there are thousands like owners complaining about this , why no official is asking Audi to fix it? Or do we need fire and crashes and life losses for nhts to issue a recall?”

    NHTSA complaint #11217212, filed 2019-05, 65,000 miles

    “While driving down a local city street, the car began to lose power, flashed a bunch of error codes and then lost power within a few seconds. The steering wheel locked when this happened so the car could not safely be steered off the road. They did initially replace the battery thinking that that was the cause but it happened shortly after leaving the mechanic so it we took at back which is when we were told that a software update was needed but that only the dealership can do this. …”

    NHTSA complaint #11395192, filed 2021-02, 63,000 miles
  4. Suspension

    Front tires wearing out on the outer edges

    Mentioned in 4 of 60 sampled complaints

    Owners report the outer edges of the front tires becoming rough, chunking or going bald within the first 15,000 to 20,000 miles, sometimes on the second or third set of tires. Some had alignments done and were told the settings were within specification, yet the wear pattern returned on the new tires. In one complaint the uneven front wear was found by a shop while the car was in for a brake noise, and the owner had not noticed it. Reported mostly under about 25,000 miles, often on the original or first replacement set of tires.

    What to check: Run your hand along the inner and outer shoulders of both front tires and look for chunking, cupping or a feathered edge. Ask for the alignment printout and whether the front tires were replaced recently, and check that all four tires match in brand and wear.

    2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

    “Goodyear eagle sport run-flat tires on a new 2017 Audi Q7 are completely bald on the front outsides and have chunks coming off of them by 16,000 miles. It was actually a problem earlier, but my current mileage is 16,000 so I'm using that number. It's a known issue according to Audi, but Audi of north america only passes the buck and says the dealership should deal with it. The dealership was the one that told me to contact Audi of north america.”

    NHTSA complaint #11163974, filed 2018-12, 16,000 miles

    “We purchased our Q7 feb of 2017. It was a cpo with 10k miles. Part of the deal was they had to change he tires. The front tires looked like they were chewed up or tearing up. They changed the tires. Then about 2k miles later it started doing the same thing on the new tires. Same chewed or tearing up look. We took it to Audi. We had the goodyear eagle sport all season tires. They changed the tires again. Then same issue again about 1500k miles. So finally the GM placed new set of pirelli tires on all 4 tires. …”

    NHTSA complaint #11066805, filed 2018-02, 13,000 miles

Buying note. On this model year, budget time for a lighting inspection and a fuel smell check on the test drive, since those are the two most repeated owner reports. Ask for the recall history by VIN before purchase, and look closely at front tire wear, which several owners found early.

Summary written with AI from a sample of 60 NHTSA complaints for this model year (picked at random, with complaints that state a mileage and recent ones taken first), then checked automatically against the source records. Where a problem shows a complaint count, every complaint for this model year was matched with fixed keyword rules (written with AI and tested against the sample), and the mileage, age and repair figures are calculated from those complaints; owners' figures are as stated, not verified. Other counts refer to the sample. The excerpts come from NHTSA's public complaint records and are unverified; capitalisation is normalised, NHTSA staff notes are removed, and shortened text ends with “…”. Something wrong? Request a correction.

NHTSA recorded 322 consumer complaints for the 2017 Audi Q7. 76 of the complaints include a mileage, and 59% of those were filed for vehicles with under 50,000 miles; the median is 33,150 miles. Of all complaints, 7 involved a crash, 3 a fire, 10 an injury, according to the filers. NHTSA lists 7 recall campaigns and 1,245 technical service bulletins for this model year. Compared with the other 10 Audi Q7 model years that have at least 25 complaints and are old enough to compare, this one scores 100 out of 100, where 50 is a typical year for the model (more complaints than typical for this model). The comparison allows for the era and for how long each year has had to collect complaints, but not for how many vehicles were sold.

Which parts are reported most

Complaints can name more than one part, so the counts add up to more than the total. Select a part to see its complaints, recalls and bulletins.

Also reported: Air bags (6), Body and structure (6), Visibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors) (6), Seat belts (4), Electronic stability control (3), Forward collision avoidance (2), Latches, locks and linkages (2), Vehicle speed control (2), Back-over prevention (rear camera) (1), Engine cooling (1), Lane departure (1), Seats (1).

Example complaints

Exterior lighting: “there is side marker lights issue. it happened 1 one year ago. it was right side. few months later , left side had same problem. I checked up audi q9 with same problem. I found that old model has same issue with recall. I searched audi owner web site, and saw there were so many owner had same problem. however, audi did not declare 2017 Q7.”

NHTSA complaint #11585122, filed 2024-04

Engine: “At approximately 54k miles the cooling system pump was diagnosed by the Audi dealer that it was leaking. I had to have the pump and all associated parts replaced. This is a common failure with this model. I believe Audi is using inferior pumps.”

NHTSA complaint #11394317, filed 2021-02, 55,535 miles

Electrical system: “There's major problems overall with the electrical system this car. The particular safety issue I've had requiring more than three services have been with the functionality or lack thereof of the windows, particularly the ones in the front. The auto open and close function on the clicker intermittently works. Sometimes it just stops working and functioning and you have to hold it all the way down or hold it all the way up until it opens or closes. …”

NHTSA complaint #11341034, filed 2020-07, 2,200 miles

Suspension: “After 10k miles we started noticing abnormal wear on the outside of the tires. I have the 18 goodyear runflat tires. The tires are chunking severely posing a serious safety concern for my family. Audi has a TSB for the same condition on the 20 tire. I do not know why the do not cover the same condition on the 18 tire??”

NHTSA complaint #11256022, filed 2019-09, 10,000 miles

Mileage when problems were reported

59% of the 76 complaints with a mileage were filed for vehicles with under 50,000 miles; the middle half falls between 10,000 and 67,000 miles.

22%0–1020%10–2517%25–5022%50–7511%75–1008%100–1500%150+
Share of complaints by mileage when the problem was reported, in thousands of miles (76 complaints with mileage). Red bars: under 50,000 miles. Bucket widths differ. Median: 33,150 miles.

Complaints by year filed

Trend: rising. Complaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% higher than in the 3 years before.

20162018202020222024852026
Complaints by year the complaint was filed with NHTSA. Red bars: the last 3 full calendar years used for the trend. The current year (2026) is partial.

Fuel economy and running cost

EPA ratings for each 2017 Audi Q7 version. Annual fuel cost is the EPA's estimate at its current fuel prices for 15,000 miles a year (55% city driving).

VersionEngineTransmissionCityHwyComb.Fuel / yr
Q7 AWD2.0L 4-cyl8-speed automatic202522$3,750
Q7 AWD3.0L 6-cyl8-speed automatic192521$3,900

Source: U.S. EPA and Department of Energy, fueleconomy.gov. Ratings are for comparing vehicles; real-world mileage varies with driving and conditions.

Recalls and investigations

See all 7 recalls for the 2017 Audi Q7 → · Check a VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls

Technical service bulletins

TSBs are manufacturer notes to dealers about known repair procedures. They are not recalls and do not by themselves mean a vehicle has a fault. 1,245 on record; the latest 10 are shown.

See all 1,245 bulletins →

Other model years of the Audi Q7

YearComplaintsMedian miRecallsCrash ★MPGScore (50 = typical)Trend
202517—2522—Too new
20231616,1363—21—Too new
20222020,0003—22—Rising
20217552,0009—21100 · MoreRising
20202942,8505—2164 · TypicalRising
20196312,7004521100 · MoreRising
201814415,8003521100 · MoreRising
201732233,1507—22100 · MoreRising
20154653,5002—1850 · TypicalStable
20144650,1502—1838 · TypicalRising
20134472,0003—1838 · TypicalStable
20122983,0004—180 · FewerFalling
20112390,7004—18—Stable
20102954,0003—1642 · TypicalStable
20092190,0003—16—Falling
20083372,0003—1634 · FewerFalling
20079577,4003—16Not compared (before 2008)Falling

All Audi Q7 model years · Best and worst years by complaints

Frequently asked questions

What are the most common problems with the 2017 Audi Q7?

Owners of this 2017 Q7 most often describe lighting warnings, mainly messages that a front side marker light is inoperative, and many say the dealer told them their VIN was not covered by the side marker recall. The issues reported most often: Front side marker and headlight warning messages; Fuel smell and leaks at the fuel rail or pump; Hard steering and loss of power steering assist.

How many NHTSA complaints does the 2017 Audi Q7 have?

NHTSA recorded 322 consumer complaints for the 2017 Audi Q7 as of Oct 28, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

What part of the 2017 Audi Q7 is reported most often?

Exterior lighting is named most often, in 134 complaints (42% of the total), followed by engine with 61.

Has the 2017 Audi Q7 been recalled?

NHTSA lists 7 recall campaigns for this model year. To check a specific vehicle, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

What gas mileage does the 2017 Audi Q7 get?

The EPA rates the 2017 Audi Q7 (Q7, 2.0L 4-cyl) at 22 mpg combined, 20 city and 25 highway, with an estimated annual fuel cost of $3,750 at 15,000 miles a year. Other engine and drive versions are rated differently.

At what mileage are problems with the 2017 Audi Q7 reported?

Among the 76 complaints that include a mileage, the median is 33,150 miles and the middle half falls between 10,000 and 67,000 miles; 59% were filed for vehicles with under 50,000 miles.

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 28, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate. Fuel economy is from the EPA and DOE (fueleconomy.gov).

Complaint counts come from NHTSA’s public complaint database; we count each complaint once. The source records for this vehicle are on nhtsa.gov. Scores and trends are our own summaries of that data, described in the methodology. This page is not legal, safety or repair advice: for a specific vehicle, check its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls and ask a qualified mechanic. See an error? Tell us.