Audi Q7: Years to Avoid and Best Years to Buy
Audi Q7: 14 model years scored from 816 NHTSA owner complaints and 48 recall campaigns. Worst year 2017, best year 2013.
Audi Q7: which years to avoid
Across 12 scored model years the Audi Q7 ranges from 29/100 in 2017 to 88/100 in 2013 — a 59-point spread, so which year you buy matters more than whether you buy a Q7 at all. The weakest year’s complaints concentrate in Exterior Lighting (133 of them).
Avoid: 2017, 2018, 2021 — scored below 45 on the complaint and recall record.
Safest years: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2020, 2023 — scored 70 or better.
Scored from NHTSA complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. How the score works · every car’s years to avoid.
Editor's note
Avoid the 2017 Q7, which has 319 owner complaints and a score of 29, the 2018 car at 43 on 141 complaints, and the 2021 car at 31 on 71. Buy a 2011 to 2015 car, which scores 86 to 88 on 23 to 45 complaints a year, though with evidence the site marks low, or the 2020 at 79 on 26 complaints. The 2017 car was the first of a new generation and its top component is Exterior Lighting at 133, which no campaign on record addresses, followed by Engine at 60 and Electrical System at 53. Its seven campaigns, six safety-critical, include 16V519000 for an air bag control module, 16V648000 for the electric power steering control unit, 19V035000 for leaking fuel rails and 20V149000 for a steering shaft bolt that may loosen on 2017 to 2019 cars. The 2021 car has Electrical System at 43 and nine campaigns, including 25V201000 for an instrument panel display that may fail.
Read the guide
Used Audi Q5 and Q7: the years to avoid — written and signed by Adir Trabelsi, 2026-09-16.
How the Q7 changed, run by run
The federal record falls into 3 stretches of years that behave alike. A redesign shows up here as a step in the complaint rate that then holds.
2011–2015
Mean score 87/100, about 3 complaints per year on the road. Owners of these years complain about Fuel/Propulsion System more than anything else (45 complaints). 9 recall campaign(s) in this run touch fire, crash or stall risk.
2017–2018
Mean score 36/100, about 27 complaints per year on the road. Owners of these years complain about Exterior Lighting more than anything else (156 complaints). The record falls 51 points against the years before it. 8 recall campaign(s) in this run touch fire, crash or stall risk.
2019–2021
Mean score 57/100, about 9 complaints per year on the road. Owners of these years complain about Electrical System more than anything else (62 complaints). The record improves by 21 points against the years before it. 9 recall campaign(s) in this run touch fire, crash or stall risk.
Year-by-year data table
Best year in our data: 2013 (score 88). Worst: 2017 (score 29, AVOID).
| Year | Score | Verdict | Running cost / yr | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 60 | CAUTION | $4,484 | 16 | 2 |
| 2024 | — | DATA PENDING | $4,370 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 86 | BUY | $4,710 | 0 | 3 |
| 2022 | — | DATA PENDING | $4,850 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 31 | AVOID | $4,960 | 71 | 9 |
| 2020 | 79 | BUY | $5,512 | 26 | 5 |
| 2019 | 62 | CAUTION | $5,135 | 61 | 4 |
| 2018 | 43 | AVOID | $5,444 | 141 | 3 |
| 2017 | 29 | AVOID | $5,923 | 319 | 7 |
| 2015 | 86 | BUY | $5,606 | 44 | 2 |
| 2014 | 87 | BUY | $5,741 | 45 | 2 |
| 2013 | 88 | BUY | $6,470 | 41 | 3 |
| 2012 | 86 | BUY | $6,388 | 29 | 4 |
| 2011 | 87 | BUY | $6,718 | 23 | 4 |
Running cost is fuel or energy plus the maintenance band midpoint for that car at its age today, re-priced to your country. Purchase price, insurance and depreciation are not included.
Photographs and every generation of the Q7, through the years →
Q7 sub-models & family
Variants & trims on record
Body, powertrain and trim variants of the Q7 on the federal record. Variants folded into this nameplate are counted in this page's data; the rest have too thin a record for a page of their own yet.
What goes wrong on the Audi Q7
Across every Q7 model year in our index, owners report these component groups most often. The cost beside each one is the representative repair for that group at a US independent shop, re-priced to your country.
- Engine164 complaints across all Q7 years · typical job: Cooling-system or timing-drive repair$1,040–$2,220
- Exterior Lighting156 complaints across all Q7 years · typical job: Headlamp assembly or lighting-module replacement$360–$1,380
- Electrical System147 complaints across all Q7 years · typical job: Alternator, battery-drain or body-module diagnosis and replacement$540–$1,310
- Unknown Or Other86 complaints across all Q7 years · typical job: Diagnosis and mixed repair$360–$940
- Suspension58 complaints across all Q7 years · typical job: Struts, springs and control-arm bushings, one axle$780–$1,580
- Fuel/Propulsion System53 complaints across all Q7 years · typical job: Fuel pump or injector replacement$680–$1,620
Flat-rate labour hours x local shop rate plus a parts band. An estimate of what this class of failure costs, not a quote. Formula.
FAQ
Which Audi Q7 years should I avoid?
On the NHTSA record the years to avoid are 2017, 2018, 2021 — each scores below 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. The 2017 is the weakest at 29/100, with its complaints concentrated in Exterior Lighting.
What are the best Audi Q7 years to buy?
2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2020, 2023 all score 70 or better. The strongest is the 2013 at 88/100, on 41 complaints and 3 recall campaigns.
What is the most common Audi Q7 problem?
164 of the complaints filed against the Q7 across all its model years sit in the Engine group — more than any other component.
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Sources: NHTSA, EPA · Methodology · Updated 2026-10-04