2016 Audi S7 Recalls & Complaints

Incident: March 19, 2023 · Filed: July 15, 2025

Carvana sold me a 2016 Audi S7 (VIN [XXX] ) with what was later discovered to be an odometer discrepancy. I submitted a formal complaint to the Ohio Attorney General, and Carvana subsequently issued a refund. However, after refunding me, I learned that Carvana resold the vehicle at auction without disclosing the odometer issue or branding the title as required under federal law. Play also did disclose the damage that was done to the engine, turbo chargers, or from the car catching on fire. This raises serious concerns about odometer fraud and title washing, and I believe it warrants federal investigation under 49 U.S. Code § 32705. I request NHTSA open a case on this matter and audit Carvana’s practices relating to odometer disclosures and resale. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Incident: February 6, 2024 · Filed: March 8, 2024

The car was driving perfectly fine until last week heading to drop my kids to school and the vehicle stopped on the middle of the street. I had no previous issues or notice. I had multiple warnings on the dashboard and now the car won't crank. I have seen several post with people with this same issue and can't find a clear answer. I had to push the vehicle out of the road with traffic behind

Incident: June 21, 2022 · Filed: June 21, 2022

Submitting an official complaint since there has been a lack of status update or repair resolution. I am concerned that I will have a failure resulting in injury or death since I cannot get this fixed.

Incident: February 28, 2021 · Filed: April 12, 2022

I have a 2016 Audi S7 that uses the notorious 7-speed DSG transmission. I started to notice some random jerking when I pull the car from the red light a month before the car completely dead on me in April 2021. One time when I was driving on the highway at 70mph it throws a "transmission malfunction" code on my dash and put my car in Limp Mode (only 1,3,5,7 gear available). I also experience gear slipping when putting the car in reverse, when putting the car in reverse, 9/10 times the R gear won't engage at all, and the onetime the R gear will only engage when the gas pedal is pressed way down, resulting in the car shooting backward and potentially putting anyone behind the car in danger. One time I almost got rear-ended when the car suddenly stalled at a crossroad when pulling from a red light, because the car decided to shift in neutral instead of 2nd gear. I had to restart the car couple of times to drive it in Limp Mode and created a traffic jam at a very busy crossroad. After I did some extensive search on this issue, I believe the mechatronic unit has design flaws that after some miles (in my case 40000 miles) are bound to fail. And since the manufacturer's warranty only covers the drivetrain for cars that is either 5 years old or within 36000 miles, I have to replace the mechatronic unit out of my pocket, which is a major burden on my financial situation. There weren't any warning lights prior to the failure, and the only symptom is the random jerking when upshift or downshifting but I was told it is normal to the 7 speed DSG gearbox my car was using. I had Audi Tysons Corner did a diagnosis and they respond that a new mechatronic needs to be put in. I have attached the report they send me. They also send me a picture of the leaking fluid in the transmission pan which I attached also. I ended up putting a new Mechatronic Unit in and I was told it is an Upgrade version from a local Audi-authorized dealer I am attaching the invoice here.

Incident: November 28, 2021 · Filed: February 17, 2022

The engine died on the New Jersey turnpike going 70 mph. Had to coast to shoulder. Sat on the side of the highway with children in back seat for 45 mins waiting for tow which is extremely dangerous. No warning lights before or after the issue. Had to be towed to dealer. Dealer confirmed turbo system failed.

Incident: August 14, 2021 · Filed: August 19, 2021

The car drove normally at highway speed for approximately 4 hours. Upon leaving the highway and attempting to accelerate onto a secondary road into oncoming traffic, the engine shuttered. The car drove erratically for about a mile with hesitation and shuttering. After stopping at a stop sign at a very busy intersection, the engine failed completely. The Electronic Power Control warning light appeared. The engine would not restart on repeated attempts. After dealing with following traffic for several minutes, a passer by assisted with pushing the car to the side of the road. During this time, the steering and brakes barely worked and I was just able to avoid hitting a parked car due to these disablements. Note that the manual for the car includes very little information about this warning light other than "to have the function corrected as soon as possible" by an Audi dealer. There were no prior warning lights or degradations in performance. This was a catastrophic failure. The car went from performing normally to complete failure in a matter of minutes. During this sequence my wife and I were at risk as well as the drivers who were forced to enter the oncoming traffic lane to go around me and the passer by who assisted. Due to the position of the car, the tow truck operator was also at risk as were passing drivers at the time of the tow. I am told by the Audi Dealer in Rutland, VT that both turbochargers failed. This is apparently due to the clogging of an oil screen which filters oil before entering the turbos. My understanding is that this is known problem to Audi. It is very expensive to access the oil screen to determine if it is clogged. My car has only approximately 48,000 miles on it and it has received all indicated services and oil changes. There are aftermarket solutions to fix this problem which Audi has failed to implement or recommend. I was never made aware of this being a potential problem by Audi or my Audi dealer.

Incident: June 1, 2021 · Filed: June 4, 2021

Car only has 29,489 miles and has been serviced at Audi for every 1yr and now has turbo failure at a cost of 12k.

Incident: April 10, 2021 · Filed: April 30, 2021

AT 40K MILES, I'VE BEEN NOTICING THE SYMPTOMS OF A DYING MECH UNIT (BANG/JERK TO STOP, SHIFTING FROM DRIVE TO REVERSE), ETC. THOSE SYMPTOMS HAPPENED WHEN I PULL UP FROM STATIONARY, PUT THE CAR IN REVERSE. CAR WILL ALSO THROW TRANSMISSION ERROR CODE ON DASHBOARD AND PUT IN "LIMP MODE" FROM TIME TO TIME. SINCE IT WAS OUT OF WARRANTY, AUDI QUOTED ME $5800 TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE MECHATRONIC UNIT. MANY THREADS ON THE AUDI FORUM CONFIRM THE ISSUE WAS DUE TO QUALITY CONTROL ON AUDI'S PART, AND AUDI REFUSED TO ISSUE A CALLBACK OR PAY FOR THE EXPENSE FOR OUT-OF-WARRANTY CARS WITH FALUTY 7-SPEED DSG TRANSMISSION.

Incident: December 26, 2019 · Filed: April 7, 2021

EXPERIENCED TURBOCHARGER FAILURE WHEN COMING TO A STOP AFTER GETTING OFF THE INTERSTATE AFTER APPROXIMATE 2.5 HOURS OF DRIVING. ENGINE DIED AS CAR SLOWED DOWN SO SUSPECT THE TURBOS FAILED WHILE DRIVING BUT RAM AIR FROM INTERSTATE SPEEDS WAS ADEQUATE TO MAINTAIN THE ENGINE UNTIL IT SLOWED DOWN. THE EXTENDED RUN TIME WITH FAILED TURBOS RESULTED IN METAL FRAGMENTS IN THE OIL SO AFTER INSPECTION, THE ENGINE WAS REPLACED UNDER AN EXTENDED WARRANTY WITH A USED ENGINE. THIS ENGINE HAS APPROXIMATELY 58K MILES ON IT AND I THINK THE REPLACEMENT ENGINE HAD 11K OR SO ON IT. THIS OCCURRED ON DEC 26TH, 2019. THIS PAST FEBRUARY, 2021, NOTED AN ODD WHISTLE SOUND FROM THE TURBO BUT NO WARNING LIGHTS AND SLIGHTLY SLUGGISH ACCELERATION. THE FOLLOWING DAY IT SEEMED TO RUN FINE ON MY WAY TO WORK BUT ON THE WAY BACK IT RAN ROUGH AND THEN DIED SO I HAD TO STEER OFF THE ROAD INTO A PARKING LOT AS I LOST POWER STEERING. FURTHER INVESTIGATION DETERMINED THAT ONE TURBOCHARGER HAD COMPLETELY FAILED (THE TURBINE WHEEL WAS COMPLETELY SHEERED OFF) AND THE OTHER HAD EXCESSIVE PLAY IN THE SHAFT. THE 75K FACTORY MAINTENANCE HAD JUST BEEN PERFORMED IN DECKER, 2020, AS HAD THE 65K MAINTENANCE EARLIER IN THE YEAR. SINCE THE REPLACEMENT ENGINE WAS NO LONGER COVERED UNDER A USED PARTS WARRANTY OR MY EXTENDED WARRANTY, THE COST OF TURBO REPLACEMENT WAS ENTIRELY OUT OF POCKET. I ALSO HAD TO PAY FOR SOME EXTRA WORK ON THE FIRST ENGINE REPLACEMENT DUE TO DISCOVERY OF EXTRA WORK REQUIRED FOR THE SWAP THAT WASN'T IN THE INITIAL QUOTE TO THE EXTENDED WARRANTY COMPANY.

Incident: November 25, 2020 · Filed: April 3, 2021

TURBO FAILURE. FIRST START UP OF THE DAY, VEHICLE WOULD CUT OFF AND DIE. TOOK IT TO THE AUDI DEALER AND IT WAS DIAGNOSE WITH TURBO FAILURE.