Q7 TDI owners, please help ease my mind...
08-16-2011, 05:33 PM
#1
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Q7 TDI owners, please help ease my mind...
I've owned a Q7 3.6 Premium since 2007. Absolutely love it. Been doing a lot of research into the TDI recently and after ALOT of back and forth, decided to go for it this past saturday. Have it ordered and its being shipped from the plant in Germany as we speak (should be here 3rd week of September). I can't wait, but at the same time, still have some questions/hesitations. I've read all the posts here and other sites, but would love some more info. Yeah, weird that I'm asking this after ordering the car, but as many have already said- can't go wrong with TDI or TFSI. That being said...
Anyone have issues with filling up diesel? I heard theres three different diesel nossles and only one fits the TDI.
Does anyone really get around 30 mpg highway? I'm expecting combined 23mpg?
Read some posts on Adblue and hoping I don't have issues with it. Anyone find that Audi isn't fully topping it off or that you need more of it before the scheduled maintenance? Really worried about Adblue seeing how you can't really get it anywhere yet.
I had a 2005.5 A4 2.0T and there was always that slight delay before it would go when I pressed on the gas. Does this happen with the Q7 TDI as well? I test drove one and it didn't really seem like it, but then again I didn't really gun it either.
Overall thoughts and opinions on the TDI are much appreciated. Again, I can't wait to get mine and I'll probably just keep reading anything and everything on it till mine arrives!
Anyone have issues with filling up diesel? I heard theres three different diesel nossles and only one fits the TDI.
Does anyone really get around 30 mpg highway? I'm expecting combined 23mpg?
Read some posts on Adblue and hoping I don't have issues with it. Anyone find that Audi isn't fully topping it off or that you need more of it before the scheduled maintenance? Really worried about Adblue seeing how you can't really get it anywhere yet.
I had a 2005.5 A4 2.0T and there was always that slight delay before it would go when I pressed on the gas. Does this happen with the Q7 TDI as well? I test drove one and it didn't really seem like it, but then again I didn't really gun it either.
Overall thoughts and opinions on the TDI are much appreciated. Again, I can't wait to get mine and I'll probably just keep reading anything and everything on it till mine arrives!
08-16-2011, 07:30 PM
#2
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I have my '10 TDI since 10/09.
I love it, originally bought because diesel was cheaper, and it was either the 3.6 or the 4.2. Love the MPG vs the 4.2 and feels that I don't really need the 4.2.
Loved the amount of torque, climbing hills is effortless, I usually get a kick out of how easy I passed cars on a long hill climb, the TDI is keep on going, accelerating usually scares the other drivers.
No issues with filling up diesel here in NorCal. As far as I can tell, all the gas stations have one kind of diesel nozzel. Usually the ones that I find that don't fit, is because the spring at the end is improperly seated or bent some how.
My wife drives it around town a lot, so MPG does not go up. When I have it on highway, I've seen 28MPG to 29MPG on the computer, but average is closer to 24/25MPG.
I used to keep track of my fuel consumption with an iPhone app, but it was acting up and the statistics became useless, so I started a new database. When I was keeping track for a better part of a year. It was averaging around 20/22MPG with mixed driving, more city than highway.
I have no issues with AdBlue, I have AudiCare, dealer fills it up every time, and it last till the next schedules visit, or pretty close. You get a 1500 mile warning, so plenty of time to get it fill. I have no check recently, but lots of threads indicate that AdBlue is readily available at VW dealers (cheaper) and auto parts stores, since it's just urea, you can get it at a lot of places, they might not call it AdBlue, since Mercedes and BMW also uses the same urea, it should be pretty easy to get. I'm close to my 35k scheduled maintenance, and about to embark on a long trip down to San Diego and back, was going to see if I can pickup a gallon of the stuff just to ease my mind and also to see how easy it is to buy them. Will update once I get a chance to call the dealer up. I have a pretty good relationship with a local Porsche/Audi dealer, so hopefully they're not make a killing off of me. But I bought my Q7 from an Audi/VW dealer, so I will try them as well.
I find that acceleration from stop is amazing, no delay for me. But I do feel there's a slight turbo lag when I'm doing about 65/70mph and want to step it to pass or make a quick maneuver, the slight lag sometimes makes driving a little scary, but I've gotten used to it, and planned my lane changes and acceleration accordingly. Not much lag vs the 2.7t I had in my 02 allroad (as far as I can remember).
Diesel is now at $4.19 vs $3.99 for Premium Unleaded. So saving on fuel cost is probably not a valid argument for the TDI anymore. But I also hate it when I have to put a $100 bucks into the Cayenne (my other ride), cringes. But it is what it is. Just don't let fuel saving be your decision, since it's highly unlikely that diesel cost will come down anytime soon. You'll have to drive the Q7 to the ground to make up the cost difference.
If I have to do it again with the 2012 engines, I would go with the S-Line 3.0t and bypass the TDI. I love my TDI, it was the better engine choice for me at time of purchase. I also like that with the AdBlue, emission is very low, and diesel engines will probably last forever (I hope so). I also enjoy the fact that people's attention always perks up when I mentioned it's a diesel.
Overall, you can't go wrong with either engine. If you're brave, there are ECU upgrades (not sure if it's available in the US yet) that'll make the TDI a beast. I guess it would come down to what you want from the Q7. If you don't want to deal with AdBlue, get the TFSI (and it's not really dealing with AdBlue from my experience, but it's something you don't have to deal with on the TFSI).
Sorry long reply. Have some time to kill and feel like typing.
-ThinkMac-
I love it, originally bought because diesel was cheaper, and it was either the 3.6 or the 4.2. Love the MPG vs the 4.2 and feels that I don't really need the 4.2.
Loved the amount of torque, climbing hills is effortless, I usually get a kick out of how easy I passed cars on a long hill climb, the TDI is keep on going, accelerating usually scares the other drivers.
No issues with filling up diesel here in NorCal. As far as I can tell, all the gas stations have one kind of diesel nozzel. Usually the ones that I find that don't fit, is because the spring at the end is improperly seated or bent some how.
My wife drives it around town a lot, so MPG does not go up. When I have it on highway, I've seen 28MPG to 29MPG on the computer, but average is closer to 24/25MPG.
I used to keep track of my fuel consumption with an iPhone app, but it was acting up and the statistics became useless, so I started a new database. When I was keeping track for a better part of a year. It was averaging around 20/22MPG with mixed driving, more city than highway.
I have no issues with AdBlue, I have AudiCare, dealer fills it up every time, and it last till the next schedules visit, or pretty close. You get a 1500 mile warning, so plenty of time to get it fill. I have no check recently, but lots of threads indicate that AdBlue is readily available at VW dealers (cheaper) and auto parts stores, since it's just urea, you can get it at a lot of places, they might not call it AdBlue, since Mercedes and BMW also uses the same urea, it should be pretty easy to get. I'm close to my 35k scheduled maintenance, and about to embark on a long trip down to San Diego and back, was going to see if I can pickup a gallon of the stuff just to ease my mind and also to see how easy it is to buy them. Will update once I get a chance to call the dealer up. I have a pretty good relationship with a local Porsche/Audi dealer, so hopefully they're not make a killing off of me. But I bought my Q7 from an Audi/VW dealer, so I will try them as well.
I find that acceleration from stop is amazing, no delay for me. But I do feel there's a slight turbo lag when I'm doing about 65/70mph and want to step it to pass or make a quick maneuver, the slight lag sometimes makes driving a little scary, but I've gotten used to it, and planned my lane changes and acceleration accordingly. Not much lag vs the 2.7t I had in my 02 allroad (as far as I can remember).
Diesel is now at $4.19 vs $3.99 for Premium Unleaded. So saving on fuel cost is probably not a valid argument for the TDI anymore. But I also hate it when I have to put a $100 bucks into the Cayenne (my other ride), cringes. But it is what it is. Just don't let fuel saving be your decision, since it's highly unlikely that diesel cost will come down anytime soon. You'll have to drive the Q7 to the ground to make up the cost difference.
If I have to do it again with the 2012 engines, I would go with the S-Line 3.0t and bypass the TDI. I love my TDI, it was the better engine choice for me at time of purchase. I also like that with the AdBlue, emission is very low, and diesel engines will probably last forever (I hope so). I also enjoy the fact that people's attention always perks up when I mentioned it's a diesel.
Overall, you can't go wrong with either engine. If you're brave, there are ECU upgrades (not sure if it's available in the US yet) that'll make the TDI a beast. I guess it would come down to what you want from the Q7. If you don't want to deal with AdBlue, get the TFSI (and it's not really dealing with AdBlue from my experience, but it's something you don't have to deal with on the TFSI).
Sorry long reply. Have some time to kill and feel like typing.
-ThinkMac-
08-17-2011, 06:34 AM
#3
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My diesel review
I have about 10,000 miles on my 2011 TDI.
I love this vehicle.
I have a 27 mile commute to work so i routinely pull into work having averaged 29-30mpg the whole way. This is amazing.
Regularly get 600-620 per tank with diesel.
Was getting 280-320 with my yukon with 24 gallons of gas.
For another $10 per tank, getting another 300 miles and another week or more between fill ups? No brainer.
I did notice that if I drive around on the fwy with the suspension in the softer (higher) mode, the fuel economy does suffer.
Where we live is pretty hilly so in town the economy drops down to 20 mpg but still better than 10-12 I am seeing on the yukon or the wife's Rover.
Overall, excellent vehicle.
Would buy another (thinking of one for the wife)
Tracy
I love this vehicle.
I have a 27 mile commute to work so i routinely pull into work having averaged 29-30mpg the whole way. This is amazing.
Regularly get 600-620 per tank with diesel.
Was getting 280-320 with my yukon with 24 gallons of gas.
For another $10 per tank, getting another 300 miles and another week or more between fill ups? No brainer.
I did notice that if I drive around on the fwy with the suspension in the softer (higher) mode, the fuel economy does suffer.
Where we live is pretty hilly so in town the economy drops down to 20 mpg but still better than 10-12 I am seeing on the yukon or the wife's Rover.
Overall, excellent vehicle.
Would buy another (thinking of one for the wife)
Tracy
08-17-2011, 12:24 PM
#4
I have a 2010 TDI and also would buy it again in a heartbeat (as you might expect...). If you read all the past postings, as well as the comments in this thread, there is not much else to say. It is a matter of preference and priorities. I can add just a couple of observations:
- diesel cost depends mainly on where you live. From past comments, it seems the left and right coasts are not diesel friendly. However, here in the midwest (or at least Chicago-land), diesel is cheaper than premium gas. I filled up this morning. I paid $3.80 for diesel and premium gas was $4.08. This relationship has been consistent now for almost a year.
- Acceleration is many times a seat of the pants deal. I fail to see how anyone can really tell the "time" difference between 6.5 seconds and 7.5 seconds for 0 - 60 mph times. A second is not much in the scheme of things. However, the experience of gettng there is very differnt. The experience between the TDI and gas engine is totally different. With a gas engine, heavy acceleration creates a great sensation....lots of noise, shifting gears, melodic vibrations, etc. Lots of drama. There is nothing like a big V8 rumbling through the gears at full throttle or my GT3 hitting 8000 rpm on its way to 60 mph (you can tell the difference between 3.8 seconds and 7.5 seconds). However the experience with the TDI is totally different. There is no drama when accelerating to 60 in the TDI. No noise, no heavy shifting, etc. It is a very tranquil experience. This was the complaint from racing enthusiasts regarding the Audi TDI race car (that one LeMans multiple times). There was no sound when accelerating. However, it is also misleading. It doesn't sound like you are accelerating, but you can feel the thrust/torque and the speedometer tells the real story. Bottom line, the TDI sounds slow but the speed is misleading.
Summary: all engines are good, just different.
Mike
- diesel cost depends mainly on where you live. From past comments, it seems the left and right coasts are not diesel friendly. However, here in the midwest (or at least Chicago-land), diesel is cheaper than premium gas. I filled up this morning. I paid $3.80 for diesel and premium gas was $4.08. This relationship has been consistent now for almost a year.
- Acceleration is many times a seat of the pants deal. I fail to see how anyone can really tell the "time" difference between 6.5 seconds and 7.5 seconds for 0 - 60 mph times. A second is not much in the scheme of things. However, the experience of gettng there is very differnt. The experience between the TDI and gas engine is totally different. With a gas engine, heavy acceleration creates a great sensation....lots of noise, shifting gears, melodic vibrations, etc. Lots of drama. There is nothing like a big V8 rumbling through the gears at full throttle or my GT3 hitting 8000 rpm on its way to 60 mph (you can tell the difference between 3.8 seconds and 7.5 seconds). However the experience with the TDI is totally different. There is no drama when accelerating to 60 in the TDI. No noise, no heavy shifting, etc. It is a very tranquil experience. This was the complaint from racing enthusiasts regarding the Audi TDI race car (that one LeMans multiple times). There was no sound when accelerating. However, it is also misleading. It doesn't sound like you are accelerating, but you can feel the thrust/torque and the speedometer tells the real story. Bottom line, the TDI sounds slow but the speed is misleading.
Summary: all engines are good, just different.
Mike
08-17-2011, 12:57 PM
#5
In the USA you will find it most often called DEF or diesel exhaust fluid. It will be available everywhere trucks fill up. You could find that if you buy it in five gallon drums, fortyfive gallon drums [Imperial, not sure what size drums you have] or 1000litre IBC's especially, it will cost a fraction of what VW/Audi dealers charge. The trouble is that you need very little of it so you are charged more for the small containers and just because they can [charge a premium].
Over in the UK a 1000 litre pack [one ton in weight] will bring the cost down to about 35pence per litre or very approximately $0.45 a US quart, plus tax.
Over in the UK a 1000 litre pack [one ton in weight] will bring the cost down to about 35pence per litre or very approximately $0.45 a US quart, plus tax.
08-17-2011, 05:33 PM
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Ordered my 2012 Q7 TDI in April and it arrived 3 weeks ago. Needless to say, I love it. I have a 35 mile one-way commute to work and, if traffic is good, have seen 29-30 mpg on the computer regularly. Since I've had the vehicle I have averaged 24.2 mpg combined (with 21-inch wheels!) -- which for me is incredible since the Q7 replaced a thirsty Mercedes GL550.
I have run into a diesel pump that didn't fit, but have only filled up twice so I'm not sure if this will be a frequent occurrence.
I have run into a diesel pump that didn't fit, but have only filled up twice so I'm not sure if this will be a frequent occurrence.
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08-19-2011, 05:16 AM
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4th Q7 TDI
Our 2009 Q7 TDIs got 29-30 highway @ 60mph cruise control set fairly level country and no air in summertime. Winter was 2 mpg less. With air it dropped about .75 mpg. Going 70+ dropped it about 1-1.5 mpg. Around town with 30mph average and moderate stopping we average 24 summertime and 22 winter.
Our 2011 Q7 gets 30-32 highway @60mph cruise control set farily level country nd no air in summertime. Winter is about 2 mpg less. Air drops it about .5mph. Similar drop in mph experience with 70+ mph but slightly less drop. Around town we are averaging 26 mph.
These are our averages and some trips will be better and some worse. Our best mileage was 35mpg for a 60 mile trip highway only with no stops, no air and cruise set on perfectly flat highway, full tires and 2 passengers. We have seen this once or twice and it is not typical. Note this is trip average, not instant mpg.
Our 2012 - see picture fresh from dealer trip home - is too new to report yet. Will post results after a few weeks.
Keep tires at door post label levels but never above sidewall pressure limit! It helps.
2012 MMI is better and has fun features not in our 2011.
Our 2011 Q7 gets 30-32 highway @60mph cruise control set farily level country nd no air in summertime. Winter is about 2 mpg less. Air drops it about .5mph. Similar drop in mph experience with 70+ mph but slightly less drop. Around town we are averaging 26 mph.
These are our averages and some trips will be better and some worse. Our best mileage was 35mpg for a 60 mile trip highway only with no stops, no air and cruise set on perfectly flat highway, full tires and 2 passengers. We have seen this once or twice and it is not typical. Note this is trip average, not instant mpg.
Our 2012 - see picture fresh from dealer trip home - is too new to report yet. Will post results after a few weeks.
Keep tires at door post label levels but never above sidewall pressure limit! It helps.
2012 MMI is better and has fun features not in our 2011.
08-19-2011, 08:35 AM
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Just purchased a '11 Q7 TDI s-line yesterday after owning a '07 Q7 4.2 for 5 years. Besides missing the nice rumble and roar from the 4.2, the 3.0 TDI beats it hands down. The '07 was one of the first ones here in Vancouver but after 105k kms (approx 60k mi) no problems. BUT the fuel economy sucked so this will be a positive change. Will let you know as my wife racks up the miles (kms)
Cheers
AJ
Cheers
AJ