Drive System Malfunction?
10-13-2021, 01:45 PM
#131
AudiWorld Member
Just this weekend I had a similar issue come up this weekend. Sadly the result was much, much worse as it appears that one of the valves on Cylinder #1 "went through and caused extensive damage" per Service Tech. I am still trying to get all the information and in absolute shock as to how a VERY well maintained Q7 (2018) with only 58K miles had such a catastrophic failure. I will start a thread soon as soon as I know more, but definitely keep an eye on those "CELs".
10-14-2021, 12:35 PM
#132
AudiWorld Super User
Just this weekend I had a similar issue come up this weekend. Sadly the result was much, much worse as it appears that one of the valves on Cylinder #1 "went through and caused extensive damage" per Service Tech. I am still trying to get all the information and in absolute shock as to how a VERY well maintained Q7 (2018) with only 58K miles had such a catastrophic failure. I will start a thread soon as soon as I know more, but definitely keep an eye on those "CELs".
10-15-2021, 12:00 PM
#133
AudiWorld Member
I would think AoA (Audi of America) will step in here with the dealer and help you out. If you have documented service records (OEM or independent) and the car was not abused I do not see how you could have had a valve failure take out an engine at 58K miles without there being a serious manufacturing defect in your engine. Keep us in the loop please. This is literally the first time I have ever heard of catastrophic engine failure on one of these 2017+ Q7s. Do you have the 2.0T or the 3.0T? Either way both are tried and true powertrains that are very reliable.
Thank you.
10-21-2021, 12:34 PM
#134
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Audi Q7 drive system malfunction
My experience with my 2018 Audi Q7 Prestige and the Drive System Malfunction was much more serious. My wife was driving our two toddler grandsons home to their parents. As she left the neighborhood, she stopped at the stop sign exiting the neighborhood and began to cross the busy 4 lane highway leaving our neighborhood. The car moved a couple of feet into the intersection and shutdown with no warning. The "Drive System Malfunction - Call for Service" warning was on the console, and the car would not start, and was locked into Park (could not take it out of park), with the parking brake on (could not release the parking brake) and all 4 wheels totally locked down. The car could not be moved, could not be put into neutral to back out of the drive lane and away from the intersection. No matter what she did, the car was dead. Fortunately, I was working from home, and she called me and I went immediately to assist in my 2018 Q5. I had no better luck, nothing we could do would let us move the vehicle one inch. So next, we called Audi emergency road side service. We were put on hold for approximately 45 minutes until an agent came on the line, and said she would contact a partner for a tow. After another 30 minutes, she came back on the line and said that unfortunately, they had no tow companies that were available in our area (we live in the city of Raleigh, NC), but she found a tow company out of the area that could get to us in about another 45 minutes, but they would not be able to tow us to our dealership (90 miles away in Greenville NC), we had to find a local place to tow it to and it would cost us $250. We said "No thanks" and I called our 24x7 emergency road side service company, Better World club, and they had a tow truck with a flat bed trailer who was there in 20 minutes and towed the vehicle to our Audi Dealership in Greenville, no questions asked.
Unfortunately, the tow truck operator had to drag the vehicle over the pavement and onto the trailer ramp, as the vehicle was still locked in park with the parking brake on. Hopefully that did not cause more damage.
After about 4 days waiting, our Audi dealership informed us that the cause of the failure was a faulty starter. When I asked why with a faulty starter did the car completely shutdown and become immobile and left us in a very dangerous and precarious situation in a busy city intersection, they said basically that the starter is part of the Automatic start stop system, and that is the way the car is designed to respond.
So we are still waiting for the new starter to arrive and be installed and its been 10 days already. We don't know that once the starter is replaced that the problem will be fixed, and we don't know yet if we can turn off the automatic start / stop system and that will allow the car to be taken out of park, parking brake released, and put in neutral to back it into a safe place on the shoulder or not should it happen again, or if other drive system failures caused by other than the starter will behave the same way. We will see.
Unfortunately, the tow truck operator had to drag the vehicle over the pavement and onto the trailer ramp, as the vehicle was still locked in park with the parking brake on. Hopefully that did not cause more damage.
After about 4 days waiting, our Audi dealership informed us that the cause of the failure was a faulty starter. When I asked why with a faulty starter did the car completely shutdown and become immobile and left us in a very dangerous and precarious situation in a busy city intersection, they said basically that the starter is part of the Automatic start stop system, and that is the way the car is designed to respond.
So we are still waiting for the new starter to arrive and be installed and its been 10 days already. We don't know that once the starter is replaced that the problem will be fixed, and we don't know yet if we can turn off the automatic start / stop system and that will allow the car to be taken out of park, parking brake released, and put in neutral to back it into a safe place on the shoulder or not should it happen again, or if other drive system failures caused by other than the starter will behave the same way. We will see.
10-21-2021, 01:55 PM
#135
Ultimate Keyboard Warrior
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retom (10-21-2021)
10-21-2021, 02:00 PM
#136
AudiWorld Super User
My experience with my 2018 Audi Q7 Prestige and the Drive System Malfunction was much more serious. My wife was driving our two toddler grandsons home to their parents. As she left the neighborhood, she stopped at the stop sign exiting the neighborhood and began to cross the busy 4 lane highway leaving our neighborhood. The car moved a couple of feet into the intersection and shutdown with no warning. The "Drive System Malfunction - Call for Service" warning was on the console, and the car would not start, and was locked into Park (could not take it out of park), with the parking brake on (could not release the parking brake) and all 4 wheels totally locked down. The car could not be moved, could not be put into neutral to back out of the drive lane and away from the intersection. No matter what she did, the car was dead. Fortunately, I was working from home, and she called me and I went immediately to assist in my 2018 Q5. I had no better luck, nothing we could do would let us move the vehicle one inch. So next, we called Audi emergency road side service. We were put on hold for approximately 45 minutes until an agent came on the line, and said she would contact a partner for a tow. After another 30 minutes, she came back on the line and said that unfortunately, they had no tow companies that were available in our area (we live in the city of Raleigh, NC), but she found a tow company out of the area that could get to us in about another 45 minutes, but they would not be able to tow us to our dealership (90 miles away in Greenville NC), we had to find a local place to tow it to and it would cost us $250. We said "No thanks" and I called our 24x7 emergency road side service company, Better World club, and they had a tow truck with a flat bed trailer who was there in 20 minutes and towed the vehicle to our Audi Dealership in Greenville, no questions asked.
Unfortunately, the tow truck operator had to drag the vehicle over the pavement and onto the trailer ramp, as the vehicle was still locked in park with the parking brake on. Hopefully that did not cause more damage.
After about 4 days waiting, our Audi dealership informed us that the cause of the failure was a faulty starter. When I asked why with a faulty starter did the car completely shutdown and become immobile and left us in a very dangerous and precarious situation in a busy city intersection, they said basically that the starter is part of the Automatic start stop system, and that is the way the car is designed to respond.
So we are still waiting for the new starter to arrive and be installed and its been 10 days already. We don't know that once the starter is replaced that the problem will be fixed, and we don't know yet if we can turn off the automatic start / stop system and that will allow the car to be taken out of park, parking brake released, and put in neutral to back it into a safe place on the shoulder or not should it happen again, or if other drive system failures caused by other than the starter will behave the same way. We will see.
Unfortunately, the tow truck operator had to drag the vehicle over the pavement and onto the trailer ramp, as the vehicle was still locked in park with the parking brake on. Hopefully that did not cause more damage.
After about 4 days waiting, our Audi dealership informed us that the cause of the failure was a faulty starter. When I asked why with a faulty starter did the car completely shutdown and become immobile and left us in a very dangerous and precarious situation in a busy city intersection, they said basically that the starter is part of the Automatic start stop system, and that is the way the car is designed to respond.
So we are still waiting for the new starter to arrive and be installed and its been 10 days already. We don't know that once the starter is replaced that the problem will be fixed, and we don't know yet if we can turn off the automatic start / stop system and that will allow the car to be taken out of park, parking brake released, and put in neutral to back it into a safe place on the shoulder or not should it happen again, or if other drive system failures caused by other than the starter will behave the same way. We will see.
Audi, like any car with an automatic transmission, has the option of manually unlocking the gearbox and putting it in neutral. The unlocking key (red) should be in the trunk with other tools and the unlocking flap is located under the driver's feet.
Few people know about it and you can find out exactly how to do it in the owner's manual.
10-21-2021, 02:06 PM
#137
AudiWorld Super User
10-21-2021, 02:57 PM
#138
Ultimate Keyboard Warrior
10-22-2021, 06:10 AM
#139
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Drive System Malfunction
[QUOTE=retom;25641949]I am very sorry about this failure. It must have been a big stress for your wife. I hope that Audi will solve the problem and the failure will never happen again,
Audi, like any car with an automatic transmission, has the option of manually unlocking the gearbox and putting it in neutral. The unlocking key (red) should be in the trunk with other tools and the unlocking flap is located under the driver's feet.
Few people know about it and you can find out exactly how to do it in the owner's manual.[/QUOTE
Thanks for the response, and the picture. that helps me a lot to understand a workaround that could get us out of a precarious situation. Unfortunately my wife, with the multiple system failures, and being stuck in a busy intersection with two crying toddlers in the back seat, and trying to call emergency road side service, she would never had been looking for a way to unlock the gearbox, cause frankly, there was nothing in the alert suggesting that was the problem. It simply said "Drive system malfunction - Call for Service"...which sounds like a computer error. The wife was afraid to do anything that could make things worse unless a trained professional told her what to do. She could have made things much worse.. Audi roadside assistance had no idea what the cause was, and did not suggest that the emergency gear box release should be tried to get out of harms way. Also the Audi Dealership had no idea initially as to what caused the failure. They were amazed that the car when dropped off was unmovable and they had never seen that before. Once diagnosed, the solution from the service tech was "replace the starter", and they never pointed out this emergency remedy, which is why I went to the forum to get additional information from other owners. If she knew this would unlock the gearbox, I dont think she was in the position with the toddlers in the back seat in the middle of a busy intersection to go to the trunk and try the unlocking key and get t-boned in the process. Just a very bad situation all around.
Audi, like any car with an automatic transmission, has the option of manually unlocking the gearbox and putting it in neutral. The unlocking key (red) should be in the trunk with other tools and the unlocking flap is located under the driver's feet.
Few people know about it and you can find out exactly how to do it in the owner's manual.[/QUOTE
Thanks for the response, and the picture. that helps me a lot to understand a workaround that could get us out of a precarious situation. Unfortunately my wife, with the multiple system failures, and being stuck in a busy intersection with two crying toddlers in the back seat, and trying to call emergency road side service, she would never had been looking for a way to unlock the gearbox, cause frankly, there was nothing in the alert suggesting that was the problem. It simply said "Drive system malfunction - Call for Service"...which sounds like a computer error. The wife was afraid to do anything that could make things worse unless a trained professional told her what to do. She could have made things much worse.. Audi roadside assistance had no idea what the cause was, and did not suggest that the emergency gear box release should be tried to get out of harms way. Also the Audi Dealership had no idea initially as to what caused the failure. They were amazed that the car when dropped off was unmovable and they had never seen that before. Once diagnosed, the solution from the service tech was "replace the starter", and they never pointed out this emergency remedy, which is why I went to the forum to get additional information from other owners. If she knew this would unlock the gearbox, I dont think she was in the position with the toddlers in the back seat in the middle of a busy intersection to go to the trunk and try the unlocking key and get t-boned in the process. Just a very bad situation all around.
10-22-2021, 06:55 AM
#140
AudiWorld Super User
[QUOTE=bw082949;25642131]
It is absolutely clear that your wife should not be occupied with unlocking the transmission. Especially in this stressful situation. It is strange, however, that neither Audi Road Assistance nor Audi Dealership knew about it.
I hope that this will not happen again in the future, but if you would have to unlock manually the transmission, then you and a few unaware users of this forum will know how to do it.
Greetings to your wife and sympathy that this failure happened to her.
I am very sorry about this failure. It must have been a big stress for your wife. I hope that Audi will solve the problem and the failure will never happen again,
Audi, like any car with an automatic transmission, has the option of manually unlocking the gearbox and putting it in neutral. The unlocking key (red) should be in the trunk with other tools and the unlocking flap is located under the driver's feet.
Few people know about it and you can find out exactly how to do it in the owner's manual.[/QUOTE
Thanks for the response, and the picture. that helps me a lot to understand a workaround that could get us out of a precarious situation. Unfortunately my wife, with the multiple system failures, and being stuck in a busy intersection with two crying toddlers in the back seat, and trying to call emergency road side service, she would never had been looking for a way to unlock the gearbox, cause frankly, there was nothing in the alert suggesting that was the problem. It simply said "Drive system malfunction - Call for Service"...which sounds like a computer error. The wife was afraid to do anything that could make things worse unless a trained professional told her what to do. She could have made things much worse.. Audi roadside assistance had no idea what the cause was, and did not suggest that the emergency gear box release should be tried to get out of harms way. Also the Audi Dealership had no idea initially as to what caused the failure. They were amazed that the car when dropped off was unmovable and they had never seen that before. Once diagnosed, the solution from the service tech was "replace the starter", and they never pointed out this emergency remedy, which is why I went to the forum to get additional information from other owners. If she knew this would unlock the gearbox, I dont think she was in the position with the toddlers in the back seat in the middle of a busy intersection to go to the trunk and try the unlocking key and get t-boned in the process. Just a very bad situation all around.
Audi, like any car with an automatic transmission, has the option of manually unlocking the gearbox and putting it in neutral. The unlocking key (red) should be in the trunk with other tools and the unlocking flap is located under the driver's feet.
Few people know about it and you can find out exactly how to do it in the owner's manual.[/QUOTE
Thanks for the response, and the picture. that helps me a lot to understand a workaround that could get us out of a precarious situation. Unfortunately my wife, with the multiple system failures, and being stuck in a busy intersection with two crying toddlers in the back seat, and trying to call emergency road side service, she would never had been looking for a way to unlock the gearbox, cause frankly, there was nothing in the alert suggesting that was the problem. It simply said "Drive system malfunction - Call for Service"...which sounds like a computer error. The wife was afraid to do anything that could make things worse unless a trained professional told her what to do. She could have made things much worse.. Audi roadside assistance had no idea what the cause was, and did not suggest that the emergency gear box release should be tried to get out of harms way. Also the Audi Dealership had no idea initially as to what caused the failure. They were amazed that the car when dropped off was unmovable and they had never seen that before. Once diagnosed, the solution from the service tech was "replace the starter", and they never pointed out this emergency remedy, which is why I went to the forum to get additional information from other owners. If she knew this would unlock the gearbox, I dont think she was in the position with the toddlers in the back seat in the middle of a busy intersection to go to the trunk and try the unlocking key and get t-boned in the process. Just a very bad situation all around.
I hope that this will not happen again in the future, but if you would have to unlock manually the transmission, then you and a few unaware users of this forum will know how to do it.
Greetings to your wife and sympathy that this failure happened to her.