2007 Audi Q7: The Details Make a Difference

Kind of like high-end guns, where the gunsmith files the screws so they all line up.

My '87 Volvo did this, too. Is it really that special?

Nice touch, but ultimately its meaningless because as you said it doesnt give you any more accuracy than another gauge.
 
They would be better of fixing things like the cars reliability instead of unimportant details like this.

So you really do prefer the gauge to have functionality of an idiot light?! That's shocking. I would think having accurate temperature displayed would have been much more useful.
 
I actually rewired my 1988 Volvo instrument panel to show the actual temperature instead of looking pretty in the middle. I wish I could do that to all my cars!

Well, if the temperature is not right the center then why do I want a gauge to show it at the center? Kind of defeat the purpose of the gauge.
 
If the Audi engineers had to fix the temperature gauge to make it work like this then they might as well replace it with a warning sign.

I don't get temp gauge. I just look at it to determine when the heat will kick in. Are they really relevant in today's cars? Temp gauges should go the way of the buggy whip.

My '98 Honda Accord does the same thing, but I bet it takes much longer to get there on a cold day. I don't put any pressure on the car to rev, etc., until it warms up.

Seems to me the previous gen Jettas read actual temperature -- or at least had numbers on the hash marks.

I don't like this design... I would much prefer a gauge that actually told me the temp... or better yet a info display like what GM is doing now that gives you a precise temp. Much better than a dummy light made into a gauge that looks all nice and lined up.

Wow, so much hate for a temp gauge.

Are you sure the cooling system is not malfunctioning?
 
All the cars I've driven in the past, always have the temperature needle sitting just a hair below mid-point.
 
In fact, the only car that I've seen where the needle is at 1/2 of the scale is an old corolla, with a faulty thermostat!

My 1999 VW Golf has the same temperature gauge performance - within a few miles, temperature gauge is exactly at '12 o'clock', in the middle of the gauge. It's probably a sad refection on myself, but this has always pleased me....

2002 brings up a very valid point. Temp guages aren't really pertinent in today's autos.
I, too, wait until my temp guage is halfway before I really open the throttle, but for your average vehicle, it's really rather pointless, unless you live in Death Valley, maybe?

The digital temp readouts in GM cars really aren't that great. They're buried so far back in the string of displays that if you care about temps, it will annoy you, and if you don't care about temps, well, you won't even notice anyway.

Actual temperature is important if you do demanding driving. I was glad I modified my 1988 Volvo 245 to show actual temperature. On our drive to Alaska and back, the gauge started showing higher temperatures when we were in Jasper area. We knew something was wrong. Turned out the radiator was plugged with bugs, mud and other stuff accumulated during the trip. We stopped by a car wash and cleaned the radiator out with high pressure spray. Voila, temperature came back to normal and car started running noticeably better.
 
We would have never noticed the problem if the gauge would have been sitting smack in the middle of the range the whole time. As it does in most (all?) modern cars.

WK, not sure I understand. If the temp went up, that's a problem, calibrated gauge or not, right?

texases,
 
The problem is that in most (all?) modern cars the gauge would have stayed exactly in the middle. It is designed to move up only when the temperature increases to critical level (as in overheat). Just like idiot lights found in some cars. Do you see? In my case, the Volvo did not overheat at all -- it just was not cooling its engine as well as before. I was able to notice the change thanks to the modified gauge that displayed the actual temperature instead of sitting in the middle of the range as was, unfortunately, intended by Volvo engineers.
 
These "idiot" gauges are designed to remain exactly in the middle even if temperature fluctuates. This was pioneered in early 80s by the Japanese to make their cars seem superior (having such steady thermal balance) and to reduce owner anxiety/complaints about normal temperature fluctuations.

I would rather have a gauge that has real temperature numbers on the dial, and gives an accurate reading as to what the temperature is, than an idiot gauge like this with no numbers but is in the center. More information is better than less.

Whatever happend to having actual numbers on the gauge? Those little hash marks don't tell me anything! I much prefer acuracy, to vanity.

This is considered attention to detail?
  
My '06 Chevrolet Impala does the same thing.
  
It probably wouldn't matter if the gauge provided actual temperature or just the visual of being "over 1/2 way". I would be willing to bet that most non-enthusiast owners don't even look at the temperature gauge in their IP.
  
Most automakers could probably just do away with the gauge in its entirety and just replace it with a warning message in the DIC that says "Engine Too Hot".
  
If I recall, my '99 VW New Beetle simply had a light. It was blue during engine warm-up, would go out entirely when the engine was at normal operating temperature, and would illuminate red if the engine overheated. Just as useful as these otherwise useless temperature gauges.

I prefer a gauge that actually tells me the live temperature fluxations and all. However, my wife and my mother get freaked out by the gauges in my old truck in the summer because it jumps around with the AC on so much that they assume something is wrong when its just the AC kicking on and off. And kudos to texas about the gunsmith comment. Thought maybe I was the only one who noticed things like that.

So wait this gauge has only three positions then, cold, normal, and hot? All the cars I've ever owned the gauge is fluid, so if it takes a long time for the car to warm up the gauge rises slowly and vice versa. It helps in diagnosing problems with the system. If it only has those three settings then yeah, might as well be lights but a gauge looks better I think.