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On the eve of its latest scheduled visit to the Service Department, our Audi Q7's brakes started squealing. The unmistakable shriek seems to be coming from the front brakes, though we'll have them check out all the pads' wear. Even with the giant wheels and widely spaced spokes, we weren't able to see much of the pad edge which usually gets the most use. Also, the discs look unmarred...
As previously reported, we're having some issues with the Q7's parking brake warning light. It keeps telling us the brake is on, even though we are driving and the brake is not on. Over the weekend it wasn't too annoying, only coming on once or twice. But during my Monday morning commute, the warning kept coming on...
Our Audi Q7 had recently accumulated a short list of dealer needs, so we scheduled a visit with Santa Monica Audi. The list of issues included a parking brake light that remained illuminated after the brake was released, a rear sunshade that occasionally popped open while the Q7 was in motion and a groaning noise when the right rear door was opened or closed.
While the dealer was addressing the repairs, they were also going to top off the fluids and replace the windshield wipers.
After spending a morning in the service bay, the technician determined parts needed to be ordered to fix the parking brake light and rear sunshade...
This past Saturday the Oldham family decided to take full advantage of our southern California address. We would enjoy the beach in the morning and the ski slopes in the afternoon. I chose our 2007 Audi Q7 for our adventure for three reasons.
1) It's all-wheel drive while our Buick Enclave and Mazda CX-9 are not...
In anyone's estimation, the Audi Q7 is a large vehicle. Nearly 17 feet long, 6.5 feet wide, and nearly 6 feet tall with more than 8 inches of ground clearance. And 5,467 pounds? In the words of Ghostbuster Winston Zeddmore, "That's a big Twinkie."
But it doesn't feel like a big Twinkie...
The distance from the front seatbacks to the tailgate of our 2007 Audi Q7 is just about exactly 6-feet. And I know this because that's my 6-foot ladder. Those are my grungy beach towels too, but they're not pertinent to this blog entry.
Scott Oldham, Inside Line Editor in Chief
This past holiday weekend I put about 500 miles on our 2007 Audi Q7, including a trip to grandma's house, Q7 stuffed like a Thanksgiving turkey. Sorry, I couldn't resist.
Nothing earthshattering to report, but the truck did crest the 21,000 mile mark on its odometer while I was behind the wheel. And such milestones always seem to be a good time to take stock in a vehicle's aging process...
Here in California Audi R8s are a dime a dozen. You'll have to take my word for it, but there's a third R8 parked behind that white trailer. This photo was taken during an event at Willow Springs Raceway in Rosamond, CA.
Mike Schmidt, Vehicle Testing Coordinator @ 20,555 miles
Where is this guy when you need him? When I posted this photo of Audi's electronics test bench for the Q7 it was as a curiosty, but it turned out to be a little prophetic. Mike Schmidt first encountered the Q7's repeated 17-seconds ON, then 4-seconds OFF of sound (regardless of the audio source) and blogged about it here. After one positively maddening drive home on Friday, I was determined to find a fix.
News Editor Kelly Toepke and I were listening to the radio in the Q7 the other day when the speakers went silent.
First we thought the SIRIUS connection was to blame. We switched the band to FM, then to AM. We popped in a CD too, but no luck. The symptoms were unchanged: 17 seconds of music, 4 seconds of silence...
If you're a complete nut for Audi products, you'll know that the vehicle pictured above is not our 2007 Audi Q7, but a 4.2 Turbo Diesel (TDI) version that's available in Europe for the time being. Why show you this one instead of ours? Because clean, powerful, and efficient Audi diesels are coming, and they won't be anything like you imagine. The version we'll be getting sometime next year will be a 3.0 TDI making about 240 hp and 400 lb-ft of torque compared to our 4.2 "petrol" engine which makes 350 hp and 325 lb-ft of torque. Still don't see my point?
Based upon a comment written the other day in regards to the last Q7 blog, I decided to compare our long-term Audi Q7 4.2 Quattro with a 2008 Mazda CX-9 Grand Touring I drove last week. With the exception of the Audi's exquisite interior quality and luxury brand cachet, it's hard to justify the Q7's $22,000 price advantage over the excellent Mazda. All performance numbers are based on a 2007 CX-9 Grand Touring that featured the older, slower engine.
Price as Tested:
2007 Audi Q7 4.2 Quattro - $62,420
2008 Mazda CX-9 AWD Grand Touring - $40,705
Thanks to all our readers who wrote in to guess what that weird receptacle in the 2007 Audi Q7 was for (see previous post). The guesses were good ones, and a lot of fun to read. Many people suggested a coat hook, which, frankly, would be a help, since the Q7's coat hooks are tiny and couldn't hold all the hangers most people need for a trip to the cleaners...
Some folks are into engines; others are into exterior design. Me, I'm into interiors and how they can make your ride more convenient and pleasurable.
So when I came across this thingamabob in the Audi Q7, I had to know what it was. Problem is, neither the editors nor the data staff I asked knew...
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