2022 Audi Q7

car in question is a 2022 Audi q7 55 tfsi - 3.0 turbo - 40k miles 2 owner. serviced at Audi since new. under warranty until 50k car throws a p0299 code - turbo underboost condition present - coolant migration from a faulty VW/AUDI water pump is sending coolant into vacuum lines causing catastrophic engine issues - car can not be driven. Audi will not fix under warranty and is trying to charge 5,800$ to replace waterpump/ associated lines. tells me the warranty "is for some items and not others" there is a class action lawsuit for a longstanding issue that Audi has been aware of since 2020 and not offering any solution for - Case No. 26-5678, NJ.

My 2022 Audi Q7 experienced an internal water pump seal failure that allowed engine coolant to migrate into the vehicle’s vacuum system, contaminating the vacuum reservoir, valve, and connected lines. This is a known failure pattern affecting Audi/Volkswagen vehicles equipped with the 2.9T/3.0T EA839 engine family, where the water pump’s internal design allows coolant to be drawn into the vacuum circuit undetected, since the leak is internal and not visible externally. This can affect brake booster vacuum assist and turbo/drivetrain systems depending on severity. The failure occurred outside of any accident or misuse, is a documented design issue in ongoing class action litigation against Audi/Volkswagen, and required extensive repair (water pump, vacuum reservoir, valve, and related lines) once diagnosed. I am filing this complaint to document the pattern of this defect.

I was traveling at highway speeds in active, high-velocity traffic when my vehicle suffered a sudden, catastrophic mechanical failure that nearly resulted in a severe multi-car accident. Without any warning, the vehicle completely lost its ability to accelerate, flatly refusing to pick up speed or maintain momentum despite pressing the gas pedal. ​This unexpected, immediate drop in propulsion marooned me in high-speed lanes, leaving the vehicle dangerously vulnerable as oncoming traffic rapidly closed the distance behind me. Drivers behind me were forced to aggressively swerve and brake to avoid a high-speed rear-end collision. Moments after this life-threatening loss of power occurred, the Check Engine Light illuminated on the dashboard. ​Subsequent technical inspection revealed a severe engineering defect: the internal seals of the factory coolant control components failed, forcing pressurized engine coolant backward into the engine’s primary vacuum system. This pressurized fluid completely contaminated the vacuum lines, the vacuum reservoir tank, and the electronic solenoids—including the N75 boost control solenoid. By filling the vacuum infrastructure with liquid coolant, the engine was instantly starved of its ability to regulate turbocharger boost, triggering a critical "limp mode" and a P0299 underboost fault. ​The catastrophic failure of an internal cooling seal directly compromising an active drivability safety system represents an unreasonable and severe defect. It transforms a routine drive into an immediate, uncontrollable highway hazard. I am filing this report because this known coolant migration pattern presents a clear, present, and life-threatening danger to owners operating this engine platform.

While parking the car, the gearshift got stuck in “Neutral” even though N was not pressed. I was not able to restart the car once I turned it off. Every time I pressed the start button, a warning would come on the screen “ please put the vehicle in Park. Risk of roll over”. When I pressed the park button, nothing would happen. I got out of the car, but it wouldn’t lock. Unable to start the car for over 2 hours. Finally had to get the car towed to Audi dealership. It’s only one year old SUV. No prior similar problems.

Since purchase of this vehicle, it randomly trips a critical engine failure error do not exceed 1200 rpm. When it does this, it will idle at a much higher rpm than the do not exceed value, which causes the vehicle to come to a stop. The vehicle went into the shop during the winter of 2022, and they determined that it was a computer failure and replaced the car's computer system. The error went away until the winter/spring of 2023. In 2022, this error always occurred within a few blocks of home at low speed; but now this critical error will trip while driving on the roads at faster speeds, which causes the vehicle to rapidly decelerate. The dealership and service center looked over the issue and found that Audi has a technical bulletin out for this, and they expect a fix by fourth quarter 2023. Until then, they advise that it is not a problem and when the vehicle does this error wait until you're stopped and then turn the car off and back on to return the vehicle to normal operating conditions. Audi told the dealership there is no safety issue, and I'm telling the dealership that it will stop rapidly and without warning, and I was lucky the last time this happened that the cars behind me were paying attention. Neither Audi corporate or Audi Bellevue consider this a safety risk, and that having a car stop suddenly and without warning to the driver or other cars on the road is perfectly fine. I've tried dealing with them all and the dealership states Audi says there is no safety issue and no fix so there is nothing we can do, and Audi USA customer care says that the dealership says it is safe so there is nothing we can do. It's a circle of nobody dealing with a serious safety issue. They state it's a rare occurrence, but I've had this happen several times over the 16 months I've owned the vehicle. See picture from text communicaiton.

THE INCIDENT HAPPENED ON OCTBER 2ND. I WAS DRIVING AND THE VEHICLE JUST STALLED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY WITH A LOUD NOISE WITHOUT ANY PRECAUTION. THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NO SIGN OR NO ENGINE LIGHT THAT WAS DISPLAYED. LUCKILY, JOHNS CREEK POLICE DEPARTMENT VEHICLE IN GEORGIA WAS BEHIND ME AND HE HELPED ME TO PUSH THE CAR TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. I REACHED OUT TO AUDI HELP AND A TWO TRUCK WAS DISPATCHED. THIS WAS A CRITICAL SAFETY ISSUE SINCE THE VEHICLE STALLED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. THE VEHICLE IS STILL WITH THE DEALERSHIP - AUDI NORTH ATLANTA, GEORGIA. THE DEALERSHIP EXPLAINED TO ME (YET TO RECEIVE A WRITTEN STATEMENT) THAT THIS A FAILURE IN ENGINE AND AUDI USA HAVE AGREED TO REPLACE THE ENGINE. AS A CONSUMER I BELIEVE, LIVES WOULD HAVE BEEN LOST HAD THERE NOT BEEN A POLICE CAR BEHIND ME AT THE RIGHT TIME. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A MAJOR ACCIDENT SINCE ANYONE WOULD HAVE HIT ME, OCCUPANTS FROM THE REAR. I STRONGLY URGE AND REQUEST NHSTA TO INVESTIGATE AND FOLLOW-UP PLEASE.

2022 AUDI Q7. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO UNINTENDED ACCELERATION. THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE EXPERIENCED MULTIPLE DIFFERENT ISSUES. THE VEHICLE WOULD LUNGE FORWARD WHILE THE BRAKE WAS DEPRESSED. WHILE DRIVING SLOWLY AND MAKING LEFT TURNS THE VEHICLE WOULD ACCELERATE TO AN UNSAFE SPEED. ON A FEW OCCASIONS, WHILE STOPPED AT A LIGHT, THE VEHICLE WOULD ROLL BACKWARDS SEVERAL FEET. WHILE DRIVING, THE VEHICLE WOULD MAKE ABRUPT STOPS, CAUSING THE SEAT BELTS TO RESTRAIN THE OCCUPANTS. THE DEALER WAS NOTIFIED AND STATED THE VEHICLE WAS OPERATING AS DESIGNED. THE CONSUMER NO LONGER OWNS THE VEHICLE.