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2016 Audi A7

Gas Diesel Midsize car

2025202420232022202120202019201820172016
Specs & fuel economyRecallsComplaintsCrash ratings
D
Safety Signal
69 / 100
DSafety Signal · 69 / 100
3Recalls · 1 critical
15Complaints · owner reports
—Crash rating · NHTSA overall
30 mpgFuel economy · best combined

The 2016 Audi A7 is sold in the U.S. as a gas and diesel midsize car with 2 EPA-rated configurations. The most efficient version, the A7 quattro, is EPA-rated at 30 mpg combined. NHTSA lists 3 recall campaigns for this model year, 1 rated critical, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of D. Owners have filed 15 complaints, most often about air bags.

Specs & fuel economy (EPA)

ConfigurationPowertrainDriveEngine / motorCityHwyCombAnnual fuel*
A7 quattroGasAWD3.0L 6-cyl202924$3,250
A7 quattroDieselAWD3.0L 6-cyl turbo253830$3,000

*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year and EPA reference fuel/electricity prices. Source: fueleconomy.gov vehicle records.

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Recalls (3)

Fuel System, Gasoline

critical
74,881 vehicles

Problem: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2016-2018 Q7, A6 and A7 vehicles, and 2015-2018 Audi A8 vehicles. The left and right fuel rails may leak fuel.

Risk: A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source can increase risk of a fire.

Fix: Audi has notified owners, and dealers will replace the left and right fuel rail, free of charge. The recall began February 28, 2019. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 24DP.

NHTSA campaign 19V035000 · reported Jan 16, 2019 · Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

Air Bags

high
139,249 vehicles

Problem: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2013-2018 Audi S6 and S7, 2012-2018 A7 and A6 Sedan, and 2014-2018 RS7 vehicles equipped with basic seats (with or without heating). Stress or wear of the body-sensing mat within the front passenger seat may cause the Passenger Occupant Detection System (PODS) control module to malfunction.

Risk: If the PODS module malfunctions, the front passenger air bag may not deploy properly in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury.

Fix: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will install a PODS system repair kit, free of charge. The recall began November 29, 2018. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 74D5.

NHTSA campaign 18V370000 · reported Jun 4, 2018 · Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

Air Bags

high
17,694 vehicles

Problem: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2015-2017 Audi A7 vehicles. The affected vehicles have head curtain air bags that may not deploy properly in the event of a crash. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 226, "Ejection Mitigation."

Risk: If the head curtain airbag does not deploy properly in the event of a crash, an unbelted passenger has an increased risk of injury.

Fix: Audi will notify owners, and dealers will replace the affected head curtain air bags, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin June 29, 2017. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for the recall is 69R2.

NHTSA campaign 17V293000 · reported May 1, 2017 · Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

Owner complaints

15 complaints filed

1 involved a crash, 0 a fire, 3 injuries, 0 deaths reported by owners.

Filed by year — 2017: 4 · 2018: 1 · 2019: 1 · 2021: 1 · 2022: 2 · 2023: 2 · 2024: 4

Most-cited components

  • Air Bags — 7
  • Steering — 2
  • Fuel/Propulsion System — 2
  • Structure — 1
  • Electrical System — 1
“In five years I have had my windshield chip or crack four times. Replacement is a pain and expensive. It seems the design is far too susceptible to breakage and is unsafe.”Feb 29, 2024 · Visibility/Wiper · NHTSA owner report
“Gas smell while AC/HEATER is on and car is sitting idle. My car is not included in the 2019 safety recall 24DP although it should be.”Dec 11, 2023 · Fuel/Propulsion System · NHTSA owner report
“Flat tire on highway 255/40 R19 100H. I thought it’s a nail or a sharp object. After further inspection, the tire was ripping from inside out. Please see attached picture. My speed was very low at higher speeds or could have been a complete tire blow out.”Apr 2, 2023 · Tires · NHTSA owner report

Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.

Crash ratings

NHTSA has not published 5-Star crash ratings for this model year.

Other A7 model years

A

2025 A7

1 recalls · 0 complaints

A

2024 A7

1 recalls · 0 complaints

A

2023 A7

1 recalls · 0 complaints

F

2022 A7

6 recalls · 0 complaints

F

2021 A7

11 recalls · 6 complaints

F

2020 A7

8 recalls · 2 complaints

D

2019 A7

6 recalls · 43 complaints

C

2018 A7

2 recalls · 3 complaints

D

2017 A7

4 recalls · 1 complaints

Sources & method

Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). Floor 35. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Complaint counts and NHTSA crash ratings are shown separately and are not blended into the grade.

EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records (ids 35995, 36130). Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed weekly.

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