2021 Audi A7 reliability

Is it reliable?

NHTSA's file on the 2021 Audi A7 holds 6 complaints after 6 years, a rate of 1 per year. That is more complaints per year than most A7 years here — over the median of the other years, which is 0. NHTSA has 11 recalls on file, including Camera, Instrument cluster, and Onboard charging cable.

2012 Audi A7 — Photo by Matti Blume, resized from the original. Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0

Complaints

Per year

Recalls

Years on the road

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Engine (3 of 6), then Electrical system (2) and Back-over prevention (1).

Next to 2020 and 2022

The 2020 A7 has 2 complaints, 0 per year, and the 2022 has 0 complaints, 0 per year. The 2021 has more complaints per year than the 2020. The 2021 has more complaints per year than the 2022.

The complaint rate is complaints filed in this year’s first 3 years on the road, divided by however many of those years have passed. Recalls are a separate count. The numbers are for the US-market 2021 Audi A7. How we count. Data as of 2026-10-16.

Recalls (11)

Recall back-over prevention, sensing system, camera 2025-12-19 · NHTSA campaign 25V900000

Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2019-2026 vehicles. Please see the recall report for a complete list of models. A software error may prevent the rearview camera image from displaying as intended. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."

Remedy Dealers will update the software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 14, 2026. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 90TV. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on December 23, 2025.

Recall electrical system, instrument cluster 2025-03-31 · NHTSA campaign 25V201000

Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2021 SQ8, A6 SEDAN, A7, A8, Q7, Q8, RS6 Avant, RS7, RSQ8, S6 SEDAN, S7, S8, A6 Allroad, and SQ7 vehicles. Due to a software error, the instrument panel display may fail.

Remedy Dealers will update the instrument panel module software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 24, 2025. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 90VC.

Recall Onboard charging cable 2023-12-13 · NHTSA campaign 23V842000

Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2022-2024 RS e-tron GT, e-tron GT, Q4 e-tron Sportback, Q4 e-tron, 2020-2021 Audi A8, 2019-2024 e-tron Quattro, 2020-2024 e-tron Sportback Quattro, Q5, and 2021-2022 A7 vehicles. When using the industrial 220V/240V plug at the 100% charge setting, some home power outlets may be incapable of handling the electrical current required to utilize the compact charging system, causing the outlet or charging cable to overheat.

Remedy Owners are advised not to use the 220V/240V compact/portable charging cable and only use the 110V home charging cable or public charging stations. Dealers will supply a new 220V/240V compact/portable charging cable with an incorporated temperature sensor, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on March 28, 2024. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's numbers for this recall are 93U6 and 93U8.

Recall hydraulic brakes, fluid 2023-08-25 · NHTSA campaign 23V601000

Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2021 Audi S7, S6 Sedan, RS7, RS6 Avant, A6 Allroad, 2019-2021 A7, and A6 Sedan vehicles. An incorrectly labeled brake fluid cap may have been installed, which can result in the use of the wrong type of brake fluid.

Remedy Dealers will inspect the brake fluid reservoir cap and, if necessary, replace it, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed October 17, 2023. Owners may contact Audi's customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 47T9.

Recall Electrical system 2022-11-21 · NHTSA campaign 22V861000

Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Audi S7, S6 Sedan, A6 Allroad, 2021-2022 RS7, RS6 Avant, 2019-2022 A7, and A6 Sedan vehicles. Liquid spilled in the rear seat may penetrate and cause the gateway control module to shut down.

Remedy Dealers will install a protective cover, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed January 20, 2023. Owners may contact Audi's customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 90V2.

Recall back-over prevention, display 2022-10-05 · NHTSA campaign 22V742000

Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Audi A8, RS7, RS6 Avant, RS5 Sportback, RS5 Coupe, Q8, Q7, Q5 Sportback, S4 Sedan, Q5, A7, A6, A6 Allroad, A5 Sportback, A5 Coupe, A5 Cabrioleet, A4 Sedan, A4 Allroad, E-Tron Sportback Quattro, SQ7, S5 Cabriolet, E-Tron Quattro, SQ8, SQ5 Sportback, SQ5, S8, S7, S6 Sedan, S5 Sportback, S5 Coupe, 2022 E-Tron GT, and 2021-2022 RSQ8 vehicles. Due to a software issue, a blank or black screen may be displayed instead of the rearview camera image when the vehicle is placed in reverse gear. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."

Remedy Dealers will update the infotainment unit software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 25, 2022. Owners may contact Audi's customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 91DZ.

Recall electrical system, instrument panel, fuel gauge, fuel level sensor 2022-03-14 · NHTSA campaign 22V155000

Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2021-2022 RS6 Avant and RS7, 2020-2022 A6 Allroad, S6 Sedan, and S7, and 2019-2022 A6 Sedan and A7 vehicles. The fuel level sender may stick, causing an inaccurate fuel level reading to be displayed on the instrument cluster.

Remedy Dealers will install a new sensor in the tank, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed February 17, 2023. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 20DN.

Recall Tires 2022-01-26 · NHTSA campaign 22V034000

Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2019-2021 Audi A5 Sportback, RS5 Coupe, RS5 Sportback, S5 Sportback, 2020-2021 A4 Allroad, A4 Sedan, A5 Cabriolet, A5 Coupe, A6 Allroad, A6 Sedan, A7, A8, Q5, S4 Sedan, S5 Coupe, S5 Cabriolet, S6 Sedan, S7, S8, SQ5, 2021 Q5 Sportback, Q7, Q8, RS6 Avant, RS7, RSQ8, SQ5 Sportback, SQ7, and SQ8 vehicles. The rear axle alignment may not have been inspected after the repairs for Recall 21V-295 (42L1) were performed.

Remedy Dealers will inspect the rear axle, adjust the alignment as necessary, and replace any prematurely or unevenly worn tires, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 3, 2022. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 42L5.

Recall seat belts, rear or other, retractor 2021-08-05 · NHTSA campaign 21V606000

Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Volkswagen ID4, Audi A4 Allroad, A4 Sedan, A5 Cabriolet, A5 Coupe, A5 Sportback, A6 Allroad, A6 Sedan, A7, A8, E-Tron Quattro, E-Tron Sportback Quattro, Q3, Q5, Q5 Sportback, Q7, Q8, RS5 Sportback, RS5 Coupe, RS6 Avant, RS7, RSQ8, S4 Sedan, S5 Cabriolet, S5 Coupe, S5 Sportback, S6 Sedan, S7, S8, SQ5, SQ5 Sportback, SQ7, SQ8, and 2021-2022 S3 Sedan vehicles. The rear seat belt automatic locking retractors may deactivate early, which can prevent the child restraint system from securing properly. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."

Remedy Dealers will inspect, and replace as necessary, the middle-rear seat belt assemblies, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 27, 2021. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298 and Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 69CR (VW) and 69CS (Audi).

Recall Rear non-powered axle assembly 2021-04-26 · NHTSA campaign 21V295000

Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2021 Q7, Q8, Q5 Sportback, SQ5 Sportback, RS6 Avant, RS7, RS Q8, 2020-2021 Audi S6 sedan, Q5, A8, S8, A7, A6 Allroad, A5 Cabriolet, A4 sedan, A4 Allroad, SQ5, S7, A6 sedan, S5 coupe, S4 sedan, S5 Cabriolet, A5 coupe, 2019-2021 RS5 coupe, A5 Sportback, S5 Sportback, RS5 Sportback vehicles. The lock nut on the trailing arm of the rear axle may break due to stress corrosion.

Remedy Dealers will replace the lock nuts and, if necessary, the associated bolts, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 4, 2021. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 42L1.

Recall Air bags 2021-03-10 · NHTSA campaign 21V159000

Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2021 Audi RS6 Avant, RS7, 2020-2021 A6 Allroad, S6 Sedan, S7, 2019-2021 A6 Sedan, and A7 vehicles. The score line on the passenger air bag may not have been manufactured correctly.

Remedy Audi will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the passenger air bag score line, and repair it as necessary, free of charge. The recall begin March 26, 2021. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 70i2.

Complaints by component (6 total)

Engine

Electrical system

Back-over prevention

Speed control

Crash-flagged

Fire-flagged

Injury reports

Death reports

Complaints filed per year

Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings

"While driving on the freeway at approximately 65–70 mph, the engine suddenly stopped responding to all accelerator pedal inputs. The vehicle experienced an immediate, dangerous loss of motive power in active traffic.…"
Engine · filed 2026-08-03
"The first time, while driving at 50-55mph, the engine decelerated suddenly. After about 10-15 seconds struggles with the gas pedal and brake pedal, the car accelerated normally. I pulled safely to side of the road to…"
Engine · filed 2026-04-05
"Water pump design failure caused a leak of coolant into vacuum lines preventing coolant from cooling engine and causing immediate overheating. Known issue previous class action lawsuit."
Engine · filed 2025-12-14
"At first, the yellow electrical system malfunction warning light came on. After a short time of driving, the light turned red, and very shortly after than (within five minutes as I was trying to drive the vehicle to the…"
Electrical system · filed 2023-10-28
"The virtual cockpit (dashboard) went completely black except for an exclamation point. Speed, warning symbols, engine temp etc were not visible. Dealers has confirmed the issue and is currently trying to remedy the…"
Electrical system, Back-over prevention · filed 2023-04-17

NHTSA crash ratings

Version	Overall	Front	Side	Rollover
2021 Audi A7 (With Rear Seat SABs) 4 DR AWD	Not rated	Not rated	5 stars	Not rated
2021 Audi A7 4 DR AWD	Not rated	Not rated	5 stars	Not rated
2021 Audi A7 PHEV 4 DR AWD	Not rated	Not rated	Not rated	Not rated

Stars are how this vehicle did in NHTSA crash tests. They are a safety result, separate from the complaint record. Not rated means that test was not run for this version.

Fuel economy

Trim	Engine	Transmission	Drive	City	Hwy	Combined	Annual fuel cost
A7 quattro	3L, 6-cyl	Automatic (AM-S7)	All-wheel drive	22	29	24 MPG	$3300
A7 quattro	2L, 4-cyl	Automatic (AM-S7)	All-wheel drive	26	34	29 MPG / 440 mi range	$2750

Specs and fitment

C8 second generation, 2019–present

Body styles Hatchback (Sportback)

Oil 0W-20 (common US fills; ~5.5 qt with filter on typical gasoline) , 5.5 qt capacity

Tire size 245/45R19, 255/40R20 or 255/35R21 (trim-dependent)

Known issues for this generation

Recall 21V-295 covers certain 2020-2021 Audi A7 vehicles among many other Audi models (including Q7, Q8, A6, A8, and others): dealers replace lock nuts and, if necessary, associated bolts on the affected assembly. The multi-model campaign lists 40,993 vehicles. Recall 19V-035 also includes certain 2016-2018 A7 vehicles (with Q7/A6/A8): the left and right fuel rails may leak fuel (74,881 vehicles across those models); dealers replace both fuel rails.

Compare

Previous year 2020 Audi A7 Next year 2022 Audi A7 See every Audi A7 model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2021 Audi A7 reliable?

What are common problems with a 2021 Audi A7?

The complaints owners file most often name Engine (3 of 6), then Electrical system (2) and Back-over prevention (1).

Is the 2021 Audi A7 more reliable than the years next to it?

The 2020 A7 has 2 complaints, 0 per year, and the 2022 has 0 complaints, 0 per year. The 2021 has more complaints per year than the 2020. The 2021 has more complaints per year than the 2022.

Has the 2021 Audi A7 been recalled?

The 2021 Audi A7 has 11 recalls on file with NHTSA. See the recalls table on this page for dates, components, and remedies.

How many complaints have owners filed about the 2021 Audi A7?

Owners have filed 6 complaints about the 2021 Audi A7 with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2021 Audi A7 get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2021 Audi A7 is 26.5 MPG. See the fuel economy table on this page for city and highway figures by engine and transmission.

What engine oil does an Audi A7 use?

C7 gasoline models commonly list 5W-40 or 5W-30; later C8 models commonly list 0W-20 (~5.5 qt on typical fills)—confirm the manual for your engine.

What tire sizes does an Audi A7 use?

C7 packages commonly include 255/40R19 and 265/35R20; C8 packages commonly include 245/45R19, 255/40R20, and 255/35R21.