This was at Porsche Experience Center LA 10/18

https://youtu.be/D1BVoWsH9xA?si=LLJ9erqEtztU4FZ8&t=327

First of all, I’m excited for the whole Q9 series, always wanted Audi to come up something that’s bigger than Q7 and compete with GLS or X7.

I don’t know if it’s an allowed to have other brand in this community, but I need some advice. Recently me and my wife came to the conclusion that we need another big family car. I’m worried that the new SQ9 will have the same problematic situation like the new A/Q5.

Good to be back in an Audi after my old RS3 got totaled out last winter. Spent the last 10 months in a Subaru WRX but the itch never went away. Some additional life changes helped push the car change a little faster too.

My X7 lease ended, so I moved into my first Audi, a 2026 Q8 with the S-Line and Black Optic packages. My kids are off to college, so it was time to get something a bit smaller. A month in, I have some honest thoughts for anyone cross-shopping. Maybe I should have done more homework, but these are the things that surprised me.

The Good ...

Looks! It's a beautiful car. With the Black Optic and S-Line packages it looks great from every angle, and I still turn around in the parking lot to look at it. It's also nice to drive something new and different.

Surprises (to me) ...

Throttle lag. Unless you're in Dynamic with the transmission in Sport, there's a real delay when you step on it. It is to the point it feels dangerous in high traffic situations like you get in urban areas. In Comfort or Auto it feels sluggish off the line in a way the much larger X7 never did.

Steering. Same story. Outside of Dynamic/Sport, the steering feels generic and disconnected. It's competent, but there's no feel.

Interior storage/layout. This one I didn't see coming. There's almost nowhere to put things. The center console is shallow, and outside of the cupholders (which are on the small side) there's no natural spot for a phone, a second set of keys, or a pack of gum. It feels like whoever designed the cabin never spent a full day living in it. Almost like when you go to a hotel and there is no electric outlet by the bed. However, the seats are comfortable and theres a surprising amount of shoulder and head room, but none of that helps when my wife and each have a drink and my phone is in my lap. No, I wont get one of those phone holders bc ... gross.

Touchscreen. The interface is fine once you learn it. Some of the confusion is just me switching from iDrive. But the screen itself drives me bonkers. Its small, but I can live with that. However, I often have to press two or three times before it registers and that is a huge sore point. Coming from a BMW with plenty of physical buttons, an appropriately sensitive screen and a rotary controller, it's a real downgrade for everyday use.

Bottom line ...

Overall I'm happy with it. But it doesn't drive like the BMW, and the interior isn't as well thought out as the BMWs or Mercedes I've owned. You buy this one for the exterior design. Again, if you keep it in dynamic and sport its much improved. Overall, I am happy bc its nice to have something new, but Audi has a ways to go for their interior to catch up with the exterior.

I know some people will say I should have researched more, and that's fair. I'm posting so the next person cross-shopping knows what to test on a drive. Curious whether other owners, especially anyone coming from BMW or Mercedes, have had the same experience. And if there are settings I'm missing, I'm all ears.

Thanks!

HRE on Vredensteins

2019 A5 Sportback

Apr- cold air intake
CTS - catless downpipe
034- turbo inlet
O2 sensor spacer
Magniflow catback exhaust
Stage 2 unitronic Ecu (tcu not available , gen 2 trans)

Have a rear diffuser, Black honeycomb grill and a front lip in the garage pending install.

Hi guys just wanted to share my new to me car, it is a 2018 audi a4 Quattro with S line I believe, any tips or warnings that I should know about, as far as I know these are reliable engines if maintained properly of course but also have water pump cracking? Let me know thanks

Hey guys just wanna use this time to gather up the A8/S8 fans here. Here is my 18 A8 sport. This is my #1 favorite car I've ever owned.

I want to get my brake calipers repainted on my A6, but not sure which colour would look the best. I might also get the “4 rings” audi logo sticker on each caliper. My top 3 choices so far is violet, red and orange. Let me know which colour you think would look the best, or if you have any thoughts on the sticker choices.

One of the downsides of direct injection is that fuel no longer washes over the intake valves like it does in port-injected engines.

Over time, oil vapors from the crankcase ventilation system can leave deposits on the intake valves, eventually restricting airflow and potentially affecting performance.

We recently had a 2011 Audi R8 V10 come in for carbon cleaning with around 40,000 miles, and the buildup was pretty noticeable.

Something interesting about these engines is that the deposits aren't always the same. Some are dry and respond well to walnut blasting, while others are oily and stubborn enough to require additional cleaning.

For this R8, we used a combination of walnut blasting, chemical cleaning, and agitation to remove the deposits.

It's one of those maintenance jobs that doesn't get talked about nearly as much as exhausts, tunes, or other performance upgrades.

For those with higher-mileage R8s or other direct-injected Audis, have you had your intake valves cleaned? Did you notice any difference afterward?

Video: Audi R8 & Lamborghini V10 Engine Carbon Cleaning

Anyone else experiencing issues with their navigation system getting stuck on “Initializing navigation system. Please wait…”?

This happens to me probably twice a week. I can usually fix it by force restarting the MMI (holding down the power button for about 15 seconds), and everything works normally afterward.

Not a huge deal, but it’s getting a little annoying having to restart the system so frequently. Curious if anyone else has experienced this or found a permanent fix

Hey guys. Been a long time Audi and VW guy and had multiple models over the last 20 years(2005 GLI 6speed stage 2, 2011 S4 stage 2+ 6spd, 2005 GTI 6 spd stage 2, 2019 S5 stage 1 ecu/Stage 2 tcu). I brought my 2021 Audi A5 S Line Prestige 45 for 60k mile service. Got car 7k miles ago and no real records available so don’t know if trans and rear differential or brake fluid ever checked or changed between 40-60k(like everything I read and learned told me). Private garage (whose always been good to us) said they did oil change, tire rotation, 60k miles ago check, brake flush. Said trans says “sealed unit and only fill if serviced”. Wanted to send me a pic of the sticker but wouldn’t do trans fluid/filter change. Asked about rear differential and said checked fluid on paper and looked good so that wasn’t changed either. I’m not planning on tuning car and drive fairly easily but was trying to do what I have learned(or at least thought was case). This car was to keep safe as I had a bad car accident in my 2019 S5 and totaled it but since it saved my life and needed a replacement we got this for now. It’s gonna stay stock and in 6-12 months be replaced with another S5/6/7. Not sure which.

Should I leave it alone and let it be next owners issue or bring to German car shop and have them do it or am I totally off base? Thanks guys

Six years of ownership, and it’s still love at first sight every time I lay eyes on her.

Has anyone had any good experiences with the Ridex Brand?

Audi A6 35 TDI

Hey All, recentlt bought an Audi a5 and im in love with it!

Its an 2015 s line sportback with all the nice features on it. I immediately got an AMI bluetootg dongle for in the glove box slot and it worked perfect, after 3 months it started lagging and not working proper so i recently bought a new one and now its way worse.

It says my mobile is connected. Bluetooth light is constant blue. But it says that it cant read from the plugged dongle (photo(Is in Netherlands sorry ). After replugging a couple times or sometimes after 5 min of driving it says connected.

What could be the problem? Should an better dongle be the solution or better to go for an nice carplay build in the car?

English isnt my native language so sorry in advance if the grammar isnt perfect :)

I made an initial post the other day about having not changed my car battery for the last 10 years. TLDR; I took it to the shop and the results came out to:

My car: 2017 Audi A4 2.0T

BATTERY RESULTS
MEASURED: 345 CCA
RATED: 550 CCA
TEMPERATURE: 85°F
VOLTAGE: 12.530
REPLACE BATTERY: Risk-Maximum

Battery replacement is highly recommended. Although this battery may start the vehicle. it no longer meets the minimum requirements and is likely to fail soon, especially if exposed to temperature extremes.

Your battery is approximately 35 months old and the average battery life in this area is 47-53 months.

Not really sure why it says it’s 35 months old because it definitely… is more than that lol but anyone have any thoughts on these stats? I also asked about the battery type and they use Interstate which I heard someone on the other thread say is the same as the original factory battery which is good.

Odd thing is that the shop said "Audi’s don’t have to be coded", only BMWs do, which feels contradictory to what everyone else is saying. They said they "don’t have the file" even if they could do it though so I might just need to go the dealership but that means a more expensive charge… unless I change the battery at the shop I go to and just get it coded at the dealership? I feel like that would make things more complicated though.

I'm just not really familiar with the coding piece especially. I looked online and it looks like the recommendation is to use"CDS (VAG-COM) or OBDelevent"?

Any advice would be great! Thanks!

I know these 4-bolt water pumps are currently the subject of an ongoing class action lawsuit, and I'd hate for mine to go to 💩 and potentially ruin my engine, turbos, etc. Has anyone ever converted to the 6-bolt design pre-emptively? I'm at 54k miles and have a 5-year extended 3rd party warranty ... is it worth the money to avoid something more serious in the future even with the warranty in mind? What mileage is everyone seeing failure at?