AutoUtility currently tracks 15 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2016 Audi A7. Air Bags & Restraints issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 7 complaints (46.7% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 1 filing cites a crash, 1 reports one or more injuries.

Key Problem Findings
  • • Total NHTSA Complaints: 15 reports
  • • #1 Reported Problem Area: Air Bags & Restraints (7 reports • 46.7% of submitted complaints)
  • • Secondary Problem Areas: Engine & Cooling (2), Steering System (2)
  • • Crash-Citing Complaints: 1 filings
  • • Fire-Citing Complaints: 0 filings
  • • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 1 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Reporting Methodology: Statistics describe unverified consumer submissions voluntarily filed with NHTSA. Complaint volume is not normalized for vehicle sales volume or miles driven. Multiple components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission.
Total Complaints
15
Submitted to NHTSA ODI
Crash-Citing Complaints
1
Filings citing a collision
Fire-Citing Complaints
0
Filings citing smoke or fire
Complaints Reporting Injuries
1
Filings citing one or more injuries
Complaints Reporting Fatalities
0
Consumer filings citing fatalities

Most Reported Problems for 2016 Audi A7

Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records

#1 Problem Area 46.7% of complaints

Air Bags & Restraints

7 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 2 official safety recall campaigns for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 1 crash report 🩹 3 injury report entries
#2 Problem Area 13.3% of complaints

Engine & Cooling

2 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
✓ 0 crashes or fires cited
#3 Problem Area 13.3% of complaints

Steering System

2 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
✓ 0 crashes or fires cited
#4 Problem Area 13.3% of complaints

Fuel & Propulsion System

2 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
✓ 0 crashes or fires cited
#5 Problem Area 6.7% of complaints

Visibility, Wipers & Glass

1 owner complaint submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
✓ 0 crashes or fires cited
Domain Share Note: Share percentage represents the proportion of unique complaint filings referencing each vehicle system. Because single complaints may cite multiple systems (such as engine and electrical simultaneously), domain percentages represent individual category incidence and may sum to over 100%.

Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2016 Audi A7

Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

Air Bags & Restraints NHTSA ODI ID: #11632572
Filed: 12/27/2024

"When I have a passenger riding with me the passenger airbag cuts on and off the whole time while I’m driving. This is a major safety concern especially when I have passengers all the time. I’m concerned the airbag will not deploy during an accident."

Incident Date: 12/27/2024 • Raw NHTSA Component: AIR BAGS
Engine & Cooling NHTSA ODI ID: #11603833
Filed: 07/22/2024

"Component/System Malfunction: The engine control unit fails, causing the engine to shut off unexpectedly while driving. This component is available for inspection. Safety Risk: The sudden shutdown poses severe risks. It happened on local roads and highways at speeds over 65 mph, creating immediate..."

Incident Date: 07/11/2024 • Raw NHTSA Component: ENGINE
Steering System NHTSA ODI ID: #11582185
Filed: 04/10/2024

"The contact owns a 2016 Audi A7. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the steering wheel stopped operating and the "Do Not Drive Vehicle, Steering Defective" message was displayed. The vehicle was pulled into a parking lot where the vehicle restarted; however, the failure..."

Incident Date: 03/29/2024 • Raw NHTSA Component: STEERING
Visibility, Wipers & Glass NHTSA ODI ID: #11574795
Filed: 02/29/2024

"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."

Incident Date: 02/27/2024 • Raw NHTSA Component: VISIBILITY/WIPER
Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA ODI ID: #11559498
Filed: 12/11/2023

"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."

Incident Date: 12/11/2023 • Raw NHTSA Component: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Consumer Narrative Notice: Excerpts are sanitized text descriptions submitted by vehicle owners to the federal ODI database. They reflect the reporting consumer's observations at the time of filing and have not been independently confirmed by vehicle manufacturers or government investigators.

Complaint History for Audi A7

Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2025)

Model Year NHTSA Complaints Crash Reports Safety Recalls Detailed Report
2015 Audi A7 5 0 3 View 2015 Problems →
2016 Audi A7 Current Page 15 1 3 Current
2017 Audi A7 1 0 4 View 2017 Problems →
2018 Audi A7 0 0 2 View 2018 Problems →
2019 Audi A7 43 0 6 View 2019 Problems →
2020 Audi A7 5 0 8 View 2020 Problems →
2021 Audi A7 15 0 11 View 2021 Problems →
2022 Audi A7 0 0 6 View 2022 Problems →
2023 Audi A7 0 0 1 View 2023 Problems →
2024 Audi A7 0 0 1 View 2024 Problems →
2025 Audi A7 0 0 1 View 2025 Problems →
Comparative Disclaimer: Complaint totals are unadjusted historical counts and are not normalized for vehicles sold, active fleet size, or total road mileage. Newer model years naturally have had less calendar exposure time to accumulate owner filings.

Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2016 Audi A7

Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 10 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications

Vehicle Component / System Total Complaints Crash Reports Fire Reports Reported Injury Entries Reported Fatality Entries
Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS 5 0 0 0 0
Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,STRUCTURE 1 1 0 3 0
Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
Engine & Cooling NHTSA category: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 1 0 0 0 0
Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN 1 0 0 0 0
Steering NHTSA category: STEERING 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,AIR BAGS 1 0 0 0 0
Tires NHTSA category: TIRES 1 0 0 0 0
Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
Data Attribution & Reporting Methodology: Complaints are unverified voluntary submissions to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI). Because multiple vehicle components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission, component-level rollups may sum to more than the unique complaint count (15). Injury and fatality entries in the detailed table reflect raw values entered by reporting consumers across individual submissions; they are not deduplicated casualty statistics and may include duplicate or unverified entries. Complaint volume is not normalized for sales volume or vehicle mileage and does not represent an audited component failure rate.

Related Official Reports for 2016 Audi A7

Cross-reference safety recalls, crash test safety ratings, and EPA fuel economy for this model year

Official US Government Data Provenance

The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.

Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.