2020 AUDI A5 Problems & Complaints

Audi USA sent me a recall letter/service action for Infotainment System Software. The system reboots and shuts down unexpectedly while driving. Took the car to a local Audi dealership and they informed me that they cannot repair the recall because they now want to change my SOS module in order for both to work. They are asking me to pay them $1,500 for that. Meanwhile they informed me that my SOS system is not working either because of that, and I cannot use.

The MMI which controls back up and 360 cameras, parking sensors, collision avoidance system, navigation, bluetooth, radio, etc reboots randomly without warning. There is no predictability and I have not been able to identify a trigger. There is no warning indicator on the dash or MMI before it happens. When it reboots the screen goes black and all associated MMI functions become inoperable for seconds to minutes. It then restarts and often makes me log back in before I am able to use it again. It happens multiple times, sometimes over a dozen in a short drive and often happens just several minutes apart. It has rebooted while I am pulling into my garage, parking, or backing up and actively using the cameras which poses a serious safety issue. It also occurs often when using bluetooth which can be a distraction, pulling my eyes off the road to grab my phone. This seems to be a widespread problem with Audi MMI which has not been addressed and is a safety concern for all models affected. The dealerships know it is happening due to the amount of complaints, but will not update software and want me to pay a diagnostic fee + upgrade + labor.

The vehicle's Multi-Media Interface (MMI) system is reportedly shutting down randomly while the vehicle is in operation. This issue occurs without warning and is intermittent, making it unpredictable. Observed Symptoms/Events: Complete Loss of MMI Functionality: The screen goes black, and all associated functions (navigation, radio, Bluetooth, vehicle settings, climate control interface, rearview camera, etc.) become inoperable. Random Occurrence: The shutdown can happen at any time, regardless of driving conditions (e.g., stationary, low speed, highway speed). There appears to be no consistent trigger. Duration of Outage: The MMI system typically remains off for a period ranging from a few seconds to several minutes before spontaneously restarting. In some cases, the system may not restart until the vehicle is turned off and on again. Impact on Other Systems: While the primary issue is with the MMI, the owner reports concern about potential impacts on critical vehicle functions that utilize the MMI display (e.g., rearview camera when backing up, warning messages displayed on MMI). No Warning Indicators: No specific warning lights or messages appear on the instrument cluster immediately preceding or during the MMI shutdown. Repeatability: The issue is not consistently repeatable on demand, but it has occurred multiple times since its initial manifestation. Potential Safety Risk: The random shutdown of the MMI system poses potential safety concerns due to: Distraction: Unexpected system failure can be distracting to the driver, potentially diverting attention from the road. Loss of Critical Information: The MMI displays crucial information such as navigation directions, rearview camera feed, and certain warning messages. A sudden loss of this information can compromise driver awareness, especially when maneuvering or in complex traffic situations.

2020 Audi A5 started randomly rebooting (MMI software) around mid April 2025, It happens I’d say every 5-20 minutes and it repeats all the time. The fact that Audi/VW won't cover the cost to update their buggy software is very frustrating. I have notified Audi USA about the issue and am awaiting a response if they will cover the labor cost @ Prestige Audi in Denver, CO

The computer of the car (the MMI) is constantly rebooting. Once I turn on the vehicle it’ll start up normally and after about 1 minute or two it’ll go black and everything will restart.

The MMI resets every 3-5 minutes. This problem started approximately 9 months ago and has continued to happen more frequently. Navigation, car play and the radio are affected. It is startling when the radio turns on when it was previously turned off. It is not possible to use the navigation system. The concern is that the MMI controls other important functions and it's unclear if they will continue to work. Additionally, a linked phone restarts the Audi ap so using its navigation system (not in car play) is affected. I have to turn Bluetooth off so the car won't recognize the phone. I have reset the MMI multiple times, reentered my email and password and/or PIN. Nothing works even with assistance from Audi software service. The car is virtually undrivable and incredibly disappointing that Audi is doing nothing about solving the problem.

The MMI reboots 3-4 times while driving, a big distraction. It starts by checking remote access rights, then has a few other messages. It takes nearly 2 minutes to reset and often this occurs several times. If you select certain options, the MMI starts to change seat and other settings while vehicle is in operation. The dealer has no software updates/upgrades to resolve this potentially serious issue. This has happened several times recently (last few weeks).

MMI/radio shuts off while driving every day. Good morning. I’m hoping someone here can help me. I have a 2020 A5 and about 2 weeks my car started doing an annoying thing where while driving the radio/MMI randomly shuts off and reboots. I’ve tried everything I can think of to both replicate it and stop it but nothing has worked.

Multiple owners as well as mine MMI system just randomly rebooted multiple times when I was driving on the interstate. The speed goes up to 70MPH and I lost my maps and everything.

I would like to see if I have a case against Audi of America for installing faulty MMI Systems in cars (specifically 2020 models). I have had to bring my car to the Audi dealership service department now four times due to issues with my MMI system turning off and on by itself and getting stuck in a rebooting or initializing loop. I have an extended warranty but have paid over 500 dollars to have the system repaired only to receive the car back and have the same issue. It affects my back up camera and after doing research found that there are so many people with the same issue. My car is currently in the shop for the fourth time and still the dealer has not been able to remedy the problem.

The Multi-Media Interface (MMI) randomly reboots and poses a safety hazard. Several times while reversing using my backup camera, the MMI has rebooted which causes the camera to go blank. This poses a risk to back up into an object or a person during this time. Also during this time, the Rear Cross Traffic Warning system is disabled until the system reboots. Also, while using navigation, the MMI has rebooted on me several times. It has occurred during critical times such as exiting freeways at high speeds. When this occurs it is terribly distracting and could cause an accident. The problem has been re-produced by my dealer. They said it needed a software upgrade and performed that. It worked better for a couple days but is now back to rebooting spontaneously. There were no warning lamps or messages indicating the fault will be occurring. It just reboots and the MMI goes totally blank for about 20 seconds while the system reboots. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to when it will reboot. I can drive for 20 minutes and it may happen 4 times and then another time drive for an hour and never have it happen. Lately, it has gotten so bad I drive my son's car if it is available due to the safety concerns.

Beginning in mid July 2025, the MMI system (screen in the center of the dashboard) reboots every 1-2 minutes. In addition to the large distraction this causes while driving, the constant rebooting disables the back-up camera, parking sensors, rear-cross traffic alerts, collision avoidance assist, navigation, as well as everything else that is controlled by the Audi MMI system.

MMI constantly shuts off, often in the process of moving into or out of a parking spot. This suddenly and unexpectedly disables the parking collision warning system, the rear cross traffic warning system, and frontal collision warnings. Very frustrating and unsafe. No solution currently exists. No symptoms prior to this happening; it is widely reported at online forums. No users have been able to have this corrected even at the dealer.

My media display will randomly turn off while driving, idling and parking. It will happen with Apple CarPlay connection and without anything connected, ie just listening to radio. It requires the whole system to reboot an attempt to login, which also often fails. This is a safety concern for both driver and pedestrians as it affects parking visibility when the systems reboots while parking. Also, when shifting into reverse I've noticed a sluggish rear camera activation. The camera output on the display fades up much slower.

The MMI screen in my 2020 Audi A5 Sportback randomly reboots while driving, with no consistent pattern. These reboots occur regardless of whether a phone is connected—via USB-C, Bluetooth, or not connected at all. The issue is highly distracting and often occurs during critical moments, such as while reversing (disabling the rear-view camera), when cross-traffic alerts are active, or while moving forward (disabling the parking sensors). What’s particularly concerning is that the issue has become more frequent over time. Initially, it might happen once during a 30-minute commute. Now, it can occur 3–4 times in quick succession, making the system increasingly unreliable and disruptive. Each reboot interrupts essential, hands-free safety features such as Bluetooth phone connectivity and GPS navigation via Android Auto or Apple CarPlay—functions designed specifically to promote safe driving by reducing the need for manual interaction. In addition, the system frequently prompts for the key user to log in and continually checks remote access rights, adding even more distraction while driving. There should be a recall for this! It seems to be happening to a lot of 2020 A4 and A5 owners from my research on the internet. I have tried rebooting and restoring factory settings, but the issue still persist!

The MMI system in the car constantly reboots and does not work for more than 30 seconds

MMI system frequently shuts down and reboots. This is a safety concern as the screen has shut down and gone dark in the middle of backing up, while using the backup camera and navigation is lost when driving on the highway causing a dangerous distraction. Within a minute of turning on car, the system shuts down, reboots and continues to shut down and reboot repeatedly throughout the duration of the drive. They system only stays operational for a few seconds to a few minutes at a time. This has been happening ever since I purchased the vehicle in 2022, however it used to be sporadic, occurring only once a month or so. Recently is has been occurring daily and the MMI system is now completely unusable.

The MMI/ radio shuts off and reboots at least 4-5 times within a 30 minute drive. When it comes back up, I get the error “user hasn’t been detected for some time”. I have had it go out while in reverse which is a safety concern. Every time it shuts off it is 30 seconds to a minute where nothing in my MMI is accessible. This began around April of 2025. No warning lights or error codes have been found. I have not taken it in for diagnosis, as it seems to be software related. [XXX] This link shows a lot of people that are experiencing the same issue and how it may be related to software updates, as the current software I have matches what is in the link and is incredibly outdated and old. Never once has it been addressed by the company. It is incredibly frustrating, and provides potential safety concerns as access to any GPS services, backup cameras, and any feature tied to the MMI go completely blank while driving. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

MMI randomly reboots involuntarily at any point during the drive. Reboots as often as once every few minutes and reboots about 5-8 times per drive. Cannot pin point the cause since it is not obvious. Also a safety concern because the MMI can reboot while backup camera is active or while car sensors are in use. Multiple owners of the same year model are having this same issue for months now with no fix from Audi. I have been having this issue non stop the last few months now.

The MMI infotainment system randomly restarts approximately every 30 minutes. This causes Apple CarPlay to disconnect, interrupting navigation and music. It's especially unsafe to interrupt while driving on freeway because it leads to missed turns or distractions on the road.

My car’s Multi Media Interface (MMI) keeps restarting every 1 to 2 minutes everyday while driving the carThe MMI runs my navigation (not through my phone) and music by connecting to my phone with Bluetooth. It also shows me my backup camera and diagnostics with the car. Safety is affected by distractions, not knowing where to go, irritation. No dealership has inspected or been able to reproduce the issue. No other issues came before the MMI began restarting.

The MMI system keeps rebooting. Once when I was backing up, the screen started resetting compromising the backup camera display and any cross traffic warning that may of been there.

Audi MMI keeps restarting every 5-15 minutes. During the restart the screen goes blank and starts up again. This sometimes happens while parking or backing up and all safety features become disabled.

MMI spontaneously reboots numerous times while driving. When the reboots happen, the screen goes black and key systems such as the backup camera, rear obstacle detection, and navigation, become unavailable until the reboot completes and the systems reload. Restoring functionality requires user input to get through the loading screens. The issue started in February/March 2025 and I requested my the Audi dealer to investigate while performing a 50,000 mile service in May 2025. This appears to be a widespread issue based on the numerous reports found on user forums online, affecting the same model year vehicles (for multiple examples, refer to [XXX] ). This should be considered a safety issue, as the reboots can happen in the middle of a reverse parking maneuver, and they render the backup camera and obstacle detection sensors completely inoperative until the system reloads. They also impact safety on the highway, as the reboots completely disable the navigation screens, and require multiple user input to restore, while driving. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

My MMI system is routinely shutting down. I cant use my garage opener, rear backup, warning collision effects and have to routinely reset while driving.

The vehicles MMI multimedia infotainment system will randomly shut off, go blank and reboot. This happens at random intervals and there doesn’t seem to be a pattern to the cause. It also happens at times when trying to back in, this is dangerous as it cuts out the reverse camera and the parking sensors while it reboots. It not only shuts off music it shuts off gps while it reboots. It does it with the regular gps as well as with Apple CarPlay on

Hello, I am writing today to inform you about the safety concerns I have over My Audis MMI issues. The MMI is the multi media infotainment which is operates my back up camera, proximity sensors and navigation. The MMI is stuck in a loop and reboots every 60 seconds. I was backing up and the MMI rebooted on me which abruptly stop streaming what was behind me, my neighbor was also backing up and thankfully I spotted them on my rear view mirror and stop in time before we collided.

The MMI constantly reboots itself. I have had the car to two dealers and despite software updates, the problem continues. As a result of this, while I have been in reverse the cameras will automatically turn off,

Communication system: The telephone microphone works intermittently and fails while the seat belt is fastened. The car is equipped with telephone microphones in the driver's seatbelt and on the roof, under the rearview mirror. The microphone system works when the seatbelt is NOT fastened. If the belt is buckled correctly and the mobile phone answers a call, the driver must manually disconnect the Bluetooth to answer the call (or unbuckle the seatbelt). The dealer said it was an iPhone issue; however, this issue has been known since 2020. The driver's belt is not damaged in any way. The dealer says I am responsible for replacing the safety belt to remedy the issue, but it is not assured that it will fix the problem. I purchased this vehicle in 2023, and the telephone issue has been a persistent problem. NC is a hands-free state, and this issue causes me to disconnect my telephone and navigation maps or to handle my phone while driving to disconnect the Bluetooth. MMI Reboots While Driving: The MMI system turns off and restarts while driving. The screen goes black, and the system requires the driver to select User and sometimes enter a code. This issue will also cause a mobile device to disconnect. Particularly dangerous while using a CarPlay map application while driving. The dealer says I am responsible for paying for the software update. On Tuesday, [XXX] I was driving in Greensboro, NC, when the MMI system went black. My phone was connected using Maps, but I unplugged it from the car, and my maps would not load on my phone. It was dark, and I was in an unfamiliar neighborhood. This experience was frightening and very unsafe. Audi has issued Technical Service Bulletins on both problems without issuing a recall. Many owners of the 2020 model are experiencing these two issues. These are serious issues and should warrant recalls without any cost to the consumer. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Starting early 2025 with no changes or modifications or warning - the MMI system in my 2020 Audi A5 began spontanously rebooting. It appears to be rebooting regardless use or radio, CarPlay, or nothing - even after the recent factory reset. Reboots appear to occur at random - sometimes once in 40 mins, or every 3-4 mins. After some research, it appears other similar 2020 cars have recently started experiencing the similar symptoms something this year in 2025. Sudden loss of navigation aid, parking and warning collision, etc have almost resulted in crashes. It was inspected at a dealer, who did not note any other open issues. I suspect there must be a change in how Audi forces the car to call back to their service that resulted in software reboots.

The entire infotainment screen spontaneously crashes leaving the screen completely black for 30 seconds to a minute while it resets. This happens randomly and quite frequently, on average every 5-10 minutes that the car is on. The whole infotainment system becomes unavailable including audio and, most dangerously, the backup camera. I have had incidents where I am reverse parking and I check my side mirrors and when I look back at my screen to see how close I am to the car behind me, the system is in the middle of rebooting and the screen is blank. I have taken the car to the dealer and have been told it’s a known issue but there is no fix and nothing could be done. There is no warning as to when the system decides to reboot. I have also had it happen during a very important phone call and the Bluetooth was disconnected entirely until the system finished rebooting. I could only imagine if that happened during an emergency call.

The Multi media interface (MMI) is constantly rebooting. Dealership efforts to repair have been unsuccessful and replacements are back ordered indefinitely. The inability to utilize the MMI poses a safety risk, as a variety of safety features are either inaccessible or much more difficulty to manage without the interface. I would greatly Appreciate a thorough invedtigstionto resolve this significant safety concern. The Audi MMI (Multi Media Interface) system plays a crucial role in enhancing safety features by providing a user-friendly interface for managing various driver assistance systems and safety-related functions. These include features like emergency calls, roadside assistance, and the integration of driver assistance systems like adaptive cruise control and collision avoidance assist.

Complaint Summary Component: Electrical System / Infotainment (MMI) Vehicle: 2020 Audi A5 Make/Model/Year: Audi A5, 2020 Frequency of Issue: Ongoing, multiple times per week Safety Concern: Yes Description of the Problem: I am experiencing ongoing and repeated spontaneous reboots of the MMI (Multi Media Interface) system in my 2020 Audi A5. This issue began occurring a few months ago and has since become increasingly frequent. The reboots can happen randomly — sometimes shortly after starting the car, sometimes mid-drive, and even when in reverse, which is particularly concerning as the rearview camera and parking sensors are disabled during the reboot, creating a serious safety risk. The screen goes black, audio cuts off, and navigation is lost for about 30–60 seconds. This can interrupt driver focus and make it harder to safely operate the vehicle. This issue is not isolated to my car. Many other owners of 2020 Audi vehicles with the MIB3 infotainment system are reporting the exact same symptoms, including on a thread with hundreds of replies here: [XXX] Despite numerous complaints, there has been no official recall or permanent fix from Audi USA. Many owners report getting temporary software updates from dealers, but the problem returns. Why This is a Safety Issue: Driver distraction during driving when the screen goes black or restarts. Loss of rearview camera and parking sensors when reversing. Loss of GPS navigation during driving in unfamiliar areas. Loss of hands-free calling functionality mid-call, increasing temptation to use a phone manually. I request that NHTSA investigate this issue with Audi and consider opening a recall or service campaign for affected vehicles. This is an increasingly widespread issue that affects safe operation of the vehicle's core systems, especially during driving and parking. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Audi MMI system randomly reboots during which time basic information is unavailable such as vehicle speed, fuel levels, etc. and requires user intervention to reactivate which distracts the driver from their primary functions. While this happens both screens available to the driver go blank.

See attached document for complaint

The contact owns a 2020 Audi A5. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, it was noticed that the driver's side window had failed to remain up as intended. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed with a defective window regulator. The vehicle remained at the dealer unrepaired. The contact related the failure with an unknown recall; however, the vehicle was not included. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 67,000.

My brother lost control from the tires being worn unevenly wich caused him to lose traction. The airbags in the car on the passenger side where the steel pole made contact, failed to deploy. The seatbelt was defective because he was seatbelted and the belt broke.