Owners have filed 33 complaints on the Audi 5000, covering 1982–1987. The system named most often is Power Train (10 reports). Worst years by volume: 1986, 1985, 1987; cleanest: 1982, 1983, 1984. 6 reports describe a crash, 2 a fire. On average the car was 10.1 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Audi 5000
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 33 5000 complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Power Train 10 Read
Differential failure prior to recall (93V-006),causing loss of control/accident/injuries
Differential failed twice, once causing vehicle to lock up, causing loss of control/accident/injuries
Transmission locked in reverse, causing sudden acceleration/accident
Vehicle Speed Control 4 Read
Sudden acceleration, causing accident on 2nd time
I started the car in a driveway, intending to back onto the street. When I placed the car in reverse, the car accelerated backward at top speed. I could not stop the car by applying the brakes. I had 40 feet of skid marks visible on the pavement. The car was stopped by it's impact with a parked car. I have been told…
Sudden acceleration of vehicle. Tt
Fuel System 4 Read
On way to work, passed car, put pedal to the floor and it stuck there, until tapped with foot, thank god, but when I got to work, car idled up and down, erratic, between 10,000 and 20,000 rpms. Turned off engine, no noise, no warning lights on. Restarted ok, still idled funny. Turned off engine. Waited a minute, no…
Recall 89V006000, fuel injection seal has hardened due to high temperatures. Recall remedy did not correct the problem which caused the vehicle to catch on fire. Please give any further details
Fuel tank peeling/flaking, contaminating fuel system, resulting in stalling
Electrical System 3 Read
Switch which controls the headlights, wipers, cruise control and turn signals work intermittently
Engine wiring harness failed causing engine to lock up and damaged engine
Wire harness self destructed, causing complete failure of the engine and electrical system
Visibility 3 Read
Location of bubbles in front windshield glass, impairs visibility
Power steering pump failed
Odometer failed
Exterior Lighting 3 Read
While driving, low/high beam switch failed, malfunction causing headlamp high beams to stay on continuously
While driving, low/high beam switch failed, causing headlamp high beams to stay on continuously
While driving, low-high beam switch failure occurs, causing headlamp high beams to stay on continuously
Service Brakes 2 Read
Had little stopping ability, hydroboost had gone bad. (please give details). Tt
Intermittent stalling
Structure 2 Read
Sunvisor comes down unexpectedly, obstructing view. (1st vehicle on 602405)
Consumer parked car and locked door with child in car, came back to the car and discovered the power lock wouldn't unlock, had to play with lock about one hour and the rear door would not unlock. Please describe
5000 years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Electrical System | 1 | — | |
| 1986 | Electrical System | 1 | 2 | |
| 1985 | Power Train | 3 | — | |
| 1984 | Power Train | — | — | |
| 1983 | Visibility | — | — | |
| 1982 | Power Train | 1 | — |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 25 |
| Average complaints per series | 1.3 |
| Worst single series | 3 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 10.1 years |
A model average of 1.3 hides a worst series at 3. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
- No ads, on every page
- No ads, no tracking — and much more
How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the 5000?
By complaint volume, 1986, 1985, 1987 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which 5000 years are the cleanest?
1982, 1983, 1984 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Audi 5000 have?
33 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1982–1987. Of those, 6 describe a crash and 2 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.