Owners have filed 45 complaints on the Audi Q5 e, covering 2020–2023. The system named most often is Electrical System (11 reports). Worst years by volume: 2021, 2020, 2023; cleanest: 2023, 2020, 2021. 1 reports describe a crash, 1 a fire. On average the car was 2.1 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Audi Q5 e
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 45 Q5 e complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Electrical System 11 Read
Jul 9 2024. Plug-in hybrid battery fire. Car plugged in at 11:10am with an empty battery. At 1:45pm we noticed white smoke emitting from the battery, (rear left near charge port). Immediately unplugged. Fire Department on scene, car pushed to street. Disconnected battery, observed heat and some black residue in the…
The contact owns a 2023 Audi Q5E. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V898000 (Electrical System); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made…
Transmission malfunction while driving on a highway, car towed to dealer. They found codes P074700, P077700, P17F900 (TSB 2064312/6). Replaced mechatronic unit
Power Train 7 Read
A transmission malfunction message displayed and vehicle lost power. This happened when ascending a hill
While driving one day, several warning messages appeared on the dashboard, but would then disappear. The next day, the car engine would not start and the vehicle dashboard would not turn on. The car was inoperable and had to be towed to a dealer service center. Dealer confirmed that the issue was caused by liquid…
I and my wife were emerging from an intetstate highway entrance ramp when our car suddenly and completely lost power. A "Transmission Malfunction" warning suddenly (and for the first time) appeared on the dashboard.We had just completed a merge with heavy traffic going 70-75 miles per hour. Immediately behind our car…
Forward Collision Avoidance 5 Read
Audi pre-sense occasionally alerts you to a problem (potential accident) when there is nothing wrong. But last Friday I was in the left turn lane, with my signal on and foot on brake waiting for the traffic to clear. When the traffic cleared I removed my foot from the brake, and tried to go forward, but the pre-sense…
In several instances, my Audi Q5 has erroneously thought there was a road hazard and slammed on the brakes. It was terrifying. Luckily there were not cars close behind or they would have collided with my car. We took it to the dealer who adjusted the system they call “Pre-sense” but the car still slammed on its brakes…
I have had three occurrences where the Automatic Emergency Braking system and Forward Collision system have been activated for no reason. In one case the Q5 braked suddenly, and the seat belts tightened to the point that it made my passengers back sore. Fortunately, no vehicle was following close behind to cause a…
Suspension 3 Read
Car stops and does not allow for proper function to perform of gas or brake. Car has to be turned off and restarted. This is a safety and security concern on all roads. Car has stopped in intersection and would not drive. Therefore turning car off and restarting in live movement on street. Electrical issues as it is a…
Received letter from audi regarding NHTSA:22V034. Letter indicated there was a defect with the rear axle suspension alignment which could lead to premature and excessive tire wear and, potential tire failure. After inspection, dealer (fletcher jone audi, costa mesa, ca) said there were no issues despite presence of…
Recall Number: 22V034 Audi has a current recall impacting the alignment of the rear axle. It is causing uneven and unsafe wear on the rear tires. Our tires are experiencing this greatly. We took the car into our Audi dealership. Audi, the manufacturer, rejected the request for tire replacement claiming alignment is…
Service Brakes 3 Read
Reporting a potentially dangerous situation related to the vehicle's braking system. This incident happened on [XXX], on [XXX] in around the Fife WA area. The vehicle is an 2021 Audi Q5 hybrid, purchased new and been taking to dealership for service for every service interval. Initially, the vehicle was in adaptive…
Brake Booster Brake Serví Unit faulty Making noise, took t mechanic and I was told there is a technical service bulletin on this. I called Audi of Danbury and I was told there is no recall. I was told by my mechanic it can cause car t run bad and die
I understand that there have been recalls for the brake booster in some 2020 Audi Q5s. I have had my brake booster light come on, but my VIN is not in the recall. My car has less than 50,000 miles on it and I should not be having this issue. I think my car should be recalled and this issue should be fixed by Audi. The…
Engine 3 Read
Vehicle has an issue with the transmission control, it will not reliably shift into the appropriate gears as it gains speed, often slipping & shuddering, sometimes even slamming into a higher gear. A few times it has stayed in first or second gear as I was pulling onto a busy street into oncoming traffic, I was unable…
Six months ago received a warning saying Electrical System Failure: safely stop vehicle. Took it to the dealer. They had the vehicle 30+ days and said they had finally fixed it. Almost immediately began receiving the same error message upon driving vehicle again. Called dealer and asked what to do. They said it must…
Our vehicle started jerking when it transitioned from EV mode to Hybrid (gas engine). I found TSB 2079556, which describes exactly the diagnostic codes our car has for all eight battery packs. This is clearly a known problem, and as the car is out of its original warranty I would have to pay for this myself. Audi…
Steering 2 Read
Every possible warning light came on without notice and the car came to an abrupt halt. Ultimately the front tires locked and the car could not be moved out of park. This happened at Yosemite National Park and was very dangerous. Fortunately I was able to glide most of the car to the side of the road (not all) before…
The incident occurred on a busy road during evening rush hour. I was in the middle lane of three lanes, and the lane to the right of me was closed due to construction. The phrase “electrical malfunction” flashed across my dashboard, there were beeping sounds, and about 5-10 later the steering froze up and the car…
Fuel/propulsion System 2 Read
Gas gauge stuck. Other Audi gas sensors have been recalled
When the car was initially purchased in 2021 a fully filled gas tank and fully charged battery gave a total range of approx 400-420 miles. As of recently the fully filled up gas tank and fully charged battery are giving a digital range reading of 368 miles. At the minimum this is a 32 mile to 52 mile range difference.…
Q5 e 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Electrical System | 1 | — | |
| 2021 | Back Over Prevention | — | — | |
| 2020 | Electrical System | — | 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 | 29 |
| Average complaints per series | 1.6 |
| Worst single series | 6 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 2.1 years |
A model average of 1.6 hides a worst series at 6. 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
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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 Q5 e?
By complaint volume, 2021, 2020, 2023 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 Q5 e years are the cleanest?
2023, 2020, 2021 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Audi Q5 e have?
45 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2020–2023. Of those, 1 describe a crash and 1 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.