Owners have filed 1,053 complaints on the Audi Q5, covering 2009–2026. The system named most often is Engine (170 reports). Worst years by volume: 2018, 2011, 2014; cleanest: 2026, 2012, 2024. 51 reports describe a crash, 10 a fire. On average the car was 5.0 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Audi Q5
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 1,053 Q5 complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Engine 170 Read
On July 14, 2020, my daughter and I drove my leased Audi Q5 to Cari’s sister’s home. As I pulled in the driveway, and before I turned off the vehicle and exited the car, smoke began to billow from the engine compartment and enter the interior. My daughter and I were suddenly engulfed by white smoke, and evacuated the…
The contact owns a 2015 audi q5. On several occasions, while driving, there was an abnormal burning odor coming from the front of the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. Crown audi of clearwater (18940 us-19, clearwater, fl 33764, (888) 727-0742) was contacted and informed of the failure. The vehicle…
Arrived at work. Within 10 minutes of arriving a coworker alerted my husband that his car was smoking. My husband went out to the car and there was smoke billowing from under the hood. He quickly opened the back door, grabbed his work issued laptop and by then it had burst into flames. This happened in march 1, 2017.…
Electrical System 148 Read
My wife and I were in the 2023 Audi Q5 with 1000 miles. I had complained to the dealer and manufacturer that this car was unsafe to drive. On June 9, 2023 I was driving slowly in my community. I tried to stop at a stop sign. NO brakes then at the same time the car had unintended sudden acceleration. We had no control,…
I moved forward and hit this stone and then when I hit the stone. I tried to reverse and I lost control of my car. The car began spinning and I had no control of the car. The car finally crashed on it’ s own. I could not brake or nothing. I was rushed to the emergency room. I had a headache and my body was sore
Side mirrors totally block vision at certain angles. I was stopped at a traffic light on a downtown street. Light changed and I made a left turn and crashed right into a car that was totally blocked from view by the side view mirror. It seems I was on the wrong side of the lane line, which I couldn't see either until…
Air Bags 142 Read
I am writing to file a complaint against Audi of America. My new vehicle, a 2023 Audi Q5 that I was involved in a minor car accident on [XXX]. That evening my car was side swiped during a merge after a toll both in Woodbridge, NJ off. Both vehicles were moving at relatively low speeds (30-35 mph). The damage to my car…
Car stationary on highway after traffic came to a stop due to a traffic incident ahead. Rear ended by vehicle going in excess of 40mph. Car pushed into car in front (car 3), spun around and hit the same car (car 3) in the front. Airbags did not deploy. Both driver and passenger were admitted to the hospital with…
We rear-ended a semi truck while driving on a highway as traffic began to slow . The entire front end of our vehicle was badly damaged. The airbags did not deploy and the pretensioners on the drivers seatbelt did not engage . The speed at which we were traveling is unknown but likely more than 15 miles per hour and…
Steering 85 Read
I was driving down a slight hill in 1/2 inch of snow at 5MPH and when I tired to gently brake as I descended the hill, the brake pedal had no resistance and went flat to the floor. I had no brakes. I then tried to steer towards the side of the road and the steering wheel completely locked up and I was not able to…
After driving on deep wet icy slush, the vehicle was on a straight section of road and suddenly vehicle inexplicably veered hard to the left causing it to run off the road and into a tree. Electrical component failure lights were illuminated on dash afterwards. What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is…
2015 audi q5. Consumer writes in regards to defective steering gear. *ld the consumer stated the steering gear became dislodged. *js
Power Train 66 Read
The contact owns a 2019 Audi Q5. The contact stated that after parking the vehicle and with the engine idling, she exit the vehicle, and moments later the vehicle erroneously began to drive forward and crashed into an office building. During the crash, no injuries were reported. The cause of the failure was not…
On 10/27/25 as I was slowly pulling into a parking space, my Audi Q5 lurched forward and jumped the curb crashing into a tree. Happened too quickly to apply the brakes. No warning indications at the time of the incident. Car would not start and had to be towed to a repair shop. The insurance adjuster is evaluating the…
1.I had an accident at approximately 10:45 a.m. On thursday, september 19, 2019 in the parking lot for the medical offices located at 2000 south mays street, round rock, texas. 2.I parked in a space on the south side of the building, which is part of their property. 3.my normal habit is to place the car in 'park' when…
Fuel/propulsion System 57 Read
A piece of metal in the roadway pierced my gas tank causing the gasoline to leak out. This creadted a condition which could have caused a fire or an explosion
2021 Audi Q5 parked (not running) in parking lot , outside temperature 95F, gasoline dripping from under right rear passenger area (approx 1/4-1/2 liter). Audi Service Center inspected and said the fuel pump needs replacing. Fuel system warning light had been yellow and gas cap gasket had been replaced
When I'm waiting to turn and have to almost stop, there is a lag when I accelerate causing the anticipated time to make the turn longer than expected. Almost caused an accident because car wouldn't go when gas was pushed. Very scary
Suspension 50 Read
The motor mounts and control arms are defective. The defective motor mounts that secure the engine causes the engine to shake resulting in collapse while driving. Both front control arms over the wheels are defective make clicking noises when turning resulting in the collapse of the car while driving. These problems…
Rear coil springs broke. No heavy duty cycle. 46,000 miles. Spring retention pads dislocated and destroyed. Powder coat anti rust prevention in 90% good shape. No reason for coil springs to break other than assembly defect or supplier material defect
The front subframe on the vehicle is severely rusted and corroded through rust. Part of it has fallen off, and the rest of it is badly damaged. A structural integrity, a major safety risk. The Audi Dealer inspected it and confirmed. The car is unsafe to drive
Service Brakes 35 Read
I moved into a parking spot and pushed the brakes to stop but the car accelerated and hit a tree. However when the police drove the car out of the parking spot the brakes were working properly
Reverse car went full throttle, brakes did not work, car stopped in reverse when it hit a tree. Seat belt did not tighten
Traveling north Interstate 95 about 40 miles south of Jacksonville, Fl. 4/7/23 at 8 am. Traffic slowed , brakes flailed , no emergency brakes, hit others cars and travelled off road, car flew into a tree 10 ft up, cut off the top of tree and landed on nose upside down against a tree
Q5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Engine | — | — | |
| 2025 | Air Bags,forward Collision Avoidance | 1 | — | |
| 2024 | Electrical System,engine | — | — | |
| 2023 | Air Bags | 4 | 1 | |
| 2021 | Air Bags,engine,forward Collision Avoidance | 2 | — | |
| 2020 | Back Over Prevention | 3 | 1 | |
| 2019 | Air Bags | 5 | — | |
| 2018 | Air Bags | 9 | — | |
| 2017 | Air Bags | 3 | — | |
| 2016 | Air Bags | 9 | 1 | |
| 2015 | Air Bags,visibility/wiper | 3 | 1 | |
| 2014 | Air Bags | 4 | 1 | |
| 2013 | Air Bags | 1 | 4 | |
| 2012 | Engine | — | — | |
| 2011 | Air Bags | 4 | 1 | |
| 2010 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 2009 | Air Bags | 2 | — |
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 | 412 |
| Average complaints per series | 2.6 |
| Worst single series | 18 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 5.0 years |
A model average of 2.6 hides a worst series at 18. 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
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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?
By complaint volume, 2018, 2011, 2014 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 years are the cleanest?
2026, 2012, 2024 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Audi Q5 have?
1,053 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2009–2026. Of those, 51 describe a crash and 10 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.