2011 Audi A5 Cabriolet problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Air Bags (12) · Engine (1)
Safety recalls (2)
Air Bags:frontal:driver Side:inflator Module 2018-01-30 · campaign 18V082000 · 162,782 vehicles
Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2006-2013 Audi A3, 2007-2009 A4 Cabriolet and S4 Cabriolet, 2008 RS4 Cabriolet, 2009-2012 Q5, and 2010-2012 Audi A5 Cabriolet and S5 Cabriolet vehicles. Upon deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to explode.
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could explode with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Audi will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's frontal air bag inflator with an alternative inflator, free of charge. The recall began February 23, 2018. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69R6. Note: This recall partially supersedes recall 16V-078.
Air Bags:frontal:driver Side:inflator Module 2016-02-10 · campaign 16V078000 · 659,493 vehicles
Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2010-2014 Golf, 2007-2010 Passat sedans and wagon, 2012-2014 Passat sedan and Eos, 2009-2014 CC, 2009-2012 Audi Q5, 2010-2012 S5 Cabriolet and 2010-2012 Audi A5 Cabriolet vehicles. Upon deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to rupture.
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's frontal air bag inflators, free of charge. Volkswagen issued an interim notification to owners on April 12, 2016, and will send a second notification when parts are available. Volkswagen will notify owners again once parts are available. Volkswagen owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Audi owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834.
Service bulletins (976)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Unknown Or Other 2026-09-25 · TSB_2052680_2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin provides information for reporting safety related information to the manufacturer.
Steering 2026-09-22 · TSB_2074846_5 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin provides information about vibrations and rotational steering vibrations.
Unknown Or Other 2026-08-26 · TSB_2074436_3 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin provides information when the horn sound quality is poor.
Service Brakes 2026-08-21 · TSB_2069904_3 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin provides information for all models regarding brake sounds.
Service Brakes 2026-08-21 · TSB_2069078_4 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin provides information on the zirconium insercts in the brake piston (ceramic brakes only).
Unknown Or Other 2026-08-11 · TSB_2079732_2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin provides information when there is a paint issue on alloy wheels.
Showing the 6 most recent of 976 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2018-09-26 · Unknown Or Other · 67,000 mi“the soft tops for this vehicle are extremely defective.i aquired my vehicle at 65000 miles and the top would act funny every now and then but it would snap out of it and work fine.the back window completely detached from the top and has not operated since.going back and forth with audi i was told they cannot fix this but instead to get a new top.af…”
2018-07-23 · Engine · 59,000 mi“my 2011 audi a5 2.0t has experienced low compression on piston number 1 which is a sign of engine failure and requires the engine to be redone. since then i have checked with audi mechanics and online reviews and it seems like my model of audi has a common problem with the engine. the fact that many a5's have experienced engine failures begs the qu…”
2018-03-13 · Air Bags“takata recall. audi of america inc. keeps sending out recall notices and the dealer keeps claiming there are no replacement airbags available. enough already, either make replacements available or stop sending notices.…”
2018-03-12 · Air Bags“takata recall. i have call for the past year to have this recall fixed and have not been able to find an audi dealership that has the parts. they keep telling me they will call when the parts are in. as i mentioned it has been a year, and i have checked in with them several times.…”
2017-11-14 · Air Bags“takata recall received 1st letter apr 2016. no action. complaint filed with safercar.gov 11/13/2016. received temp fix letter 8/14/2017. local dealer says only temp but there are no parts anyway. contacted corporate audi sep 2017. they say local dealer has parts. local dealer says they have no parts. received card for recall 11/13/2017. lo…”
2017-11-02 · Air Bags“tl* takata recall. the contact owns a 2011 audi a5 cabriolet. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 16v078000 (air bags); however, the parts do to the repair were unavailable. the contact received the recall notice over a year ago. the dealer (audi fairfield, 435 commerce dr, fairfield, ct 06825 (203) 951-6570) was contacted a…”
2017-03-16 · Air Bags“ tl* the contact owns a 2011 audi a5 cabriolet. the contact received a recall notification for nhtsa campaign number: 16v078000 (air bags) and stated that the part needed was unavailable to perform the recall repair. the manufacturer was notified of the issue. the contact had not experienced a failure. parts distribution disconnect. …”
2017-01-01 · Air Bags“takata recall. i am trying to trade in my car and dealership will not repair/replace my airbag.…”
2016-12-01 · Air Bags“takata recall. it has been almost 11 months and per conversation with my dealer today, they do not have the parts or any idea when they will be available. this is not acceptable for a life safety issue.…”
2016-11-13 · Air Bags“tamara recall. my car was recalled in april and i have heard nothing since except that it is not safe to drive. how about having the dealer disable the airbag until parts are available!…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.