2013 Audi A5 problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Engine (8) · Steering (7) · Engine And Engine Cooling (4)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Audi A5 model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
22 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (3)
Engine And Engine Cooling:cooling System 2018-04-11 · campaign 18V229000 · 342,867 vehicles
Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2013-2017 Audi A5 Cabriolet, A5 Sedan and Audi Q5 vehicles, 2012-2015 Audi A6 vehicles and 2013-2016 Audi A4 Sedan and A4 allroad vehicles. These vehicles, equipped with 2.0l Turbo FSI engines, have an electric coolant pump that can either become blocked with debris from the cooling system causing it to overheat or can short-circuit from moisture within the pump.
Risk: A blocked pump or a short-circuited pump can increase the risk of a fire.
Fix: Audi will notify owners, and dealers will replace the pumps, free of charge. The recall began September 14, 2018. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number's for this recall is 19N3/19N4. Note: This recall is in additional to the coolant pump software update applied as a remedy under recall 17V002.
Electrical System:wiring 2017-10-05 · campaign 17V622000 · 216,913 vehicles
Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2013-2016 Audi A5 Coupe, A5 Cabriolet, A4 Sedan, A4 Allroad and Q5 vehicles. Contact corrosion within the electrical connector for the auxiliary heater may cause the heater wires to overheat or melt.
Risk: The melted wires can increase the risk of a fire.
Fix: Audi will notify owners, and dealers will replace the auxiliary heater and, as necessary, update the software, free of charge. The Recall began November 27, 2017. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 80C5 and 80C6.
Engine And Engine Cooling:cooling System 2017-01-03 · campaign 17V002000 · 342,867 vehicles
Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2013-2017 Audi A5, A5 Cabriolet and Q5 vehicles, 2013-2016 Audi Allroad and Audi A4 vehicles and 2012-2015 Audi A6 vehicles. These vehicles, equipped with 2.0l Turbo FSI engines, have an electric coolant pump that can be blocked with debris from the cooling system, resulting in the pump overheating.
Risk: If the coolant pump overheats, it can increase the risk of a fire.
Fix: Audi will notify owners, and dealers will update the software so that the power supply to the coolant pump is deactivated if the pump becomes blocked with debris, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin February 20, 2017. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 19M1.
Service bulletins (1,378)
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_2083409_1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin states that technicians are required to report to the manufacturer when a vehicle has flooded, and specify the height to which the vehicle has been flooded.
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 2026-09-15 · TSB_2030471_9 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin provides information when the license plate mounting bracket threded inserts are stripped.
Structure:body 2026-09-08 · TSB_2068999_5 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this tsb describes a corrosion issue due to outside influence and the prohibition of warranty in these cases.
Unknown Or Other 2026-08-26 · TSB_2074436_3 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin provides information when the horn sound quality is poor.
Showing the 6 most recent of 1,378 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-07-28 · Electrical System“turned ac on blew out cool air all of sudden the air went out hot air blowing, smelt burning and saw smoke on passenger side (not a lot,but enough to raise concerns) turned ac shut climate off, turned car off tried it again no air just heat blowing. brother in law put it on machine , gave a sensor code, replaced sensor put a can of air in, still b…”
2026-07-28 · Engine And Engine Cooling · 157,653 mi“the contact owns a 2013 audi a5. the contact stated that after activating the ac system, there was hot air and a burning odor coming from the passenger’s side vents. the contact associated the failure with nhtsa campaign number: 17v002000 (engine and engine cooling). the contact called an independent mechanic and referenced the recall campaign. the…”
2024-07-06 · Unknown Or Other“i was having an issue with my 2013 audi a5 starting. a call to roadside assistance was able to jump my battery and the car would start and run. however, the same issue kept happening. the epc warning light would come on and it took a few weeks to get scheduled with a mechanic. i purchased a mobile jump starter myself because i never knew when the …”
2023-08-04 · Fuel/Propulsion System“couple years ago my engine failed, it was recalled and company refused to pay for it. i payed for it and afterwards my radio modul failed, camera failed, the check engine light is on since i bought the car and recently my car stopped on the highway fast lane without warning. it was no shoulder and i stopped on the highway. i was lucky i didn’t get …”
2023-04-19 · Fuel/Propulsion System“i have experienced several failures and 3 recalls with my vehicle since i purchased it brand new. i have paid out thousands of dollars over the years for repairs that i feel were faulty being that i am on the only owner of the vehicle. i have approximately a little under 75k miles on my vehicle although i purchased in 2012 (2013 vehicle) only to …”
2022-06-14 · Engine And Engine Cooling · 83,000 mi“the contact's cousin owns a 2013 audi a5. the contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle began to overheat. the warning message "pull over and check coolant" was displayed. the contact veered to the side of the road and upon checking the coolant reservoir, the contact noticed that the coolant was leaking. the contact added co…”
2021-08-09 · Steering“about 3 weeks ago i noticed the beginning of a steering problem. i first noticed that the wheel seemed to require more than normal force to turn, especially in about the 10 and 2 o’clock position. it would behave pretty normally most of the time, but then, unpredictably, this would happen. now it seems to be pretty constant. the steering wheel now …”
2021-04-23 · Steering · 61,800 mi“there's 1000s of complaints online and audi group threads reporting and experiencing power steering loss of power or stiffness while driving, making it very difficult to steer car models include 2013 a4,a5, s5,a6, q5, sq5. audi knows the problem but have not corrected or recall only the 2018 sq5 no other vehicles with electronic power steering. de…”
2020-07-08 · Service Brakes · 18,937 mi“going down hill, accelerating, red light, apply brakes, hard, engine revs up trying to over power brakes, barely stops, but engine keeps on creeping car forward into traffic, move shifter to park and reverse twice, engine slows down but accelerates again when back in drive, light changes, drive away with no problems.…”
2020-05-18 · Power Train · 80,000 mi · 💥 crash“tl* the contact stated that his son owns a 2013 audi a5. the contact stated while vehicle was parked and not running, it crashed into a fence without warning on private property. there were no fire, reported injuries or police report filed. the contact was concerned that there was a failure with the transmission. the local dealer and manufacturer …”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.