2018 Audi Q5 problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Suspension (25) · Electrical System (21) · Vehicle Speed Control (14)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Audi Q5 model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
65 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (6)
Structure:body 2021-12-08 · campaign 21V947000 · 288,991 vehicles
Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Q5 Sportback, SQ5 Sportback, 2018-2022 Q5, and SQ5 vehicles. A liquid spill in the rear seat, or water ingress from an insufficient body seam underneath the vehicle may allow liquid to penetrate the gateway control module, causing it to shutdown.
Risk: A gateway control module shutdown will suddenly reduce engine power, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will install a protective cover on the gateway control module and seal an underbody seam as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 21, 2022. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 90S9.
Structure:body 2019-10-16 · campaign 19V737000 · 174,278 vehicles
Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Audi SQ5 and 2018-2020 Audi Q5 vehicles. The rear wheel arch cover trim may loosen and detach from the vehicle.
Risk: The detached trim may become a road hazard, increasing the risk of crash.
Fix: Audi will notify owners, and dealers will replace the four clips securing the forward part of the rear wheel arch trim, free of charge. The recall began November 1, 2019. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 66K8.
Wheels:hub 2019-06-05 · campaign 19V416000 · 126,161 vehicles
Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Audi Q5 and SQ5 vehicles. The wheel arch cover trim may loosen and detach.
Risk: The detached trim may become a road hazard, increasing the risk of crash.
Fix: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will secure the wheel arch trim with an additional screw and nut, free of charge. The recall began July 26, 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 66K6.
Service Brakes, Hydraulic:foundation Components:master Cylinder 2019-04-08 · campaign 19V277000 · 12,645 vehicles
Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Audi Q5 and SQ5 vehicles. The brake master cylinder casting may be too short.
Risk: A short casting can cause a sudden loss of brakes, increasing the risk of crash. The electronic parking brake and its emergency brake function are not affected and will still function.
Fix: Audi has notified owners, and dealers will inspect the brake master cylinder, replacing it as necessary, free of charge. The recall began May 3, 2019. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 47O9.
Service Brakes, Hydraulic:foundation Components:disc:caliper 2018-06-01 · campaign 18V369000 · 10,225 vehicles ⚠ DO NOT DRIVE
Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018 Volkswagen Atlas, Passat, Beetle, Beetle Convertible, Golf, Golf SportWagen and GTI and Audi Q5 and SQ5 vehicles. The brake caliper pistons on these vehicles may have insufficient coating, potentially reducing the brake performance.
Risk: A reduction of braking performance can increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Volkswagen and Audi will notify their owners. Audi dealers will bleed the rear brakes. Volkswagen dealers will bleed the front and rear brake calipers. Note: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the brake system has been checked. The recall began June 29, 2018. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298 and Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 47N8, 47N9, and 47N6.
Seat Belts:pretensioner 2016-12-29 · campaign 16V955000 · 5,947 vehicles
Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2017 Audi A7, A4, A6, Volkswagen Golf and Tiguan vehicles and 2016 Volkswagen e-Golf vehicles for driver frontal air bags, passenger frontal air bags or head air bags that may not deploy properly. Additionally, certain 2017 Audi Q7, A4 Sedan, A4 Allroad, and 2018 Audi Q5 vehicles are being recalled because the seat belt pretensioners may not activate properly.
Risk: In the event of a crash, if the air bags and/or the seat belt pretensioners do not inflate or function properly, the vehicle occupants have an increased risk of injury.
Fix: Volkswagen and Audi will notify owners, and dealers will replace the affected air bags and seat belt pretensioners, free of charge. The recall began April 2017. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298 or Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834.
Service bulletins (1,092)
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.
Visibility/Wiper 2026-09-22 · TSB_2020552_15 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin provides service information regarding exterior glass cleaning.
Structure:body 2026-09-18 · TSB_2078648_4 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin provides information about billing for a broken sunroof glass panel.
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.
Showing the 6 most recent of 1,092 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-10-26 · Structure · 70,000 mi“the contact owned a 2018 audi q5. the contact stated that the sunroof drain was clogged, causing water to flood into the trunk where the spare tire was located. the water caused electrical failures, short-circuiting the brake lights and indicator lights. the contact stated that the circuit breaker was in the trunk of the vehicle. the message of an …”
2026-10-15 · Unknown Or Other“my 2018 audi q5 became disabled after liquid intrusion affected the gateway control module, which is the condition addressed by audi safety recall 90s9. at the time of the failure, i was traveling away from home and was unaware that my vehicle had an open recall. because the vehicle was disabled, it was taken to an independent repair facility for d…”
2026-09-30 · Suspension“driving through the expressway a metal noice from the bottom of my car. one of the coil spring was out of the base and the other was broken. as the audi dealer, the extended warranty doesn’t want to paid due to a corrosion on the bottom of the car. i’m live and drive close to the beach. they gave me thousands excuses to not fix it. my car has 60,00…”
2026-09-30 · Other/I Am Not Sure“after one year of use, the car seat developed a sudden defect. an internal rod slid out of place, protruding from the side of the car seat by about an inch. i reported the issue to graco, and they confirmed this car seat defect is a child safety risk, and in fact the car seat is no longer safe for use. according to the graco consumer care represent…”
2026-09-28 · Vehicle Speed Control“the sunroof drainage system on my 2018 audi q5 failed to properly channel water away from the vehicle, resulting in significant water intrusion and approximately $6,000 in damage. the problem was confirmed by an authorized audi dealership after the vehicle was brought in for inspection in august 2026. i am concerned that this represents a design o…”
2026-09-23 · Electrical System“i have a 2018 audi q5, vin [xxx]. i am reporting a water intrusion/electrical defect involving the rear trunk area and the comfort control module. my vehicle is within the model range affected by the water-intrusion recall 90s9. i want audi to investigate whether the water intrusion that damaged my vehicle is related to the recall or a known manufa…”
2026-09-22 · Forward Collision Avoidance: Warnings“multiple electrical failures that control numerous safety systems, such as airbags, collision avoidance, speed control, etc. airbags will not activate in a collision. vehicle will shut off at highway speeds, resulting in loss of steering control. the vehicle has been inspected by an audi dealer. multiple warnings on dash came on when the issue occu…”
2026-09-10 · Steering“incident description: while accelerating from a red light during rush hour, the vehicle suffered a sudden, catastrophic loss of steering control. the steering wheel locked completely and could not be turned. simultaneous loud, long beeping and dashboard warnings appeared, stating: "steering malfunction stop the vehicle immediately." the vehicle was…”
2026-08-28 · Electrical System“description of incident and safety defect:failed component & inspection availability: the gateway control module, located in an unsealed floor compartment under the rear seat, failed due to liquid/moisture intrusion. the damaged module and vehicle are fully available for inspection upon request.safety risk: the sudden short-circuit of this module f…”
2026-08-27 · Unknown Or Other“while driving the vehicle after a bump in a pot-hole there was loud clunking noise from the engine compartment and car stopped suddenly. there was a risk of getting hit by the car from behind. car was towed to audi service center and found to have a connecting rod bearing failure damaging the whole engine. the act is still at the repair shop and s…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.