2019 Audi A5 problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Vehicle Speed Control (4) · Steering (2) · Wheels (1)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Audi A5 model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (3)
Tires 2022-01-26 · campaign 22V034000 · 31,058 vehicles
Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2019-2021 Audi A5 Sportback, RS5 Coupe, RS5 Sportback, S5 Sportback, 2020-2021 A4 Allroad, A4 Sedan, A5 Cabriolet, A5 Coupe, A6 Allroad, A6 Sedan, A7, A8, Q5, S4 Sedan, S5 Coupe, S5 Cabriolet, S6 Sedan, S7, S8, SQ5, 2021 Q5 Sportback, Q7, Q8, RS6 Avant, RS7, RSQ8, SQ5 Sportback, SQ7, and SQ8 vehicles. The rear axle alignment may not have been inspected after the repairs for Recall 21V-295 (42L1) were performed.
Risk: Rear axle misalignment may cause premature or uneven tire wear, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect the rear axle, adjust the alignment as necessary, and replace any prematurely or unevenly worn tires, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 3, 2022. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 42L5.
Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification:front Passenger 2021-11-10 · campaign 21V874000 · 208,332 vehicles
Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2017-2020 A4 Allroad, A4 Sedan, 2018-2019 RS5 Coupe, 2019 RS5 Sportback, 2018-2020 A5 Cabriolet, A5 Coupe, A5 Sportback, S4 Sedan, S5 Cabriolet, S5 Coupe, and Audi S5 Sportback vehicles. The cable connecting the seat heater to the Passenger Occupant Detection System (PODS) may have a contact fault, causing the software to misdiagnose a malfunction and disable the passenger air bag.
Risk: A disabled passenger air bag increases the risk of injury in the event of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the connecting cable and either the heating mat or entire seat cover, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 7, 2022. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 74E3. This recall is an expansion of Recall 19V-547 (74D9). Vehicles previously repaired under 19V-547 will need to return for the new remedy.
Suspension:rear:axle:non-Powered Axle Assembly 2021-04-26 · campaign 21V295000 · 40,993 vehicles
Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2021 Q7, Q8, Q5 Sportback, SQ5 Sportback, RS6 Avant, RS7, RS Q8, 2020-2021 Audi S6 sedan, Q5, A8, S8, A7, A6 Allroad, A5 Cabriolet, A4 sedan, A4 Allroad, SQ5, S7, A6 sedan, S5 coupe, S4 sedan, S5 Cabriolet, A5 coupe, 2019-2021 RS5 coupe, A5 Sportback, S5 Sportback, RS5 Sportback vehicles. The lock nut on the trailing arm of the rear axle may break due to stress corrosion.
Risk: A broken lock nut may misalign the rear axle, causing a loss of control and increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the lock nuts and, if necessary, the associated bolts, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 4, 2021. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 42L1.
Service bulletins (1,026)
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.
Steering 2026-09-22 · TSB_2065871_4 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin provides informaiton when dtc b200ff0 is stored.
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.
Showing the 6 most recent of 1,026 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2025-01-21 · Vehicle Speed Control“i drive an 2019 audi a5 and there is a terrible auto start/stop malfunction and cruise control malfunction that has made this car unsafe to drive. the auto start is featured on the a5 to "save gas," but however malfunctions and cuts off while driving or coming to a stop. tonight on 1/21/2025 at 1:44 am it did just that. while sitting at the light i…”
2024-05-08 · Electrical System · 25,000 mi“the contact owns a 2019 audi a5. the contact stated while starting the vehicle and shifting into reverse(r), the message "sos system deactivated" was displayed, and the rearview camera became inoperable. the contact shifted to park(p) and shifted back to reverse(r); however, the failure persisted. the contact stated upon restarting the vehicle and …”
2023-01-04 · Steering“hello, i was driving down highway at 55mph when my electric power steering failed suddenly. i almost crashed to the barrier as i was in the passing lane. my steering failure message popped up on my instrument cluster and steering wheel became stiff. i had my mom and niece in the vehicle with me. this vehicle could had hurt all three of us. it is d…”
2022-06-21 · Seats“the contact owns a 2019 audi a5. the contact received a notification for nhtsa campaign number: 21v874000 (seats, air bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. the dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. the manufacturer was made aware of the issue. the contact stated that the manuf…”
2022-06-02 · Latches/Locks/Linkages · 20,000 mi“the contact owns a 2019 audi a5. the contact stated while the vehicle was parked with the engine running, all four doors of the vehicle locked independently while she was outside of the vehicle and in possession of the keys. the contact was unable to unlock the door of the vehicle using the key fob or the keys manually. there was no warning light i…”
2022-01-03 · Steering · 17,000 mi“the contact owns a 2019 audi a5. the contact stated that while driving approximately 50 mph, the "steering malfunction" message displayed on the instrument panel and continued flashing. moments later the steering wheel was extremely difficult to turn in either direction. the vehicle was later towed to the local dealer who discovered that the power …”
2021-10-08 · Wheels · 💥 crash“i was driving when the rear of my car began vibrating, then fishtailing and i lost control and hit a curb resulting in mostly forward damage. in reviewing the preliminary estimate from the auto-shop and insurance adjuster, there was quite a bit of damage to the rear suspension including a broken trailing arm lock nut, washer, and bolt, as well as t…”
2021-09-13 · Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking“on three different occasions, i have experienced automatic emergency braking of the car which, rather than keeping me safe, placed me in a very dangerous situation. each time, i was in a controlled intersection on a green light and in the left turn lane, with oncoming traffic also having a green light. when it was amply safe to make the left turn, …”
2021-05-03 · Structure:body · 15,000 mi“water is collecting in the rear passenger door well or the door sill. water sloshing is heard when braking or accelerating from stop. problem is more severe after rains or car washes.…”
2020-01-10 · Vehicle Speed Control · 7,000 mi“on two occasions so far, when making a left turn in a four way intersection, the pre-sense system detected an oncoming car way too early and applied the brakes hard just as i was well into the turn and needed to get out of the intersection before i became a danger to the oncoming car. this put me into a potentially very dangerous situation. i am aw…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.