2020 Audi S5 problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Electrical System (7) · Forward Collision Avoidance: Warnings (3) · Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking (2)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Audi S5 model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (4)
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.
Exterior Lighting:tail Lights 2020-11-25 · campaign 20V737000 · 5,426 vehicles
Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2021 Audi RS5 Sportback, 2020-2021 Audi A5 Sportback, and S5 Sportback vehicles. The wiring harness for the rear lights could be missing the anti-abrasion protection in the area of the spare wheel well.
Risk: Without the scuff protection, the wires may become damaged during a rear crash, disabling the doors from being opened from the outside, causing a loss of hazard lights, and increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: Audi will notify owners, and dealers will apply scuff protection, free of charge. The recall began January 21, 2021. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 97EU.
Service bulletins (984)
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 984 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2025-08-02 · Unknown Or Other“mmi - multi media interface constantly reboots about every 90 seconds. this is a safety issue since if i am backing up and the mmi reboots i lose the backup camera and when the mmi reboots i also lose collision/parking/proximity sensors. this issue started happening with my audi on 7/26/25 and can be reproduced every time the ignition is on or ca…”
2025-07-30 · Forward Collision Avoidance: Warnings“the radio (mmi system) is rebooting while driving every 5-10 min. dealership can't fix and is affecting safety sytems like front and rear cameras/sensors.…”
2025-07-28 · Unknown Or Other“i am writing to report a critical and recurring safety defect concerning the multi media interface (mmi) system in my audi s5. the mmi system consistently restarts itself approximately every 90 seconds, regardless of whether the vehicle is stationary (parking) or in motion (driving). this issue presents a significant safety hazard because critical…”
2025-07-26 · Forward Collision Avoidance: Warnings“sudden reboot of the vehicle's infotainment system, which then repeats every 60-90 seconds consistently. the reboot has happened while reversing the vehicle, which results in losing view of the backup camera and parking sensors / rear cross traffic detection. this issue was originally sparse, but after 7/14 manifests 100% of the time when using the…”
2025-07-26 · Electrical System“audi mmi reboots constantly while the car is one. there is about 30 seconds between each reboot. this causes certain safety features like the backup camera to stop working when in use. i am not sure what the cause is but this seems to be a more common issue with the 2020 audi's.…”
2025-07-25 · Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking“mmi system is failing, parking assist is malfunctioning, back up camera doesn’t activate, carplay turns off mid drive and reboots, navigation not working, car wants to brake at highway speeds as computer system malfunctions, bluetooth phone connection drops mid call, overall the computer infotainment system has failed. …”
2025-07-24 · Unknown Or Other“component or system that failed or malfunctioned: the infotainment system in my vehicle fails frequently and unpredictably. this includes both the built-in system and connected features such as apple carplay and android auto. the system is available for inspection upon request. how was safety put at risk: the failure of the infotainment system cre…”
2025-07-22 · Unknown Or Other“"the mmi spontaneously reboots numerous times while driving. when the reboots happen, the screen goes black and key systems such as the backup camera, rear obstacle detection, and navigation, become unavailable until the reboot completes and the systems reload. the reboots have affected other sensors/systems in the car like resetting my stored tire…”
2025-07-19 · Forward Collision Avoidance: Warnings“main computer, multi media interface, mmi constantly shuts off and disconnects from system. this renders all backup cameras, traffic sensors and impact avoidance sensors inoperative. it also stops speedometer …”
2025-07-18 · Unknown Or Other“my vehicles mmi screen keeps rebooting every 90 seconds, this makes hands free calling, multimedia functions, cameras etc non functional while driving. i have an appt with the dealership next week, but i'm seeing a lot of negative experiences regarding audi's acceptance of this flaw, leading to large expenses put on the owner. safety concerns are l…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.