6.5

fairly significant
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
10,806 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2018 Audi Q5 electrical problems

electrical problem

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2018 Audi Q5 Owner Comments (Page 3 of 3)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #12

Jun 132021

Q5

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

There is a module under the back seat called the J533 that I am told got wet. This completely shut down the entire car as my wife and child were driving down the highway. We were very disheartened to find out that this is an out of pocket expense for a common thing to happen in the back of an SUV. After searching online, I came across this link, which is an identical account: https://www.audiworld.com/forums/q5-sq5-mkii-discussion-218/control-module-ruined-moisture-corrosion-3001605/ I'll highlight one area in this link thread, as it most strongly relates to your questions above: "Audi (VOA) faces considerable legal exposure for any injury caused by a liquid finding its way into a component that poses such a high risk of harm if the module fails.. which evidently it does via corrosion following moisture intrusion of some sort. This is particularly the case given the absence of any mention or warning in the manual about avoiding spillage, and more pertinent to liability, Audi-??s failure to anticipate the considerable risk of harm stemming from a readily foreseeable occurrence, ie, spillage. To frame it in more stark terms, no one reasonably expects to face a death ride when they spill their soda."

- Laguna Beach, CA, USA

problem #11

May 062021

Q5

  • 30,000 miles
I was about to get on the freeway when my car's electrical system failed and I got several warning lights. The braking/stop start system, lights and a few other lit up. I pulled off the road and had it towed. The dealership said water (rain) got in through my sunroof and shorted my system (warranty won't cover). There are several class action suits re. This issue already and Audi knows about it, but there's no recall and cars have stopped suddenly on the freeway. It's very dangerous.

- Marietta, GA, USA

problem #10

Jul 202020

Q5

  • 24,498 miles
Car suddenly tied while driving in city; engine/all systems shut off. It took several hours for roadside assistance to arrive, and the 1st 2 towing companies could not disengage the braking system to load onto truck! once vehicle towed to Audi dealer, their diagnosis was "gateway control module J533, water in control module, corrosion in connector, causing fuse for gateway control unit to blow" we were told by dealer that "liquid must have spilled into area behind rear seats". we have no young children, and nobody was recently sitting in rear seat. Vehicle is parked in garage and is in excellent condition; 2 years old / 24,000 miles. This was a $3,200 repair not covered under warranty. This sounds like a design defect. After several communications I had with Audi usa and local dealer, those (2) parties told me this repair would be covered as a "goodwill adjustment" not a "warranty item". I found similar reports online: Here is a discussion I started on an online forum: Https://www.audiworld.com/forums/Q5-SQ5-mkii-discussion-218/control-module-ruined-moisture-corrosion-3001605/page3/ another one I found: Https://www.audiworld.com/forums/Q5-SQ5-mkii-discussion-218/complete-engine-control-module-failure-2952745/ attached is invoice. System will not allow me to upload photos they sent me due to file sizes. Repair took almost a month to complete. We ended up renting a car for a week-long road trip as the dealer loaner is only for local use.

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #9

Sep 202019

Q5 4-cyl

  • 6,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Navigation locks up, driver cockpit and dash screen shuts down when carplay is activated. At time the car doesn't recognize carplay. Additionally the volume control will only increase and not decrease volume. Sometimes it says speech recognition not recognized when adjusting volume. Has not resolved for the 10 months I have owned the car.

- Duxbury, MA, USA

problem #8

Apr 302020

Q5

  • 31,900 miles
I've had several issues with my vehicle when backing up and the presence going off without a reason. When backing up on several occasions, the sensors will beep and bring the vehicle to grinding stop. When I check the area, there are no vehicles, person, or objects in the path of the vehicle. Recently, when driving on the highway, the pre sense went off when no vehicles were around and slowed the vehicle down at a rapid rate. Twice when driving, the pre sense will activate and bring the vehicle to a complete stop when there are no vehicles in front, behind, or beside me.

- Culpeper, VA, USA

problem #7

Jan 042020

Q5

  • 8,000 miles
I was driving 65 miles an hour on I-95 in the left lane approaching the exit for I-695 North on Saturday, January 4th at 5:00pm. It was raining. No one was in front of me or behind me when my car dash lit up with an Audi pre sense red sign on a black background. The brakes stopped the car suddenly on their own and my seat belt slammed me tightly into my seat. Fortunately no one was behind me or this could have caused a multi car accident. There was nothing visible on the road to set this system off. Monday morning I went to the dealer to see if they could disconnect this system since I was now afraid this would happen again and I would not be so lucky with the traffic situation the next time. They lowered the sensitivity but they could not disconnect the system. I also called Audi to inform them about this hazard. They noted it on their record but said it is part of the car and it could not be disconnected. When I looked on line there were many complaints about this problem; however none of the other drivers were on the open highway full speed ahead. Can this problem be looked into before someone's car causes a major pileup with serious injuries. Thank you!

- Pikesville, Md, MD, USA

problem #6

Apr 252019

Q5

  • 4,392 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2018 Audi Q5. The contact stated that the instrument panel went blank without warning and the indicators and gauges could not be viewed. The vehicle was taken to mckinney Audi (6650 Texas state hwy 121, mckinney, tx 75070, (972) 390-2100) where it was diagnosed that the computer needed patching in the "S 5 chip". the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 4,392. The VIN was unknown.

- Dallas, TX, USA

problem #5

Apr 032019

Q5

  • 3,000 miles
5)establishing a bluetooth connection is intermittent with a samsung galaxy S9. Often the mmi will indicate that it can't connect. If the car is in reverse with the parking assist displaying the rear view camera, the bluetooth connection screen can suddenly appear replacing the rear view image while the car is actively backing up. The rear view camera image is no longer available while the vehicle is in rearward motion. This has happened on multiple occasions.

- Northville, MI, USA

problem #4

Mar 102019

Q5

  • 3,100 miles
On multiple occasions when driving the Audi Q5 the pre-sense engages inappropriately (no trigger) resulting in an immediate and harsh braking of the car to a complete stop. In traffic, this poses a significant risk of a crash resulting in damage and potential bodily injury. The Audi pre-sense is designed to stop a car from an imminent crash, however an apparent flaw in the technology engages the pre-sense without totally unnecessarily (no cross traffic, at least 10 feet from a bush or other object). Not only does the unexpected and unnecessary hard auto-braking add wear and tear to the brakes and suspension, it poses a real risk of an accident as other drivers do not expect the sudden and unnecessary braking. This happens intermittently without a pattern in dry and wet weather on a flat surface or an incline. Always occurs when in reverse.

- Portland, OR, USA

problem #3

Sep 282018

Q5

  • 3,000 miles
Vehicle traveling straight on highway at 70mph with phone plugged in to entertainment system and connected to carplay. Center screen shut off, and audio controls unresponsive on both the dash and steering wheel. The instrument panel, which was displaying google maps, then blacked out, with only the speedometer and tach displaying. Again, controls were unresponsive. The system then restarted, similarly to initially turning on the vehicle. The "initializing map" message appeared in the instrument panel, and shortly thereafter both the center screen and instrument cluster were functioning normally, and all controls were responsive. This was especially stressful as I was expecting something else to fail but couldn't pull over.

- Justin, TX, USA

problem #2

May 232018

Q5

  • miles
2018 Audi Q5 prestige. Consumer writes in regards to the heads up display function on vehicle. The consumer stated when the sun reached a certain angle, a white solid reflection box appears on the windshield. This created a visibility issue for the driver.

- Rogers, AR, USA

problem #1

May 092018

Q5

  • miles
Hey, im carmen, im german and I M diplomatic, I work at the permanent mission of germany for the united nations till March 2019. My question is, I want to bring a Audi Q5, brand new model, a german model, from germany to New York. And afte my job in 2019, I want to take it back to germany. Is there any problem"? must I change any stuff because of other safety rules or something? other lights, miles per hour, electricity"

- New York, NY, USA

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