Audi A5 Problems — All Years, Common Issues & Reliability
Year-by-year breakdown of safety recalls, NHTSA owner complaints, reported deaths, injuries, crashes, and worst problem areas. Updated daily from federal databases.
Own a Audi A5? Check your specific VIN for a full history report.
Audi A5 — Year-by-Year Problem Comparison
| Year | Verdict | Recalls | Complaints | Crashes | Injuries | Deaths | Top Issue | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026Best | Excellent | — | — | — | — | — | — | Full report → |
| 2025 | Good | 1 | 6 | — | — | — | Forward Collision Avoidance | Full report → |
| 2024 | Excellent | — | 5 | — | — | — | Steering | Full report → |
| 2023 | Excellent | — | 6 | — | — | — | Tires | Full report → |
| 2022 | Good | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | Forward Collision Avoidance | Full report → |
| 2021 | Good | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | Unknown Or Other | Full report → |
| 2020Worst | Avoid | 3 | 49 | 3 | — | 3 | Electrical System | Full report → |
| 2019 | Good | 2 | 8 | — | — | — | Electrical System | Full report → |
| 2018 | Caution | 3 | 21 | 1 | 1 | — | Engine | Full report → |
| 2017 | Excellent | 1 | 3 | — | — | — | Engine | Full report → |
| 2016 | Good | 1 | 8 | — | — | — | Engine | Full report → |
| 2015 | Good | 1 | 7 | — | — | — | Fuel/Propulsion System | Full report → |
| 2014 | Caution | 1 | 23 | — | — | — | Electrical System | Full report → |
| 2013 | Good | 1 | 20 | 2 | 1 | — | Engine | Full report → |
| 2012 | Caution | 2 | 24 | — | — | — | Air Bags | Full report → |
| 2011 | Caution | 2 | 21 | — | — | — | Air Bags | Full report → |
| 2010 | Caution | 2 | 28 | — | — | — | Air Bags | Full report → |
| 2009 | Good | 1 | 5 | — | — | — | Engine And Engine Cooling | Full report → |
| 2008 | Excellent | — | 7 | — | — | — | Air Bags | Full report → |
19 model years shown. Crashes, injuries, and deaths from NHTSA complaint filings. Click any year for full details.
Most Common Audi A5 Problems
Based on 244 owner complaints filed with NHTSA across all model years.
Recent Safety Recalls — Audi A5 (2022–2026)
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2021 Audi A8 and S8, 2022 Audi A5 Sportback, A4 Sedan, E-Tron GT, Q3, Q5, RS6 Avant, A3 Sedan, S5 Sportback, Q5 Sportback, Q7, Q8, RSQ8, SQ7, SQ8, and S3 Sedan vehicles. A software error may prevent the rear-view image from initially displaying when the vehicle begins to reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
Remedy: Dealers will update the infotainment unit parameters, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 9, 2021. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 91CR.
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2021-2022 AUDI A8, A6 Allroad, E-TRON Quattro, 2022 S3, RSQ8, RS7, RS6 Avant, Q8, Q7, Q3, E-TRON Sportback Quattro, S5 Cabriolet, E-TRON GT, S5 Sportback, A7, A6, A5 Sportback, A5 Cabriolet, A4, A4 Allroad, A3, S8, SQ7, SQ8, S6, and S4 vehicles. The infotainment main unit may become damaged internally when the vehicle is shut off, resulting in an inoperative rearview camera display the next time the vehicle is started. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
Remedy: Dealers will replace the infotainment main unit, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 6, 2022. Owners may contact Audi's customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 91Ei.
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2025 GTI, Golf R, Audi A5, A6 Sportback E-Tron, S5, S6 Sportback E-Tron, 2026 Q4 Sportback E-Tron, and Q4 E-Tron vehicles. The torsion bar in one or both front seat belt retractors may have been damaged during production.
Remedy: Dealers will replace one or both front seat belts, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 30, 2025, and October 31, 2025. Owners may contact Audi at 1-800-253-2834 or Volkswagen at 1-800-893-5298. Audi's number for this recall is 69UM; Volkswagen’s number for this recall is 694T. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning September 26, 2025.
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2025 SQ6 E-Tron, SQ6 Sportback E-Tron, Q6 Sportback E-Tron, A6, A5, A6 Sportback E-Tron, Q6 E-Tron, S5, and S6 Sportback E-Tron vehicles. The automatic locking retractor may fail to engage when a child seat is installed using the seat belt. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) numbers 208, "Occupant Crash Protection" and 209, "Seat Belt Assemblies."
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace the right and left rear seat belt assembly as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed February 16, 2026. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 69D8. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on December 23, 2025.
Showing 4 recalls from 2022–2026 model years. See the full year-specific pages for older recalls.
Recent Owner Complaints
Direct reports filed with NHTSA by Audi A5 owners — 2022–2026 model years.
driving vehicle down the highway with the cruise control on and it will suddenly slam on the brakes. decreasing the speed rapidly almost causing a rear end accident. Has been brought to drealer for repairs 5 times with no results still does it . to;d repair coming in 3rd quater of 2026 vehicle is dangerous to drive appears to be a problem with these cars do not believe ours is a isolated condition. feel vehicle should not be driven on road Does not give any indication that its going to happen or when just does it whenever it wants and occurs quite a bit
Sunroof exploded driving down the road
Audi A5 Quattro Purchased new 06/2025. Dealer = Audi Lakeland 1215 Griffen Road Lakeland, FL 33805 Phone: (863) 284-0880 Contact = Service Manager Gary Downey Tire = Bridgestone Turanza LS100 235/45R18 98H REO (Extra Load) Run Flat Tire Tire also includes “Enliten” - don’t know if that is part of model name Brought vehicle in to Dealer for first oil change at 9,006 miles on odometer. Dealer inspected tires and reported both front tires were Red/32” and 2 rear tires were yellow at 5/32”. At 9,000 miles, this is obviously grossly premature tread/tire wear. For front tires to be unsafe to drive at fewer than 9,000 miles is unexpected and others need to be made aware of the risk of premature tread/tire wear to avoid dangerous blowouts that could result in accidents and injury. Feel lucky to have brought vehicle in 1,000 miles early for oil change and for Dealer to have detected. Dealer replaced all 4 tires at no cost and tires are being shipped to Bridgestone. I have Dealer service technician video showing tire/tread wear but was unable to download here — perhaps due to length. Happy to forward if you want it.
13 Jun 25 2100 hrs - Auto went thru multiple of errors and transmission would not go into gear, electric door locks released all emergency pull handles and car was not able to move. Called Audi Emergency Service. Tried to get out of vehicle and door could not be opened from inside the vehicle. I had friend come and get me out of vehicle by me pushing on the inside and her pulling the emergency pull. DANGEROUS! Emergency Service could not come to tow vehicle for three days because of being on an Air Force base and no tow companies that Audi contracted with had a realID or a clean criminal record. 16 June, Audi finally finds company to tow vehicle, at that point vehicle had completely died and could not be jump started. Car towed to Audi Service. Car in service for three weeks and I was told it was just a bad battery. I took vehicle with doubts of repair and for the next four months car would pop multiple software errors specifically on driver assist, no sound, dash going completely blank while driving, etc. The next major electrical failure was on 17 Nov, once again car would not start nor could it be jump started by tow company. Car once again towed to Audi on the same day. Car in service until 23 Dec and Audi said it was related to TSB 2079690/4 and they have stated that the KD2 should resolve electrical issue with driver door module constantly running and killing car. One day later, already popping driver assist errors. This car is dangerous and Audi knows that this KD2 is a band-aid on a software system that is unreliable and still has no permanent fix. I fear being stranded on a highway and either being stuck in my vehicle and can't get out or not being able to get in car if I get out to try and open hood to check vehicle, I might not be able to get back in because of electric locks.
In mid May, 2025 I noticed at slow speed, a loud thumping noise was coming right rear of car. I brought it to the dealer on May 19, 2025. I was told to wait for analysis of the problem. After about two hours, the service advisor informed me that the mechanics had found and repaired a malfunction in the All-Wheel Drive mechanism. I was told that the car was safe to drive. Within a few days, I noted that the problem was back. I made a service appointment for June 17, 2025. The dealer kept the car for two days. At the end of that time, the service advisor informed me that the Audi All Wheel Drive system requires fluid at very high temperatures in order to function properly. According to him, I am the cause of the problem because I do not drive distances far enough to "heat up the fluid" enough to make the system function properly. He further said that the AWD system will not function properly unless I drove 20-30 miles. How does one stop if the drive system is out of control???
I have had multiple issues with this vehicle. After having it for a few months while on a road trip the car begin high pitched beeping and several warning lights displayed with messages stating Audi pre sense malfunction: contact customer service/ AES/AEB unavailable. Safety System: malfunction: See Owners Manual. Drive System malfunction. Three warning lamps illuminated as well. I wasn’t sure what was happening and pulled over at the next exit, called my husband. After turning off the vehicle the lights remained illuminated and the warning lamps didn’t change, it also continued to beep but I had not choice but to continue on as we were far from home but it left me rattled and nervous of the safety of the vehicle. After the dealership advised us there was nothing wrong with the vehicle and they weren’t sure why the lights and malfunctions displayed. They turned off the lights and the car was fine for another few weeks until it suddenly slammed on the breaks while driving down the road for no reason at all, all the lights and malfunctions begin again as well as the beeping. Luckily there wasn’t a car behind us but we were quite afraid of this breaking issue happening leading to a car accident or worse. We took the car to the dealership again where they told us there “needed to be an update to the software” but it wouldn’t be out until sometime “hopefully” next year but couldn’t guarantee a date and informed us we just needed to bring the car in if it happened again. We questioned the safety and asked for a loaner vehicle due to our fear but were assured the car is safe however I’ve lost count of the number of times the lights have come back on and the car breaks unexpectedly. We’ve returned to the dealership each time and told the vehicle is ok but the warning lights and safety alerts are on again as of today however it no longer beeps.
The front tires were worn to interior cording. It was an uneven tire wear that resulted in an alignment. After getting the alignment checked, there was no issue with that and it was within correct specifications. The only reason this was found out was due to getting an oil change. My safety and others were put into major risk of the tires almost exploding. The car was listed as unsafe to drive according to professional opinion in documentation. There were no warnings about the tire. Only a letter in the mail from continental months later after the tires were replaced was it made aware the tires were defected.
The contact owns a 2023 Audi A5 equipped with Continental Tires, Tire Line: ProContact GX AO, Tire Size: 255/35/R19, DOT Number: CP32WMC9. The contact had received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24T009000 (Tires). The contact called the dealer to schedule an appointment and the dealer stated that the replacement tires were not yet available. The contact had also called a tire dealer, and the dealer stated that the contact needed to contact a dealer for the vehicle manufacturer. The manufacturer was notified and provided the contact a phone number for the contact to call. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
I have received notice 24T009 affecting my vehicle. As instructed, I contacted the dealer. They advise that Continental does not have tires to replace tires listed in the recall. The dealer could not provide a time frame for accomplishing replacement.
The contact owns a 2023 Audi A5 equipped with Continental Tires, Tire Line: Continental Pure Contact GXAO, Front Tires Sizes: 255/35/R19, DOT Number: CP32WMC9, Rear Tires Sizes: 255/35/R19, DOT Number: CP32WMC9, Rear. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24T009000 (Tires); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted who advised the contact to use after-market replacements since the parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
Tire Size 255/35R19. My 2 front tires suffered from belt separation and I replaced the tires on 6/18/24 (new car milage 15238) at Tire Choice Auto Service Center. My low tire pressure light was on and I made an appointment for an evaluation thinking I may have a nail puncture, however the tire shop manager called me onto the shop floor while my car was raised up to show me the warped tire tread and told me I needed new tires due to belt separation. I checked with Audi Naples and the Continental Tire website at that time and there were no tire recalls for my car tires. I received a recall notice from Continental Tire on 10/29/24 regarding coverage of my tires for a factory recall due to belt separation. I called Continental Tire on 10/31/24 and they decline to cover my cost to replace the two defective Continental tires with two new Continental tires as I have returned the Audi A5 to the dealership to lease a larger Audi vehicle. The Continental Tire letter states they will cover my "cost of the comparable replacement tire, including mounting, balancing and taxes." The letter does not state that I must still be the registered owner/lessee.
Over the course of 3 days about 6 weeks ago, my new leased vehicle abruptly slammed on the brakes 3 separate times for NO reason whatsoever. The first time the vehicle was in drive mode and abruptly slammed on the brakes from a speed of 10-15 mph in the middle of a left hand turn. The second time the vehicle was in reverse and slammed on the brakes from a speed of 5-10 mph. In neither case was there any reason for the suddenly abrupt and startling braking to a complete stop. The third time the vehicle was in park and idling in an empty parking lot and AGAIN the pre-sense system abruptly alerted and although braking could not be applied (because the car was in park), the seat belt system abruptly slammed me against the seat. I brought the car into Audi, who evaluated the vehicle and found NOTHING WRONG WITH IT. They said, "maybe a paper bag flew near the sensor or the sensor was dirty." I expressed that I did not feel safe driving the vehicle and they said I have to take the vehicle back. I requested that they disable the pre-sense system and they reported that they were not permitted to. I reported the incident to Audi corporate who agreed with the dealer. I feel the vehicle is unsafe and because of past performance, could suddenly and abruptly slam on the brakes causing a major car accident. Please assist if you can.
12 total complaints retrieved from NHTSA for 2022–2026. For older model years, see individual year pages.
A5 Years to Avoid
Best A5 Years to Buy
Audi A5 Problems by Year
Frequently Asked Questions — Audi A5 Reliability
What year A5 has the most problems?
Based on NHTSA data, the 2020 Audi A5 had the highest combined complaint and recall count — 49 complaints and 3 safety recalls. See the full 2020 report for specific defects.
Is the Audi A5 reliable?
The Audi A5 has accumulated 244 owner-filed complaints and 26 safety recalls across all model years in NHTSA's database. There have been 3 reported deaths associated with complaints. The 2026 model year shows the fewest reported issues. Always run a VIN check before purchasing any used A5.
What are the most common A5 problems?
The most frequently cited problem areas are: Air Bags (46 reports), Electrical System (36 reports), Engine (35 reports), Unknown Or Other (25 reports). Based on NHTSA complaints across all model years.
How do I check if my A5 has an open recall?
Use the vehicle's 17-character VIN at VinCheckEngine.com. Our free VIN report pulls the latest NHTSA recall data along with auction history, odometer records, and 30+ intelligence signals.
Check a Specific Audi A5 VIN
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