Audi SQ5 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.

12
Total Recalls
55
Total Complaints
1
Total Crashes
8
Reported Injuries
0
Reported Deaths
2018
Worst Year
2026
Best Year
6
Poor
Overall Reliability Score (0–100)
Accelerating +100%
Complaint Trend
7 last 24mo vs 0 prior 24mo

Recent Safety Incidents — Last 5 Model Years

4
Injuries Reported

Own a Audi SQ5? Check your specific VIN for a full history report.

Audi SQ5 — Year-by-Year Problem Comparison

YearVerdictRecallsComplaintsCrashesInjuriesDeathsTop Issue
2026BestExcellentFull report →
2025Good4EngineFull report →
2024Good42Forward Collision AvoidanceFull report →
2023Good12Forward Collision AvoidanceFull report →
2022Good22Forward Collision AvoidanceFull report →
2021Good21Exterior LightingFull report →
2020Caution24Forward Collision AvoidanceFull report →
2019Caution29Service BrakesFull report →
2018WorstAvoid2124EngineFull report →
2017Excellent21Electrical SystemFull report →
2016Excellent2EngineFull report →
2015Good14SteeringFull report →
2014Caution110Fuel/Propulsion SystemFull report →

13 model years shown. Crashes, injuries, and deaths from NHTSA complaint filings. Click any year for full details.

Most Common Audi SQ5 Problems

Forward Collision Avoidance
9
Steering
6
Fuel/Propulsion System
5
Visibility/Wiper
5
Engine
5
Electrical System
5
Service Brakes
4
Unknown Or Other
3
Exterior Lighting
3
Structure
2
Suspension
2
Air Bags
2

Based on 55 owner complaints filed with NHTSA across all model years.

Recent Safety Recalls — Audi SQ5 (20222026)

#22V5670002022
03/08/2022
STRUCTURE:BODY:TAILGATE

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling one 2022 Audi SQ5 Sportback vehicle. The connections that join the metal sheets to form the rear lid may have been improperly connected.

Remedy: A dealer will replace the rear lid, free of charge. The owner notification letter is expected to be mailed September 30, 2022. Owners may contact Audi's customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 55M6.

#21V9470002022
08/12/2021
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:BODY CONTROL MODULE/BCM

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.

Remedy: 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.

#26V2660002025
24/04/2026
SEAT BELTS:PRETENSIONER

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2025 Q5, Q5 Sportback, SQ5, and SQ5 Sportback vehicles. The driver and front passenger seat belts may have been manufactured incorrectly, and fail to properly restrain occupants during a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the driver and front passenger seat belts as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed June 23, 2026. Owners may contact Audi's customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 69GT.

Showing 3 recalls from 20222026 model years. See the full year-specific pages for older recalls.

Recent Owner Complaints

Direct reports filed with NHTSA by Audi SQ5 owners — 20222026 model years.

Fuel/Propulsion System05/07/2026

I was driving out of a parking lot into the feeder road of a highway with the intent of immediately getting on the highway. When I attempted to accelerate the car would not go any faster. I was traveling perhaps 5-10 miles per hour as cars on the feeder road were approaching at 45-50 miles per hour. The lag time before the car would accelerate was about 20 seconds. Luckily, I had not entered the feeder road right as the feeder road traffic was near me, otherwise I would definitely have been hit. This lack of acceleration happened two other times but the lag time was shorter. I took the car to the dealer but they could not find the problem.

Steering /Vehicle Speed Control /Engine11/18/2025

We bought the car today at Audi South Atlanta brand new and were driving back home. The car suddenly showed the engine light, showed drive system malfunction please safely stop, and then the car slowed down and stopped on the highway. The steering stiffened up and almost caused a car crash. It was very dangerous. The Audi dealership said that software issues were all resolved before allowing the purchase of the vehicle today, but this dangerous malfunction still happened.

Lane Departure /Forward Collision Avoidance10/31/2025

The following problem happened 3 times. I was making a right hand turn with plenty of clearance when the car seized. Engine shut down, lights on dash said MALFUNCTION and many other lights lit. Oncoming traffic approached and nearly smashed into my car. This also happened making a left turn at a traffic light after a stop at a red light. The other incident was in bumper to bumper traffic in a rain storm.

Unknown Or Other09/05/2025

I have. two 2024 Audi SQ6 Prestige vehicles. This has now happened on both of these vehicles while driving them. The axle will snap while driving causing the vehicle to stop and no longer move forward or back. This is extremely dangerous because it occurs when driving and can lead to an accident because the car just stops. Luckily in both instances I was not on the highway and was on side roads so there was no accident. After this occurred the second time, I discovered this is being reported by Audi owners of Q5 and SQ5 models however Audi claims there is no issue. This occurred on both of my SQ5s, once in April and Once in September. Both vehicles had low mileage, 15,000 and 22,000 respectively.

Unknown Or Other2 INJURIES02/03/2025

While driving on a freeway, away from any other cars or flying objects, with a large bang, the sunroof exploded. The shade was closed so thankfully no glass entered the car. After getting to the side of the freeway, it was discovered that 1/2 of the sunroof glass was completely shattered and the rest was spiderwebbed. No other object was found in the shade, only small and large pieces of glass.

Structure2 INJURIES12/12/2024

The rear hatch lid has a mechanism that closes the hatch when foot movement is sensed near the rear bumper. Unfortunately, it sometimes detects foot movement when a person is working on baggage in the luggage area. It then sets off an alarm and attempts to close the hatch on the unsuspecting person. The owner’s manual asserts that there is built-in pinch-protection to stop the hatch and avoid injury if an obstruction is detected. It does not work; the hatch closure can’t be stopped with reasonable force. Two injuries have already occurred. The dealer has said that the pinch-protection cannot be improved, nor can the foot-sensor be desensitized.

Forward Collision Avoidance08/07/2024

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? AUDI PRESENSE SENSOR IS GOING OFF RANDOMLY WHEN THERE IS NO RISK FOR COLLISION. BRAKES ABRUPTLY, SEATBELT TIGHTENS, CAR TURNS OFF IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. FROM LEASE START WEEK 1TO FEB 2024 How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? IN SEVERAL CIRCUMSTANCES WE HAVE COME WITHIN INCHES OF GETTING REAR ENDED BY PEOPLE DRIVING BEHIND US AT A HIGH RATE OF SPEED, AS WELL AS GETTING PUSHED INTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC RISKING BEING HIT HEAD ON (WHILE WAITING TO TURN LEFT FOR INSTANCE) Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? THE DEALERSHIP TOLD US THEY PERFORMED A DIAGNOSTIC AND THE COMPUTER DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEM DID NOT REPRODUCE OR CONFIRM AN ISSUE. WE HAVE HAD OUR YOUNG CHILD IN THE CAR WITH US WHEN THIS HAS HAPPENED ON MULTIPLE OCCASSIONS AND HE WENT INTO THE DEALERSHIP WITH US TO EXPLAIN WHAT HAPPENS. THIS IS 100% MALFUNCTIONING/ DEFECT/ LIFE SAFETY ISSUE. WE DON'T KNOW WHY THE COMPUTER CAN'T PICK IT UP (IT DOESNT ALWAYS HAPPEN DURING THE SAME CIRCUMSTANCES AND CAN BE RANDOM) BUT WE CANT DRIVE CAR AS WE BELIEVE WE WILL EITHER BE KILLED DRIVING IT AND COULD CAUSE FATAL HARM TO OTHERS- CAR AT DEALERSHIP Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? THE DEALERSHIP ONLY TO DATE Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? WHEN THE VEHICLE STOPS SUDDENLY (WITH NO DANGER PRESENT) A WARNING LIGHT COMES ON THE DASHBOARD, ALONG WITH AN ALARM. THE SEATBELT TIGHTENS IN A TERRIBLY AWEFUL WAY, THE CAR BRAKES TO A SCREECHING STOP AND TURNS OFF ALL OF THIS HAPPENS ON ITS OWN AND IT HAS HAPPENED EVEN WHEN WE WERE AT A RED TRAFFIC LIGHT WITH NO CARS/ NO MOVEMENT AROUND US. WE NEED HELP! THIS PART HAS NOT BEEN RECALLED BY AUDI TO-DATE AND WE KNOW 100% THAT THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE

7 total complaints retrieved from NHTSA for 20222026. For older model years, see individual year pages.

SQ5 Years to Avoid

2018 SQ5
12 complaints · 2 recalls
Details →
2019 SQ5
9 complaints · 2 recalls
Details →
2014 SQ5
10 complaints · 1 recalls
Details →

Ranked by combined complaints, recalls, crashes, injuries, and deaths.

Best SQ5 Years to Buy

2026 SQ5
0 complaints · 0 recalls
Details →
2017 SQ5
2 complaints · 0 recalls
Details →
2016 SQ5
2 complaints · 0 recalls
Details →

Years with fewest complaints and recalls.

Audi SQ5 Problems by Year

Select a year to see detailed complaints, recall notices, and safety incident data.

Frequently Asked Questions — Audi SQ5 Reliability

What year SQ5 has the most problems?

Based on NHTSA data, the 2018 Audi SQ5 had the highest combined complaint and recall count — 12 complaints and 2 safety recalls. See the full 2018 report for specific defects.

Is the Audi SQ5 reliable?

The Audi SQ5 has accumulated 55 owner-filed complaints and 12 safety recalls across all model years in NHTSA's database. The 2026 model year shows the fewest reported issues. Always run a VIN check before purchasing any used SQ5.

What are the most common SQ5 problems?

The most frequently cited problem areas are: Forward Collision Avoidance (9 reports), Steering (6 reports), Fuel/Propulsion System (5 reports), Visibility/Wiper (5 reports). Based on NHTSA complaints across all model years.

How do I check if my SQ5 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 SQ5 VIN

Model-level data shows what can go wrong. A VIN-specific report shows what has gone wrong with a particular vehicle — including auction history, odometer discrepancies, open recalls, accident records, and 30+ intelligence signals.

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