What breaks most · 2009 to 2026 model years
Audi Q5 problems by year
Owners have filed 1,325 safety complaints with NHTSA about the Audi Q5 across model years 2009 to 2026. Three years stand out: 2018 for electrical system complaints, 2012 for air bags complaints and 2011 for air bags complaints. The quietest years are 2024, 2022 and 2020.
- Years to check closely: 2018, 2012, 2011
- Fewest complaints: 2024, 2022, 2020
- Complaints on file
- 13252009 to 2026, all trims
- Worst year
- 2018201 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 6412 fires · 55 injuries · 0 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 55kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 86Across the years shown
Complaints by model year
Raw filings with NHTSA, not adjusted for how many were sold.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Recalls | Most-reported component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | 2 | 6 | Air bags (16) | |
| 99 | 2 | 4 | Air bags (50) | |
| 143 | 4 | 5 | Air bags (67) | |
| 168 | 3 | 6 | Air bags (85) | |
| 89 | 1 | 5 | Engine (33) | |
| 105 | 5 | 5 | Engine (36) | |
| 98 | 3 | 6 | Engine (37) | |
| 77 | 9 | 5 | Engine (26) | |
| 42 | 3 | 5 | Engine (19) | |
| 201 | 10 | 6 | Electrical system (70) | |
| 50 | 5 | 5 | Electrical system (12) | |
| 24 | 3 | 6 | Electrical system (8) | |
| 71 | 2 | 8 | Electrical system (26) | |
| 22 | 4 | 4 | Electrical system (7) | |
| 42 | 6 | 5 | Forward collision system (13) | |
| 20 | 0 | 4 | Forward collision system (12) | |
| 41 | 2 | 1 | Forward collision system (22) | |
| 3 | 0 | 0 | Electrical system (1) |
What fails on the 2018 Audi Q5
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical systemAlternators, starters and ignition | 35% |
70 | 0 | Shop electrical system parts for the 2018 Audi Q5 |
| Unknown or other | 22% |
44 | 2 | — |
| EngineEngine gaskets and seals | 15% |
31 | 0 | Shop engine parts for the 2018 Audi Q5 |
| SuspensionStruts, springs and control arms | 12% |
24 | 0 | Shop suspension parts for the 2018 Audi Q5 |
| BrakesBrake pads, rotors and calipers | 11% |
22 | 4 | Shop brakes parts for the 2018 Audi Q5 |
| Body and structureDoors, latches and body hardware | 10% |
21 | 3 | Shop body and structure parts for the 2018 Audi Q5 |
| Forward collision systemRadar and camera sensors | 9% |
18 | 2 | Shop forward collision system parts for the 2018 Audi Q5 |
| Speed control and throttleThrottle and pedal sensors | 6% |
13 | 4 | Shop speed control and throttle parts for the 2018 Audi Q5 |
One complaint can name more than one component, so shares add to more than 100%. "Unknown or other" is NHTSA's uncategorized bucket and is shown but never ranked.
In owners' words
Complaint narratives as filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length.
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Starter button does not work. use of emergency start only. Dealership says rain water running off car towards the back, gets into the wiring and causes massive damage. getting a bill of over $11,000 There are recalls on this for other Q5 years but not 2018.
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The vehicle Q5 takes about 2 Quarts of oil every 400-500 miles. There are no oil leaks . It’s at 117,000 miles. Don’t know what to do . Vehicle runs great but the oil sign comes on every 500 miles
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Audi q5 shows no recalls on my vehicle. My car stops randomly while driving even while being on highways and interstates. As well as the passenger side leaking due to sunroof drainage coming to the inside (which may affect the air bags). This Car has not had any repairs on recalls that I know of personally.
How to read this page
Every figure comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's public complaint database, which holds every safety-related defect complaint filed by owners since 1995. We refresh it monthly and count each complaint once per component it names. Data through September 6, 2026.
NHTSA only accepts safety-related complaints. Rattles, paint, infotainment bugs and other annoyances are under-reported here, so this page is a map of what fails in ways owners consider dangerous, not a full reliability score.
Counts are raw. Use the year-over-year shape and the component mix, not the absolute numbers. Where a component maps to parts we stock, the row links to that category filtered to the year you are viewing. Air bag and seat belt complaints link to the recall checker instead, because those repairs are almost always covered.
Common questions
Which Audi Q5 years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 2018, 2012, 2011 carry the most filings on the Audi Q5. The 2018 alone has 201 complaints, led by electrical system.
What is the most common Audi Q5 problem?
On the 2018 model year, the most-reported component is electrical system with 70 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do Audi Q5 problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all Audi Q5 complaints that include mileage is about 55,000 miles. Older model years skew higher; the per-year figure is in the "at a glance" card.
Are these complaints verified?
No. NHTSA publishes complaints as submitted and does not investigate individual filings. Patterns across hundreds of complaints are meaningful; a single one is not.