The Used Car Index

2018 Audi Q5 problems

NHTSA lists 207 complaints for the 2018 Audi Q5, 10 of them mention a crash and 0 mention a fire. 4 complaints mention an injury, with 5 injuries and 0 deaths reported.

Data build 2026-10-07.

NHTSA lists this vehicle as AUDI Q5.

At a glance

Complaints
207
With crash
10
With fire
0
With injury (complaints)
4
Injuries
5
Deaths
0
Recalls
6
Do not drive recalls
1
Park outside recalls
0
Recall potential units (maximum)
288,991
Investigations
0
Open investigations
0
Manufacturer communications
1,092

Complaints per 100k sold unavailable. No sales source is available for this record.

Where the complaints are

Top systems
SystemComplaintsShare of this vehicle's complaints
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM7435.7%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER4421.3%
ENGINE3115.0%
SUSPENSION2512.1%
SERVICE BRAKES2210.6%
STRUCTURE2110.1%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE199.2%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL146.8%
AIR BAGS136.3%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING136.3%
Top subsystems
SystemSubsystemComplaints
STRUCTUREBODY15
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCEAUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING10
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCEWARNINGS7
BACK OVER PREVENTIONWARNINGS2
VISIBILITYSUN/MOON ROOF ASSEMBLY2
BACK OVER PREVENTIONREARVIEW SYSTEM BRAKING1
ELECTRICAL SYSTEMBODY CONTROL MODULE/BCM1
ELECTRICAL SYSTEMIGNITION1
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCEADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL1
LANE DEPARTUREASSIST1

One complaint can name several systems, so shares can add to more than 100 percent.

Model-generated complaint tags

These labels are model-generated, not NHTSA data.

Failure modes
LabelCountShare of taggedMean confidence
electrical electronic8943.0%0.83
mechanical failure4722.7%0.93
loss of control2612.6%0.85
restraint or airbag146.8%0.90
visibility or lighting104.8%0.76
fluid or fuel leak83.9%0.70
structural or corrosion62.9%0.59
fire or overheating31.4%0.51
noise or comfort21.0%0.89
unclear21.0%0.97
Severities
LabelCountShare of taggedMean confidence
moderate13967.1%0.79
low4923.7%0.70
high167.7%0.89
none31.4%0.89

Model: typesafe/jev-1.13-20260917; schema version: tag-v1. 207 tagged complaints of 207 complaints (100.0%).

Confidence is the model's own probability for the label it chose (0 to 1), not accuracy.

Model-generated labels on tagged complaints only. Model years 2013 and newer are tagged in full; 2012 in part (see tagged_share); earlier model years have no tags. NHTSA's own flags remain separate in the complaints block.

Recalls

See new recalls and investigations this week.

6 recalls.

21V947000

Date: 2021-12-08. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, STRUCTURE.

Defect: 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.

Consequence: A gateway control module shutdown will suddenly reduce engine power, increasing the risk of a crash.

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.

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

19V737000

Date: 2019-10-16. Systems: STRUCTURE.

Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Audi SQ5 and 2018-2020 Audi Q5 vehicles. The rear wheel arch cover trim may loosen and detach from the vehicle.

Consequence: The detached trim may become a road hazard, increasing the risk of crash.

Remedy: Audi will notify owners, and dealers will replace the four clips securing the forward part of the rear wheel arch trim, free of charge. The recall began November 1, 2019. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 66K8.

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

19V416000

Date: 2019-06-05. Systems: WHEELS.

Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Audi Q5 and SQ5 vehicles. The wheel arch cover trim may loosen and detach.

Consequence: The detached trim may become a road hazard, increasing the risk of crash.

Remedy: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will secure the wheel arch trim with an additional screw and nut, free of charge. The recall began July 26, 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 66K6.

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

19V277000

Date: 2019-04-08. Systems: SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC.

Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Audi Q5 and SQ5 vehicles. The brake master cylinder casting may be too short.

Consequence: A short casting can cause a sudden loss of brakes, increasing the risk of crash. The electronic parking brake and its emergency brake function are not affected and will still function.

Remedy: Audi has notified owners, and dealers will inspect the brake master cylinder, replacing it as necessary, free of charge. The recall began May 3, 2019. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 47O9.

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

18V369000

Date: 2018-06-01. Systems: SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC.

Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018 Volkswagen Atlas, Passat, Beetle, Beetle Convertible, Golf, Golf SportWagen and GTI and Audi Q5 and SQ5 vehicles. The brake caliper pistons on these vehicles may have insufficient coating, potentially reducing the brake performance. (excerpt)

Consequence: A reduction of braking performance can increase the risk of a crash. (excerpt)

Remedy: Volkswagen and Audi will notify their owners. Audi dealers will bleed the rear brakes. Volkswagen dealers will bleed the front and rear brake calipers. Note: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the brake system has been checked. The recall began June 29, 2018. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298 and Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volksw (excerpt)

Do not drive: Yes. Park outside: No.

16V955000

Date: 2016-12-29. Systems: AIR BAGS, SEAT BELTS.

Defect: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2017 Audi A7, A4, A6, Volkswagen Golf and Tiguan vehicles and 2016 Volkswagen e-Golf vehicles for driver frontal air bags, passenger frontal air bags or head air bags that may not deploy properly. Additionally, certain 2017 Audi Q7, A4 Sedan, A4 Allroad, and 2018 Audi Q5 vehicles are being recalled because the seat bel (excerpt)

Consequence: In the event of a crash, if the air bags and/or the seat belt pretensioners do not inflate or function properly, the vehicle occupants have an increased risk of injury. (excerpt)

Remedy: Volkswagen and Audi will notify owners, and dealers will replace the affected air bags and seat belt pretensioners, free of charge. The recall began April 2017. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298 or Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. (excerpt)

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

Investigations

0 investigations; 0 open.

Manufacturer communications

1,092 manufacturer communications.

Communications by system
SystemCount
EQUIPMENT355
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM303
UNKNOWN OR OTHER93
STRUCTURE91
POWER TRAIN59
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING54
SUSPENSION51
SERVICE BRAKES48

11038027

Date: 2026-09-25. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.

This bulletin provides information for reporting safety related information to the manufacturer.

11038130

Date: 2026-09-25. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.

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.

11038024

Date: 2026-09-22. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: VISIBILITY/WIPER.

This bulletin provides service information regarding exterior glass cleaning.

11038042

Date: 2026-09-22. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: STEERING.

This bulletin provides information about vibrations and rotational steering vibrations.

11038056

Date: 2026-09-18. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: STRUCTURE.

This bulletin provides information about billing for a broken sunroof glass panel.

11038025

Date: 2026-09-15. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.

This bulletin provides information when the license plate mounting bracket threded inserts are stripped.

11038026

Date: 2026-09-08. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.

This bulletin provides infomraiton abou the Audi frequency analysis application, which is available in the App Store for Android and Apple phones.

11038033

Date: 2026-09-08. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: STRUCTURE.

This TSB describes a corrosion issue due to outside influence and the prohibition of warranty in these cases.

11038061

Date: 2026-09-02. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.

This bulletin provides information regarding fault finding and repair information for electric tailgate.

11036917

Date: 2026-08-26. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.

This bulletin provides information when the horn sound quality is poor.

Notes on this record

  • Complaints from the API and bulk file are merged and deduplicated by ODI number; the API alone misses records.
  • System and subsystem counts are numbers of distinct complaints, recalls or communications that name them. One record can name several systems, so shares across systems can add to more than 100 percent; a single share never exceeds 100 percent.
  • Recalls are counted once per campaign, investigations once per action and manufacturer communications once per NHTSA id, even when NHTSA lists several model names for the same record.
  • A sales denominator is a calendar-year proxy, not the population of vehicles still in use. Rates are copied from verified pipeline output.

Other names NHTSA uses

None listed.

Matched NHTSA models

Matched labels and complaints
NHTSA model labelComplaints
Q5207

Same model, other years

All model years | All Audi models

Other Audi models, 2018

Sources

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