The Used Car Index

2018 Audi SQ5 problems

NHTSA lists 24 complaints for the 2018 Audi SQ5, 1 of them mention a crash and 0 mention a fire. 1 complaints mention an injury, with 2 injuries and 0 deaths reported.

Data build 2026-10-09.

NHTSA lists this vehicle as AUDI SQ5.

At a glance

Complaints
24
With crash
1
With fire
0
With injury (complaints)
1
Injuries
2
Deaths
0
Recalls
5
Do not drive recalls
1
Park outside recalls
0
Recall potential units (maximum)
288,991
Investigations
0
Open investigations
0
Manufacturer communications
804

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 SYSTEM833.3%
ENGINE625.0%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE416.7%
POWER TRAIN416.7%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING312.5%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER312.5%
SERVICE BRAKES28.3%
STEERING28.3%
VISIBILITY/WIPER28.3%
AIR BAGS14.2%
Top subsystems
SystemSubsystemComplaints
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCEAUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING2
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCEWARNINGS2
TIRESSIDEWALL1

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 electronic833.3%0.85
loss of control729.2%0.62
mechanical failure520.8%0.97
fluid or fuel leak28.3%0.98
noise or comfort14.2%0.99
visibility or lighting14.2%0.77
Severities
LabelCountShare of taggedMean confidence
moderate1666.7%0.87
low625.0%0.82
high28.3%0.74

Model: typesafe/jev-1.13-20260917; schema version: tag-v1. 24 tagged complaints of 24 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.

5 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.

Investigations

0 investigations; 0 open.

Manufacturer communications

804 manufacturer communications.

Communications by system
SystemCount
EQUIPMENT217
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM184
UNKNOWN OR OTHER83
STRUCTURE65
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING57
SUSPENSION47
SERVICE BRAKES44
ENGINE42

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.

11038090

Date: 2026-09-14. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE.

This bulletin provides information when there is an abnormal knocking noise from the engine compartment; V6 3.0L TFSI.

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.

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
SQ524

Same model, other years

All model years | All Audi models

Other Audi models, 2018

Sources

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