2018 Audi Q5 driver assistance & safety tech problems

Related recalls

No recalls on file.

What owners say

1. Filed Sep 22, 2026FLAirbagsDriver Assistance & Safety TechElectrical System

   Multiple electrical failures that control numerous safety systems, such as airbags, Collision avoidance, speed control, etc. Airbags will not activate in a collision. Vehicle will shut off at highway speeds, resulting in loss of steering control. The vehicle has been inspected by an Audi dealer. Multiple warnings on dash came on when the issue occurred.

   NHTSA complaint #11766103 · source
2. Filed Mar 30, 2026NHDriver Assistance & Safety TechElectrical SystemVisibility & Wipers

   The rear view camera is not operating when shifting to reverse. I can demonstrate this malfunction at any time to anyone. Driver is unable to detect short objects or small children directly behind the vehicle. The problem was confirmed by the dealer during a service visit. At that time, the service technician checked power and ground to the control unit and verified good. Attempted calibration for camera, vehicle would not calibrate. The vehicle has not been inspected by any…

   NHTSA complaint #11727995 · source
3. Filed Feb 20, 2026CADriver Assistance & Safety TechAcceleration & Cruise ControlTransmission & Drivetrain

   Yellow warning light..drive system malfunction. Red warning light..low oil pressure at idle. Says stop engine..after engine restart lights go off and is fine.. for a little bit.

   NHTSA complaint #11719269 · source
4. Filed Sep 9, 2025TXAirbagsDriver Assistance & Safety TechSeats & Seat Belts

   Safety System Malfunction message appears on dash. Passenger side air bag goes on and off while driving. Whole system chimes and random messages flashing on screen constantly. At times system doesn’t recognize that I have my drivers side seatbelt buckled. So system keeps chiming cars Stanton. Random messages flash on dash. Traffic jam assist (3 cars symbol) unavailable and image flash on dash and does another chime. Vehicle has given random warning beeps when reversing 2…

   NHTSA complaint #11686158 · source
5. Filed Aug 6, 202560,000 miTXDriver Assistance & Safety Tech

   The contact owns a 2019 Audi Q5. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, with no other vehicles or objects nearby, the Forward Collision Avoidance system unintendedly activated. The contact stated that within seconds, the Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking system engaged, greatly reducing the speed before returning to normal functionality. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to…

   NHTSA complaint #11678911 · source
6. Filed Feb 5, 2025NYDriver Assistance & Safety TechSteering

   While driving, the power steering completely went out and lost the ability to steer, while on the road. There were no prior warnings or feeling in the steering to present a possible future failure of steering under power. Put myself, my wife and the other operators at risk as I lost all power steering and had to pull over immediately. I have a current repair order open at a local shop and the PSM module has failed, of course requiring a full steering rack replacement to the…

   NHTSA complaint #11640890 · source
7. Filed Dec 26, 2024NEDriver Assistance & Safety TechElectrical SystemSteering

   While driving, the steering wheel suddenly locked up and could not be turned. Several warning lights simultaneously appeared on the dashboard including: "Steering malfunction! Please stop vehicle", "Audi adaptive light malfunction! See owners manual", "Start/stop system malfunction! Function unavailable", and "Audi pre sense currently limited" - No warning lights were present prior to this event. The sudden loss of steering could have caused serious injury to myself and to…

   NHTSA complaint #11632466 · source
8. Filed Aug 28, 2024GADriver Assistance & Safety Tech

   Such incident happened two times: when I was driving at normal speed, another vehicle quickly approached me from back while switching to my lane. Out of any instruction, my vehicle applied brakes to decelerate. This almost caused crash and put my safety at high risk!

   NHTSA complaint #11611313 · source
9. Filed Aug 28, 2024GADriver Assistance & Safety TechLighting

   The panel showed vehicle lights malfunction. The side marker lights are on all the time. This happened without any accident or changes of the setting.

   NHTSA complaint #11611311 · source
10. Filed Feb 19, 2024CACrash1 injuredTowedDriver Assistance & Safety TechOther / UnknownAcceleration & Cruise Control

    This was unintentional acceleration case: When I got into the parking space, the car was almost stopped and I was about to press the park button (gear) and the car suddenly accelerated and in a fraction of a second, climbed the curb, crashed into the fence, broke the fence and crushed on a tree. I was still applying brake to stop it and I could not do anything else. The following facts show that the acceleration was totally out of my control. 1.vehicle climbed the curb 2.…

    NHTSA complaint #11572844 · source
11. Filed Jan 12, 2024FLDriver Assistance & Safety TechElectrical System

    I have a 2018 Audi Q5. The electrical system basically went into complete failure, and upon taking it to the dealership, was told the sunroof draining system "clogged" and the flooding caused by this caused the damage. After significant research online, I have noted this seems to be a very well-known issue.

    NHTSA complaint #11565118 · source
12. Filed Dec 21, 2023LADriver Assistance & Safety TechSteering

    Steering rack completely failed while driving. Causing steering to become unusable nearly causing a wreck putting everyone on the road at risk. Vehicle has less 80k miles and is driven occasionally. This was an issue on early models and seems to not have been fully fixed on this model either. Warning lamps require vehicle to pullover and stop.

    NHTSA complaint #11561231 · source

Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Office of Defects Investigation public data. Complaints are submitted by owners and are not verified by NHTSA or by us; a complaint does not prove a defect exists. View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov Methodology