80 of the
443 complaints filed about the Audi A5
are about the electrical system —
18% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 2020.
The contact owns a 2013 Audi A5. The contact stated that after activating the AC system, there was hot air and a burning odor coming from the passenger’s side vents. The contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V002000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact called an independent mechanic and referenced the recall campaign. The local dealer was contacted, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and confirmed that the VIN was not under recall. The failure mileage was approximately 157,653.
NHTSA complaint #11753204 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Turned AC on blew out cool air all of sudden the air went out hot air blowing, smelt burning and saw smoke on passenger side (not a lot,but enough to raise concerns) turned AC shut climate off, turned car off tried it again no air just heat blowing. brother in law put it on machine , gave a sensor code, replaced sensor put a can of air in, still blowing out hot air. and if ran too long it will smoke and burning scent.
NHTSA complaint #11753312 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The MMI infotainment head unit reboots spontaneously and repeatedly while the vehicle is in operation. The screen freezes, goes black, and restarts, reliably within 7-8 minutes of completing the previous boot. This repeats continuously for the duration of any drive. I have verified this is not related to a connected phone. I tested with three different phones on three different operating systems, and with no phone connected and powered off entirely. The reboot cycle occurs identically in all cases, whenever the vehicle is running. The critical safety failure: if the vehicle is placed in reverse near the time of a reboot, the crash disables all Parking Assist functions. The rear backup camera becomes fully inoperable while the vehicle is actively backing up, and the side cameras are sometimes lost as well. The Parking Assist system, including the backup camera, remains offline until the vehicle is shut off and left sitting for 15 to 30 minutes. There is no warning before this occurs. This means the federally mandated rear visibility system can and does fail without warning during the exact maneuver it exists to make safe. I have video documenting the backup camera being disabled while reversing. The vehicle has been to the dealer for these concerns. A software update was performed per Audi TSB on 3/27/2026 (RO 356075) and did not resolve the issue. The vehicle was diagnosed again 7/1/2026 through 7/9/2026 (RO 361320) and the dealer was unable to duplicate the concerns at that time. The reboot behavior has since become continuous and reproducible.
NHTSA complaint #11749728 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I am reporting a severe, systemic, and undiagnosed electrical defect that compromises vehicle safety and control. The manufacturer’s authorized repair facilities and corporate Technical Assistance Center (TAC) have explicitly documented that their factory test plans are "inconclusive" and they cannot isolate the root cause of the failures. The primary symptom is the catastrophic failure of the climate control/defrost system, which intermittently stops cooling and blows hot/ambient air. Dealerships have repeatedly replaced the physical AC head unit (E87), replaced high-pressure switches, and performed battery capacity discharges to clear persistent diagnostic trouble codes (DTC B131207 and B10AE22). Because these hardware replacements fail to fix the issue and the system continues to drop out, the defect lies deeper within the vehicle's central electrical architecture or wiring harness. Additionally, the vehicle has exhibited erratic, un-commanded behavior. After parking, turning off the vehicle, and walking away, the vehicle spontaneously started running on its own without any input. The dealership was unable to find stored codes for this event, indicating the vehicle’s diagnostic system is failing to log critical electrical malfunctions.A vehicle that spontaneously starts itself poses an extreme risk of carbon monoxide poisoning in residential garages, as well as a runaway or theft hazard if a deeper electrical short commands the transmission to engage while unattended.The manufacturer has exhausted its standard Technical Service Bulletins (TSB 2078655/3) and multiple corporate TAC cases (#3667725 and #3686882), ultimately releasing the car back to me each time. I am at a loss for what to do because this car is dangerous, they don't know what is wrong with it, and I am being forced to drive it.
NHTSA complaint #11746731 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2024 Audi A5. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, and started, the vehicle unexpectedly surged forward. The contact stated that occasionally the vehicle started independently without driver input. Additionally, the air condition was blowing warm air instead of cold air. The dealer was notified of the failure; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failures. The approximate failure mileage was 16,581.
NHTSA complaint #11744582 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
2008 Audi A5 3.2L S-Line Coupe experiencing severe water intrusion into trunk compartment causing progressive failure of multiple electronic modules. Water enters through a known design defect in the trunk seal and drainage pathway, pooling in the spare tire well where critical electronic control modules are mounted. Affected systems: (1) Complete audio and entertainment system failure due to amplifier module destroyed by water damage. (2) Electronic parking brake malfunction with brake failing to engage and disengage reliably, creating serious rollaway risk on inclines. (3) General electrical instability with intermittent warning lights and system malfunctions. (4) Severe parasitic battery drain with vehicle battery draining overnight due to water-damaged modules drawing constant current. This is a well-documented design flaw across the entire B8 A5 and S5 platform from 2008 to 2013. The manufacturer engineered a protective cover part for later production models, confirming awareness of the water intrusion defect, but never issued a recall or retrofit for earlier vehicles. Hundreds of owners have reported identical failures on major Audi enthusiast forums. The electronic parking brake failure is a serious safety hazard as the vehicle may roll uncontrolled on grades when parked.
NHTSA complaint #11731285 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I turned on my car and several malfunctions came on the dash,and would not start and went in limp mode. A local mechanic stated it's the electrical component of the coolant pump causing malfunction. He also stated that could lead the car catching fire if overheats since the 5V is dipping below due to the faulty coolant /water pump. Ultimately forcing the car in limp mode for safety precautions. The problem is I purchase my car at 87,000 miles from the Audi dealership, and the extended warranty that covers the car is 80,000 miles
NHTSA complaint #11717440 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
13 Jun 25 2100 hrs - Auto went thru multiple of errors and transmission would not go into gear, electric door locks released all emergency pull handles and car was not able to move. Called Audi Emergency Service. Tried to get out of vehicle and door could not be opened from inside the vehicle. I had friend come and get me out of vehicle by me pushing on the inside and her pulling the emergency pull. DANGEROUS! Emergency Service could not come to tow vehicle for three days because of being on an Air Force base and no tow companies that Audi contracted with had a realID or a clean criminal record. 16 June, Audi finally finds company to tow vehicle, at that point vehicle had completely died and could not be jump started. Car towed to Audi Service. Car in service for three weeks and I was told it was just a bad battery. I took vehicle with doubts of repair and for the next four months car would pop multiple software errors specifically on driver assist, no sound, dash going completely blank while driving, etc. The next major electrical failure was on 17 Nov, once again car would not start nor could it be jump started by tow company. Car once again towed to Audi on the same day. Car in service until 23 Dec and Audi said it was related to TSB 2079690/4 and they have stated that the KD2 should resolve electrical issue with driver door module constantly running and killing car. One day later, already popping driver assist errors. This car is dangerous and Audi knows that this KD2 is a band-aid on a software system that is unreliable and still has no permanent fix. I fear being stranded on a highway and either being stuck in my vehicle and can't get out or not being able to get in car if I get out to try and open hood to check vehicle, I might not be able to get back in because of electric locks.
NHTSA complaint #11707324 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Audi’s wireless charging pad in 2021–2024 A4/A5/Q5 models: •Overheats the phone •Triggers a thermal radio throttle •iPhone temporarily disables Bluetooth hardware •Audi MMI sees that and throws: “Bluetooth function is currently unavailable.” •Wireless CarPlay collapses because it needs Bluetooth + WiFi Direct •Audio goes dead along with it This EXACT sequence is documented across A4/A5/Q3/Q5 forums and Audi service bulletins. The pad is the culprit — not your phone, not the car. When bluetooth and apple car play shut down, so do directions which causes driver to scramble to find phone and follow phone screen which distracts drivers and causes accidents. It happens every time you use the tray after 5-20 minutes. Very scary for older drivers. Would like NHTSA to pressure Audi into a recall and fix the pad at Audi's expense. I bought the car to use the wireless charger, not have to work around it. And it is exceptionally unsafe.
NHTSA complaint #11701394 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Audi USA sent me a recall letter/service action for Infotainment System Software. The system reboots and shuts down unexpectedly while driving. Took the car to a local Audi dealership and they informed me that they cannot repair the recall because they now want to change my SOS module in order for both to work. They are asking me to pay them $1,500 for that. Meanwhile they informed me that my SOS system is not working either because of that, and I cannot use.
NHTSA complaint #11694280 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The Multi-Media Interface (MMI) randomly reboots and poses a safety hazard. Several times while reversing using my backup camera, the MMI has rebooted which causes the camera to go blank. This poses a risk to back up into an object or a person during this time. Also during this time, the Rear Cross Traffic Warning system is disabled until the system reboots. Also, while using navigation, the MMI has rebooted on me several times. It has occurred during critical times such as exiting freeways at high speeds. When this occurs it is terribly distracting and could cause an accident. The problem has been re-produced by my dealer. They said it needed a software upgrade and performed that. It worked better for a couple days but is now back to rebooting spontaneously. There were no warning lamps or messages indicating the fault will be occurring. It just reboots and the MMI goes totally blank for about 20 seconds while the system reboots. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to when it will reboot. I can drive for 20 minutes and it may happen 4 times and then another time drive for an hour and never have it happen. Lately, it has gotten so bad I drive my son's car if it is available due to the safety concerns.
NHTSA complaint #11678628 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The MMI which controls back up and 360 cameras, parking sensors, collision avoidance system, navigation, bluetooth, radio, etc reboots randomly without warning. There is no predictability and I have not been able to identify a trigger. There is no warning indicator on the dash or MMI before it happens. When it reboots the screen goes black and all associated MMI functions become inoperable for seconds to minutes. It then restarts and often makes me log back in before I am able to use it again. It happens multiple times, sometimes over a dozen in a short drive and often happens just several minutes apart. It has rebooted while I am pulling into my garage, parking, or backing up and actively using the cameras which poses a serious safety issue. It also occurs often when using bluetooth which can be a distraction, pulling my eyes off the road to grab my phone. This seems to be a widespread problem with Audi MMI which has not been addressed and is a safety concern for all models affected. The dealerships know it is happening due to the amount of complaints, but will not update software and want me to pay a diagnostic fee + upgrade + labor.
NHTSA complaint #11678080 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Hello, I am writing today to inform you about the safety concerns I have over My Audis MMI issues. The MMI is the multi media infotainment which is operates my back up camera, proximity sensors and navigation. The MMI is stuck in a loop and reboots every 60 seconds. I was backing up and the MMI rebooted on me which abruptly stop streaming what was behind me, my neighbor was also backing up and thankfully I spotted them on my rear view mirror and stop in time before we collided.
NHTSA complaint #11677655 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The vehicle's Multi-Media Interface (MMI) system is reportedly shutting down randomly while the vehicle is in operation. This issue occurs without warning and is intermittent, making it unpredictable. Observed Symptoms/Events: Complete Loss of MMI Functionality: The screen goes black, and all associated functions (navigation, radio, Bluetooth, vehicle settings, climate control interface, rearview camera, etc.) become inoperable. Random Occurrence: The shutdown can happen at any time, regardless of driving conditions (e.g., stationary, low speed, highway speed). There appears to be no consistent trigger. Duration of Outage: The MMI system typically remains off for a period ranging from a few seconds to several minutes before spontaneously restarting. In some cases, the system may not restart until the vehicle is turned off and on again. Impact on Other Systems: While the primary issue is with the MMI, the owner reports concern about potential impacts on critical vehicle functions that utilize the MMI display (e.g., rearview camera when backing up, warning messages displayed on MMI). No Warning Indicators: No specific warning lights or messages appear on the instrument cluster immediately preceding or during the MMI shutdown. Repeatability: The issue is not consistently repeatable on demand, but it has occurred multiple times since its initial manifestation. Potential Safety Risk: The random shutdown of the MMI system poses potential safety concerns due to: Distraction: Unexpected system failure can be distracting to the driver, potentially diverting attention from the road. Loss of Critical Information: The MMI displays crucial information such as navigation directions, rearview camera feed, and certain warning messages. A sudden loss of this information can compromise driver awareness, especially when maneuvering or in complex traffic situations.
NHTSA complaint #11676677 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Beginning in mid July 2025, the MMI system (screen in the center of the dashboard) reboots every 1-2 minutes. In addition to the large distraction this causes while driving, the constant rebooting disables the back-up camera, parking sensors, rear-cross traffic alerts, collision avoidance assist, navigation, as well as everything else that is controlled by the Audi MMI system.
NHTSA complaint #11676498 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
2020 Audi A5 started randomly rebooting (MMI software) around mid April 2025, It happens I’d say every 5-20 minutes and it repeats all the time. The fact that Audi/VW won't cover the cost to update their buggy software is very frustrating. I have notified Audi USA about the issue and am awaiting a response if they will cover the labor cost @ Prestige Audi in Denver, CO
NHTSA complaint #11675609 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The computer of the car (the MMI) is constantly rebooting. Once I turn on the vehicle it’ll start up normally and after about 1 minute or two it’ll go black and everything will restart.
NHTSA complaint #11674684 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
MMI constantly shuts off, often in the process of moving into or out of a parking spot. This suddenly and unexpectedly disables the parking collision warning system, the rear cross traffic warning system, and frontal collision warnings. Very frustrating and unsafe. No solution currently exists. No symptoms prior to this happening; it is widely reported at online forums. No users have been able to have this corrected even at the dealer.
NHTSA complaint #11674776 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.