Owners have filed 13 complaints
about the 2023 Audi Q5 E with NHTSA between 2022 and 2025.
The largest single group is the electrical system.
Across this model's run it ranks 4 of 4 worst.
The letter says how bad. This says what kind — whether this year drew
an unusual number of complaints, unusually dangerous
ones, or failures that arrived unusually early.
The dashed ring is 50 — the national norm. Further out is worse.
Complaint volume — 25
Against the median year of the Audi Q5 E. 50 means typical for this
model; 100 means roughly double.
Severity — 40
7.7% of these complaints
involved a crash, fire, injury or death, against a national rate of
9.7%.
Early failure — not reported
Too few complaints recorded a mileage to measure this.
Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade:
A
B
C
D
F
ungraded
What breaks on a 2023 Audi Q5 E
Every complaint is filed against a part. Follow any row for the complaints about that part alone.
Electrical System
538.5%
Driver Assist & Collision Avoidance
430.8%
Acceleration & Cruise Control
17.7%
1 crashes, 0 fires
Suspension
17.7%
Brakes
17.7%
Engine & Cooling
17.7%
When owners complained
A spike years after the car went on sale usually means a part wearing
out on schedule across the whole fleet — the kind of pattern no single
owner can see from inside their own car.
Dec 2022peak 4Feb 2025
Complaints that involved harm
Reports where the owner recorded a crash, a fire, an injury or a death.
Morton Grove, ILCrash
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
On 1/24/24, I was pulling into my garage. I pressed the “p” button to park. The vehicle suddenly lurched forward and accelerated through my garage, knocking down my fence which damaged my neighbor’s garage. No one was physically hurt. Audi engineer inspected the car and looked at the “black box” data. He concluded there was no malfunction of the brakes and referred this as an insurance matter. There was no warning light or signal. I heard the engine rev up and it felt like the car took a life of its own and I had no control over it.
NHTSA complaint #11571018 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The most recent complaints
In the owners' own words, exactly as filed with NHTSA.
Alhambra, CA
SUSPENSION
Car stops and does not allow for proper function to perform of gas or brake. Car has to be turned off and restarted. This is a safety and security concern on all roads. Car has stopped in intersection and would not drive. Therefore turning car off and restarting in live movement on street. Electrical issues as it is a hybrid but does not charge. Car will perform the opposite of requested tasks brake, suspension and electrical all have issues. Issues have been presented at service department of Audi problems still persist.
NHTSA complaint #11644207 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Alhambra, CA
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Car stops and does not allow for proper function to perform of gas or brake. Car has to be turned off and restarted. This is a safety and security concern on all roads. Car has stopped in intersection and would not drive. Therefore turning car off and restarting in live movement on street. Electrical issues as it is a hybrid but does not charge. Car will perform the opposite of requested tasks brake, suspension and electrical all have issues. Issues have been presented at service department of Audi problems still persist.
NHTSA complaint #11644207 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Alhambra, CA
SERVICE BRAKES
Car stops and does not allow for proper function to perform of gas or brake. Car has to be turned off and restarted. This is a safety and security concern on all roads. Car has stopped in intersection and would not drive. Therefore turning car off and restarting in live movement on street. Electrical issues as it is a hybrid but does not charge. Car will perform the opposite of requested tasks brake, suspension and electrical all have issues. Issues have been presented at service department of Audi problems still persist.
NHTSA complaint #11644207 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The Villages, FL
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The contact owns a 2023 Audi Q5E. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V898000 (Electrical System); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
NHTSA complaint #11640786 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Gainesville, VA
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Transmission malfunction while driving on a highway, car towed to dealer. They found codes P074700, P077700, P17F900 (TSB 2064312/6). Replaced mechatronic unit.
NHTSA complaint #11630184 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Gainesville, VA
ENGINE
Transmission malfunction while driving on a highway, car towed to dealer. They found codes P074700, P077700, P17F900 (TSB 2064312/6). Replaced mechatronic unit.
NHTSA complaint #11630184 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Edgewater, MD
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
* Electrical Harness. Yes - it should be available for inspection upon request * Driving 70-75 mph on [XXX] , when the car came to an abrupt de-acceleration. Alerts flashed on the dash "electrical system malfunction" and "drive system malfunction". Lost all power to the vehicle. Managed to drift across the highway to an exit ramp. Two 18 wheel transport trucks narrowly missed colliding with my vehicle. *Problem has been confirmed by the dealer. Part has to be manufactured for replacement. Not readily available. *No - the part has not been inspected other than at the dealership in N.C. *No - there were absolutely NO warning lights, alarms, messages or symptoms prior to this incident. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11605760 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Morton Grove, ILCrash
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
On 1/24/24, I was pulling into my garage. I pressed the “p” button to park. The vehicle suddenly lurched forward and accelerated through my garage, knocking down my fence which damaged my neighbor’s garage. No one was physically hurt. Audi engineer inspected the car and looked at the “black box” data. He concluded there was no malfunction of the brakes and referred this as an insurance matter. There was no warning light or signal. I heard the engine rev up and it felt like the car took a life of its own and I had no control over it.
NHTSA complaint #11571018 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Jamestown, RI
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
Audi pre-sense occasionally alerts you to a problem (potential accident) when there is nothing wrong. But last Friday I was in the left turn lane, with my signal on and foot on brake waiting for the traffic to clear. When the traffic cleared I removed my foot from the brake, and tried to go forward, but the pre-sense immediately went into crash warning mode, turned bright solid red, made a loud noise and immediately locked my brakes. The car was frozen in place for at least 2-3 seconds before the brakes released and I could drive forward. If this happened on the highway - or even with someone behind me on a city street - I could get rear-ended and seriously injured. It turns out: 1. Numerous Audi Q5 owners have had this kind of pre-sense malfunction. (Just go online and look at the comments when you Google this. 2. Audi claims you can adjust the “sensitivity” of the pre-sense, but acquaintances who have tried this say it didn’t help. 3. You can turn off the pre-sense but have to do it each time you start the car up. 4. A friend who has a 2023 Q5 had not only similar problems with unnecessary warnings, and brake locks while trying to turn, but also had the pre-sense indicator go off and the brakes lock when a truck passed him at 45 mph. 5. This also happens on the 2023 Audi Q7. My nephew has one, two weeks ago was in the middle of an intersection, was waiting for traffic to clear to make a left turn, and then tried to. The crash warning went off, his car locked up and he was stuck in the middle of the intersection. Dangerous!
NHTSA complaint #11549255 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Audi pre-sense occasionally alerts you to a problem (potential accident) when there is nothing wrong. But last Friday I was in the left turn lane, with my signal on and foot on brake waiting for the traffic to clear. When the traffic cleared I removed my foot from the brake, and tried to go forward, but the pre-sense immediately went into crash warning mode, turned bright solid red, made a loud noise and immediately locked my brakes. The car was frozen in place for at least 2-3 seconds before the brakes released and I could drive forward. If this happened on the highway - or even with someone behind me on a city street - I could get rear-ended and seriously injured. It turns out: 1. Numerous Audi Q5 owners have had this kind of pre-sense malfunction. (Just go online and look at the comments when you Google this. 2. Audi claims you can adjust the “sensitivity” of the pre-sense, but acquaintances who have tried this say it didn’t help. 3. You can turn off the pre-sense but have to do it each time you start the car up. 4. A friend who has a 2023 Q5 had not only similar problems with unnecessary warnings, and brake locks while trying to turn, but also had the pre-sense indicator go off and the brakes lock when a truck passed him at 45 mph. 5. This also happens on the 2023 Audi Q7. My nephew has one, two weeks ago was in the middle of an intersection, was waiting for traffic to clear to make a left turn, and then tried to. The crash warning went off, his car locked up and he was stuck in the middle of the intersection. Dangerous!
NHTSA complaint #11549255 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Pittsburgh, PA
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Shortly after taking delivery of our new car, the camera system for the rear backup camera and all other surround view cameras malfunctioned. Upon shifting into reverse the screen that would normally show the rear of the car and the car's surroundings was all white. Changing the camera view did not fix the problem. The system functioned normally the next time we started the car, but then failed again later the next day. The failure in the camera system makes backing out of the garage and a public parking space less safe. It is also extremely annoying for this to happen on a new car when the cameras would be especially helpful while getting used to the new nightlines. There were no alerts in the car either time the failure occurred. The dealer was unable to replicate the failure, but states the manufacturer is aware of it. At this time, they do not have a fix and we are left with a car without a reliably operable backup camera.
NHTSA complaint #11496181 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Pittsburgh, PA
BACK OVER PREVENTION: WARNINGS
Shortly after taking delivery of our new car, the camera system for the rear backup camera and all other surround view cameras malfunctioned. Upon shifting into reverse the screen that would normally show the rear of the car and the car's surroundings was all white. Changing the camera view did not fix the problem. The system functioned normally the next time we started the car, but then failed again later the next day. The failure in the camera system makes backing out of the garage and a public parking space less safe. It is also extremely annoying for this to happen on a new car when the cameras would be especially helpful while getting used to the new nightlines. There were no alerts in the car either time the failure occurred. The dealer was unable to replicate the failure, but states the manufacturer is aware of it. At this time, they do not have a fix and we are left with a car without a reliably operable backup camera.
NHTSA complaint #11496181 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Pittsburgh, PA
BACK OVER PREVENTION: REARVIEW SYSTEM BRAKING
Shortly after taking delivery of our new car, the camera system for the rear backup camera and all other surround view cameras malfunctioned. Upon shifting into reverse the screen that would normally show the rear of the car and the car's surroundings was all white. Changing the camera view did not fix the problem. The system functioned normally the next time we started the car, but then failed again later the next day. The failure in the camera system makes backing out of the garage and a public parking space less safe. It is also extremely annoying for this to happen on a new car when the cameras would be especially helpful while getting used to the new nightlines. There were no alerts in the car either time the failure occurred. The dealer was unable to replicate the failure, but states the manufacturer is aware of it. At this time, they do not have a fix and we are left with a car without a reliably operable backup camera.
NHTSA complaint #11496181 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.