Audi SQ5 vs Mercedes Benz E Class

Both cars' complete complaint records, side by side.

Read the totals carefully. NHTSA publishes no sales figures, so the car that sold more collects more complaints regardless of quality. The rows worth weighing are the proportions — the share of complaints that involved harm, and which part dominates.

Measure	Audi SQ5	Mercedes Benz E Class
Complaints on file	168	412
Model years covered	2013–2026	1993–2008
Worst model year	2018	2003
Best model year	2015	1996
Crashes reported	5	14
Fires reported	0	12
Injuries reported	6	8
Deaths reported	0	0
Most complained-about part	Driver Assist & Collision Avoidance	Electrical System
Share of complaints involving harm	6.5%	8.3%

Audi SQ5 by year

1 13 10 6 5 40 26 12 19 5 4 10 13 4

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Driver Assist & Collision Avoidance 24 14.3%

Engine & Cooling 22 13.1%

Electrical System 22 13.1%

Steering 15 8.9%

Other & Unspecified 13 7.7%

Transmission & Drivetrain 11 6.5%

Body & Structure 10 6.0%

Brakes 9 5.4%

Mercedes Benz E Class by year

9 46 29 18 43 31 20 61 33 8 69 19 10 11 5

93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 08

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Electrical System 99 24.0%

Suspension 57 13.8%

Fuel & Propulsion 39 9.5%

Engine & Cooling 38 9.2%

Brakes 34 8.3%

Transmission & Drivetrain 20 4.9%

Body & Structure 18 4.4%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 17 4.1%