2018 Audi Q5 problems & reliability
197 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2018 Audi Q5, alongside 6 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
4 complaints report injuries (5 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2018 Audi Q5 vehicles were involved in 22 fatal crashes with 6 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Electrical System | 68 | 35% |
| Unknown OR Other | 43 | 22% |
| Engine | 30 | 15% |
| Suspension | 24 | 12% |
| Service Brakes | 21 | 11% |
| Structure | 20 | 10% |
| Forward Collision Avoidance | 18 | 9% |
| Air Bags | 12 | 6% |
| Exterior Lighting | 12 | 6% |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 12 | 6% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 17,750 miles (middle 50% between 5,938 and 55,750 miles), based on 60 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“My 2018 Audi Q5 experienced significant water intrusion due to a failure of the panoramic sunroof drain system. Water entered the vehicle interior and traveled down into the electrical compartment, submerging the comfort module and damaging multiple wiring harnesses. This caused the vehicle to become inoperable and…”
Exterior Lighting · filed Jul 17, 2026
“I wrote Audi to request escalation of an unresolved issue involving my 2018 Audi Q5, related to Safety Recall 90S9 (NHTSA Campaign 21V947000) for the gateway control module. Summary of the issue: My vehicle recently experienced a complete gateway control module failure due to water intrusion. I lost steering and brake…”
Service Brakes · filed Jul 16, 2026
“The dashboard displayed a solid red brake light with a flashing warning “stop vehicle safely” light. A professional diagnostic scan confirmed a permanent hard fault on the ABS control Module (J104) and Hydraulic Unit (N55). The vehicle has only 66,755 miles. Independent repair shops cannot service this unit because it…”
Service Brakes · filed Jun 16, 2026
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Technical service bulletins
1,067 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2018 Audi Q5. The 10 most recent:
This bulletin provides a statement regarding the bottleneck of supply for VW approved oil types VW 504.00 and VW 507.00.
TSB_2082846_1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 27, 2026
This bulletin provides information when DTC B105A1A, B103E25 is stored in 0017; fuel tank level implausible.
TSB_2081573_4 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 13, 2026
This service information TSB provides warranty coverage information for vehicles with a broken sunroof panel.
TSB_2078648_2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 10, 2026
This bulletin provides informatoinw hent here are scratches or a coating on the cover of the instrument cluster, or particles inside of the housing.
TSB_2073747_4 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 9, 2026
This bulletin provides information when there is a film/visible rings on the clear glass cover of the headlight when the dipped beam is switched on.
TSB_2073282_1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 9, 2026
This bulletin provides information when DTC B105A1A, B103E25 is stored in 0017; fuel tank level implausible.
TSB_2081573_3 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 2, 2026
This bulletin provides information when there is increased oil consumption; >0.5ltr/1000 km.
TSB_2074640_3 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 26, 2026
This bulletin provides informaitn when there is a warning messsage; "Instrument cluster: fault. Limited warning messages. Please contact workshop"; DTC B200096.
TSB_2069331_7 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 23, 2026
This bulletin provides information when there are noises from the area around the instrument cluster.
TSB_2059335_7 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 23, 2026
This bulletin provides informationwhen noises/vibration are detected from front of vehicle in dynamic mode.
TSB_2074729_3 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 23, 2026
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 2018 Audi Q5 has 6 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2018 Audi Q5?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 17,750 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.