The 2018 Audi Q5 has 6 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 618,247 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 313 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the electrical system. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
STRUCTURE21V9470002021-12-08288,991 affected
Defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Q5 Sportback, SQ5 Sportback, 2018-2022 Q5, and SQ5 vehicles. A liquid spill in the rear seat, or water ingress from an insufficient body seam underneath the vehicle may allow liquid to penetrate the gateway control module, causing it to shutdown.
Consequence
A gateway control module shutdown will suddenly reduce engine power, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Dealers will install a protective cover on the gateway control module and seal an underbody seam as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 21, 2022. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 90S9.
STRUCTURE19V7370002019-10-16174,278 affected
Defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Audi SQ5 and 2018-2020 Audi Q5 vehicles. The rear wheel arch cover trim may loosen and detach from the vehicle.
Consequence
The detached trim may become a road hazard, increasing the risk of crash.
Remedy
Audi will notify owners, and dealers will replace the four clips securing the forward part of the rear wheel arch trim, free of charge. The recall began November 1, 2019. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 66K8.
WHEELS19V4160002019-06-05126,161 affected
Defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Audi Q5 and SQ5 vehicles. The wheel arch cover trim may loosen and detach.
Consequence
The detached trim may become a road hazard, increasing the risk of crash.
Remedy
Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will secure the wheel arch trim with an additional screw and nut, free of charge. The recall began July 26, 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 66K6.
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC19V2770002019-04-0812,645 affected
Defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Audi Q5 and SQ5 vehicles. The brake master cylinder casting may be too short.
Consequence
A short casting can cause a sudden loss of brakes, increasing the risk of crash. The electronic parking brake and its emergency brake function are not affected and will still function.
Remedy
Audi has notified owners, and dealers will inspect the brake master cylinder, replacing it as necessary, free of charge. The recall began May 3, 2019. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 47O9.
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC18V3690002018-06-0110,225 affected
Defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018 Volkswagen Atlas, Passat, Beetle, Beetle Convertible, Golf, Golf SportWagen and GTI and Audi Q5 and SQ5 vehicles. The brake caliper pistons on these vehicles may have insufficient coating, potentially reducing the brake performance.
Consequence
A reduction of braking performance can increase the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Volkswagen and Audi will notify their owners. Audi dealers will bleed the rear brakes. Volkswagen dealers will bleed the front and rear brake calipers. Note: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the brake system has been checked. The recall began June 29, 2018. Owners may contact Volkswagen…
SEAT BELTS16V9550002016-12-295,947 affected
Defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2017 Audi A7, A4, A6, Volkswagen Golf and Tiguan vehicles and 2016 Volkswagen e-Golf vehicles for driver frontal air bags, passenger frontal air bags or head air bags that may not deploy properly. Additionally, certain 2017 Audi Q7, A4…
Consequence
In the event of a crash, if the air bags and/or the seat belt pretensioners do not inflate or function properly, the vehicle occupants have an increased risk of injury.
Remedy
Volkswagen and Audi will notify owners, and dealers will replace the affected air bags and seat belt pretensioners, free of charge. The recall began April 2017. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298 or Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834.
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“The dashboard displayed a solid red brake light with a flashing warning “stop vehicle safelyâ€� 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…”
“The dashboard displayed a solid red brake light with a flashing warning “stop vehicle safelyâ€� 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…”
“The contact owns a 2018 audi q5. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine seized. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start. The contact replaced the battery. The contact stated while…”
“I was driving home from the farmers market with my two young kids. I was turning left at a busy intersection when the engine died and an engine warning flashed on the dash (I don't recall the exact message; it sounded catastrophic). There were no "check engine" or any other warning messages prior…”
“Title - sudden loss of steering control while driving – 2018 audi q5 (aug 2024) while driving my 2018 audi q5 at normal road speeds, the vehicle experienced a sudden and complete loss of power steering assist. A dashboard alert stating “power steering malfunctionâ€� appeared simultaneously…”
“I was pulling slowly into a parking space at a grocery store, with my right foot on the brake, nearly stopped. Then the car rapidly and suddenly accelerated unintentionally. The car jumped over a bush, a median, rammed into a parked car, pushing it across the next parking lane into a third car.…”
“The seat occupancy detection system is malfunctioning. The passenger airbag warning light activates when a passenger occupies the passenger seat and the passenger overhead reading light remains on when the seat is occupied including overnight. These are established symptoms of seat occupancy…”
“The seat occupancy detection system is malfunctioning. The passenger airbag warning light activates when a passenger occupies the passenger seat and the passenger overhead reading light remains on when the seat is occupied including overnight. These are established symptoms of seat occupancy…”
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2018 Audi Q5 as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
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