Back-over prevention, steering, and powertrain issues are among the main causes of complaints received by the NHTSA from vehicle owners
When a consumer wants a luxury SUV, there are a few top choices to consider, including the 2022 Audi Q5. After all, the automaker claims that the Q5 is “the SUV other SUVs wish they could be.” Do other SUVs hope to have ridiculous defects that irritate consumers? The Audi Q5 lineup meets these expectations with a defective electrical system and malfunctioning back up prevention.
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Initial complaints about the 2023 Audi Q5 to the National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA) are linked to back-over prevention, electrical system, engine, powertrain, steering, and wheel problems. Most are identified as safety issues.
Specific issues are varied but include the rear wheels of the Q5 slipping and shaking on the highway, camera systems malfunctioning, and a complaint that a new Q5 under recall has been sold unlawfully by a dealer.
There is also one complaint listed under Unknown or Other from an owner in New Jersey. This states that when the Q5 is programmed to open and close garage doors, it must be running to use the feature.
The owner states: “This means that you must start the car BEFORE opening the garage door when you want to pull out. And likewise, you need to close the garage door before turning off the motor when you pull into the garage. I consider this a safety defect. The garage door should always be open before you start the car and the car should be off before you close the door.”
| Complaint Category | Number of Complaints |
|---|---|
| Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking | |
| Electrical System | |
| Unknown Or Other | |
| Engine | |
| Forward Collision Avoidance: Warnings | |
| Service Brakes | |
| Air Bags | |
| Back Over Prevention: Rearview System Braking | |
| Back Over Prevention: Warnings | |
| Power Train |
There is 1 active recall that affects the 2023 Audi Q5. NHTSA Campaign Number 22V753000, dating back to October 7, 2022, was instigated by damaged connectivity rod bearings. It states that these rod bearings can result in engine failure if they become damaged. This increases the risk of a crash. Additionally, if the engine does fail, this could cause an oil leak, and in rare cases can increase the risk of a fire.
A total of 74,071 vehicles have been recalled by the automaker, Volkswagen Group of America. Inc. These include 2022-2023 VW Atlas and 2021-2023 Audi Q5 Sportback vehicles.
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A complaint relating to an Audi Q5 E is listed as both a back-over prevention and an electrical system problem. It relates to the Q5’s camera system. The owner, from Pennsylvania, was told that VW was aware of the problem.
“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 night lines. There were no alerts in the car either, (or the) 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.”
An owner in Texas identifies the problem with his new Q5 that has only 1,000 miles on the clock as being related to steering, powertrain, and the wheels of the SUV. It’s so bad, he reckons “a recall may be needed here!”
“Whenever I take an exit from a highway, (the) vehicle’s rear wheel slips and shakes. It shakes and slips when I change lanes on a curvy highway such as Hardy Toll Road in Houston.” Because it has happened several times, according to the complaint, he was planning to take the vehicle to the dealer to have it checked out.
Comments on Edmunds mention other problems. The owner of a Prestige 4-door SUV states that the adaptive cruise control suddenly disengaged from 75 to 55 mph. “There has been no rhyme or reason as to why the cruise would disengage when it did. Many times, there were no cars ahead of us, no sharp curves, (and) sometimes just a slight dip in the interstate pavement. Personally, I think the predictive assist is unsafe since it did this several times with someone following way too closely behind us.”
Additionally, the same owner states that the parking assist feature activates while they back out of parking spaces, “blaring at us, and flashing red lights at us. It even tried to activate when we were sitting in three lanes of traffic at stoplights. Same thing, blaring an alarm, and warning us we were too close to the cars on either side of us.”
Another owner states “the car experienced a full system failure while driving” when it had only 300 miles on it. “Every warning light came on, denoting failure of each system – brakes, steering, stabilization” … it seemed as if everything was failing. The dealership was reportedly “unconcerned.” But, the Q5 “has repeated this failure like clockwork every 3-400 miles, now with 2,000 miles on it. The dealership has been alerted each time with the car now having spent over a month in their possession with NO apologies and NO answers.”
Nobody wants to find themselves sitting with a lemon vehicle. But if you suspect that you have bought a lemon, do something about it. The good news is that you’re not on your own. Lemberg Law will assess the problems you are experiencing to see how sound your case against the manufacturer is.
We have been helping vehicle owners for many years, and we have negotiated many settlements on their behalf.
So, if you’d like us to assess your problems, free of charge, contact us by calling our Helpline or filling out a contact form. The good news for you is that the law says that Volkswagen must pay the legal fees for lemon law cases involving all their vehicles, including Audi Q5s. This means that you won’t be out of pocket.
Brian Jones spent more than 30 years working as an ASE Certified Master Tech and Parts Specialist at multiple dealerships. Brian has become an authority in the industry, traveling across the country to consult for car dealerships and contributing his expertise as a writer for several major automotive publications. In his spare time, Brian enjoys working on pickup trucks, muscle cars, Jeeps and anything related to motorsports.
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