2011 Audi Q5: complaints, problems and recalls

WHILE TAKING A LEFT TURN ACROSS TRAFFIC, THE AUDI Q5 3.2 TRANSMISSION FAILED WHILE SHIFTING FROM 1ST TO 2ND GEAR. THE AUDI Q5 STOPPED AND WOULD NOT CONTINUE TO DRIVE. THE ENGINE SEEMED TO BE WORKING PROPERLY; HOWEVER, THE GEARS WOULD NOT ENGAGE AND THE CAR WOULD NOT DRIVE. THE AUDI Q5 DISPLAYED AN ERROR MESSAGE "GEARBOX MALFUNCTION; YOU CAN CONTINUE DRIVING (LIMITED FUNCTIONALITY)". AFTER REPEATEDLY RESTARTING THE AUDI Q5 AND ATTEMPTING TO SHIFT THE TRANSMISSION IT EVENTAULLY ENGAGED THE GEARS ALLOWING THE CAR TO BE DRIVEN OUT OF TRAFFIC.

Owner-reported narrative. 239 miles reported. Look up ODI 10364634 at NHTSA ↗

WIPERS DO NOT KEEP WINDSHIELD CLEAR IN WINTER SNOW AND ICE DRIVING CONDITIONS. WIPERS FREEZE UP AND DO NOT CLEAR WINDSHIELD, SERIOUSLY COMPROMISING VISIBILITY AND CAUSING DANGEROUS VEHICLE OPERATION. DESIGN IS PROPRIETARY AND AUDI DO NOT OFFER WINTER BLADES TO REMEDY THIS SITUATION. PLEASE NOTE, THIS IS FOR AN AUDI A4 QUATTRO, NOT Q5 AS YOUR WEB SITE ONLY ACKNOWLEDGES THE A3 AND Q5 AS CHOICES FOR VEHICLES. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 350 miles reported. Look up ODI 10370862 at NHTSA ↗

CRANK SENSOR FAILURE AND AND FUEL PUMP FAILURE. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 3,300 miles reported. Look up ODI 10430034 at NHTSA ↗

AT APPROXIMATELY 6:00 PM THE EVENING OF FEBRUARY 10, 2013, I WAS RETURNING WITH MY MOM (FRONT PASSENGER) ON I-66E HEADED BACK HOME, A VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME STOPPED SUDDENLY BECAUSE A VEHICLE IN FRONT OF HER STOPPED FOR NO APPARENT REASON. I ENGAGED MY BRAKES AND HAD COME TO A COMPLETE STOP WITHOUT TOUCHING THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME AND THEN THE NEXT THING I KNOW I CAME IN CONTACT WITH HER BUMPER. WE THOUGHT INITIALLY WE HAD BEEN HIT FROM BEHIND, HOWEVER, AFTER INSPECTING MY REAR BUMPER THERE SEEMED TO BE NO INDICATION THAT HAD OCCURRED. EVEN THE …

Owner-reported narrative. 12,543 miles reported. Look up ODI 10547597 at NHTSA ↗

MY CAR (2011 AUDI Q5) ENGINE ABRUPTLY SHUT DOWN AT LOW SPEED TWICE ON THE SAME DAY, ONCE AT A STOP SIGN AND SECOND TIME WHILE BACKING OUT OF THE GARAGE. ABOUT 2 WEEKS AGO, THE CAR STOPPED WHILE TRYING TO PULL OUT OF A PARKING LOT AT SPEED OF ABOUT 10 MPH OR LESS. FUEL TANK WAS MORE THAN HALF FULL AND BATTERY IS GOOD TOO. CAR IS LESS THAN 3 YEARS OLD WITH SERVICE DATE STARTING MAY 2011. VAGCOM ANALYSIS WHEN CONNECTING THE CAR OBDI PORT TO MY LAPTOP INDICATES FAULT CODES 4732, 4735 AMONG SEVERAL OTHERS RELATING TO MISFIRING CYLINDERS AND FAULTS I…

Owner-reported narrative. 42,657 miles reported. Look up ODI 10568011 at NHTSA ↗

LESS THAN 1 YR AFTER I PURCHASED MY VEHICLE, I BEGAN HAVING PROBLEMS WITH OIL CONSUMPTION. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER AND THEY DID OIL CONSUMPTION TEST AND REPLACED CRANKCASE BREATHER VALVE AND FRONT MAIN SEAL & ECM UPDATE. HIGH OIL CONSUMPTION CONTINUED, DEALER STATED THAT IT WAS ACCEPTABLE AS LONG AS IT WAS 1200 OR MORE PER 1/4 QT OF OIL. I HAVE COMPLAINED SEVERAL TIMES AND DEALER SAYS IT IS NORMAL FOR THE CAR. NOW, I AM PAST MY WARRANTY AND THE CAR IS CONSUMING 1/4 QUART OIL TO 760 MILES. AFTER SOME RESEARCH ON INTERNET FOUND THAT MANY PEOP…

Owner-reported narrative. 93,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10575201 at NHTSA ↗

VEHICLE IS BURNING AND CONSUMING OIL. I TAKE TO DEALER FOR OIL CHANGES AND LAST ONE INDICATED GREAT. EVERY 4 DAYS I HAVE TO PUT A QUART OF OIL IN THE TRUCK. I ONLY HAVE 67,000 MILES AND NO WARRANTY. AUDI ISN'T TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE CAR. AND THERE ARE NO BULLETINS OR RECALLS FROM AUDI ALTHOUGH I'VE READ NUMEROUS POST ABOUT OIL CONSUMPTION IN THE AUDI Q5. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 67,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10594710 at NHTSA ↗

I PURCHASED A CERTIFIED PREOWNED AUDI Q5 LAST MARCH 2013. THE VEHICLE WAS RUNNING FINE. NO PROBLEMS OR CONCERNS. I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO AN AUDI DEALER IN FEBRUARY 2014 FOR AN ANNUAL SERVICE AND ALSO IN MARCH 2014 FOR MY YEARLY INSPECTION/EMISSIONS TESTING. ON APRIL 2014, I HAD LOSS THE VEHICLE DUE TO AN UNKNOWN FIRE THAT HAD STARTED IN THE CAR. YES, MY CAR WAS ENGULFED IN FIRE! PRIOR TO THIS FIRE, I HAD NO PROBLEMS OR MESSAGES ON MY DASHBOARD OR SMELLED SMOKE WHILE I HAD DROVE THE CAR. THE CAR WAS RUNNING FINE UP UNTIL THAT DAY. I HAVE NO…

Owner-reported narrative. 55,975 miles reported. Look up ODI 10595254 at NHTSA ↗

Reported: 2016-02-10 (February 10, 2016)

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2010-2014 Golf, 2007-2010 Passat sedans and wagon, 2012-2014 Passat sedan and Eos, 2009-2014 CC, 2009-2012 Audi Q5, 2010-2012 S5 Cabriolet and 2010-2012 Audi A5 Cabriolet vehicles. Upon deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to rupture.

Consequence: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's frontal air bag inflators, free of charge. Volkswagen issued an interim notification to owners on April 12, 2016, and will send a second notification when parts are available. Volkswagen will notify owners again once parts are available. Volkswagen owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Audi owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834.

Reported: 2016-09-13 (September 13, 2016)

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2009-2012 Audi Q5, and 2007-2012 Audi Q7 vehicles equipped with gasoline engines. The fuel pump flange on the affected vehicles may crack, allowing fuel to leak.

Consequence: A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source increases the risk of a fire.

Remedy: Audi will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the flange, replacing any flanges that are cracked. If the flange is not cracked, dealers will clean the pump flange and install a butyl rubber band to protect the pump. These repairs will be made free of charge. The recall began November 9, 2016. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 20W9.

Reported: 2017-01-03 (January 3, 2017)

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2011-2017 Audi Q5 vehicles. The sunroof drainage system may allow water to soak into the foam surrounding the side head air bag inflator canister resulting in the corrosion of the canister. If this happens, the corrosion can weaken the canister and the inflator could fracture without air bag deployment, propelling fragments into the passenger compartment, striking and causing serious injury to vehicle occupants.

Consequence: An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy: Audi will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the inflator and either coat it or replace it, as necessary, after removing the surrounding foam, free of charge. The recall is expected to began March 2017. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69P1.

Reported: 2018-01-30 (January 30, 2018)

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2006-2013 Audi A3, 2007-2009 A4 Cabriolet and S4 Cabriolet, 2008 RS4 Cabriolet, 2009-2012 Q5, and 2010-2012 Audi A5 Cabriolet and S5 Cabriolet vehicles. Upon deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to explode.

Consequence: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could explode with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy: Audi will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's frontal air bag inflator with an alternative inflator, free of charge. The recall began February 23, 2018. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69R6. Note: This recall partially supersedes recall 16V-078.

Reported: 2018-11-19 (November 19, 2018)

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2007-2012 Audi Q7 and 2009-2012 Audi Q5 vehicles, previously repaired under NHTSA recall 16V-660. These vehicles were previously repaired with an interim repair of installing butyl tape to the fuel pump flange, until replacement remedy parts became available.

Consequence: The butyl tape may not prevent fuel from leaking. A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source can increase the risk of a fire.

Remedy: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel pump flange and install butyl tape, free of charge. The recall began December 28, 2018. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 20BJ.