2018 Audi Q5: True Cost, Problems & Verdict
198 NHTSA owner complaints · 6 recalls · data-computed verdict. No opinions — public data only.
Reviewed by the MotorJury data desk · 2 sources · Last updated 2026-08-20
198 NHTSA owner complaints · 6 recalls · data-computed verdict. No opinions — public data only.
Complaints per year on the road: 24.75
Verbatim reports filed with the United States safety regulator (NHTSA) by owners of this exact model year. Public record.
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 requires highly restricted, specialized Audi factory programming and coding software, forcing consum…
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 third car, in turn, bumped a fourth car. Safety: The air bags did not deploy. The potential for significant injury…
The rear view camera is not operating when shifting to reverse. I can demonstrate this malfunction at any time to anyone. Driver is unable to detect short objects or small children directly behind the vehicle. The problem was confirmed by the dealer during a service visit. At that time, the service technician checked power and ground to the control unit and verified good. Attempted calibration for camera, vehicle wou…
What the community is saying right now.
| Campaign | Component | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| 18V369000 | Service Brakes, Hydraulic:Foundation Com | Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018 Volkswagen Atlas, Passat, Beetle, Beetle Convertible, Golf, Golf Sp… |
| 19V416000 | Wheels:Hub | Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Audi Q5 and SQ5 vehicles. The wheel arch cover trim may loose… |
| 19V277000 | Service Brakes, Hydraulic:Foundation Com | Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Audi Q5 and SQ5 vehicles. The brake master cylinder casting may be … |
| 21V947000 | Electrical System:Body Control Module/Bc | Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Q5 Sportback, SQ5 Sportback, 2018-2022 Q5, and SQ5 vehicles. A liqu… |
| 19V737000 | Structure:Body | Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Audi SQ5 and 2018-2020 Audi Q5 vehicles. The rear wheel arch cover … |
| 16V955000 | Seat Belts:Pretensioner | Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2017 Audi A7, A4, A6, Volkswagen Golf and Tiguan vehicles and… |
EPA combined 25 MPG · estimated annual fuel cost $3,050
Re-priced automatically from your country's retail fuel, electricity and parts indices — change country in the bar at the top. Estimates; see methodology.
The most-reported issue in NHTSA complaint data is Electrical System (68 complaints in our indexed sample).
Our data verdict is AVOID with a reliability score of 33/100, computed from 198 NHTSA complaints and 6 recall campaigns. See the verdict card for the top reasons.
Yes — NHTSA lists 6 recall campaign(s) for the 2018 Audi Q5, 4 of them touching fire, crash or stall risk, the most recent recorded 01/06/2018. Check this car's VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before you buy.
Fuel, maintenance band and depreciation — computed from public data in 10 seconds.
Open the true-cost calculatorComplaints & recalls: NHTSA ·
Fuel economy: EPA fueleconomy.gov ·
Scoring: our published methodology.
Maintenance bands are industry-average estimates (AAA Your Driving Costs, CarMD index) — labeled estimates, not measurements.
Last updated: 2026-08-20.