2018 Audi Q5 Electrical System Problems

Unpublished costly catastropic electrical failure Audi of America reviewed the case and declined assistance solely because the vehicle was already totaled and unavailable for dealer inspection. Audi did not dispute the presence of water intrusion, the technical findings, or the cause of failure. This failure occurred without warning under ordinary environmental conditions and resulted in sudden loss of vehicle function. I am submitting this complaint to document a potential defect related to the protection and placement of electronic systems vulnerable to water exposure. I am submitting this complaint to report a potential safety-related defect involving water intrusion and catastrophic electrical failure in a 2018 Audi S5. After a heavy rain event with no roadway flooding or submersion, my vehicle experienced complete electrical failure and would not start. Inspection revealed water intrusion into the trunk area where critical electronic components—including the battery and electronic control modules—are located. The damage was extensive and rendered the vehicle inoperable, resulting in a total loss determination. Attached documentation includes photographs, video evidence, and a technical inspection summary prepared by an independent automotive service facility and reviewed in consultation with Audi-trained technicians. The findings indicate water intrusion consistent with design vulnerability rather than misuse or lack of maintenance.

My car randomly rebooting while driving. The whole MMI goes down

The contact owns a 2018 Audi Q5. The contact stated that while driving 35-40 MPH and accelerating, the vehicle lost motive power. The contact pulled to the side of the road, and the vehicle was able to restart. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the body control module(BCM) was floating in water. The vehicle was not repaired. The local dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was contacted and informed the contact that the vehicle was previously repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V947000 (Electrical System, Structure), and the additional repairs were at the contact's expense. The contact stated that the recall remedy was inadequate for the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 58,000.

The contact owns a 2018 Audi Q5. The contact stated that while pulling into a business at an undisclosed speed, there was an unknown warning light illuminated, and the message "Left and Right Rear Signal and Center Rear Brake Light Malfunction" was displayed. Additionally, the contact stated that the key warning light and engine malfunction warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was determined that there was water intrusion into the rear cargo area of the vehicle, due to a clogged drain. The contact was informed that the drain tube needed to be cleaned, the module needed to be replaced, and the vehicle needed to be rewired. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 83,000.

BCM

A coil that is attached underneath the sunroof is attached to the BCM. There is not a drain plug at the end so there was 5 inches of water there and the BCM was made to sit in that spot. The electrical wires and BCM were burned out because of this. The BCM controls the entire system not limited to the start button and everything that runs the car. I have only had the vehicle less than 1 year and it costs 4000 dollars to fix. My car has been at the dealership since June 9th.

My vehicle spontaneously began displaying emergency signals including engine malfunction, turn signal malfunction, parking brake malfunction, brake light malfunction. I would also turn the car completely off and brake lights would remain on asymetrically. Also, the related alert bells would go off intermittently. I have kept my car in good repair and on a regular maintanence schedule. I took the car first to my mechanic who evaluated and said I should take to the Audi dealership. After two days of diagnosis, they came back that the sunroof drains were clogged with debris which definitively caused water to enter and soak the "comfort module" After irrigating them, they did not find any damage and said they do not need replacement. However, the water soaked and heavily corroded the comfort module and say the entire module needs to be replaced along with a rebuild of the harness. They are quoting me $12,300. My safety was at risk in the malfunction of the engine system, and especially signalling capabilities and possible brake impact. The problem has been confirmed by two mechanics - mine and Audi I searched online and have discovered a number of other 2018 Audi Q5 owner accounts of the same and similar defect and result. [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Turns out numerous complaints about water finding its way onto the computer comfort module. It is well known. Audi techs admitted it is due a bad design by Audi. There are no indications or warnings something is going wrong. Module gets fried and vehicle shuts off. Can't even shift or take out of Park. Insurances do not want to cover due it being water related. Audi does not want to repair due to no recall. They want approx $10,000.00 per occurrence when this happens. Definitely not fair to consumers to have to pay this or total their vehicles. My car only has 50k miles.

WATER SEEPED INTO COMFORT CONTROL MODULE VIA BLOCKED SUNROOF DRAIN HOSES AND DAMAGED ELECTRICAL. THERE WAS A RECALL FOR THE SAME ISSUE REGADING THE GATEWAY CONTROL MODULE WHICH ALLOWS SHOPS TO ADD A PROTECTIVE COVER. THIS SAME RECALL NEEDS TO BE ON THE COMFORT CONTROL MODULE SINCE THE WAY THEY DESIGNED THE SUNROOF DRAINS ALLOWS FOR WATER TO SEEP INTO THE CC MODULE. THIS IS A RIDICULOUS DESIGN THAT REQUIRES A 11K DOLLAR REPAIR FOR CUSTOMERS.

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 would not calibrate. The vehicle has not been inspected by any other agencies. There were no warning messages, or lamps or any other symptoms prior to the failure.

Water intrusion from sunroof floods electronics modules and shorting out, making the car unoperable

2018 Audi Q5 comfort System Control Module is faulty due to corrosion from water and or humidity. No incidents have occurred with my vehicle that has less than 70k miles. I purchased the vehicle as a certified pre-owned with 7700 miles on the car. The dealership claims that outside forces have cause the module to corrode and that I am responsible for the 10k payment to replace and/or repair.

The Audi Q5 sunroof drain that is intended to keep water out of the vehicle, leaked where water collected and pooled in the car beneath the car liner. The water collected on the "comfort module" and electrical fuse box resulting in immediate electrical failure of several vehicle features/systems including brake lights, turn signals, reverse lights, windshield wipers, etc. to name a few. In addition to repairs in excess of $10k, the vehicle will be totaled by the insurance company. After an exhaustive search, several Audi users of the same make, model and year have faced a similar issue. This issue must be addressed by Audi and should be reviewed immediately.

Roof drains clogged resulting in water filling the interior left rear wheelwell where ligting control modules are stored and are not waterproofed. Design defect allowing water incursion into an electrical connection system that is not waterproofed resulted in sudden and immediate multiple lighting system failure, road hazard.

2018 Audi Q5 (2.0, 40K miles, excellent condition) experienced severe electronic failure, due to sunroof drainage lines depositing water into the rear side wells where sensitive electronics are housed, impacting all tail-lights, wipers, sensors, internal dashboard sensors, etc., rendering the car highly unsafe and undrivable. The issue is a design and manufacturer defect that has allowed rainwater to leak into the rear side compartments destroying sensitive electronics & wiring, from faulty/kinked drain lines in the sunroof (according to the Audi Technician from my local Audi store), rendering the vehicle undrivable. It was obvious, repeatable, and avoidable. Worse this issue was misdiagnosed by the same Audi store, causing extra parts & labor expenses that didn't solve anything. It took my AUDI store OVER a MONTH to diagnose the issue correctly. There were also significant investigative/diagnostic charges from my Audi Dealership. There were also significant repair expenses to replace all water-logged equipment, including the Electronics Control Unit (ECU). This should be a clear recall item.

The comfort control module in the trunk of the car was sitting in water due to an ingress of water coming in the car. The car would not start due to this water ingress and could have shut off completely on the freeway or while driving. This caused my car to completely shut off and malfunction. There were no warning lamps or messages of the problem. I found out about the problem by taking the car to the Audi dealership. They originally thought the problem was the gateway module which has already been recalled due to the same problem of an ingress of water. The Audi dealership has claimed that the ingress of water is from a clogged drain pipe in the sunroof. They said there is nothing you can do to prevent this from happening.

The contact owns a 2018 Audi Q5. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, several unknown warning lights were illuminated. Additionally, the turn signals were inoperable. The contact pulled over and noticed that the rear lights including brake lights and turn signals were not operational. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the cause was diagnosed as a sunroof drain line leakage that caused electrical damage due to water build-up, which damaged the control module. The contact stated that the drain lines needed to be unclogged and the control module needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the vehicle was at the dealer awaiting the repairs. The contact was concerned that the Owner’s Manual did not guide sunroof maintenance to prevent the failure. The contact opened the rear hatch and found water accumulation under the mat. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 85,000.

Starter button does not work. use of emergency start only. Dealership says rain water running off car towards the back, gets into the wiring and causes massive damage. getting a bill of over $11,000 There are recalls on this for other Q5 years but not 2018.

The contact owns a 2018 Audi Q5. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed at night, upon reaching the destination, the contact became aware that the headlights would not turn off. After which, the vehicle failed to restart, and the vehicle was towed. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V947000 (Electrical System, Structure); the VIN was included, but the vehicle had already been repaired under the recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was unknown.

Car was left outside for two weeks while we were gone on a trip. When we returned and attempted to start the car numerous warning lights went off related to turn signals, tail lights, engine ignition, key recognition, etc. We were able to drive the car home but the turn signals and tail lights were malfunctioning and the engine would lose power unexpectedly. Upon researching on AudiWorld Forums I came to learn I should check to see if there was any moisture in certain areas, including the rear fuse box area at the rear of the car. I checked that location and found many inches of water in the fusebox!!! I learned that MANY, MANY people with q5s have had the same problem which is RAINWATER ENTERING THE VEHICLES ELECTRICAL SYSTEM DUE TO NON-OPERABLE SUNROOF DRAIN PORTS. Yes, I searched and found an unrelated recall 90s9 but the dealer said this was not the issue, the issue is non-operable sunroof drains and the repair cost is $8,000. Having no idea of the danger I was placing my family in by driving this vehicle while its electrical system was swamped with water, I feel a class action lawsuit should be brought against the company for damages for material, labor, as well as the risk of injury or death I placed my wife and I in by driving this vehicle under such unsafe conditions. I noted there was a suit settled for this issue with other models, but not the 2018 q5. [XXX] V Audi/Volkswagon [XXX] . The idea that someone should have to face death for leaving their car in the rain does not even pass the laugh test. Someone in Audi's risk management department needs to address this and make owners whole again. Please advise. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)