2019 Audi Q5

A failed (frozen) Turbocharger Wastegate Actuator. An engine warning light came on and engine had less power. It had to be replaced. There was a settled law suit for the same issue covering this item in previous vehicles settled in 2025.

am writing to report a very concerning safety issue with my 2019 Audi Q5 and to request guidance on whether this may be covered under warranty or if my vehicle is experiencing a malfunction. On Saturday, while driving to an appointment, there was a bicyclist in the bike lane. Suddenly, the “Audi Presence” warning flashed red on my dashboard and the vehicle braked very hard on its own. I was not close to hitting the bicyclist and there was no imminent collision risk. The sudden braking was extremely frightening and could have caused an accident if a car had been behind me. It took quite a while for me to calm down and get my breathing back to normal after the incident. Then this morning, I received a dashboard warning that said: “Drive system: malfunction! Please contact service.” I am very concerned that this may be a malfunction of the automatic emergency braking or driver assistance system, especially after the unexpected hard braking incident. This feels like a serious safety issue. I am very concerned and very unhappy, as this situation felt dangerous and could have resulted in an accident.

My 2019 Audi Q5 has 23,300 city-driven odometer miles. The vehicle has been serviced and maintained per the Audi Service Manual, based on months in service, not accumulated mileage. The vehicle has been garaged both at home and at work. The vehicle has never been driven off-road. When driving, an “All-wheel Drive: malfunction! You may continue driving. Please contact Service” warning message sounded and appeared on the instrument panel. The malfunction was diagnosed by Audi Honolulu and another Audi repair shop as a Shift Fork Unit issue and/or Quattro differential failure, which needs to be replaced. Audi has has a Technical Service Bulletin for a similar problem for the Q5. Audi Honolulu and Audi America refuses to provide a goodwill repair citing the age of the Q5. While the vehicle is 7 years old, a Shift Fork or Quattro Differential should not fail at 23,300 miles, regardless of age. I have been told by both repair facilities that the Shift Fork Unit or Quattro Differential could suddenly fully fail and seize causing a sudden loss of forward movement. I am afraid that if this happens at freeway speeds coming to a sudden stop could cause serious injury and if a vehicle behind mine slammed into me at freeway speeds a catastrophic or deadly accident could occur, especially at night or in inclement weather conditions.

The contact owns a 2019 Audi Q5. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 MPH, the vehicle stopped and jerked, and the RED master warning light illuminated, and the message “Electrical Control Module” failure was displayed. On other occasions, while driving at undisclosed speeds, the turn signals and brake lights failed to operate as intended, and the message "Faulty Brake Light" was displayed. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was diagnosed, and determined that there was water trapped in the clogged sunroof drain, and the water leaked, and the control module was covered in water. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 95,000.

The motor mounts and control arms are defective. The defective motor mounts that secure the engine causes the engine to shake resulting in collapse while driving. Both front control arms over the wheels are defective make clicking noises when turning resulting in the collapse of the car while driving. These problems were discovered by the dealer during a routine maintenance inspection. The warning lights did appear to have the vehicle inspected,

Component: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING Summary: The turbocharger on my 2019 Audi Q5 failed prematurely. The initial check engine light and loss of performance began at approximately 48,000 miles, which is within Audi’s 4-year/50,000-mile powertrain warranty. The condition progressively worsened and the vehicle became difficult to drive safely in traffic due to reduced power and hesitation during acceleration. The turbocharger ultimately required complete replacement at 50,334 miles at a cost of $ 2511.20 This appears to be a premature failure of a major engine component. A sudden loss of power while merging or crossing intersections creates a safety concern. The vehicle has been properly maintained, is completely stock, and has never been modified. No warning was provided prior to the check engine light and rapid performance degradation. I am submitting this complaint because similar turbocharger wastegate failures have been documented in other Volkswagen/Audi vehicles using related engines, and a failure at this mileage should not occur in a properly maintained vehicle. Safety Risk: Reduced engine power and hesitation during acceleration creates a hazardous condition when merging into traffic or crossing intersections. Repair: Turbocharger replacement Repair cost: $ 2511.20 Mileage at repair: 50,334

Subject: Passenger Occupant Detection System (PODS) – Airbag Safety Concern Description of the Problem: The Passenger Occupant Detection System (PODS) in my 2019 Audi Q5 is malfunctioning. The system intermittently fails to recognize when a passenger is present, or it falsely indicates that a passenger is present when the seat is empty. This creates uncertainty about whether the passenger airbag will deploy correctly in the event of a collision. The issue has occurred multiple times. Safety Concern: Because the PODS system directly controls passenger airbag deployment, a malfunction could result in the airbag being disabled when an adult passenger is seated, or unintentionally activated when no one is present. This poses a significant safety risk. Request: I am reporting this issue as it appears to be a defect in the occupant detection system. Other Audi models from nearby years have had recalls related to PODS malfunctions. I urge NHTSA to investigate whether this defect extends to the 2019 Audi Q5 and to consider issuing a recall if warranted.

The right back up light is defective. This light is in the right rear light housing that sits in the rear bumper. The defective light indicator came on before the 5 year/40k mile warranty had expired. The lamp bulb was changed as I believed this was the cause of the defect error. Took vehicle to Audi dealership where the car was purchased and the service advisor mentioned this happens "all the time" and the entire rear light housing will need to be replaced. Technician diagnostics confirmed this. The bulb was not in-fact out, the power/wiring to the housing was not malfunctioning and the error/fault/malfunction is in the rear bumper light housing. This same issue with 2018 and 2019 Audi's was reported in a thread on [XXX] as well. I feel this is a manufacturing defect and repair/replacement should be covered by the manufacturer, not the consumer. Not having an illuminated reverse backup light is a safety concern for all drivers. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Turbo Charger Failed. Lost power for driving and Car Start Stop function failed, quit completely. 2. Fluid leaking in the Motor Mounts. 3. Rear passenger side Tail Reverse Light and Rear camera not Working at all. This could cause me a serious accident or I could get a Citation.

During a rain storm a water egress issue damaged my comfort control module. An issue identified for many Audi Q5 vehicles; however my VIN for some reason is not showing this recall. It appears the recall may need to be expanded.

When I'm waiting to turn and have to almost stop, there is a lag when I accelerate causing the anticipated time to make the turn longer than expected. Almost caused an accident because car wouldn't go when gas was pushed. Very scary.

I was coming to a stop. No objects were in front of me. At about 5mph I was violently thrown forward as the car applied full braking. I do not recall whether I was braking, coasting. This happened a second time as we were making a slow speed turn in an intersection, applying light acceleration. I have not taken the car to the dealership. There were no accidents in both cases. I did go into the vehicle settings and turned the AES off. There have been no further incidents.

Getting a message DRIVER SYSTEM MALFUNCTION PLEASE CONTACT SERVICE, I went to a specialized European mechanic and he informed me that the OEM TURBOCHARGER BOOSTER is the problem. He stated that this is a very common problem in the AUDI. He is surprised that there is no recall because it is happening to a lot of cars. The message is constantly coming back.

The hydraulic engine motor mounts have failed at 45,000 miles

CHECKED AND CONFIRMED CUSTOMER COMPLAINT OF ENGINE LIGHT ON CHECKED AND FOUND FAULTS STORED FOR P334A00: Charge air pressure actuator Electrical malfunction active/static P023400: Turbo/Super Charger Overboost Condition active/static INSPECTED TURBO CHARGE SYSTEM AND FOUND THAT WASTE GATE ACTUATOR HAD FAILED AND CREATING AND OVER BOOST CONDITION WASTAGE ACTUATOR IS NOT AVAILABLE AS A SEPARATE PART AND NOT SERVICEABLE REMOVED AND REPLACED ENTIRE TURBO CHARGER UNIT AND INSTALLED WITH NEW GASKETS AND SEALS FILLED AND BLEED COOLANT SYSTEM AND CLEARED FAULTS SET BASIC SETTINGS AND TEST DROVE ALL OK.

Clock spring I drive a 2019 Volkswagen Audi Q5. My vehicle was serviced on [XXX]. After the service I received a video message saying “overall my vehicle appeared to be in excellent condition”. The following day I was out running errands and the airbag light came on. I thought it may be a glitch due to something that happened during the service. Based on my driving, my signal and the control panels were working as I was able to adjust the radio and call my mother using the steering wheel controls. I contacted the dealership initially I was told because it was Saturday, It would be Monday before anyone could assist me. However, about 15 minutes later, the serviceman, David, who took care of me on Friday called me back. After discussion, he told me I could bring my vehicle in. I brought the vehicle in and waited approximately an hour. The service man later told me that it was the clock spring; however, they were not sure what exactly was wrong with the clock spring. I was placed in a rental and told they would contact me later. Before close of the service department on Saturday, I received a call from the service man who stated it was indeed the spring. He did not specify what exactly was the problem, but that it would need to be replaced. I was looking at cost of $1600. He also told me this is unusual given the number miles that I have on the vehicle I know that Volkswagen has had issues with the clock spring on some of its vehicles. Therefore I am wondering could this potentially be a problem with some Audi vehicles as well? INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

My vehicle does a few things that are dangerous. Number 1 the emergency brake went on automatically when I was driving the parkway in New Jersey telling me to watch my surroundings. I was driving late in the evening and no cars were in my immediate distance. Another issue, the emergency warning light just came on my dash telling me my light above my license plate was faulty and I was almost rear ended by the vehicle behind me. My tail lights just stopped working out of no where. Also, when I am backing into a parking space the brakes will automatically slam on when there is no need.

Seat belt would not release. The first dozen or so times it was extremely difficult to get it to release. Over time it became less difficult, still a struggle. It is currently at Audi of Greenville, SC waiting for a replacement part for a safety issue at a cost of almost $800.

I was driving on the highway in the early morning hours and several warnings appeared stating that the left and right tail lights, left and right brake lights, and center brake lights where faulty. It was dark outside and raining, and I immediately had no rear lights of any kind driving on the highway. The dealership was able to correct the issue with a technical service bulletin, but given the extreme danger involved in not having any working rear lights, I would expect this to be a recall and done free of charge, regardless of warranty status. Because my vehicle was 10K miles beyond the warranty, I had to pay a flat diagnostic fee which simply doesn't make sense. If there is service bulletin, why isn't this update made proactively?

Sunroof exploded--no sign of rock (not near overpass), gun shot, bird,etc. It just blew up at highway speed on 6/17/2023 near milepost 98 on I-55 south near Cape Girardeau MO. Fortunately the interior cloth sunshade prevented glass from entering the vehicle. We were at risk from the shock of the situation and the possibility of glass debris (but see above). No warning, no inspections.