There are 5 owner-reported powertrain & transmission complaints for the 2019 Audi Q5in NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
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.
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
I have a 2019 Audi Q5 with under 24k miles over the past 4 years of new vehicle ownership. There have been 5+ instances where I am driving under normal conditions and suddenly the vehicle jerks abruptly, slows down to half the original speed (from 65 mph on freeway to 30 mph), gear shifting becomes irregular and the following indicators appear on the dashboard: 1) check engine light, 2) vehicle repair required 3) warning icon w/ triangle around and exclamation point. "Drive system malfunction" note appears on screen. Ignition cycling may temporarily remove the warning indicator lights, however the same exact issue happens once I'm back on the road - sometimes only driving at 20 mph through residential streets. I have taken the vehicle into Audi service centers for immediate repair after each incident, only to have this become a recurring issue. This is an extremely dangerous situation where a vehicle could unexpectedly reduce speeds and potentially result in traffic accidents. I have found many internet posts on this same exact issue which are major concerns of Audi owners.
The contact owns a 2019 Audi Q5. The contact stated that after parking the vehicle and with the engine idling, she exit the vehicle, and moments later the vehicle erroneously began to drive forward and crashed into an office building. During the crash, no injuries were reported. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 35,000.
The contact owns a 2019 Audi Q5. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the catastrophic transmission failure message was displayed and the vehicle inadvertently shifted into manual third gear. The vehicle was waiting to be towed. The dealer was made aware of the failure; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to exit the vehicle immediately and to have it towed to the dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 31,000.
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026