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2018 Audi A5

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Limited comparison data

There is not enough comparable history to draw a useful model-year comparison.

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Owner complaints by model year

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Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.

What owners reported most

All reported categories

Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

Limited mileage data: 13 of 38 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Engine. Review the 8 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 4 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Service Brakes. Review the 4 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

2 crash reports0 fire reports2 injury reports

Suspension complaints

2 reports
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Mileage unknown · Aug 28, 2026
Suspension

2018 Audi A5 Sportback has 16,500 miles only on it. Used for city driving only; never off road. Recently went in for annual inspection and was told that my right rear coil spring had snapped in two and vehicle was unsafe to drive. Took vehicle to local Audi dealer and they confirmed broken coil spring; they wanted $3000 to repai…

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2018 Audi A5 Sportback has 16,500 miles only on it. Used for city driving only; never off road. Recently went in for annual inspection and was told that my right rear coil spring had snapped in two and vehicle was unsafe to drive. Took vehicle to local Audi dealer and they confirmed broken coil spring; they wanted $3000 to repair the vehicle. I took the vehicle instead to a local mechanic who did the repair--replacement of both broken right rear spring and one on left side--for ~$1000. Mechanic noted that he has seen and repaired many Audis with similar snapped rear coil springs.

NHTSA ODI #11760234

Mileage unknown · Sep 8, 2023
Suspension

Driver's side rear coil spring was broken and both rear spring mounts were corroded. Vehicle did not pass Pennsylvania state inspection. I was not aware of these issue until the inspection - there were no obvious warning signs. Vehicle only has 30,236 miles on it. The vehicle has not been modified, does no towing, does not tra…

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Driver's side rear coil spring was broken and both rear spring mounts were corroded. Vehicle did not pass Pennsylvania state inspection. I was not aware of these issue until the inspection - there were no obvious warning signs. Vehicle only has 30,236 miles on it. The vehicle has not been modified, does no towing, does not transport heavy loads, and does not traverse rough terrain or go off-roading. It has never been in an accident. It is parked in a heated garage and is serviced annually. Audi service tech noted they are frequently seeing premature coil spring issues in this model and year of vehicle, but there are no warranty recalls or service bulletins. Both coil springs and both mounts were replaced by service tech at owner's cost.

NHTSA ODI #11543502

Official recalls

6

21V874000 · Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification:front Passenger; Seats

Nov 10, 2021

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2017-2020 A4 Allroad, A4 Sedan, 2018-2019 RS5 Coupe, 2019 RS5 Sportback, 2018-2020 A5 Cabriolet, A5 Coupe, A5 Sportback, S4 Sedan, S5 Cabriolet, S5 Coupe, and Audi S5 Sportback vehicles. The cable connecting the seat heater to the Passenger Occupant Detection System (PODS) may have a contact fault, causing the software to misdiagnose a malfunction and disable the passenger air bag.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A disabled passenger air bag increases the risk of injury in the event of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the connecting cable and either the heating mat or entire seat cover, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 7, 2022. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 74E3. This recall is an expansion of Recall 19V-547 (74D9). Vehicles previously repaired under 19V-547 will need to return for the new remedy.

Additional source detail variants (2)

Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification:front Passenger

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2017-2020 A4 Allroad, A4 Sedan, 2018-2019 RS5 Coupe, 2019 RS5 Sportback, 2018-2020 A5 Cabriolet, A5 Coupe, A5 Sportback, S4 Sedan, S5 Cabriolet, S5 Coupe, and Audi S5 Sportback vehicles. The cable connecting the seat heater to the Passenger Occupant Detection System (PODS) may have a contact fault, causing the software to misdiagnose a malfunction and disable the passenger air bag.

Consequence: A disabled passenger air bag increases the risk of injury in the event of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the connecting cable and either the heating mat or entire seat cover, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 7, 2022. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 74E3. This recall is an expansion of Recall 19V-547 (74D9). Vehicles previously repaired under 19V-547 will need to return for the new remedy.

Seats

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2017-2020 A4 Allroad, A4 Sedan, 2018-2019 RS5 Coupe, 2019 RS5 Sportback, 2018-2020 A5 Cabriolet, A5 Coupe, A5 Sportback, S4 Sedan, S5 Cabriolet, S5 Coupe, and Audi S5 Sportback vehicles. The cable connecting the seat heater to the Passenger Occupant Detection System (PODS) may have a contact fault, causing the software to misdiagnose a malfunction and disable the passenger air bag.

Consequence: A disabled passenger air bag increases the risk of injury in the event of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the connecting cable and either the heating mat or entire seat cover, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 7, 2022. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 74E3. This recall is an expansion of Recall 19V-547 (74D9). Vehicles previously repaired under 19V-547 will need to return for the new remedy.

19V547000 · Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module; Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification

Jul 24, 2019

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Audi RS5 Sportback, 2018 S5 Cabriolet, S5 Sportback, S5 Coupe, S4 Sedan, A5 Cabriolet, A5 Sportback, A5 Coupe, and 2017-2018 A4 Sedan and A4 Allroad vehicles. Oxidation on the Passenger Occupant Detection System (PODS) connecting cable may cause the software to misdiagnose a malfunction and disable the passenger air bag.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A disabled passenger air bag increases the risk of injury in the event of a crash.

Remedy: Audi will notify owners, and dealers will install cable ties to the harness, free of charge. The recall began September 9, 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Audi's number for this recall is 74D9.

Additional source detail variants (2)

Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Audi RS5 Sportback, 2018 S5 Cabriolet, S5 Sportback, S5 Coupe, S4 Sedan, A5 Cabriolet, A5 Sportback, A5 Coupe, and 2017-2018 A4 Sedan and A4 Allroad vehicles. Oxidation on the Passenger Occupant Detection System (PODS) connecting cable may cause the software to misdiagnose a malfunction and disable the passenger air bag.

Consequence: A disabled passenger air bag increases the risk of injury in the event of a crash.

Remedy: Audi will notify owners, and dealers will install cable ties to the harness, free of charge. The recall began September 9, 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Audi's number for this recall is 74D9.

Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Audi RS5 Sportback, 2018 S5 Cabriolet, S5 Sportback, S5 Coupe, S4 Sedan, A5 Cabriolet, A5 Sportback, A5 Coupe, and 2017-2018 A4 Sedan and A4 Allroad vehicles. Oxidation on the Passenger Occupant Detection System (PODS) connecting cable may cause the software to misdiagnose a malfunction and disable the passenger air bag.

Consequence: A disabled passenger air bag increases the risk of injury in the event of a crash.

Remedy: Audi will notify owners, and dealers will install cable ties to the harness, free of charge. The recall began September 9, 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Audi's number for this recall is 74D9.

18V893000 · Suspension:front

Dec 17, 2018

Volkswagen Group of North America (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018 Audi A5 Sportback vehicles. The front suspension fasteners may not have been sufficiently tightened during vehicle production, possibly resulting in a front wheel becoming loose.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A loose front wheel may increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Volkswagen has notified owners, and dealers will inspect the front suspension fasteners, and replace them as necessary, free of charge. The recall began January 23, 2019. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 40O2.

18V836000 · Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module

Nov 27, 2018

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018 Audi A5 Sportback and 2017-2018 Audi A4 Allroad vehicles. A passenger air bag module mounting screw may not have been sufficiently tightened, possibly affecting the deployment of the air bag in the event of a crash.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: If the air bag does not deploy correctly in the event of a crash, it can increase the risk of an injury.

Remedy: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the air bag mounting screw, tightening or replacing it as necessary, free of charge. The recall began December 19, 2018. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69Y4.

17V822000 · Air Bags:side/window

Dec 20, 2017

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018 Audi A5 Coupe vehicles. The affected vehicles were built with head curtain air bag assemblies that may not unfold properly. As such, these vehicle fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 226, "Ejection Mitigation."

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the head curtain air bag, if the air bag does not deploy properly, the vehicle occupants have an increased risk of injury.

Remedy: Audi will notify owners, and dealers will modify the head curtain air bags so that they deploy properly, free of charge. The recall began on January 18, 2018. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 11-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69T7.

17V675000 · Structure:body:door:hinge And Attachments

Oct 25, 2017

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2017-2018 Audi A4 Sedan and A4 allroad, and 2018 A5 Sportback vehicles. The aluminum trim on the front and rear doors can come loose from around the door speakers, leaving sharp edges exposed.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: The sharp edges of the speaker trim increase the risk of injury to vehicle occupants.

Remedy: Audi will notify owners, and dealers will replace the speaker cover aluminum trim, free of charge. The recall began March 13, 2018. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 70G6.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.