Problems · NHTSA complaints
2012 Audi S5 problems
Owners filed 10 complaints about the 2012 Audi S5 with NHTSA between Jul 2016 and May 2022. The most-cited component is air bags (8).
Complaints
10
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
0
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
People reported injured
Deaths
0
Reported to NHTSA
Complaints by component
One complaint can cite several components
- Air bags8
- Electrical system1
- Power train1
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Oct 29, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
When complaints were filed
Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
1
6
0
0
1
1
1
View as table
| Model year | Complaints filed per calendar year |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 |
| 2017 | 6 |
| 2018 | 0 |
| 2019 | 0 |
| 2020 | 1 |
| 2021 | 1 |
| 2022 | 1 |
Mileage at failure isn’t a structured field in NHTSA complaint data, so we don’t chart it. Some owners mention it in their reports below.
Top problems in owners’ words
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
Air bags
8 reports
“I am affected by recall 69R6 for this vehicle. I moved to Germany in 2012 and took my car with me. Audi in Germany refused to honor the recall claiming that it is not applicable to Germany due to different "climate conditions". What can I do (other than shipping the car back to the US) ? Thanks”
Electrical system
1 report
“THE CAR'S BACKUP CAMERA FEED HAS A LOT OF ISSUES FOR MANY OWNERS, MYSELF INCLUDED. THERE IS A PROBABLY 10% CHANCE OF THE BACKUP CAMERA NOT TURNING ON WHEN I FIRST START THE CAR EACH TIME. LOTS OF OTHER OWNERS ARE HAVING SIMILAR ISSUES ON THE A5/S5/RS5 PLATFORM FROM SIMILAR YEARS. IF YOU GOOGLE THE FOLLOWING: "SITE:A5OC.COM BACKUP CAMERA" YOU CAN SEE LOTS OF THREADS FROM A FORUM DEDICATED TO THE ABOVE MODELS. THE FAILING BACKUP CAMERAS ARE DANGEROUS SINCE THEY INTERMITTENTLY FAIL. SOMETIMES I CATCH MYSELF STARTING TO REVERSE ASSUMING THE BACKUP CAMERA WILL COME ON BUT IT NEVER DOES. THIS ISSUE HAS BEEN HAPPENING FOR A WHILE NOW. I WILL PUT AN ESTIMATE FOR WHEN IT FIRST APPEARED.”
Power train
1 report
“I GET THE GEARBOX MALFUNCTION AND TPMS LIGHT FLASHING AND THE CAR JERKS AND STUTTERS ESPECIALLY FROM START AND COMING TO A STOP. WHEN STOPPING, IT FEELS LIKE SOMEONE HIT YOU FROM BEHIND. RAN THE CODES AND IT IS A MECHATRONIC MALFUNCTION/FAILURE. *TR”
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Oct 29, 2026
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.