Problems · NHTSA complaints

2025 Audi SQ5 problems

Owners filed 8 complaints about the 2025 Audi SQ5 with NHTSA between Nov 2025 and Oct 2026. The most-cited component is forward collision avoidance (3).

Complaints
8
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
0
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
People reported injured
Deaths
0
Reported to NHTSA
01 —By component

Complaints by component

One complaint can cite several components
  1. Forward collision avoidance3
  2. Power train2
  3. Electrical system2
  4. Fuel/propulsion system2
  5. Lane departure1
  6. Exterior lighting1
  7. Visibility1
  8. Steering1
  9. Vehicle speed control1
  10. Engine1

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 Nov 9, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
02 —Trend

When complaints were filed

Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
View as table
Model yearComplaints filed per calendar year
20251
20267

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.

03 —Owner reports

Top problems in owners’ words

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first

Forward collision avoidance

3 reports
“My 2025 Audi SQ5 has experienced a serious and recurring electronic safety system malfunction since it was brand new. I purchased the vehicle with fewer than 10 miles on the odometer, and the problem began the very next day. More than 50% of the time when I start the vehicle, numerous warning lights and error messages appear simultaneously on the dashboard, indicating failures across multiple driver assistance and safety systems. When this happens, the vehicle’s camera-based and sensor-based safety features become unavailable, leaving me without critical driver assistance functions while driving. The malfunction is unpredictable. Occasionally, the vehicle starts normally with no warnings, but more often, multiple systems fail together immediately upon startup. These failures can persist throughout the entire drive. This means I frequently operate the vehicle without the safety features it was designed to provide, increasing the risk of an accident because important collision prevention and driver assistance technologies are unavailable. The issue has persisted since the vehicle was delivered and has not been reliably resolved. I am particularly concerned that…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Oct 9, 2026Forward collision avoidance, Lane departureODI 11770022

Power train

2 reports
“On at least five occasions since we purchased this vehicle brand new in January 2026, the digital transmission system has failed to switch into park and would not switch into park -- producing an error message. To resolve the issue, it required multiple restarts of the car, and there is no clear step to resolve the issue. It feels like luck. We've taken it to the dealership multiple times, they've done digital updates to the car -- which supposedly fixed the problem -- but it continues to recur. We will take it to the dealership again. This is a major safety issue, because the car is susceptible to rolling and movement if it cannot be placed into park (and it's very frustrating).”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Sep 8, 2026Power train, Electrical systemODI 11762667

Electrical system

2 reports
“While driving in live traffic, the vehicle suffered a catastrophic and total simultaneous mechanical and electrical system failure. Without warning, the vehicle completely lost engine propulsion, braking assistance, and all dashboard displays. Concurrently, the vehicle suffered a complete blackout of all exterior safety lighting, including the brake lights and the emergency hazard flashers rendering the vehicle completely invisible to surrounding traffic. Prior to this complete shutdown, the vehicle had been brought to an authorized Audi dealership on 3 previous occasions soon after purchase for progressive electronic communication failures and transient dashboard warning lights, which the service department dismissed as false alerts and did software updates to remedy the alert. It is unclear if those really were false alerts or some precursor to this future problem. The total loss of primary propulsion combined with the complete failure of the secondary emergency backup hazard lighting created an immediate, life-threatening traffic hazard to myself, my passengers and those in vehicles and pedestrians around me. The vehicle had to be towed to an authorized Audi…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 28, 2026Electrical system, Exterior lighting, Fuel/propulsion systemODI 11753278

Fuel/propulsion system

2 reports
“I was driving out of a parking lot into the feeder road of a highway with the intent of immediately getting on the highway. When I attempted to accelerate the car would not go any faster. I was traveling perhaps 5-10 miles per hour as cars on the feeder road were approaching at 45-50 miles per hour. The lag time before the car would accelerate was about 20 seconds. Luckily, I had not entered the feeder road right as the feeder road traffic was near me, otherwise I would definitely have been hit. This lack of acceleration happened two other times but the lag time was shorter. I took the car to the dealer but they could not find the problem.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled May 7, 2026Fuel/propulsion systemODI 11736430

Lane departure

1 report

Exterior lighting

1 report
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 9, 2026

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.