2012 Audi A5 Cabriolet Problems
Owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA, grouped by component
Data refreshed
What this page shows
Everything below is an owner-reported complaint submitted to NHTSA about the 2012 Audi A5 Cabriolet, grouped by the component NHTSA recorded on the report. These are not confirmed defects, and they are not recalls. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a category with more reports in it is not evidence that a part is defective.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Reports by component
Ranked by how many owner reports name each component category
- Airbags1392.9%
- Engine17.1%
Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.
Each component in detail
What the reports in each category say, in the owners' own words
Airbags
Reports naming the air-bag system — deployment behaviour, inflators, sensors and warning lights.
From owner reports, verbatim
TAKATA RECALL MY AUDI DEALER [AUDI OF HUNTINGTON NY] HAS BEEN TELLING ME FOR THE PAST FEW YEARS THAT THEY DO NOT HAVE THE REPLACEMENT AIRBAG. I HAVE SPOKEN TO THEM AND IT IS ALWAYS "ON ORDER, WE WILL CALL YOU". THEN I RECEIVE A POST CARD FROM AUDI OF HUNTINGTON TO CALL FOR THE RECALL SERVICE....AND SAME STORY. AS I SAID, THIS IS THE PAST FEW YEARS. I CAN'T BELIEVE THERE IS NO REPLACEMENT PART. COULD YOU INQUIRE SO THAT I DO NOT WIND UP SERIOUSLY INJURED BECAUSE OF MY DEALER'S FAILURE AND NEGLECT. *JS
MY VEHICLE IS IMPACTED BY THE TAKATA AIRBAG SAFETY ISSUE. I RECENTLY RECEIVED A FOLLOW UP LETTER FROM AUDI INDICATING THAT I SHOULD "SCHEDULE THIS RECALL REPAIR IMMEDIATELY, EVEN IF AN INTERIM REPAIR WAS RECENTLY DONE." UPON CALLING THE LOCAL AUDI DEALERS THEY ALL INDICATE THAT THE MANUFACTURER (AUDI) HAS NOT YET SHIPPED THE NECESSARY PARTS TO EFFECT THE REPAIR, AND THEY HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THE PARTS SINCE EARLY TO MID MARCH 2018. IF AUDI IS NOT READY TO REPAIR THE VEHICLES THEN THE COMMUNICATION TO THE VEHICLE OWNERS SHOULD INDICATE THIS CLEARLY. IT NOW FEELS LIKE AUDI IS COVERING THEMSELVES BY STATING THEY ARE READY TO MAKE A REPAIR WHICH THEY ARE CLEARLY NOT YET READY FOR.
Engine
Reports naming the engine itself — including stalling, misfires, oil consumption, cooling and internal engine components.
From owner reports, verbatim
MY CAR HAS HAD THE ADD OIL LIGHT ON MANY TIMES TO WHICH I HAVE TAKEN IT TO THE DEALER. FIRST TIME THEY TOLD ME IT WAS A WATER PUMP FAILURE. I REPLACED AND PAID FOR THE WATER PUMP. SECOND TIME A YEAR LATER I RETURNED TO HEAR THAT THE WATER PUMP FAILED AGAIN ONLY THIS TIME IT WAS THE CAM BEARING LADDER THAT FAILED WHICH IN TURN CAUSED THE WATER PUMP TO FAIL. BOTH TIMES I ASKED IF THE WATER PUMP IS REPLACED SHOULD I REPLACE THE TIMING BELT, I AM TOLD IT IS A TIMING CHAIN AND DOES NOT NEED TO BE REPLACED. THEN THE LIGHT COMES ON AGAIN I TAKE IT BACK TO THE DEALER TO BE CHECKED THEY SAY IT IS FINE. TWO MONTHS LATER THE LIGHT COMES BACK ON, WHILE DRIVING TO THE GAS STATION TO GET OIL I TURN ENGINE OFF ONLY TO HAVE IT TURN BACK ON RUNNING SUPER ROUGH. CAR THEN WILL NOT START. I AM NOW TOLD THAT IT WAS THE TIMING BELT FAILURE AND THAT THE TENSIONER ROD BROKE. I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE WITH THIS ISSUE. HTTPS://WWW.AUDIFORUMS.COM/FORUM/GENERAL-TECH-50/A5-2-0T-TIMING-CHAIN-FAILURE-215409/
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Elsewhere on this vehicle
Data sources
- NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation — owner-reported complaints and the components recorded on them
Data on this page last refreshed .