2018 Audi Q5 Airbags Problems

The Seat Occupancy Detection System is malfunctioning. The passenger airbag warning light activates when a passenger occupies the passenger seat and the passenger overhead reading light remains on when the seat is occupied including overnight. These are established symptoms of Seat Occupancy Detection System failure. The manufacturer issued a warranty extension specifically covering this defect for 10 years and unlimited miles. When the vehicle was presented at an authorized dealer for diagnosis and repair under the warranty extension, the service advisor deliberately omitted the airbag warning light symptom from the repair order and inserted pre-emptive warranty denial language before any diagnosis was performed. The airbag system malfunction remains unrepaired despite an active manufacturer warranty extension covering this exact defect. The dealer’s failure to properly document and address an airbag warning light constitutes a safety concern that NHTSA should investigate.

NHTSA ID

11725152

Incident

Mar 16, 2026

Car displayed a warning sign that safety system malfunctioned. Airbag indicator showed “passenger airbag off”. This error occurred sporadically and for a limited amount of time. It also kept sensing that passenger seat was occupied when it wasn’t. From what I understand , the issue is related to passenger side PODS sensor.

NHTSA ID

11692617

Incident

May 1, 2025

Safety System Malfunction message appears on dash. Passenger side air bag goes on and off while driving. Whole system chimes and random messages flashing on screen constantly. At times system doesn’t recognize that I have my drivers side seatbelt buckled. So system keeps chiming cars Stanton. Random messages flash on dash. Traffic jam assist (3 cars symbol) unavailable and image flash on dash and does another chime. Vehicle has given random warning beeps when reversing 2 times since these issues started and has done automatic breaking both times as I was trying to reverse. Issues happen randomly and started about 300 miles ago (2 weeks or so) seem to be getting more frequent in past few days. I was trying to check today for open recall and was surprised to not have any for this issue / vehicle. I have not yet called the dealership but plan on doing so this week. This “Safety System Malfunction” and all the chimes, flashes, beeps, screen messages and the automatic vehicle responses is VERY dangerous!!

NHTSA ID

11686158

Incident

Aug 26, 2025

The contact owns a 2018 Audi Q5. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed due to the cost. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The contact stated that the warning light was intermittently illuminated. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.

NHTSA ID

11672383

Incident

Jul 7, 2025

Mileage

120,000 mi

I have owned the car for 2 years, purchased a 2018 Q5 from an Audi dealer. Within the first year, my thermostat failed causing the car to lose power and turn off while driving with my newborn baby. I also received the passenger airbag alert daily, which I did see there was a recall for this prior to buying the car. I also received the “add a quart of oil” message about 3 months after an oil change. I would like this car to be reviewed for excessive oil consumption. At the times of these messages no oil leak was found. Now, my car went in for an oil change and an oil and transmission oil leak has been found. Within 2 years of owning a car that has had regular maintenance, I have spent over $6,000 on service and repairs, which is unusual. I need help.

NHTSA ID

11648525

Incident

Mar 16, 2025

Audi of Greenville gave us a quote to replace the pods unit that is causing this code and said that the air bag could deploy at anytime. Here is the quote that was given for the PODS unit. The code that was stored in the system was B1022F0. The Occupant Sensor Control Unit suppresses the deployment of passenger air bag when the condition of the passenger seat is empty or child and child-seat. And turns on the cut-off telltale lamp when the condition of the passenger seat is child-seat and child. In the case of malfunction, the blinking of the SRS air bag warning lamp reports the malfunction to the driver and by the on board self-diagnosis system. This Occupant Sensor Control Unit classifies occupant in the passenger seat and detects electrical malfunctions in Occupant Classification System, and transmits malfunction information to air bag control unit. It is integrated into the seat sensor mat and detects the occupants with Occupant Classification System (OCS) control unit that classifies the occupants. Read more at [XXX].

NHTSA ID

11595018

Incident

May 10, 2024

The seatbelt and passenger airbag systems go on and off making alarms go off. Making the vehicle unsafe in accidents. After taking my vehicle in for inspection, Audi stated that the component that has to be changed has been a recall in other Audi vehicles and is not covered under warranty.

NHTSA ID

11592191

Incident

Jun 3, 2024

I got a Safety System Malfunction! Fault. I took it to aan Audi dealer and they said it was an issue with a harness under the passenger seat. Tech notes here references a service bulletin. Air Bag Occupant Sensor - Replace | faults present b1225f1 - tsb 2051242/7 -- per tsb apply wiring ties to secure and prevent faults from returning -- not covered under extended warranty policy. Not sure why this isn’t covered under extended warranty or a recall. It basically disables the passenger airbag. I have seen other Audi vehicles with recalls for similar issues with harness under the passenger seat. I think they have a design issue but are wanting to charge me (and probably others) $220 to diagnose and $695 plus tax to put two wire ties on the harness to supposedly fix (or bandaid) a bad harness.

NHTSA ID

11580693

Incident

Apr 2, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Audi Q5. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the air bag control module had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 85,600.

NHTSA ID

11515581

Incident

Mar 3, 2023

Mileage

85,600 mi

When a front seat passenger is present, the passenger airbag warning light comes on with a "malfunction" error displayed, then goes off.

NHTSA ID

11488224

Incident

Sep 26, 2022

Have been receiving an intermittent warning: Safety malfunction for the passenger airbag. The light comes on intermittently. Comes on most often when no one is sitting in the front passenger seat. If I place a small bag (handbag, purse etc.) on the seat sometimes the light goes off sometimes it does not. If someone is sitting in the seat the malfunction light is not present. The dealer confirmed the malfunction stating: They found the safety malfunction light is being triggered by a faulty passenger front seat pod and needs to be replaced for $2,233. Doing a quick Audi forum search have found numerous individuals with similar complaints and many have even reached out to Audi. This appears to be a significant safety issue as it calls into question the reliability of airbag operation in the case of an accident.

NHTSA ID

11487291

Incident

Feb 2, 2022

CAR STATIONARY ON HIGHWAY AFTER TRAFFIC CAME TO A STOP DUE TO A TRAFFIC INCIDENT AHEAD. REAR ENDED BY VEHICLE GOING IN EXCESS OF 40MPH. CAR PUSHED INTO CAR IN FRONT (CAR 3), SPUN AROUND AND HIT THE SAME CAR (CAR 3) IN THE FRONT. AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. BOTH DRIVER AND PASSENGER WERE ADMITTED TO THE HOSPITAL WITH INJURIES.

NHTSA ID

11388901

Incident

Jan 10, 2021

Mileage

45,000 mi