2018 Audi SQ5 Owner Complaints

I purchased my 2018 Audi SQ5 on September 12, 2025, from Audi Denver (McDonald Automotive Group). On XXX, at 114,145 miles, the vehicle suffered a sudden, catastrophic engine failure while driving on the highway near [XXX], caused by defective rocker arm needle bearings in the 3.0T EA839 V6 engine. ​The early-design needle bearings disintegrated within the cylinder head, scattering loose metal roller bearings into the valvetrain and oiling system. This caused an immediate, complete loss of engine power and sudden engine lockup on a remote stretch of highway. ​This mechanical failure created a severe driving emergency. The sudden engine seizure stranded us on the shoulder, resulting in a total loss of propulsion, loss of vacuum assist for power braking, and potential loss of power steering—posing a severe risk to vehicle occupants and surrounding highway traffic. The vehicle required an initial tow off the highway in [XXX], followed by a second tow of nearly 200 miles back to [XXX]. ​Professional diagnostics confirmed complete engine destruction due to valvetrain failure, with repair estimates exceeding $20,000 for an engine replacement. Because the repair cost far exceeded the vehicle’s market value, I was forced to sell the vehicle for scrap/junk at a severe loss. ​Audi is aware of this EA839 rocker arm needle bearing defect and updated the part design in later production runs, yet has failed to issue a safety recall or warranty extension for this active driving hazard. I strongly urge NHTSA to open an investigation into early 2018 EA839 3.0T rocker arm failures. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11755729

Incident

May 27, 2026

While driving a 2018 Audi SQ5 with the EA839 3.0T engine, a coolant warning light activated and engine temperatures began rising to 210-215°F. The vehicle was pulled over immediately. Upon inspection the coolant reservoir was found to be nearly empty with dried coolant residue on the exterior indicating an active leak. The vehicle was towed to an authorized Audi dealer who confirmed via multi-point inspection that the water pump, shut off valve, and vacuum system require replacement due to coolant leakage, with a repair estimate of $5,324.87. This is a known defect in the EA839 engine platform. Audi has issued multiple Technical Service Bulletins on this issue and is currently named in active federal class action lawsuit Larr et al. v. Volkswagen Group of America, Case No. 2:26-cv-05678. The vehicle was confirmed by the authorized dealer and the component is available for inspection.

NHTSA ID

11748361

Incident

Jul 2, 2026

Heavy rain leaked into the cabin of my SUV,and damaged the module, no controls worked through the key fob, no start . I keep my SUV under cover 90% of the time. A recent wind storm damaged my car port that I usually keep it under, so lately it’s been outside more often, especially if wind is in the forecast. I still use it if no wind is forecasted, because of the damage I don’t trust the carport until I can repair the damage.

NHTSA ID

11632982

Incident

Dec 25, 2024

Car's electrical system fried overnight during a rainstorm. All systems unresponsive to keys or key faub. Car was towed to used dealership and they told me due to drainage system blockage a pool of water collected in rear battery compartment and submerged the battery.

NHTSA ID

11626821

Incident

Apr 26, 2024

During a rainstorm, water drained from roof drains that are apparently supposed to be cleaned & maintenance done by dealership on a regular basis but were clogged due to them not being any maintenance done. Water shorted out the entire control module for the entire vehicle computer after leaking into the rear inside behind hatch where battery and electrical components are located rendering the vehicle dead and undriveable on the side of the road. By the vehicles complete electrical system being rendered dead, this puts those in risk of accidents and is not covered as a warranty item for an issue that is well known according to dealership on their entire line of SUV products for the last decade. They wanted more than the SUV was worth to replace the computer control module, body wiring harness, and drain tubes that were clogged, but stated it happens all the time and is well documented by all Audi dealerships.

NHTSA ID

11608218

Incident

Jul 10, 2024

Oil leaking from the engine. Mechanic determined that it was the Filter Housing. They replaced the filter housing and since then, the problem is all good. I spent over $5000 to identify this problem and get it repaired.

NHTSA ID

11608039

Incident

Jan 1, 2023

After a hard rainstorm the Comfort System Control Module (CCM) errored apparently from getting wet from a clogged sun roof drainage line, causing water to enter the rear left side compartment in which the CCM is housed (behind the insulation). The entire area is still damp 3 days later, and water is also located in the tire well and the rear right side compartment. The CCM error in turn caused a cascade of other errors, including causing the rear lights to stop working, an obvious safety hazard. As is evident from online discussion boards this is a frequent issue with this model and a clear design flaw. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11588963

Incident

May 12, 2024

Engine Thermostat broke

NHTSA ID

11577306

Incident

Feb 2, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Audi SQ 5. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH in rainy weather, several unknown warning lights started blinking and the rear windshield wiper independently activated, and contact was unable to turn off the rear windshield wiper. The contact pulled over on the side on the road and turned off the vehicle. Once the contact restarted the vehicle, the vehicle operated normally. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated that there was a water leaking from the sunroof causing corrosion to the air bags connector, module, and the headliner had mold and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 73,949.

NHTSA ID

11531458

Incident

Feb 10, 2023

Mileage

73,949 mi

I’m hearing squeaking noise from the steering column when steering left or right slowly of my Audi SQ5 2018 model. I noticed the noise can be heard loud after driving the vehicle for 30 min on the road or longer time driven. The squeaking noise from steering wheel column is often heard when taking the vehicle out from parking lot or moving the vehicle from stationary while turning the steering wheel. It’s kind of creaking noise rubbing off against something and heard from inside the cabin.

NHTSA ID

11530940

Incident

Jul 3, 2023

The Forward Collision Warning system in my 2018 Audi SQ5 is meant to autonomously apply the vehicle's brakes in the event the car senses an oncoming forward collision. At least five different times over the past five months, my vehicle's Forward Collision Warning system activated and applied the brakes at seemingly random times when there was no possible threat of an oncoming forward collision because, in each instance, the vehicle was being driven on multi-lane highways with no other vehicles, barriers, or any other frontal hazard within a quarter-mile of my vehicle. In four of the five instances, the vehicle was traveling at speed at or around 65 mph and, when the Forward Collision Warning system was activated without warning, the vehicle rapidly its speed to below 10 mph, which caused me and my passengers to be thrown forward and our seatbelts burned our shoulders and laps. In the other instance, the same occurred while traveling 45 mph. There is no warning or indication of malfunction prior to or following these instances. I''ve run multiple OBD2 scans on the vehicle, none of which have shown any problems with the Frontal Warning Collision system, or any other vehicle system.

NHTSA ID

11526568

Incident

Jun 3, 2023

While driving the rear half of the sunroof exploded. With no warning there was a sudden, very load "pop". The sunroof pane had completely shattered and was only held in place by the aftermarket tint layer that had been applied. The mesh shade that sits below the sunroof kept any pieces from falling on us while driving. Had the tint and mesh shade not been there, the interior would have been covered in glass. While we can't say with 100% certainty, we don't believe that any objects/debris hit the glass. The broken pane was on the back, downslope of the roof; if debris had hit it it would not have been a direct impact, but at most a glancing blow. We took the car to the dealer for repair. They immediately stated that it was due to rock/debris impact. The shattering does appear to originate from a single point in the glass, but there is not clear impact damage at that point. The origination point is smaller than a pencil eraser and is a square missing piece, of which there were many throughout the glass. I don't see the rough, crushing type damage I would relate to an object impact.

NHTSA ID

11518259

Incident

Apr 20, 2023

The car windows were down the windshield wipers were running the front lights were on and parking brake light is flashing. I'm not sure how water was sitting where the spare tire was located. As I researched it stated it may be a faulty comfort module.

NHTSA ID

11503500

Incident

Jan 24, 2023

Two issues: 1. Phantom braking, sudden deceleration, vehicle came to a rapid complete stop on road. Audi assist light came on. Road Conditions: clear, dry, very good visibility for night conditions. 2. While driving at highway speed, i.e. 65 MPH, the transmission disengaged temporarily for several seconds and causing the engine RPM to surge. Transmission re-engaged and operation became normal.

NHTSA ID

11452367

Incident

Sep 3, 2021

Twice in the past 5 months my stop/start system has malfunctioned. While rolling to a stop my car had died, reports a malfunction and will only start again after 5-7 attempts. The first time this happened I was at a stop light and could have been hit from the rear. The second time this happened I was stranded in the middle of a very busy 4 lane highway and could have been hit by oncoming traffic. The first time I took my car to Audi they said there were no faults and it should be fine. The most recent time they said they found a fault with the brake pressure sensor and replaced that. I now have to wait and see if it happens again and hope I am not in an accident because of it. The vehicle has been inspected by the same Audi dealership service center two times. There have been no warning lights or error messages in my car prior to this happening either time. I'm aware there is a class action lawsuit against Audi's parent company for this malfunction and I told the service center this as well. Audi needs to make this a recall and fix the issue before someone is hurt or worse.

NHTSA ID

11439766

Incident

Nov 2, 2021

Tire sidewall is splitting. There have been no accidents or incidents that could have caused this type of sidewall damage. The tire is a Contisportcontact 5P, 255/40 zr21.

NHTSA ID

11424330

Incident

Jul 8, 2021

MY CAR KEEPS SAYING PLEASE REDUCE OIL LEVEL

NHTSA ID

11404184

Incident

Mar 1, 2021

WHILE DRIVING, THE 'STEERING MALFUNCTION' WARNING LIGHT CAME ON. THE WARNING SAID THAT IT WAS OK TO DRIVE. ON THE SAME DAY, THE STEERING WHEEL BECAME ASKEW AND WAS NO LONGER ALIGNED. THIS MADE IT VERY DIFFICULT TO DRIVE THE CAR. THE DEALER REPLACED THE ENTIRE STEERING COLUMN IN JULY 2020. I PICKED UP THE VEHICLE ON 7/23/20. ON 9/5/20, THE SAME 'STEERING MALFUNCTION' WARNING LIGHT LIT UP. IT IS BACK WITH THE DEALER AS IF 9/8/20.

NHTSA ID

11353852

Incident

Sep 5, 2020

Mileage

28,000 mi

I WAS STOPPED IN A DESIGNATED LEFT TURN LANE WAITING FOR ONCOMING TRAFFIC TO CLEAR. AS THE LAST CAR WAS PASSING ME GOING THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION I BEGAN TO ACCELERATE AND MAKE MY LEFT TURN. THE AUDI PRE-SENSE SLAMMED ON THE BRAKES. SO NOW I'M IN THE LANE OF ONCOMING TRAFFIC WITH MY CAR TEMPORARILY DISABLED. THIS IS THE FOURTH TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED. IF I HAD HAD MY DOG IN THE BACK OF THE CAR, HE WOULD HAVE BEEN THROWN INTO THE WINDSHIELD. I'VE BEEN DRIVING FOR 50 YEARS, MY WIFE, FOR 48 AND HAVE NEVER BEEN IN AN ACCIDENT. IT IS MY OPINION THAT THIS SYSTEM IS UNSAFE AND THERE SHOULD BE A WAY TO HAVE IT PERMANENTLY DISABLED.

NHTSA ID

11269311

Incident

Oct 17, 2019

Mileage

12,700 mi

I PURCHASED MY 2018 AUDI SQ5 BRAND NEW FROM THE DEALERSHIP IN APRIL 2018. I BELIEVE THE PIRELLI TIRES THAT WERE PUT ON THE CAR DURING PRODUCATION ARE DEFECTIVE. THE INSIDE OF THE TIRES CAME APART; THE NOISE CANCELLATION PADS CAME APART IN THE TIRE AND HAVE ROLLED UP. THEY WERE CAUSING THE WHOLE CAR TO SHAKE WHEN I WOULD GO OVER 50+ MPH. THESE WERE UNSAFE TIRES TO BE DRIVING ON. I AM REPORTING THIS TO YOU INCASE YOU HAVE NOT HEARD ABOUT THE DEFECT IN THESE TIRES YET. THEY ARE UNSAFE TIRES TO HAVE ON THE ROAD. THE DOT NUMBER ON THESE PZ4 TIRES: UN RM V376 4517. I HAD TO REPLACE THESE TIRES AT MY EXPENSE. I FEEL THESE TIRES ARE HORRIBLY UNSAFE AND NEED TO BE RECALLED. HTTPS://VIDMAILS.COM/V/WYATDA44DT

NHTSA ID

11266202

Incident

Mar 23, 2019

Mileage

7,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 AUDI SQ5. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 25 MPH, THE COLLISION AVOIDANCE SYSTEM ERRONEOUSLY ACTIVATED AND CAUSED THE VEHICLE TO ABRUPTLY STOP. THERE WERE NO OTHER VEHICLES IN THE VICINITY AT THE TIME OF THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT INDICATED THAT THE FAILURE ALSO OCCURRED WHILE DRIVING IN REVERSE. THE FAILURE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE LOCAL DEALER (BELL AUDI, 782 US1, EDISON, NJ) WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 1,500.

NHTSA ID

11140632

Incident

Oct 1, 2018

Mileage

1,500 mi

AUDI'S MMI HAS A PARKING AID WHICH INCLUDES A 360 DEGREE TOP VIEW MODE. TOP VIEW MODE REVERTS TO "GRAPHIC VIEW" WITH EACH RESTART OF THE VEHICLE. TOP VIEW MODE SHOULD KEEP THE USER'S LAST SETTING WHICH IN MY CASE IS "CAMERA VIEW." CAMERA VIEW IS SAFER BECAUSE THE DRIVER CAN ACTUALLY SEE IF THERE ARE ANY OBSTACLES RIGHT UP AGAINST THE CAR (E.G. CHILDREN) WHICH SENSORS COULD MISS. TO SWITCH TO CAMERA VIEW, THE DRIVER NEEDS TO TAKE THEIR EYES OFF THE ROAD AND CLICK THROUGH THE MMI MENUS. IF PARKING WITH TRAFFIC, THIS IS A DISTRACTION AND ALSO NOT SAFE. THIS DEFECT IN THE SOFTWARE ISN'T BEING ADDRESSED BY AUDI IN A TIMELY FASHION - IT'S BEEN PRESENT FOR OVER A CALENDAR YEAR. NEW AUDI VEHICLES APPARENTLY INCLUDE A LATER MMI VERSION WHICH DOES NOT HAVE THIS BUG BUT THEY HAVE NOT DISTRIBUTED A FIX TO EXISTING VEHICLES.

NHTSA ID

11119461

Incident

Apr 20, 2018

Mileage

10 mi

BACKUP CAMERA DEFAULTS TO A BLACK GRAPHIC VIEW IN STEAD OF CAMERA. ALMOST IN MULTIPLE ACCIDENTS AS I HAD TO SWITCH TO CAMERA AFTER EVERY START WHILE BACKING UP IN PARKING LOTS.

NHTSA ID

11119449

Incident

Dec 27, 2017

Mileage

10 mi

THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED IN THE GARAGE WITH THE GARAGE DOOR OPEN AND WITH THE PARKING BRAKE ENGAGED. THE CONTACT WAS NOTIFIED BY A NEIGHBOR THAT THE VEHICLE HAD ROLLED FORWARD OUT OF THE GARAGE DOWN A SMALL INCLINED DRIVEWAY, CROSSED THE STREET, AND CRASHED INTO THE CORNER OF THE NEIGHBOR'S HOUSE. THE VEHICLE THEN ROLLED BACK INTO THE STREET AND STOPPED. PRIOR TO THE INCIDENT, NO WARNING INDICATORS WERE ILLUMINATED. THERE WERE NO INJURIES AND A POLICE REPORT WAS NOT FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AUDI SOUTH COAST (1425 AUTO MALL DR, SANTA ANA, CA 92705 (714) 973-7766) WHERE IT WAS AWAITING DIAGNOSTIC TESTING. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE AND A CLAIM WAS FILED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 500.

NHTSA ID

11025105

Incident

Sep 21, 2017

Mileage

500 mi