2023 Audi SQ5 Owner Complaints

My 2023 Audi SQ5 Sportback's key fob stopped working, and when I took it into the Audi dealership they said that it is a known issue that if you don't unclog the drain (not sure where that is - was never told I needed to do so) then there can be leaks that affect the wiring and the Comfort Control Module, rendering the vehicle unusable. They are now trying to charge me approximately $16,000 to fix the vehicle when it is obvious that this is a manufacturing defect not present on other vehicles. I know there has been a recall for other Audi Q5 models, and it seems that the new generation of Audi Q5 has the same issue. I have also seen online that this occurs quite often to other Audi SQ5 and Q5 owners.

NHTSA ID

11672326

Incident

Jul 3, 2025

Purchased car 3/18/23. Not even two months after purchasing - on 5/11/23, I was in far left lane going to make a left turn - stopped and had blinker on. No cars, pedestrians or any items were in front or behind me. Out of nowhere the car slams on breaks and the red presense light comes up on dashboard. Vehicle may have even turned off. Both myself and passenger thought we had been hit from behind due to the amount of force and both had neck pain afterwards. Only 3 days later, nearly the exact same thing occurred. I was in far left turn lane but this time a car was behind me also wanting to turn. When proceeding to turn, the brakes were slammed on. I don't recall seeing the presense light this time. My dog flew out of backseat and the car behind me honked and driver was screaming out his window at me. I was lucky I was not rear ended. I called the dealership who explained this happens with the presense and they could change settings but it is a known complaint. Said it can be caused by a dirty sensor or even sunlight. I took the car to Audi who had engineers look at it and verified that the events did occur on these dates and said it was "environmental concerns" which could be several things since there wasn't a vehicle around - suggested maybe sunlight reflecting off a street sign. Presense is not able to be turned off permanently - must go through a series of steps to deactivate. The car is not safe to drive with presense on - period. Also mentioned there was a technical service bulletin 2058077. There have been numerous people online describing accidents from this. The public should be aware of this as I am sure deaths have already occurred from this. There are numerous complaints on the audi boards and I've read of at least one lawsuit where driver was seriously injured from it breaking so hard that his lung was crushed.

NHTSA ID

11524816

Incident

May 11, 2023