THIS VEHICLE HAS ACTIVE LANE ASSIST. THERE IS A CONTROL THAT SENDS AN ALARM TO PREVENT DRIVERS FROM ATTEMPTING TO DRIVE WITHOUT HANDS ON THE WHEEL. THIS CAR IS GENERATING FREQUENT FALSE ALERTS (EG DRIVING WITH HANDS ON THE WHEEL). IT IS MOST COMMON ON STRAIGHT ROADS, BUT CAN HAPPEN EVERY FEW MINUTES. THIS IS EXTREMELY ANNOYING AND RESULTS IN ME TURNING OFF THE LANE ASSIST. WHAT IS DESIGNED AS A SAFETY MECHANISM IS ACTUALLY INCREASING RISK AS THE FEATURE IS UNUSEABLE. THE DEALER AND CORPORATE CUSTOMER SUPPORT SAY THE CAR IS FUNCTIONING TO DESIGN AND WILL NOT TAKE ANY ACTION. THE DEALER SAYS THAT THIS HAPPENS ON ALL PRESTIGE MODEL Q5'S BUT NOT ON OTHER MODELS, CONFIRMING TO ME THAT THIS IS DEFECTIVE IN EITHER IMPLEMENTATION AND OR DESIGN. I ENCOURAGE YOU TO CONSIDER STARTING AN INVESTIGATION AND POSSIBLE RECALL.
2019 Audi Q5 complaints
Owner reports filed with NHTSA about this vehicle, newest first and reproduced as filed. They are unverified accounts: one proves nothing, and a pattern across many is the thing worth reading. Back to the full 2019 record →
UNINTENDED DECELERATION. I AM A CANADIAN WHO WAS DRIVING IN NEW YORK STATE. I HAVE A NEW 2019 AUDI Q5 TECHNIK. WHILE USING ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL (ACC) SET AT 75 MPH IN THE PASSING LANE ON SATURDAY AUGUST 31, 2019, THE AUDI'S TRAFFIC SIGN RECOGNITION SYSTEM RESPONDED TO A 55 MPH SIGN SOMEWHERE OFF TO THE SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY. IT CHANGED THE ACC SETTING FROM 75 TO 55 MPH AND APPLIED THE BRAKES HARD. I HAD TO TAP THE BRAKE PEDAL TO REGAIN CONTROL AND ACCELERATE TO AVOID A REAR-END COLLISION. THE AUDI MANUAL STATES ON PAGE 95 THAT "TRAFFIC SIGN RECOGNITION DOES NOT ADAPT YOUR VEHICLE'S SPEED TO MATCH THE SPEED LIMIT!" HOWEVER, ON PAGE 101 THE MANUAL DESCRIBES A PREDICTIVE EFFICIENCY ASSIST SYSTEM WHICH WHEN SWITCHED ON WILL BEHAVE AS I HAVE DESCRIBED. THIS SETTING IS FOUND WITHIN THE INFOTAINMENT SYSTEM. IT WAS NOT POINTED OUT TO ME BY THE SELLING DEALER AND HAD BEEN APPARENTLY BEEN SWITCHED ON WHEN I TOOK POSSESSION OF THE NEW VEHICLE. THIS FEATURE IS DANGEROUS AND SHOULD BE SET TO OFF BY DEFAULT. I WILL NEVER TURN IT ON! THERE WERE A NUMBER OF OCCASIONS ON MY DRIVE THAT DAY WHEN OTHER VEHICLES WERE FOLLOWING ME DANGEROUSLY CLOSELY AND THIS SUDDEN DECELERATION WOULD HAVE CAUSED A REAR-END COLLISION AT HIGHWAY SPEED.
DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS ON INTERSTATE 79 JUST OUTSIDE OF CHARLESTOWN WV, THE ALARMS IN THE CAR WENT OFF AND A "STEERING MALFUNCTION", "STOP THE CAR IMMEDIATELY" MESSAGES WERE DISPLAYED. THE CAR LOST ALL POWER STEERING ABILITY. IT WAS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND THANKFULLY THE ROAD WAS NOT HEAVILY TRAVELED WHEN THIS HAPPENED. AN ACCIDENT SURELY WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF THE ROAD WAS MORE CROWDED.
Reading these
NHTSA publishes every complaint as the owner wrote it and investigates only a fraction. Spelling, capitalisation and judgement are the filer’s own. What carries weight is repetition: the same component failing the same way across many filings, and whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.
Full record for the 2019 Audi Q5 → · Every Q5 year → · How the figures are calculated →