- Safety
- 5
- of 5 stars
- Recalls
- 6
- on record
- MPG
- 25
- combined
Do not drive until repaired
1 active "park it" recall — NHTSA advises against driving this vehicle until the remedy is complete.
Vehicle Summary
2018 Audi Q5
Before You Buy
Safety record at a glance
- Recall campaigns
- 6
- Owner complaints
- 200
- Complaints citing a crash
- 10
These are raw counts from NHTSA records. They are not normalized by how many of these vehicles are on the road, so a model that sold in large numbers will tend to show more of everything. We do not publish a composite safety or reliability score.
6 Recalls on Record
1 of these is high-severity. Some may require you to stop driving the vehicle until repaired.
Safety recalls
6 NHTSA campaigns affecting this model year.
- 18V369000critical Do not drive
Brake system issue
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DISC:CALIPER
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018 Volkswagen Atlas, Passat, Beetle, Beetle Convertible, Golf, Golf SportWagen and GTI and Audi Q5 and SQ5 vehicles. The brake caliper pistons on these vehicles may have insufficient coating, potentially reducing the brake performance.
Consequence
A reduction of braking performance can increase the risk of a crash.
Full campaign recordRemedy
Volkswagen and Audi will notify their owners. Audi dealers will bleed the rear brakes. Volkswagen dealers will bleed the front and rear brake calipers. Note: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the brake system has been checked. The recall began June 29, 2018. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298 and Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 47N8, 47N9, and 47N6.
- 19V416000high
Tire/wheel issue
WHEELS:HUB
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Audi Q5 and SQ5 vehicles. The wheel arch cover trim may loosen and detach.
Consequence
The detached trim may become a road hazard, increasing the risk of crash.
Full campaign recordRemedy
Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will secure the wheel arch trim with an additional screw and nut, free of charge. The recall began July 26, 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 66K6.
- 19V737000high
Body/structure issue
STRUCTURE:BODY
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Audi SQ5 and 2018-2020 Audi Q5 vehicles. The rear wheel arch cover trim may loosen and detach from the vehicle.
Consequence
The detached trim may become a road hazard, increasing the risk of crash.
Full campaign recordRemedy
Audi will notify owners, and dealers will replace the four clips securing the forward part of the rear wheel arch trim, free of charge. The recall began November 1, 2019. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 66K8.
- 19V277000high
Brake system issue
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:MASTER CYLINDER
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Audi Q5 and SQ5 vehicles. The brake master cylinder casting may be too short.
Consequence
A short casting can cause a sudden loss of brakes, increasing the risk of crash. The electronic parking brake and its emergency brake function are not affected and will still function.
Full campaign recordRemedy
Audi has notified owners, and dealers will inspect the brake master cylinder, replacing it as necessary, free of charge. The recall began May 3, 2019. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 47O9.
- 16V955000high
Safety restraint issue
SEAT BELTS:PRETENSIONER
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2017 Audi A7, A4, A6, Volkswagen Golf and Tiguan vehicles and 2016 Volkswagen e-Golf vehicles for driver frontal air bags, passenger frontal air bags or head air bags that may not deploy properly. Additionally, certain 2017 Audi Q7, A4 Sedan, A4 Allroad, and 2018 Audi Q5 vehicles are being recalled because the seat belt pretensioners may not activate properly.
Consequence
In the event of a crash, if the air bags and/or the seat belt pretensioners do not inflate or function properly, the vehicle occupants have an increased risk of injury.
Full campaign recordRemedy
Volkswagen and Audi will notify owners, and dealers will replace the affected air bags and seat belt pretensioners, free of charge. The recall began April 2017. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298 or Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834.
- 21V947000high
Electrical issue
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:BODY CONTROL MODULE/BCM
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Q5 Sportback, SQ5 Sportback, 2018-2022 Q5, and SQ5 vehicles. A liquid spill in the rear seat, or water ingress from an insufficient body seam underneath the vehicle may allow liquid to penetrate the gateway control module, causing it to shutdown.
Consequence
A gateway control module shutdown will suddenly reduce engine power, increasing the risk of a crash.
Full campaign recordRemedy
Dealers will install a protective cover on the gateway control module and seal an underbody seam as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 21, 2022. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 90S9.
NHTSA crash-test ratings
NCAP star ratings and the underlying test breakdown for the 2018 Audi Q5.
Frontal crash
- Driver
- 5 / 5
- Passenger
- 5 / 5
Side crash
- Driver
- 5 / 5
- Passenger
- 5 / 5
- Side pole
- 5 / 5
Rollover
- Rollover risk
- 16.4%
- Dynamic tip
- No Tip
Driver-assistance technologies
- Electronic stability control
- Standard
- Forward collision warning
- Standard
- Lane departure warning
- Optional
What the ratings mean
NHTSA gives the 2018 Audi Q5 5 out of 5 stars overall. NHTSA does not publish enough comparable results for this class and year to rank it against peers.
NHTSA published results for every NCAP test in this program, so the overall star rating rests on a complete set of crash and rollover results.
NHTSA's dynamic test put this vehicle's rollover probability at 16.4% in a single-vehicle crash — the figure behind the rollover star rating, published here because the star alone hides how wide each band is.
Fuel economy & emissions
EPA figures for the 2018 Audi Q5, with tailpipe CO₂ and class context.
23
City
27
Hwy
25
Comb
- Annual fuel cost
- $3,050
- Tailpipe CO₂
- 363 g/mi
How this compares
At 25 MPG combined, the 2018 Audi Q5 ranks 2nd of 6 small SUVs (4WD) EPA rated for 2018 — 1.5 MPG better than the 23.5 MPG median for that group.
That places it squarely mid-pack for its class. Fuel cost is close enough to its rivals that other running costs will probably matter more.
EPA puts annual fuel spend at about $3,050, $200 less than the $3,250 typical for the class. Over five years at 15,000 miles a year that is roughly $15,250, a $1,000 difference against a class-median vehicle.
Tailpipe CO₂ is 363 grams per mile — about 5.4 metric tons over 15,000 miles of driving.
Consumer complaints
200 owner reports filed with NHTSA.
- 200
- Total
- 10
- Crashes
- 0
- Fires
- 5
- Injuries
Most reported components
- ELECTRICAL49
- ENGINE35
- OTHER30
- BRAKES22
- SUSPENSION22
Notable Issues
200 consumer complaints filed with NHTSA. 5 reports involve injuries. 10 reports involve a crash.
Most reported problems
Safety timeline
Every dated recall and NHTSA investigation for the 2018 Audi Q5, newest first.
- Recall
A gateway control module shutdown will suddenly reduce engine power, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Recall
The detached trim may become a road hazard, increasing the risk of crash.
- Recall
The detached trim may become a road hazard, increasing the risk of crash.
- Recall
A short casting can cause a sudden loss of brakes, increasing the risk of crash. The electronic parking brake and its emergency brake function are not affected and will still function.
- Do not drive
A reduction of braking performance can increase the risk of a crash.
- Recall
In the event of a crash, if the air bags and/or the seat belt pretensioners do not inflate or function properly, the vehicle occupants have an increased risk of injury.
Dates are the NHTSA report-received date for recalls and the ODI open/close date for investigations. Crash-test ratings are not shown here because the source does not provide a reliable publication date for them.
Specifications & ratings
Specifications
- Body class
- Small Sport Utility Vehicle 4WD
- Drive type
- All-Wheel Drive
- Engine
- 2L 4-cyl
- Fuel type
- Unknown
- Transmission
- Automatic (S7)
- Seats
- 0
Fuel economy
23
City
27
Hwy
25
Comb
- Annual cost
- $3,050
- Fuel
- Premium Gasoline
NHTSA crash ratings
- Overall
- Frontal
- Side
- Rollover
Explore related
Systems recalled
Safety timeline
Full timeline- Recall
A gateway control module shutdown will suddenly reduce engine power, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Recall
The detached trim may become a road hazard, increasing the risk of crash.
- Recall
The detached trim may become a road hazard, increasing the risk of crash.
- Recall
A short casting can cause a sudden loss of brakes, increasing the risk of crash. The electronic parking brake and its emergency brake function are not affected and will still function.
- Do not drive
A reduction of braking performance can increase the risk of a crash.