2011 Audi A5 problems
Owners have filed 30 complaints with NHTSA about the 2011 Audi A5. Air bags is the most reported problem area, at 47% of complaints. Next are engine (20%) and drivetrain & axles (13%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 30 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 47% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 4 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 1 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 70,000 miles 12 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 1 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 2 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 1 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 4 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 2 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 1 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 0 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 1 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 12 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 70,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 4 complaints mention a crash; 1 injury reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2011 ranks 5th most-complained-about out of 7 model years of the Audi A5 with enough data (15 complaints in that window).
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 audi a5. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 35 MPH, the driver crashed into the rear of a second vehicle. During the crash, the front end was severely damaged but the air bags did not deploy. The driver was not injured. No police report was taken. The occupant in the second vehicle sustained an injured back. No further information was available. The cause of the failure was not determined.
I filed a claim with insurance company with what I thought was minor damages for a hit and run that happened to me while I was at emergency room for the multiple surgeries I’ve had recently and when the claim came back total loss due to defective airbag recalls and cause my airbags were supposed to deploy where they hit me and didn’t, now I’m left with 7k still owed on my full coverage insurance on Audi and no car and deemed total loss and unsafe to have on roads.
The audi 2.0t engine is known to have issues with significant oil consumption. During service visits I have mentioned to the audi dealer that the car burns a quart of oil every 1000-1200 miles. Audi claims that this is part of the engine design in order for it to give better fuel economy. This is clearly not true. I have friends with audis equipped with the 2.0t engine and they have zero oil consumption. There are multiple online blogs with other audi owners complaining about this issue.
March 21 my low oil light came on, as it has every couple of months from the day I bought my car. Audi always told me this was normal. I would go to the dealer every couple of months when the light came on and get a quart poured in. I've never had another issue with the car and I have serviced it perfectly at the dealership. About a month ago I got notice of the class action lawsuit for my car and it's overconsumption of oil.