2013 Audi Q5 problems
Owners have filed 107 complaints with NHTSA about the 2013 Audi Q5. Engine is the most reported problem area, at 31% of complaints. After that come steering (17%) and electrical system (8%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 107 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 31% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 1 and 7
- Injuries and deaths
- 2 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 56,000 miles 74 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 | 17 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 12 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 11 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 18 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 6 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 7 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 3 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 74 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 56,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 75,000 miles (23 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 1 complaint mentions a crash; 7 complaints mention a fire; 2 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2013 ranks 9th most-complained-about out of 17 model years of the Audi Q5 with enough data (53 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 5 safety recall campaigns.
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.
When at highway speed, the vehicle veered hard to the left without any driver input, causing the car to cross several lanes of traffic and hit a concrete divider at ~65mph. The driver fractured her back, and one of three children in the car experienced injury. The vehicle was declared a total loss by insurance. The driver (my wife) indicated that a similar incident happened at low speed in a parking lot, but it resolved after shut down and restart of the engine.
Arrived at work. Within 10 minutes of arriving a coworker alerted my husband that his car was smoking. My husband went out to the car and there was smoke billowing from under the hood. He quickly opened the back door, grabbed his work issued laptop and by then it had burst into flames. This happened in march 1, 2017. We found online audi was to release news to owners of a recall involving the coolant pump becoming blocked with debris and causing smoldering and possible fire. Well, there was definitely fire.
Auxiliary water pump caught on fire. Car was parked. Noticed smoke coming from under hood. Opened hood and found flames (very small). Was able to put it out without vehicle damage. Towed to dealer and am awaiting results from audi
At 62000 miles there is a faulty bearing in the transmition that is causing noise to resonate in the cabin. I took the car to a reputable independent mechanic in san francisco and his diagnosis was that it was a manufacture defect, and I should not accept this from audi since this problem should not have occurred at such low mileage.
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 audi q5. While operating the vehicle, the steering wheel became very difficult to maneuver. Prior to the failure, the vehicle would veer to the left when driving. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who performed a front end alignment, but the failure continued. The failure was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 127,000.