Multiple electrical failures that control numerous safety systems, such as airbags, Collision avoidance, speed control, etc. Airbags will not activate in a collision. Vehicle will shut off at highway speeds, resulting in loss of steering control. The vehicle has been inspected by an Audi dealer. Multiple warnings on dash came on when the issue occurred.
Audi Q5 collision warning problems
11 of the 1,359 owner complaints about the Audi Q5 describe false forward collision warnings, most of them for the 2018 model year.
- owner complaints
- 11
- worst model year
- 2018
- typical mileage
- 14,100
By model year
- 20253
- 20231
- 20221
- 20211
- 20185
Often reported together
Lane assist 2Power steering loss 1Check engine light 1Backup camera 1Adaptive cruise 1
What owners say
On XXX at approximately 5:00 PM, my 2025 Audi Q5 (VIN: [XXX]) initiated an unprovoked forward collision warning and emergency braking intervention while I was traveling at approximately 57–58 mph on [XXX]. Road conditions were clear and dry. Weather was sunny. Adaptive Cruise Control was not activated. I was the sole occupant of the vehicle. A vehicle was making a lawful turn onto the roadway from a T-intersection. There was substantial distance between my vehicle and the turning vehicle. No collision risk existed and no evasive action was required. Despite this, the vehicle's forward collision system overrode my control and initiated emergency braking without cause. As a result of the sudden braking and the force of the seatbelt restraint during the event, I sustained abdominal pain and lower back pain that began immediately following the incident and persisted thereafter. This incident did not occur in isolation. Prior to this event, the vehicle had already exhibited a documented pattern of electronic and driver assistance system malfunctions, including intermittent check engine warnings, repeated false-positive driver assistance alerts, power liftgate malfunctions, sunroof malfunctions, and additional electronic irregularities. All of these concerns were reported to Audi Albany prior to the emergency braking event. Following a service visit, I was told nothing further could be done. The vehicle is currently at Audi Albany undergoing inspection at the request of Audi of America, including a review of the Event Data Recorder. I am filing this complaint to ensure the incident is part of the federal safety record. A driver assistance system that initiates emergency braking at highway speed without a valid hazard present, on a vehicle with a prior history of false-positive alerts, represents a safety defect that I believe warrants federal documentation and review. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
•XXX: Purchased new 2025 Audi Q5. •XXX Dashboard displayed "Check Tire Pressure" warning for all tires. •XXX: Service at Audi Marin - Reported hatch malfunction, tire pressure concerns, and repeated rollback after brake release during service visit. •XXX: Vehicle displayed "P Not Possible. Risk of Rolling Away" warning. Vehicle could not be placed into PARK, required roadside assistance (never showed after 2-hour wait), and could not be safely secured. •XXX: While stopped at a traffic light, both front seat belts tightened aggressively without warning. Passenger was a [XXX] child. •Late XXX: Collision avoidance/emergency braking warnings continued. Vehicle remained in use while awaiting loaner car availability. •XXX Oil service reminder displayed at approximately 5,000 miles. Electronic issues continue. Additional warning lights appeared. Despite multiple service visits, the vehicle continues to experience unresolved safety-related and electronic malfunctions. I have been without the vehicle since XXXdriving a loaner. Dealership reported there is a pending service solution that will be released in the 3rd quarter (maybe September). That is 2 months away - unacceptable- car is unsafe to drive. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The contact owns a 2022 Audi Q5. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the vehicle was started, and the message "Electrical System Malfunction – Stop Safely" was displayed. A red warning light flashed and then turned yellow. In another occurrence, while on the freeway, the vehicle accelerated independently, and the collision warning light flashed with a beeping sound, although there were no vehicles nearby. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer was unable to duplicate the failure due to invalid data that was received. The contact was informed by the dealer to avoid driving the vehicle when the red light was illuminated. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 23,000.
* Primary Component: Forward Collision Avoidance * Secondary Component (if available): Electrical System / Lane Departure Step 3: The Incident Description (Copy & Paste below) > Summary of Safety Defect: > The vehicle is experiencing a critical, recurring failure of the Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS). There are two primary life-safety issues: > * Phantom Braking: The vehicle initiates sudden, forceful emergency braking without any external hazard or obstacle present. This rapid, unprovoked deceleration occurs at highway speeds, creating an immediate risk of rear-end collisions. > * Total Warning Failure: The system fails to provide any visual or audible "Pre-Sense" alerts when actual hazards are present. The safety suite is non-functional and fails to warn the driver of oncoming items. > * Context: The vehicle has undergone four repair attempts and has been out of service for over 30 days. As of late December 2025, the manufacturer has been unable to resolve these safety-critical software and sensor malfunctions. >
The contact owns a 2019 Audi Q5. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, with no other vehicles or objects nearby, the Forward Collision Avoidance system unintendedly activated. The contact stated that within seconds, the Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking system engaged, greatly reducing the speed before returning to normal functionality. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to diagnose the failure with Forward Collision Avoidance system. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 60,000.
The lane keeping system randomly will malfunction and will veer the car either into oncoming traffic or out of the lane i am driving in. The most recent it tried to veer me off the road completely and into a sign off the road. The vehicle will also sometimes trigger the Audi collision avoidance system randomly. It has done it twice while turning left that the car will come to an abrupt halt for no reason. Both of these concerns can create car accidents if someone is either following closely behind or if the car veers into a different lane. I have reported this to the dealer multiple times and have escalated to Audi corporate. They are unable to replicate the issue, because it happens randomly and say the vehicle is operating within the standard. There have been no warnings or lamps that would indicate that the car has an issue.
The backup camera in the car randomly stops working while driving in reverse. These cameras are mandated by federal law and malfunctions can lead to collision with unforeseen living beings while backing up. The MMI screen also goes completely white/blue while driving forward. Additionally, the adas package comes with a birds eye view camera that is completely skewed created a deceptive understanding of objects in the surroundings. This can lead to collisions making the adas packing (and perhaps the collision warning) totally unreliable. The vehicle is available for inspection as needed. Took the brand new vehicle to the dealer, they refused to fix it as their engineer could not reproduce the issue. Later after a lot of argument, they mentioned they cannot fix it because of resource shortage. Argued they cannot sell brand new vehicles that are faulty, we were told their other cars may have the same issue so they cannot guarantee a loaner will fix this problem. We have spent hours on phone and in person with the dealer service center in vain. There were no warnings of the problem. The screen went blank during the drive. This happened for the first time around November 2021. This happens fairly arbitrarily.
1.I had an accident at approximately 10:45 a.m. On thursday, september 19, 2019 in the parking lot for the medical offices located at 2000 south mays street, round rock, texas. 2.I parked in a space on the south side of the building, which is part of their property. 3.my normal habit is to place the car in 'park' when I stop in a parking spot. 4.since it was very warm, I left the motor running so I'd have air conditioning as I placed the sun screen over the windshield. 5.the sun shade is one piece and takes a lot of time and effort to properly install. 6.when I completed installing the sun shade, I noticed the car was moving backwards at less than 5 MPH. 7.I tried repeatedly to stop the car by pressing on the brake and slamming on the brake. 8.what was happening made no sense to me; it was surreal. Why was the car moving backwards and why couldn't I stop the car? 9.the car stopped when it hit a parking lot light pole on my left rear and the left front of a toyota on my right rear. 10.the car is equipped with every pre sense, driver assistance, and collision avoidance system audi offers; however, all systems failed to detect or avoid the collision. 11.the accident was caused by some weird problem with my 2018 audi q5. There was nothing I could do in the time I had without the brakes working.
Tl* the contact owns a 2018 audi q5. While driving 65 MPH, the collision alert system independently engaged the brake system, causing the vehicle to slow down. The contact was able to keep the vehicle under control and regain highway speed. The contact believed that the collision system may have sensed an object in the road and caused the collision system to engage. The contact also stated that the collision alert system engaged when the contact attempted to parallel park. The contact spoke with audi birmingham (1314 grants mill way, irondale, al 35210, (855) 627-3378) to inquire if the collision alert system could be disabled. The dealer stated that nothing could be done. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 12,000.
Related recalls
Back over prevention: display function
- What is wrong
- Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Audi A8, RS7, RS6 Avant, RS5 Sportback, RS5 Coupe, Q8, Q7, Q5 Sportback, S4 Sedan, Q5, A7, A6, A6 Allroad, A5 Sportback, A5 Coupe, A5 Cabrioleet, A4 Sedan, A4 Allroad, E-Tron Sportback Quattro, SQ7, S5 Cabriolet, E-Tron Quattro, SQ8, SQ5 Sportback, SQ5, S8, S7, S6 Sedan, S5 Sportback, S5 Coupe, 2022 E-Tron GT, and 2021-2022 RSQ8 vehicles. Due to a software issue, a blank or black screen may be displayed instead of the rearview camera image when the vehicle is placed in reverse gear. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
- Risk
- A blank rearview camera display can reduce the driver's rear visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will update the infotainment unit software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 25, 2022. Owners may contact Audi's customer service at 1‑800‑253‑2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 91DZ.
Recall number 22V742000 · Recall details
Questions about the Audi Q5 collision warning
Which Audi Q5 years have false forward collision warnings problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2018 (5 complaints), 2025 (3 complaints) and 2021 (1 complaints).
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