2013 Audi A5: owner complaints and recalls
Analysis of 36 owner complaints filed with NHTSA and 3 recall campaigns. Updated 2026-07-25.
36
Complaints
3
Recalls
3
Crash reports
2
Fire reports
3
Injuries
133.3
Severity index
Severity index 133.3 - High. This weights crashes, fires, injuries and fatalities per 100 complaints; see methodology.
What actually fails
| Component | Complaints | Share of complaints citing it |
|---|---|---|
| ENGINE | 13 | 36.1% |
| STEERING | 8 | 22.2% |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 7 | 19.4% |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 3 | 8.3% |
| FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 3 | 8.3% |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | 3 | 8.3% |
| POWER TRAIN | 2 | 5.6% |
| SERVICE BRAKES | 2 | 5.6% |
The single most-reported system is ENGINE, cited in 13 of 36 complaints (36.1%). One complaint can name several systems, so these shares overlap and do not total 100%.
Complaints filed per year
| Year | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 2013 | 3 |
| 2015 | 4 |
| 2016 | 1 |
| 2017 | 5 |
| 2018 | 9 |
| 2019 | 5 |
| 2020 | 2 |
| 2021 | 2 |
| 2022 | 1 |
| 2023 | 3 |
| 2024 | 1 |
Complaint volume is declining, consistent with a defect that was addressed by recall or that affected early builds.
Recall campaigns
| Campaign | Reported | Component | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17V622000 | 05/10/2017 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING | Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2013-2016 Audi A5 Coupe, A5 Cabriolet, A4 Sedan, A4 Allroad and Q5 vehicles. Contact corrosion within the electrical connector for the auxiliary heater may cause the heater wires to overheat or melt. |
| 17V002000 | 03/01/2017 | ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM | Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2013-2017 Audi A5, A5 Cabriolet and Q5 vehicles, 2013-2016 Audi Allroad and Audi A4 vehicles and 2012-2015 Audi A6 vehicles. These vehicles, equipped with 2.0l Turbo FSI engines, have an electric coolant pump th |
| 18V229000 | 11/04/2018 | ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM | Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2013-2017 Audi A5 Cabriolet, A5 Sedan and Audi Q5 vehicles, 2012-2015 Audi A6 vehicles and 2013-2016 Audi A4 Sedan and A4 allroad vehicles. These vehicles, equipped with 2.0l Turbo FSI engines, have an electric c |
Source. US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration public complaint and recall APIs (api.nhtsa.gov), retrieved 2026-07-25. Complaints are unverified consumer reports; volume is influenced by how many units were sold and how long the vehicle has been on the road. Not affiliated with NHTSA or any manufacturer.