Automatic Emergency Braking problems of the 2024 Audi Q5

21 Dec 2025 11,743 miles Audi pre-sense slammed on the brakes while waiting to make a left. Pointing downhill slightly. No cars in the way. Turned it off completely. Was on the the late setting. Will not stay off.

Audi has a pre-sense mechanism that cannot be permanently turned off. I have almost been hit three times when the Audi brakes for no reason at all; people almost rear-end me because the Audi comes to an immediate halt. And there is no reason for the pre-sense to engage when it does go off. They are flukes. I am going to get seriously injured.

Audi pre-sense keeps braking prematurely when there is no car present or in its field of view. The SUV brakes without warning and when trying to make a left turn (happened twice already) or while driving on the highway. When the vehicle brakes without warning there is a chance that another vehicle will drive into the rear of my vehicle or I will lose control due to the unexpected and unwarranted braking action. The problem has been reported and documented my my local Audi dealership repair facility Audi silver spring, maryland. The vehicle has been inspected all three times, they have performed a complete 4 wheel alignment and sensor alignment. They have witnessed and documented the code that the SUV reported, Audi pre-sense detected. The dashboard did display Audi pre-sense detected all 3 times when the incident occurred. Audi and I both have the documented repair tickets and they are available upon request. Last incident occurred 1400 on 27 September 2025.

Audi pre sense has applied the breaks and cause dangerous situations a total of three times. This occurred twice within the first six months I had the car. I made a left turn and the car suddenly stopped in the intersection and applied the brakes with great force that I was jolted quite hard. I brought the car into an Audi dealership and they adjusted the Audi pre sense settings to be less sensitive but the issue happened again recently. The situation was the same where the brakes suddenly were applied while I made a left turn leaving me standing still in an intersection with oncoming traffic headed at me. It is not possible for Audi to completely turn off the pre sense system, the driver would have to do so each time they start the car which isn't realistic. I believe there needs to be a recall. I feel unsafe.

Component/system malfunction: the Audi pre-sense system has malfunctioned on multiple occasions. The system is available for inspection upon request. What happened: on two separate occasions, the pre-sense system erroneously activated while making an unprotected left turn at a signal-controlled intersection. In both instances, the left turn signal was activated. After waiting for an oncoming vehicle to pass, I began the left turn. Despite the vehicle having passed, the pre-sense system activated, incorrectly perceiving the passing car as a threat. The system abruptly engaged emergency braking, locking the car in place and stalling it in the middle of the intersection. This left my two minor children and me stranded in oncoming traffic, creating an immediate and severe safety hazard. On a separate occasion, while driving straight in a lane with no intention of turning, the pre-sense system activated again. This time, the vehicle next to me slowed to make a left turn in its lane, which triggered my car's system to abruptly stop and stall in traffic. Risk to safety: these malfunctions placed my family and other road users in immediate danger of a collision. In the left-turn incidents, the car stalled in the middle of an intersection with oncoming traffic approaching. In the straight-driving incident, the sudden stop created a risk of being rear-ended in traffic. Attempts to resolve: after the first two incidents, I brought the vehicle to the dealership for inspection. A full diagnostic test was conducted, and I was told the pre-sense system was functioning "properly" with no repairs needed. Dealership staff admitted they had experienced similar pre-sense malfunctions in their own vehicles but dismissed the issue. I was advised to ensure my left turn signal was activated, despite already confirming the signal was on during both incidents. Warning lamps or symptoms: there were no warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms of the problem before the failures occurred.

While starting a left turn from the center left turn lane the car abruptly and forcefully applied the brakes and placed itself in park. There was a single vehicle in the oncoming lane of traffic but it was a more than sufficient distance away to allow the turn to be completed safely. We had not yet left our own lane and there was no risk of collision as a result of the incident. There was no warning from the vehicle prior to the event taking place and after the incident took place a pre sense warning was displayed on the dash. We were quite disoriented after the incident and it was several seconds before we realized what had happened. My passenger complained of not feeling well after the incident and still does not feel well several hours after it took place. The vehicle has not been taken for any inspection at this time. We found the option to disable pre sense in the Audi mmi settings and have since driven the car with the feature disabled, but it has to be disabled every time the car is restarted.