Service Brakes Problems of Audi Q5 - part 1

Am writing to report a very concerning safety issue with my 2019 Audi Q5 and to request guidance on whether this may be covered under warranty or if my vehicle is experiencing a malfunction. On Saturday, while driving to an appointment, there was a bicyclist in the bike lane. Suddenly, the “Audi presence” warning flashed red on my dashboard and the vehicle braked very hard on its own. I was not close to hitting the bicyclist and there was no imminent collision risk. The sudden braking was extremely frightening and could have caused an accident if a car had been behind me. It took quite a while for me to calm down and get my breathing back to normal after the incident. Then this morning, I received a dashboard warning that said: “drive system: malfunction! please contact service. ” I am very concerned that this may be a malfunction of the automatic emergency braking or driver assistance system, especially after the unexpected hard braking incident. This feels like a serious safety issue. I am very concerned and very unhappy, as this situation felt dangerous and could have resulted in an accident.

See all problems of the 2019 Audi Q5 🔎.

Check engine light is on almost constantly on my car. It might turn off and stay that way for a couple of days, but always comes on again. Dealership had made two attempts to "fix" it by just clearing the faults. However, according to the service department the reason why check engine light came on was "faults for loss of communication to powertrain electronics and brake electronics" which I think is a real safety concern. After my last trip to the dealership the check engine light came on after just two days of normal driving. There was also a situation when I was unable to shift to park with the risk of rolling along with some other error messages on the dash. I was unable to lock the vehicle because of that and of course there was a risk of it rolling.

See all problems of the 2025 Audi Q5 🔎.

Problem with brake booster servo issue comes on the dash then goes away. Brakes are spongy and brake pedal makes a swooshing sound when pressed.

See all problems of the 2018 Audi Q5 🔎.

On December 22nd I got into the vehicle and a few errors popped up which consisted of “loose wheel warning malfunction” “brakes: limited functionality drive with causation” “active front assist and emergency assist unavailable”. I called the nearest dealer and was told it’s ok to drive it’s just a software glitch and if I don’t feel comfortable driving I should take it to the dealer and come back tomorrow for a loaner since service was closed already. So I proceeded to drive home, about 10 minutes into the drive a warning for the coolant came up so I pulled off into a parking lot and as I went to park another warning came up saying coolant too high turn off vehicle and as I was approaching the parking spot the car started to overheat and smoke. This is a brand new car with barely 1000 miles on it.

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.

See all problems of the 2024 Audi Q5 🔎.

I moved into a parking spot and pushed the brakes to stop but the car accelerated and hit a tree. However when the police drove the car out of the parking spot the brakes were working properly.

On 12/13/25 around 8:00am in the morning. I was driving between 20-25 mph and started to brake for the corner stop sign. I applied the break as I normally would however, the car continued to roll and did not respond to my applying pressure to the brake pedal. No matter how much pressure I apply to the brake the car continued to coast without stopping. I continued to press hard on the break and even pumped the break. After 2 to 3 yards of coasting, the car stopped. I continued to drive the car for another 0. 5 miles and the same break problem occurred again. There are no lights indicating problems on my dashboard. The weather was clear and sunny in the morning. There was no rain. There was no snow. All the roads were dry. I took the car to my dealership and they could not find anything wrong. The brake pads were well within the normal safety range at 8 mm. There was no computer system malfunction. They could not give me an explanation. The Audi dealership’s head mechanic said that because my front brake pads and rotor, and my back brake pads were replaced at pep boys two years ago that this could be a reason for the brake failure. Although he was not 100% sure of this. He suggested that I pay $3500 for Audi to replace the current rotors and brake pads despite the original determination that there were nothing wrong with them. The auto mechanic test drove the car with me after the diagnostic evaluation. He could not detect any problems with the brakes no screeching sounds no noises. The anti brake system was working well. To this day, I still do not feel safe driving this car for fear that the incident with the brake failure will happen again.

See all problems of the 2017 Audi Q5 🔎.

This vehicle misrecognizes intersections on two lane highways and causes the vehicle to unexpectedly slam on its brakes without warning in anticipation of an intersection that either does not exist or where my vehicle has the entire right way. This behavior has persisted since the date of purchase and has not been corrected at all. Audi has confirmed that the vehicle is operating as designed however, I have personally almost had two major traffic accidents when this system engaged in the process of overtaking a vehicle, slamming the brakes and almost causing a accident where he and I was rear ended. This is not a vehicle. I would let a child learn how to drive in.

Two weeks after purchase, experienced multiple, random driver assistance failures. After attempting to repair issue once unsuccessfully, the dealership was unable to provide a second service appointment for two and a half months. Was explained all 2025 Audis were having issues, so couldn’t get car in any sooner. Before that second scheduled service appointment and while driving in traffic, the brakes failed.

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.

The gateway control module failed in September 2025 on my 2021 Audi Q5. Vehicle error messages included the following failures: cruise control, parking brake, transmission, brakes, and steering, windows rolled down, seats moved, dash and mmi black followed by a sudden loss of power, narrowly avoiding an accident (kids in car). Would not restart. Diagnosis by Audi dealer was that the gateway control module got wet and needed to be replaced. This is recall 90s9 from 2021 that was “repaired” in March 2022 by covering the module with a plastic bag. This proved an insufficient repair backed up by a class action lawsuit filed in January 2022 titled gioffe, et al. V. Volkswagen group of America, inc. , et al. (case no. 1:22-cv-00193). I reached out to Audi USA to request a goodwill repair which was my only available recourse given that the recall had been completed and closed. After 5 days the regional manager denied my request even after I emphasized the safety risk associated with this catastrophic failure as well as the recall in 2021 and class action suit filed in 2022. I paid $1485. 33 to re-repair the recall. Driving home from repair my vehicle alerted me to the following messages: vehicle starting system: malfunction! please contact service, and Audi pre-sense: currently limited. See owner’s manual. An obd scan alerted 7 more codes: 1. Steering assistance id 44 (terminal 30 open circuit), 2. Central electrics id 09 (garage door opener transmitter no communication), 3. Gateway id 19 control module for emergency call module and communication unit no communication, 4. Ethernet notrufmodul keine kommunikation, 5. Ethernet databus branch 1 no communication, 6. Multimedia id sf function restriction due to communication interruption, 7. Driver assistance id a5 dynamic calibration function limitation due to limit value exceedance. I reached out to the dealership that performed the service and was told that those are “ghost codes” and nothing to do with the work performed.

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While driving home from the dealership on route 65 at approximately 45 mph, the vehicle suddenly and forcefully applied the brakes without warning. My husband and I are experiencing symptoms of whiplash including back and neck pain. There were no vehicles, pedestrians, or obstacles nearby that would have triggered this response. This was a scary experience, and I am concerned it could happen again in traffic or at higher speeds. This incident presents a serious safety hazard to me, my passengers, and others on the road. The auto was purchased one week ago. Had it in for service. According to the service summary, the driver assist system had a coding error, and a hard reset of the module was performed. Unfortunately, after the braking incident, upon arriving home and restarting the vehicle, the same error message “initializing active front assist” immediately reappeared. I drove the vehicle for an additional five minutes, and the message remained. This suggests the issue was not resolved and may indicate a deeper fault in the system.

My vehicle spontaneously began displaying emergency signals including engine malfunction, turn signal malfunction, parking brake malfunction, brake light malfunction. I would also turn the car completely off and brake lights would remain on asymetrically. Also, the related alert bells would go off intermittently. I have kept my car in good repair and on a regular maintanence schedule. I took the car first to my mechanic who evaluated and said I should take to the Audi dealership. After two days of diagnosis, they came back that the sunroof drains were clogged with debris which definitively caused water to enter and soak the "comfort module" after irrigating them, they did not find any damage and said they do not need replacement. However, the water soaked and heavily corroded the comfort module and say the entire module needs to be replaced along with a rebuild of the harness. They are quoting me $12,300. My safety was at risk in the malfunction of the engine system, and especially signalling capabilities and possible brake impact. The problem has been confirmed by two mechanics - mine and Audi I searched online and have discovered a number of other 2018 Audi Q5 owner accounts of the same and similar defect and result. [xxx] [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

I am writing regarding a serious issue with my 2024 Audi Q5, which I purchased brand new and have owned for only 12 months. The vehicle has developed premature rotor wear, which is entirely unexpected given its age, my normal driving habits, and Audi’s reputation for quality. Brake rotors should not require replacement this early unless there is a manufacturing or material defect. This vehicle is still under warranty, and I am requesting that Audi inspect the braking system immediately and cover the cost of any necessary repairs under warranty. Please document the inspection findings and let me know if there is a known issue or technical service bulletin related to this. I am not willing to pay for a component failure that is clearly not due to driver misuse or wear and tear. I expect a prompt resolution and would appreciate a written response confirming next steps. Possible causes (not your fault) defective rotors or materials – if the metal quality was subpar or warped at the factory, they could wear prematurely. Improper factory installation or torque – incorrect installation can cause uneven wear or damage. Caliper or pad malfunction – sticking calipers or bad pads can ruin rotors prematurely. Electronic brake malfunction – Audi’s advanced braking systems (abs, brake hold, etc. ) can malfunction and overuse the brakes.

The vehicle experiences sudden, uncommanded braking on clear roads due to a malfunction in the Audi pre sense system. The system falsely detects obstacles and applies the brakes abruptly, creating a safety hazard for occupants and surrounding traffic. The issue was reported to Audi beverly hills multiple times beginning July 2023, including through the dealer's online service request system. However, the dealer repeatedly failed to document braking concern on repair orders until insistent during latest visit. In one visit (August 7, 2023), the dealer reduced the pre sense sensitivity without creating a repair order or performing diagnostics. At other times, service advisors stated the vehicle was 'operating normally' or refused to record the concern unless it could be duplicated during a short test drive. On August 25, 2025, the dealer finally documented my complaint as 'car would brake randomly' and performed an svm reconfiguration, but the issue persists. The vehicle is currently used rarely for safety.

The vehicle experiences sudden, uncommanded braking on clear roads due to a malfunction in the Audi pre sense system. The system falsely detects obstacles and applies the brakes abruptly, creating a safety hazard for occupants and surrounding traffic. The issue was reported to Audi beverly hills multiple times beginning July 2025, including through the dealer’s online service request system. However, the dealer repeatedly failed to document the braking concern on repair orders until I insisted during later visits. In one visit (August 7, 2025), the dealer reduced the pre sense sensitivity without creating a repair order or performing diagnostics. At other times, service advisors stated the vehicle was “operating normally” or refused to record the concern unless it could be duplicated during a short test drive. On August 25, 2025, the dealer finally documented my complaint as “car would brake randomly” and performed an svm reconfiguration, but the issue persists. The vehicle is currently used rarely for saftey.

Reverse car went full throttle, brakes did not work, car stopped in reverse when it hit a tree. Seat belt did not tighten,.

Car was being driven normally within a parking lot of a shopping center. Proceeded to park the vehicle in a parking space. Upon pressing break and holding break pedal pressed, went to push the parking button on gear shifter and car erratically jolted and drove forward and stopped upon impact with barriers/debris/crash. Multiple alerts and warnings illuminated right prior to the incident. Reviews of other drivers of this vehicle reveals similar incidents of unintended acceleration while breaks are actively being applied. No parking button options were stopping vehicle, impact/crash stopped car. Property of shopping plaza/target was damaged, my vehicle, Audi, was damaged and another vehicle parked next to claims their vehicle was involved/hit as well. Safety was critically in danger as breaks did not work and car accelerated on its own without accelerator being pressed rather break was actively engaged and pressing of parking break to shift car from drive to park. Audi pre sense, parking break, tpms and caution symbol alerts displayed. Problems confirmed and reviewed by Audi dealer service. Paperwork is attached along with pictures. Alerts from car has been present for sometime and car has been taken to Audi numerous times with no action by dealer, car is new and is a lease. Audi is aware of these issues had took no action to Audit/fix cars systems. Shortly after those visits to dealers this incident occurred. Believe these control modules having a correlation with cars sporadic behavior. Audi service documents: story: 5354 TSB 2070571/2 duplicated customer concern during the initial test drive. Ran gff with diag id 186214649 found dtc p060c00: internal control module main processor performance. Found TSB 2070571/2. As per TSB "1 clear the dtc p060c00 and return the vehicle to the customer. 2. Explain to the customer that a solution is expected to be available by the end of the 1st quarter of 2024 (subject to change) and that no repairs are necessary at this point.

See all problems of the 2023 Audi Q5 🔎.

The Audi "pre sense" automatic braking system engaged without warning and without reason bringing the vehicle to a sudden and complete stop in the middle of an intersection and slamming my body backwards and causing my head to go forward nearly hitting the steering wheel. A school bus was directly behind me and was able to stop in time before it ran into the back of my vehicle, but it could have caused serious injury or death to multiple people. It caused a considerable amount of pain in my neck the day after and soreness in my ribs. The vehicle gave no prior warning. It did display a message simultaneously when it applied the brakes and locked the seatbelts that the "pre sense" had been engaged. It has happened three times prior to this incident. The vehicle dealer has told me that they see record of the system engaging but it does not appear to be faulty by the manufacturers standards despite numerous complaints and frequent occurrences.

We were driving today at around 11:30am and all of a sudden the “Audi presense” light came on at the same time the car brakes abruptly slowed down the car for about 5 seconds or so and then released. Today is a beautiful sunny day and there were no vehicles anywhere or anything in roadway on the road we were traveling on. The jerking /abrupt slowdown really surprised us. We will go to Audi dealer ASAP but now we don’t trust when it will happen again. A car could have hit us from behind.

See all problems of the 2020 Audi Q5 🔎.

I was pulling into a parking space at approximately 5 mph and the car unintentionally accelerated causing me to jump the curb, go over a grass median and land perpendicularly onto a one-way active road. There were trees and other items on the median I could've hit had I'd been pulling into a different parking space. I also could've hit cars on the road. I quickly got off the road and parked the car.

See all problems of the 2016 Audi Q5 🔎.

Comfort control module (j393) is malfunctioning due to water getting into the wiring components and surrounding areas. The rear lighting stops working all together; no taillights, no brake lights, no turn signals, no license plate lights, and no lights when backing up. The problem has been reproduced by an authorized dealer. The component was removed by the dealer and noted of water inside the module and corrosion on the pins/ internals because of the water. The warning lamps occurred at the same time the lights stopped working. There was never any "prior to" warning. The warnings disappear randomly, no set time until they cleared. I am assuming once the module dries out over time is when the warnings start to clear but that is just speculation. Unknown cause of the incident, but water is getting into the inside of the car somehow.

Recently on a number of occassions the car stopped because the pre-sense sensor went off prematurely. There were no cars within 500 feet of my car on all occassions. Now the pre-sense has completely turned off and will not turn back on.

My wife and I were in the 2023 Audi Q5 with 1000 miles. I had complained to the dealer and manufacturer that this car was unsafe to drive. On June 9, 2023 I was driving slowly in my community. I tried to stop at a stop sign. No brakes then at the same time the car had unintended sudden acceleration. We had no control, no brakes and hit a fence and shrubbery and cement fence. All airbags deployed.

The sunroof draining is designed in such a way that if the holes get clogged, the water can back up and flood the comfort control module in the rear of the car rendering it useless. That module controls critical parts of the driving of the car like turn signals, the on/off starter motor, which if they fail while on the road make it incredibly dangerous to drive. Audi has already recalled the car to "enclose" the gateway control module but refuses to take responsibility for damage to the comfort control module caused by badly designed sunroof drainage. This incident caused a $9,000 repair that they refused to pay for.

The contact owns a 2023 Audi q3. The contact stated that while driving approximately 5 mph over a speed pump the driver pressed the brake pedal while approaching a stop sign when suddenly the vehicle accelerated forward at a high rate of speed and crashed into a fence and brick wall. During the crash the driver sustained a fractured nose, head and face lacerations, neck and lumbar pains and a right arm laceration which required stitches. The front passenger sustained neck, lumbar and chest injuries. Both occupants required immediate medical treatment. A police report was taken at the scene and the vehicle was towed away and later listed as destroyed by the insurance company. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer and local dealer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 1030.

Complete hydraulic brake failure while on an interstate going 75mph. No warning, just sudden loss of regular and emergency brakes. I was able to cross 4 lanes of traffic to get to the shoulder where I waited absolutely terrified of being rear-ended for the two hours it took for a tow truck to arrive. My repair place was shocked at the problem, considering the car was 8 years old with low mileage. They found the only after-market part in the entire country and repaired it for under $2000 when they initially thought it would be $6000.

See all problems of the 2015 Audi Q5 🔎.

Traveling north interstate 95 about 40 miles south of jacksonville, FL. 4/7/23 at 8 am. Traffic slowed , brakes flailed , no emergency brakes, hit others cars and travelled off road, car flew into a tree 10 ft up, cut off the top of tree and landed on nose upside down against a tree.

The contact owns a 2022 Audi Q5. The contact stated while driving 65 mph, the brake failure warning light illuminated. Additionally, the doors locked independently, and the windows independently rolled down. The contact attempted to depress the brake pedal; however, the brake pedal was extremely firm. The contact was able to stop the vehicle on the side of the road and turned off the vehicle. The contact waited for the vehicle to cool down before restarting the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed; however, the dealer found no failure with the vehicle. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 5,000.

See all problems of the 2022 Audi Q5 🔎.

In short my front right brake caliper failed. To be clear, brake fluid seeped out of the main 2 halves of the caliper. After some investigation there appears to be a recall on this issue on 2017 models and newer but not on my 2016. Per my mechanic this failure is rare and unusual and could have been catastrophic. The brake light warning did come on, but the amount of fluid that seeped was significant in that even 1 day after my light came on and driving a short distance to the shop, almost all of my brake fluid had seeped out.

Accident occurred in the parking lot as I was trying to park, sudden unintended acceleration occurred that caused the car to hit the building. Neither front nor back airbags deployed, as well as the automatic emergency break of the collision safety system did not work or activated to stop the car. Both my wife and I were hospitalized. The auto emergency system of the Audi Q5 is not reliable, and the need for recall.

I was trying to park my car in my office parking space, after right turn to parking space, I applied brake to stop, but the car suddenly accelerated and within few seconds it crashed into the office building. I was still applying brake when it accelerated and I could not do anything else. The fact that vehicle climbed two levels of curbs to hit the building shows that the acceleration was out of my control. And even vehicle's collision system did not kick in when car was climbed over the curb. Polic report #: 22-350-0239c agency: sccso.

Two issues: 1. We have needed to repeatedly replace brake booster. 2. Passenger side rear spring has broken and dealer is indicating the driver side should also be replaced.

A 2022 Audi Q5 phev abruptly stopped and displayed three warning lights on the dashboard (electrical system malfunction, drive system malfunction, and check engine light). Car was unable to move. Had the car abruptly stopped on a highway, a serious accident may have occurred. There were no prior warnings. After restarting the car several times, the malfunction messages disappeared and the check engine light stayed on. The driver drove it less than 5 miles to the dealership after contacting the dealership to provide advance notice of the car’s arrival. On the same day, the dealership said that the check engine light cleared itself and they did not find any codes to diagnose an issue. Without a diagnosis, the dealership cannot state that a similar incident would not occur in the future. After four more days with the car, the dealership maintained that there were no codes to use for a diagnosis (reported only sporadic codes and not hard codes were found) and the car was ready for pickup. The driver will request an inspection by another Audi dealership service center. The driver has also experienced an intermittent hard brake pedal issue with this model. Issue noted at dealership in August, but not replicated and the issue still occurs infrequently.

While driving at a relatively low speed, approximately 30 mph, I approached a red light and proceeded to slow down. The brakes did not engage, so I continue to pump them but had to swerve into the right lane to avoid hitting the car in front of me. Fortunately, there wasn’t a car in the right lane. It was raining but not heavily, although earlier we did go through heavy rain on the freeway. After this incident we still had to drive about 5 more miles to get to our destination. The brakes worked the rest of the way. I took the car to Audi to have them check it and they said they didn’t find anything; however, this was certainly some sort of brake malfunction.