Adaptive Cruise Control Problems of Audi S5

Audi S5 owners have reported 3 problems related to adaptive cruise control (under the forward collision avoidance category). The most recently reported issues are listed below. Also please check out the statistics and reliability analysis of Audi S5 based on all problems reported for the S5.

1 Adaptive Cruise Control problem of the 2026 Audi S5

Failure Date: 08/24/2026

Summary of safety event: while traveling at highway speeds with active traffic behind me, the vehicle’s advanced driver assistance systems (adas) suffered an un-commanded, severe "phantom braking" event. The vehicle aggressively engaged the emergency service brakes and decelerated rapidly with absolutely no obstacles, pedestrians, or vehicles ahead. This sudden, violent deceleration created an immediate and high-risk rear-end collision hazard. Cascading component failures:in tandem with the dangerous autonomous braking behavior, the vehicle's electronic architecture (e³ 1. 2 platform) is exhibiting chronic software instability. The high-performance computing infotainment stack continuously enters an internal network routing loop, displaying "hotspot reconfiguring" error messages. This completely crashes the cloud connectivity, signs out the primary driver profile, and force-reboots the central mmi display screen and wireless android auto interfaces mid-drive. Manufacturer actions & hazard status:I have contacted the manufacturer (Audi of America) and local dealership service networks regarding these systemic software and safety issues, which Audi documents under master overview technical service bulletin (TSB) 2081477. The vehicle currently poses an active safety risk to myself and surrounding motorists due to unpredictable braking behavior. The manufacturer has not yet provided a date to flash the corrected firmware containers (kd2* software update) to resolve the sensor fusion logic flaws.

2 Adaptive Cruise Control problem of the 2025 Audi S5

Failure Date: 04/16/2026

Since the day of delivery, this 2025 Audi S5 has experienced daily electronic and safety system failures. At least once per day, on startup, the vehicle throws 10 or more warning codes disabling safety-critical systems including blind spot monitoring, lane departure warning, forward collision avoidance, rear traffic alert, and adaptive lighting. These failures occur without warning and persist for varying durations before clearing on their own. Additionally, on 5 occasions the adaptive cruise control refused to activate, displaying a false "door open" warning with all doors and trunk confirmed closed. On 4 occasions the power trunk failed to latch using the electronic controls. The 360-degree parking camera system intermittently stops rendering surroundings, displaying only the vehicle graphic with no camera feed. The vehicle was brought to the selling dealer for service. After one hour, the dealer stated no issue was found. A battery diagnostic was requested based on a documented case of an identical 2025 S5 with the same symptoms traced to a faulty 12v battery. The dealer declined to cover the diagnostic under warranty. The service manager later acknowledged these are known platform issues and confirmed a software update is expected from the manufacturer in July 2026. The vehicle already has the latest available software update (TSB 2079690, kd2, version 03. 10. 00/c) installed and the problems persist. The dealer has confirmed there is no current fix available. These failures put the driver and other road users at risk, as safety systems are non-functional during the error state with no indication of when they will restore.

See all problems of the 2025 Audi S5 🔎.

3 Adaptive Cruise Control problem of the 2018 Audi S5

Failure Date: 09/18/2023

The system warning keeps coming on, I’ve tried to schedule appointments with Audi since 2022 and they have zero appointments available.

See all problems of the 2018 Audi S5 🔎.


Other Common Forward Collision Avoidance related problems of Audi S5

Problem Category Number of Problems
Automatic Emergency Braking problems
5
Warnings problems
5
Adaptive Cruise Control problems
3


S5 Service Bulletins