Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2018 Audi Q5 owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
I was pulling into (my usual) handicapped parking space, at a slow speed. As I approached the curb my brakes did NOT respond to stop my car. Not only did my brakes not respond, the car actually sped up - going up the curb and hitting the handicapped sign pole. The pole broke and stopped my vehicle! I was afraid my (out of control) vehicle would keep going through a store front - it did not. Folks gathered around- thinking I had put my foot on the gas . I DID NOT put my foot anywhere except on my BRAKES ...which went 'mushy' . would not stop my vehicle. My research has found similar incidents reported by other drivers. I am NOT ALONE. Of course the dealership could not reproduce the incident. But they did suggest many other services for a car with 60,000 miles. The AUDI dealership took NO responsibility for the incident. …
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
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. …
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.
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.
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 dashboard displayed a solid red brake light with a flashing warning "stop vehicle safely" light. A professional diagnostic scan confirmed a permanent hard fault on the ABS control Module (J104) and Hydraulic Unit (N55). The vehicle has only 66,755 miles. Independent repair shops cannot service this unit because it requires highly restricted, specialized Audi factory programming and coding software, forcing consumers to face massive dealership replacement costs for a premature electronic failure ona critical safety system.
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
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? …
The 2nd generation Audi Q5 (roughly 2017-2021+) has a major susceptibility to immediate, catastrophic failure as evidenced from my own experience and dozens of episodes reported online. This failure typically causes a $2000-$3000 repair bill that Audi will not cover and will claim is the fault of the owner. My wife was driving the vehicle with our 5-year-old daughter in the car In the middle of the rear seat. The daughter spilled part of a 500 ml water bottle onto the seat next to her. Within 20 seconds of this happening, the car began alerting about steering malfunctions, braking malfunctions, and the windows began seizing up and down repeatedly. The car was completely inoperable. We are lucky this was on a slow city street and not on the interstate or tollway! Once stopped, we no buttons generated any actions from the vehicle. …
Related recalls
Service brakes, hydraulic › Foundation components › Master cylinder
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Audi Q5 and SQ5 vehicles. The brake master cylinder casting may be too short.
Remedy: Audi has notified owners, and dealers will inspect the brake master cylinder, replacing it as necessary, free of charge. The recall began May 3, 2019. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834.
Service brakes, hydraulic › Foundation components › Disc › Caliper
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018 Volkswagen Atlas, Passat, Beetle, Beetle Convertible, Golf, Golf SportWagen and GTI and Audi Q5 and SQ5 vehicles. The brake caliper pistons on these vehicles may have insufficient coating, potentially reducing the brake performance.
Remedy: Volkswagen and Audi will notify their owners. Audi dealers will bleed the rear brakes. Volkswagen dealers will bleed the front and rear brake calipers.
Brake complaints in other Q5 years
Frequently asked questions
How common are brake problems on the 2018 Audi Q5?
NHTSA has 22 complaints about the brakes of the 2018 Audi Q5, 11% of the model year's 208 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2018 Audi Q5 brake problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 19V-277 (master cylinder, Apr 8, 2019); NHTSA recall 18V-369 (caliper, Jun 1, 2018). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2018 Audi Q5 brake problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 9,000 miles, and 100% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 4 crashes, 0 fires and 0 injuries to brakes problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.