There are 5 owner-reported powertrain & transmission complaints for the 2013 Audi Q5in NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
VEHICLE SUDDENLY WOULD NOT ACCELERATE FROM A STOP ON CITY STREET UNTIL IT REACHES 2500 RPM. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. TOWED TO DEALERSHIP SAID CATASTROPHIC ENGINE FAILURE. I WAS TOKD WILL NEED NEW ENGINE.VEHICLE WAS PROPERLY MAINTAINED. ONLY 45000 MILES.
INCIDENT DATE: 5/9/20 MILEAGE: 70,290 MILES SUMMARY: I REVERSED OUT OF PARKING SPACE, SHIFTED MY CAR INTO DRIVE, AND MY CAR ABRUPTLY HESITATED, DECELERATED, RESISTED, AND JERKED UPON ENGAGING THE GAS PEDAL; A SERIES OF MULTIPLE WARNING/INDICATOR LIGHTS SIMULTANEOUSLY FLASHED ON THE OBD SCREEN WHILE MY CAR WAS IN MOTION. THE CAR CONTINUED TO DECELERATE, JERK & HESITATE.MESSAGES REFERENCED HYBRID, MALFUNCTION, ELECTRONIC, INOPERABLE, LOSS OF ABILITY TO CONTROL STEERING, STEERING POWER, DANGER, HAZARD, ENGINE, STABILIZATION, DRIVING, POWER. I ATTEMPTED TO ACCELERATE FROM A STOP SIGN TO CROSS A 4 LANE INTERSECTION OF MOVING TRAFFIC. UPON PRESSING THE GAS PEDAL TO CROSS THE TRAFFIC INTERSECTION, MY CAR WOULD HESITATED TO ACCELERATE, AND MORE ABRUPTLY JERKED AND HESITATED - LIKE I WAS DRIVING A MANUAL TRANSMISSION THAT WAS STALLING OUT/STUCK IN THE WRONG GEAR.THE MORE I TRIED TO ACCELERATE ACROSS THE 4 LANES OF MOVING TRAFFIC, THE MORE SEVERELY THE CAR RESISTED, JERKED, HESITATED, AND FLUCTUATED IN POWER. I COULD'VE BEEN T-BONED BY ANOTHER VEHICLE AND SERIOUSLY INJURED, AS THE SPEED LIMIT ON BOTH SIDES OF THIS TRAFFIC INTERSECTION IS 45MPH. I WAS INFORMED BY THE AUDI DEALERSHIP THAT I NEED A BRAND NEW TRANSMISSION DUE TO 'INTERNAL PARTS FAILURE.' I WAS ALSO INFORMED THE 'CONDITION AND LEVEL OF TRANSMISSION FLUID' REQUIRES AN ENTIRELY NEW TRANSMISSION. THE FOLLOWING DIAGNOSTIC CODES WERE PROVIDED BY THE DEALERSHIP: P0AB900,P060A00,P279700,U040200. ACCORDING TO AUDI, MY CAR NOW NEEDS A WHOLE NEW TRANSMISSION AND HAS 'BURNED' TRANSMISSION FLUID DUE TO AN 'INTERNAL PARTS FAILURE' AT 70,290 MILES.THE TRANSMISSION REPLACEMENT AND LABOR IS APPROX $27K. I RECENTLY LEARNED THE TRANSMISSION MECHATRONICS WAS REPLACED BY ANOTHER AUDI DEALERSHIP IN AUG 16' AND THE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 22KMILES. I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE IN JAN 17', WITH APPROX. 26KMILES. MORE DETAIL IN PDF. *TR
AT 62000 MILES THERE IS A FAULTY BEARING IN THE TRANSMITION THAT IS CAUSING NOISE TO RESONATE IN THE CABIN. I TOOK THE CAR TO A REPUTABLE INDEPENDENT MECHANIC IN SAN FRANCISCO AND HIS DIAGNOSIS WAS THAT IT WAS A MANUFACTURE DEFECT, AND I SHOULD NOT ACCEPT THIS FROM AUDI SINCE THIS PROBLEM SHOULD NOT HAVE OCCURRED AT SUCH LOW MILEAGE.
THE VEHICLE STOPPED AT THE HIGHWAY AT AROUND 65MPH DUE TO COOLANT LEAK/WATER PUMP LEAK. EMERGENCY STOP TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD WAS NECESSARY AS WELL AS VEHICLE TOWING. ILLUMINATOR LIGHT TO TURN OFF ENGINE WAS ON. WEATHER CONDITIONS AT 100+ FAHRENHEIT HAD POTENTIAL OF DANGEROUS SITUATION IF I WOULD HAVE HAD MY LITTLE ONES.
UNEXPECTED BRAKING. I AT ONCE PULLED OFF THE ROAD INTO A DRIVEWAY AND ATTEMPTED TO PLACE THE VEHICLE IN PARK BUT WAS UNABLE TO SHIFT OUT OF DRIVE. I EVENTUALLY WAS ABLE TO STOP THE ENGINE WITH THE SHIFTER STILL IN DRIVE. I CONTACTED THE DEALERSHIP AND ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP. AFTER 3 DAYS AT THE DEALERSHIP, I WAS TOLD THAT DIAGNOSTIC TESTS DID NOT REVEAL ANY PROBLEM AND THAT THE DEALERSHIP WAS UNABLE TO RECREATE THE PROBLEM. THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN RETURNED TO ME AND I AM AWAITING FURTHER COMMUNICATION FROM AUDI AND/OR RECURRENCE OF THE PROBLEM. THIS HAS BEEN THE SECOND PROBLEM I HAVE HAD WITH THIS VEHICLE. THE FIRST PROBLEM OCCURRED ON THE WAY HOME AFTER PURCHASE.. WHILE DRIVING, THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHT CAME ON. I CONTACTED THE DEALERSHIP AND WAS ASKED TO RETURN THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALERSHIP. AFTER UNDERGOING DIAGNOSTIC TESTING, IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE AIR INTAKE MANIFOLD NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. *TR
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026