Consumer Safety Complaints
Search 2,245,377 safety complaints filed by vehicle owners with NHTSA, including 140,173 crashes, 56,794 fires, and 8,580 deaths.
What is a NHTSA consumer complaint?
A consumer complaint is a free-form report filed by a vehicle owner directly to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) describing a safety concern about their vehicle. NHTSA collects these reports through its Vehicle Owner Defect Report (VOQ) system and publishes them publicly. Each complaint includes the affected component, the date and circumstances of the incident, whether the failure caused a crash or fire, and any reported injuries or deaths. The owner's full narrative description is included verbatim, NHTSA does not edit or moderate the descriptions.
The database below contains over 2,245,377 individual complaints. NHTSA's investigators monitor it for clusters of similar reports, when enough owners describe the same failure mode on the same vehicle, NHTSA may open a Preliminary Evaluation that can lead to a recall. Many of the largest recalls in U.S. history, including the Takata airbag recall and the Hyundai/Kia engine fire recalls, started as patterns visible in this complaint database years before they became formal recalls.
How to interpret what you read
A few principles for reading consumer complaints usefully:
- One complaint is anecdote; a hundred similar complaints is data. NHTSA does not investigate the truthfulness of any individual report, that's the job of the Office of Defects Investigation, which looks at the full pattern. When evaluating a vehicle, look for whether multiple owners describe the same chain of events.
- Crash, fire, injury, and death flags are owner-set. They are not verified by NHTSA. They are still useful as a filter, because owners who tick those boxes are typically reporting more serious incidents than those who don't.
- Component categories are NHTSA-assigned, not owner-assigned. NHTSA standardizes the component field so that complaints can be aggregated. The owner narrative often goes into more detail than the component category captures.
- Complaint volume scales with sales volume. A best-selling model will accumulate more raw complaints than a niche model even at the same defect rate. To compare across vehicles, look at complaints per 100,000 units sold, not raw counts.
If you've experienced a defect
File a complaint. NHTSA's investigators rely on this database to detect emerging defects, and useful complaints, specific, concrete, with dates and mileage and clear descriptions of what happened, feed directly into the agency's pattern detection. The form takes about 10 minutes and is at nhtsa.gov/recalls under "Report a Safety Problem." Your complaint becomes part of the same public record that this page is built from. Owners filing detailed VOQs are how recalls get triggered.
Read more from our blog
Showing 16,369 complaints for AUDI
Incident date: Jul 14, 2021
The contact's cousin owns a 2013 Audi A5. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle began to overheat. The warning message "Pull Over and Check Coolant" was displayed. The contact veered to the side of the road and upon checking the coolant reservoir, the contact noticed that the coolant was leaking. The contact added coolant and was able to continue driving. However, t... Read more
Incident date: Jun 10, 2022
All warning lights flashing…brakes and steering not working. Engine would not shut off,all screens /dash went black.mange’s to get in bike lane(still partially in road),emergency flashers worked fortunately.towed to dealer to be inspected and fixed …waiting for results. Was previously scheduled for recall fix .disablement happened about a week before scheduled recall fix, due apparently t... Read more
Incident date: Jun 3, 2022
Sensor in seat, has illuminated airbag light on dash and says airbag is off for passenger, sest belt light is illuminated even though no one is sitting in the seat, have to have sent belt clipped in to have warning light stop chiming Have contacted dealership and they say there is nothing they can do about it, also called audi USA and had the issue escalated and haven't heard from anyone at all a... Read more
Incident date: Jan 14, 2019
There is a recall on our daughters Audi A3 that we have been trying to have fixed for over 2 years. We call, we follow up and are consistently told there is no fix for the problem. The letters we continue to receive say it is about 4 hours of work on the PODS system. I am tired of our college daughter paying for a known unsafe vehicle and am reaching out as we have exhausted all possibilities wi... Read more
Incident date: Jan 14, 2019
There is a recall on our daughters Audi A3 that we have been trying to have fixed for over 2 years. We call, we follow up and are consistently told there is no fix for the problem. The letters we continue to receive say it is about 4 hours of work on the PODS system. I am tired of our college daughter paying for a known unsafe vehicle and am reaching out as we have exhausted all possibilities wi... Read more
Incident date: Jan 14, 2019
There is a recall on our daughters Audi A3 that we have been trying to have fixed for over 2 years. We call, we follow up and are consistently told there is no fix for the problem. The letters we continue to receive say it is about 4 hours of work on the PODS system. I am tired of our college daughter paying for a known unsafe vehicle and am reaching out as we have exhausted all possibilities wi... Read more
Incident date: Jun 6, 2022
When pumping gas, it only allows for less than 5 consecutive seconds until the nozzle clicks off. It is soon followed by gas spilling out of the filler neck. Also accompanied by a rough running vehicle plus misfires. The vapor canister, along with the leak detection pump have already been replaced. Therefore the only issue that warrants these outcomes is suction pump failure. This is in recall 20Y... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2022
The tail light bulbs melts plastic and can cause fire. My light indicator came on. When I checked the bulb, the internal structure was melted. I ordered exact model from a junk yard. When I received, I noticed it had the same issue and the internal structure was melting from heat of light bulb. Both Left and Right Tail light structures were melting. Potential fire hazard.
Incident date: Apr 1, 2022
Supposedly the recall parts for the PODS system can’t be replaced because AUDI is not manufacturing the necessary part!! There is no schedule or estimated time for when the parts will become available. Now I am afraid to drive my car knowing my passenger is not safe! This requires immediate attention as I cannot risk my passengers’ lives every time they are in my car. We have been trying to re... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2022
Supposedly the recall parts for the PODS system can’t be replaced because AUDI is not manufacturing the necessary part!! There is no schedule or estimated time for when the parts will become available. Now I am afraid to drive my car knowing my passenger is not safe! This requires immediate attention as I cannot risk my passengers’ lives every time they are in my car. We have been trying to re... Read more
Incident date: Feb 14, 2022
On 02/14/2022. Car just died while waiting for cars to pass to turn at light. Dashboard started flasing "engine start system: malfunction! - Please contact service" then "Parking Break Malfunction!" then, "Steering: Malfunction! - You an can continue driving" Panicked because was holding up traffic. After a couple minutes trying Car then just started drove home and put on battery charger overnight... Read more
Incident date: Feb 14, 2022
On 02/14/2022. Car just died while waiting for cars to pass to turn at light. Dashboard started flasing "engine start system: malfunction! - Please contact service" then "Parking Break Malfunction!" then, "Steering: Malfunction! - You an can continue driving" Panicked because was holding up traffic. After a couple minutes trying Car then just started drove home and put on battery charger overnight... Read more
Incident date: Feb 14, 2022
On 02/14/2022. Car just died while waiting for cars to pass to turn at light. Dashboard started flasing "engine start system: malfunction! - Please contact service" then "Parking Break Malfunction!" then, "Steering: Malfunction! - You an can continue driving" Panicked because was holding up traffic. After a couple minutes trying Car then just started drove home and put on battery charger overnight... Read more
Incident date: Jun 8, 2022
CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO BRAKE THROTTLE OVERRIDE ON VARIOUS VEHICLES. THE CONSUMER STATED THAT WHEN REMOVING THE LEFT FOOT FROM THE BRAKE, THERE WAS A DELAY WHEN THE RIGHT FOOT WAS APPLIED TO THE ACCELERATOR. THE DELAY CAUSES THE INABILITY TO MERGE QUICKLY INTO TRAFFIC.
Incident date: Jun 8, 2022
The car was put in Drive "D". As I roll out into traffic and start to accelerate, the car "bang" out of gear like it's in neutral, the revs climb, but the car doesn't accelerate and the "D" display disappeared from the instrument panel. The gear selector display on the instrument panel is now blank (instead of "D" if it was in gear or "N" if it was out of gear). I have to pull to the side of th... Read more
Incident date: Jun 6, 2022
Air bag light comes on when no on is in the passenger seat, the coolant light is coming on saying turn engine off when my coolant level is fine, the suspension cracks even though I have had this checked by Audi in Birmingham, Al. multiple times.
Incident date: Jun 6, 2022
Air bag light comes on when no on is in the passenger seat, the coolant light is coming on saying turn engine off when my coolant level is fine, the suspension cracks even though I have had this checked by Audi in Birmingham, Al. multiple times.
Incident date: Jun 6, 2022
Air bag light comes on when no on is in the passenger seat, the coolant light is coming on saying turn engine off when my coolant level is fine, the suspension cracks even though I have had this checked by Audi in Birmingham, Al. multiple times.
Incident date: Jun 3, 2022
Large coolant leak due to faulty plastic thermostat and water pump which can cause overheating, catastrophic engine failure, and fire, putting consumers at risk. The thermostat housing has been replaced by the dealership, but not the water pump, just the water pump seal. There were no warnings prior to the failure, and was only diagnosed after a visual inspection under the vehicle.
Incident date: May 16, 2022
While driving, received notification of a suspension fault. Was able to drive vehicle home, and found code for suspension C104600. Cleared code, and didn't see it return. Car sat a few days, and next time it was driven, received cascade of MIL warnings for suspension auto leveling failure, auto leveling headlights, adaptive cruise, lane keeping, and auto braking. Console advised to keep speed belo... Read more
Incident date: May 16, 2022
While driving, received notification of a suspension fault. Was able to drive vehicle home, and found code for suspension C104600. Cleared code, and didn't see it return. Car sat a few days, and next time it was driven, received cascade of MIL warnings for suspension auto leveling failure, auto leveling headlights, adaptive cruise, lane keeping, and auto braking. Console advised to keep speed belo... Read more
Incident date: May 16, 2022
While driving, received notification of a suspension fault. Was able to drive vehicle home, and found code for suspension C104600. Cleared code, and didn't see it return. Car sat a few days, and next time it was driven, received cascade of MIL warnings for suspension auto leveling failure, auto leveling headlights, adaptive cruise, lane keeping, and auto braking. Console advised to keep speed belo... Read more
AUDI
Q5 SPORTBACK
(2022) - ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Jun 4, 2022
Incident date: Jun 1, 2022
On June 1 2022, Driving at a speed of approx 20 MPH, the car brakes came on suddenly, 4 windows came down and the vehicle came to an abrupt halt in the middle of the road. A message came on to the effect that the electric system had failed. The vehicle was not driveable and was towed to the Audi Dealership (South Coast Audi, Santa Ana, CA) the same day. I was very concerned about this issue... Read more
AUDI
Q5 SPORTBACK
(2022) - FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
Jun 4, 2022
Incident date: Jun 1, 2022
On June 1 2022, Driving at a speed of approx 20 MPH, the car brakes came on suddenly, 4 windows came down and the vehicle came to an abrupt halt in the middle of the road. A message came on to the effect that the electric system had failed. The vehicle was not driveable and was towed to the Audi Dealership (South Coast Audi, Santa Ana, CA) the same day. I was very concerned about this issue... Read more
Incident date: Dec 7, 2021
The engine had catastrophic damage. I was driving, full oil, and the engine just died. The mechanic said the engine was destroyed and believes it was a manufacturing mistake.
Incident date: Dec 5, 2020
I took my vehicle to Audi South Austin on 6/1/22 regarding my A/C and back up camera not working, continuous oil consumption issue, passenger air bag light turning on, and RPM higher than normal while idling. Christina Turner told me that the wait for my car to be service was 3-4 weeks. She quoted me a price of $275 for each diagnostic test. I mentioned a recall regarding the auxiliary heater a... Read more
Incident date: May 30, 2022
I was told the recall wasn't yet active, but the dealer had the parts to take care of the recall. Now I am being told I must pay for the recall repair and wait an undetermined amount of time to get reimbursed through the manufacturer. Meanwhile I can not do anything with the vehicle as if I sell it I cannot collect the monies from which they want me to pay ( over $8000 ). Please advise as this is ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2022
Audi USA is incapable of repairing this defect in a timely fashion. I was informed today, after being told the parts to remedy "are on their way" for more than a month, that the parts to repair this recall are no longer produced. I want to go on record how disappointed I am with Audi USA now that I have a car that is unsafe to drive with passengers and look for avenues of recourse from a consume... Read more
Incident date: Jun 3, 2022
While operating the vehicle, the passenger’s side front marker light and then the front driver’s side marker light became inoperable. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The contact was informed that the vehicle was not included in the NHTSA campaign number: 16v642000 (electrical system, ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 2, 2021
The contact owns a 2019 Audi A5. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked with the engine running, all four doors of the vehicle locked independently while she was outside of the vehicle and in possession of the keys. The contact was unable to unlock the door of the vehicle using the key fob or the keys manually. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact’s son who was occupying ... Read more
Incident date: May 28, 2022
Driving on sunny day, 92 degrees. Turned AC on full blast and heard gunshot sound, sunroof glass completely exploded. Landed inside cabin and cut the driver and passenger, as the glass was incredibly sharp. Audi dealership will not even see vehicle, and stating that it is my fault. NO impact to glass whatsoever.
2 injured
AUDI
A4 ALLROAD
(2018) - AIR BAGS
May 31, 2022
Incident date: Nov 24, 2021
The contact owned a 2018 Audi A4. The contact stated that while driving approximately 25 MPH a second vehicle crashed into the passenger side front end of the vehicle. During the crash, the front end of the vehicle was severely damaged but no air bags were deployed. The driver sustained a fractured left wrist, concussion, lumbar injury and left arm injury. No other injuries to the second driver we... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Feb 28, 2022
The contact owns a 2014 Audi S7. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently stopped. Additionally, the vehicle was leaking an excessive amount of oil. There was an EPC warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer however, the mechanic was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Num... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2020
Audi has had a safety recall on this vehicle since I purchased the car in June 2019. In 2019 and early 2020, there were no issues. About two years into owning the vehicle, I started experiencing faults, error codes, and safety lights on my dash due to issues with the passenger seat air bag. I brought the vehicle to Audi Burlington in MA and they said that the issues I was having was due to the rec... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2020
Audi has had a safety recall on this vehicle since I purchased the car in June 2019. In 2019 and early 2020, there were no issues. About two years into owning the vehicle, I started experiencing faults, error codes, and safety lights on my dash due to issues with the passenger seat air bag. I brought the vehicle to Audi Burlington in MA and they said that the issues I was having was due to the rec... Read more
Incident date: May 28, 2022
I got in my car at about 6pm on Saturday May 28, 2022. Started it up and proceeded to start opening the sunroof when I noticed it was cracked. I was thinking some kids had hit it with a ball until I traced the spiderwebbing right back to to the center of the panoramic sunroof. You could wind noise really bad when driving.
Incident date: May 19, 2022
E-Tron with 9300 miles, received Electrical Malfunction: Contact Service. Audi service said to bring vehicle in. On way to dealer, warning changed to Electrical Malfunction: Pull over safely and then, before being able to do so, the vehicle jerked and died while in traffic. Fortunately, I had decided not to take the freeway and had enough momentum to coast to the side of the road, but the experi... Read more
Incident date: May 19, 2021
This needs to be heavily looked into. I see countless reports online and on NHTSA about "coolant" leaking onto components/wiring. Whatever it is, is definitely frying the electrical system. My info screen will state: "Transmission Malfunction: You can continue driving" and it'll go away a minute later, them beep again with the same message- then beep again- then go away- then come back again.... Read more
Incident date: May 19, 2021
This needs to be heavily looked into. I see countless reports online and on NHTSA about "coolant" leaking onto components/wiring. Whatever it is, is definitely frying the electrical system. My info screen will state: "Transmission Malfunction: You can continue driving" and it'll go away a minute later, them beep again with the same message- then beep again- then go away- then come back again.... Read more
Incident date: May 24, 2022
The front passenger airbag light goes on and off randomly whenever if there is someone sits at the front passenger seat. The problem is exactly same as described in Recall 21V874000. Audi A4 2019 is on the list of recall, but my car wasn't been recalled for no reason.
Incident date: May 26, 2022
Panoramic sunroof exploded today while driving at highway speeds. Broken glass gave way. Car was not struck by any objects before the glass failed. There were no warnings. Have not yet taken the car to a dealer or service provider. Though it did not happen to me, there’s danger from the explosion itself and from the glass entering the cabin.
Incident date: May 17, 2022
Took the vehicle to the local dealer for a car damage repair but notified at multi-point checks that the thermostat housing is leaking coolant. It ran 43K miles only and this is a known issue so should be recalled.
Incident date: May 23, 2022
I am affected by recall 69R6 for this vehicle. I moved to Germany in 2012 and took my car with me. Audi in Germany refused to honor the recall claiming that it is not applicable to Germany due to different "climate conditions". What can I do (other than shipping the car back to the US) ? Thanks
Incident date: May 8, 2022
While dropping off a passenger at a store front during a rain storm and a few seconds after the passenger exited the vehicle the sunroof glass exploded upward spontaneously! Some glass chunks flew out of the car and then gravity pulled the rest back down inside onto me and scattered around the interior in tiny little shards. Fortunately I was wearing a jacket and nothing got in my hair or on my f... Read more
Incident date: May 24, 2022
The contact owns a 2019 Audi Q5. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the catastrophic transmission failure message was displayed and the vehicle inadvertently shifted into manual third gear. The vehicle was waiting to be towed. The dealer was made aware of the failure; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and... Read more
AUDI
Q5 SPORTBACK
(2022) - ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
May 23, 2022
Incident date: May 14, 2022
We were driving home on the interstate when suddenly we got an “Electrical system malfunction. Safely stop vehicle!” notification. We pulled over to the shoulder and were able to restart the vehicle but the check engine light was on. We were able to get to the nearest exit when the error appeared again. This time as I was pulling over, the screen went blank and I completely lost power to the v... Read more
AUDI
Q5 SPORTBACK
(2022) - FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
May 23, 2022
Incident date: May 14, 2022
We were driving home on the interstate when suddenly we got an “Electrical system malfunction. Safely stop vehicle!” notification. We pulled over to the shoulder and were able to restart the vehicle but the check engine light was on. We were able to get to the nearest exit when the error appeared again. This time as I was pulling over, the screen went blank and I completely lost power to the v... Read more
AUDI
Q5 SPORTBACK
(2022) - VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
May 23, 2022
Incident date: May 14, 2022
We were driving home on the interstate when suddenly we got an “Electrical system malfunction. Safely stop vehicle!” notification. We pulled over to the shoulder and were able to restart the vehicle but the check engine light was on. We were able to get to the nearest exit when the error appeared again. This time as I was pulling over, the screen went blank and I completely lost power to the v... Read more
Incident date: Mar 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2017 Audi S3. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V198000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The dealer was made aware of the issue and the contact was notified that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer had been notified of the issue. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable am... Read more