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: Mar 3, 2022
The cars emergency brake system malfunctioned on our 2018 Audi Q5 Premium Plus, causing the brakes to lock up for no reason while traveling on a busy street at 35 mph. The force of the braking was enough to cause a bruise from the seatbelt. The risk is potential loss of control of the car, especially if this occurred at a higher speed, or being rear ended. We immediately took the car to an Audi... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2021
The backup camera in the car randomly stops working while driving in reverse. These cameras are mandated by federal law and malfunctions can lead to collision with unforeseen living beings while backing up. The MMI screen also goes completely white/blue while driving forward. Additionally, the adas package comes with a birds eye view camera that is completely skewed created a deceptive understand... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2021
The backup camera in the car randomly stops working while driving in reverse. These cameras are mandated by federal law and malfunctions can lead to collision with unforeseen living beings while backing up. The MMI screen also goes completely white/blue while driving forward. Additionally, the adas package comes with a birds eye view camera that is completely skewed created a deceptive understand... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2021
The backup camera in the car randomly stops working while driving in reverse. These cameras are mandated by federal law and malfunctions can lead to collision with unforeseen living beings while backing up. The MMI screen also goes completely white/blue while driving forward. Additionally, the adas package comes with a birds eye view camera that is completely skewed created a deceptive understand... Read more
AUDI
A3 CABRIOLET
(2019) - AIR BAGS
Mar 8, 2022
Incident date: Mar 8, 2022
The contact leased a 2019 Audi A3. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V198000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. Additionally, the contact called a second dealer, Audi Pembroke Pines (15000 Sheridan St, Pembroke Pines, FL 33331) and a third dealer, The Collection Audi (200 Bird Rd, Coral Gables, FL... Read more
Incident date: Feb 17, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Audi Q3. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled without warning. The contact was assisted by a Police Officer to move the vehicle out of the roadway. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer to be diagnosed but was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 9,600.
Incident date: Mar 6, 2022
2019 Q5 - 19457 miles. Power steering failed while traveling on an internal curved road at 10mph. Fortunately, the road was not busy and I was able to pull besides a curb. The car flashed a 'Steering: Malfunction! Please stop vehicle' warning and it was really hard to maneuver the car. Towed the car to nearest Audi dealership and dealer is looking at it. But if this had happened on a freeway, it w... Read more
AUDI
A3 CABRIOLET
(2015) - AIR BAGS
Mar 7, 2022
Incident date: Apr 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2015 Audi A3. The contact received a notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V198000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer and Audi Stratham (58 Portsmouth Ave, Stratham, NH 03885) were contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated that the manufacture... Read more
Incident date: Mar 5, 2022
Left turn signal works fine. Right turn signal alternates between flashing left and right.
Incident date: Mar 3, 2022
The contact owns a 2001 Audi A4. The contact stated that upon closing the driver's side door, her husband heard a loud gun-like sound and he noticed that the passenger-side curtain air bags had deployed. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact's husband cut the curtain air bags and drove the vehicle to his residence. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not dia... Read more
Incident date: Mar 4, 2022
Audi pre sence kicked in on an empty street at 30mph. It was daylight on a straight road. The seat belts tightened up with no warning and the car applied hard breaks. Luckily there was no one behind me at the time or I would have definitely been rear ended.
Incident date: Mar 4, 2022
Audi pre sence kicked in on an empty street at 30mph. It was daylight on a straight road. The seat belts tightened up with no warning and the car applied hard breaks. Luckily there was no one behind me at the time or I would have definitely been rear ended.
Incident date: Mar 4, 2022
Audi pre sence kicked in on an empty street at 30mph. It was daylight on a straight road. The seat belts tightened up with no warning and the car applied hard breaks. Luckily there was no one behind me at the time or I would have definitely been rear ended.
Incident date: Mar 4, 2022
The contact owns a 2019 Audi S3. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V198000 (Air Bags) and the vehicle was taken to the dealer for the recall repair; however, the dealer informed the contact that the repair would take two days. The contact took the vehicle back to his residence as the dealer declined to provide him with a rental. The contact later contacted the dealer wh... Read more
Incident date: Mar 3, 2022
On more that one occasion, after starting the car and putting the car in drive, the display continues to show that the car is in PARK. I can drive several hundred feet with the display showing PARK. Then the display will go totally dark and, after several seconds, it will show that the car is in DRIVE.
Incident date: Mar 2, 2022
The contact owns a 2015 Audi A6. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the oil warning light illuminated. The contact veered to the side of the road and called for roadside assistance. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the oil level was extremely low due to an oil leak. The contact was informed that the timing chain kit and camshaft cover nee... Read more
AUDI
A4 ALLROAD
(2017) - SEATS
Mar 3, 2022
Incident date: Dec 18, 2021
The contact owns a 2017 Audi A4. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V874000 (Seats, Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The local dealer and the manufacturer were made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure... Read more
AUDI
A4 ALLROAD
(2017) - AIR BAGS
Mar 3, 2022
Incident date: Dec 18, 2021
The contact owns a 2017 Audi A4. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V874000 (Seats, Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The local dealer and the manufacturer were made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure... Read more
Incident date: Oct 30, 2020
Brucken motors, I purchased an Audi a4 that was advertised on your Facebook as safe, reliable, and dependent. I came to you with a down payment in hand, stating that I needed a car that drove without issues. I can afford minor repairs, but I wanted something with a clean HISTORY and service RECORD. Zachary Laney, the salesman, claimed that there was nothing wrong with this car. I asked about the... Read more
Incident date: Oct 30, 2020
Brucken motors, I purchased an Audi a4 that was advertised on your Facebook as safe, reliable, and dependent. I came to you with a down payment in hand, stating that I needed a car that drove without issues. I can afford minor repairs, but I wanted something with a clean HISTORY and service RECORD. Zachary Laney, the salesman, claimed that there was nothing wrong with this car. I asked about the... Read more
Incident date: Oct 30, 2020
Brucken motors, I purchased an Audi a4 that was advertised on your Facebook as safe, reliable, and dependent. I came to you with a down payment in hand, stating that I needed a car that drove without issues. I can afford minor repairs, but I wanted something with a clean HISTORY and service RECORD. Zachary Laney, the salesman, claimed that there was nothing wrong with this car. I asked about the... Read more
Incident date: Mar 18, 2021
Turbos failed which caused the car to shut down in heavy traffic on an interstate.
Incident date: Feb 21, 2022
Steering wheel intermittently gets really HARD to turn. Like a total loss of power steering assist. This only usually lasts a moment or two, then functions as normal. Always while driving, but not always while navigating a turn. Might only happen once or twice a week... Really frightening. Dealer has performed numerous repairs, including even a new Rack (at my expense) It doesn't happen again for ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 15, 2021
The contact owns a 2021 Audi A7. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH with the cruise control activated, the vehicle unexpectedly decelerated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The dealer informed the contact that the speed control software needed to be reprogrammed. The software was updated. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was a... Read more
Incident date: Feb 22, 2022
Due to the AT&T 3G turndown, Audi of America is removing a critical safety feature from certain MY 2018 vehicles, with no solution offered to the vehicle owner except to pay an additional $650-$1000 out of pocket to install a retrofit device to restore some of these safety features. As sold, MY2017-2018 and certain MY 2019 Audi A4/A5/Q5/Q7 vehicles came with an emergency call feature, both automa... Read more
Incident date: Nov 10, 2021
The car started needing 1 quart of oil every 1,000. now it needs a quart of oil in less than 200 miles. I have found a lot of reports about Audi's burning oil. There was a recall for 2009-2013. There are a fair amount of people complaining about this issue with Audi's. I reported it to audi but haven't heard back.
Incident date: Jul 14, 2021
The engine low oil light keeps coming on, the oil has been changed already, I’ve had the car for more than 7 months I haven’t even driven it over 5000 miles yet. Audi needs to fix this. The power train is also the same, some days it works okay and some days it doesn’t. The cars struggles sometimes to even reach speeds up to 50 mph.I’ve taken this vehicle to the Audi dealship as well as to ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 14, 2021
The engine low oil light keeps coming on, the oil has been changed already, I’ve had the car for more than 7 months I haven’t even driven it over 5000 miles yet. Audi needs to fix this. The power train is also the same, some days it works okay and some days it doesn’t. The cars struggles sometimes to even reach speeds up to 50 mph.I’ve taken this vehicle to the Audi dealship as well as to ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 14, 2021
The engine low oil light keeps coming on, the oil has been changed already, I’ve had the car for more than 7 months I haven’t even driven it over 5000 miles yet. Audi needs to fix this. The power train is also the same, some days it works okay and some days it doesn’t. The cars struggles sometimes to even reach speeds up to 50 mph.I’ve taken this vehicle to the Audi dealship as well as to ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 12, 2021
I received a Safety Recall from Audi of America for my 2019 Audi Q5, I am pleased that the recall is being done. However, the description of what could happen, in the Safety Recall letter, should water enter the Gateway Module does not describe what happen to me when the Gateway Control Module got wet from liquid spilled in the backseat of my car. The 2nd paragraph under “ What is the Issue ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 12, 2021
I received a Safety Recall from Audi of America for my 2019 Audi Q5, I am pleased that the recall is being done. However, the description of what could happen, in the Safety Recall letter, should water enter the Gateway Module does not describe what happen to me when the Gateway Control Module got wet from liquid spilled in the backseat of my car. The 2nd paragraph under “ What is the Issue ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 12, 2021
I received a Safety Recall from Audi of America for my 2019 Audi Q5, I am pleased that the recall is being done. However, the description of what could happen, in the Safety Recall letter, should water enter the Gateway Module does not describe what happen to me when the Gateway Control Module got wet from liquid spilled in the backseat of my car. The 2nd paragraph under “ What is the Issue ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2022
Turbo failure and positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) failure. Whining noise from PCV and smoke out the tail pipes with no power. Had to pay out of pocket to remedy issues.
Incident date: Feb 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2007 Audi A4. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would not properly accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. Eventually, the vehicle stalled and would no longer operate as designed. During the failure, the check engine warning light was illuminated. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were... Read more
Incident date: Feb 17, 2022
The contact owns a 2021 Audi Q5. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, there was an abnormal noise and all the warning lights illuminated. The contact proceeded and drove at 15 MPH, the vehicle started jerking and could not be driven any further. In addition, all the windows were independently opened and closed. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was pending a diagnosis. The ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 17, 2022
The contact owns a 2021 Audi Q5. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, there was an abnormal noise and all the warning lights illuminated. The contact proceeded and drove at 15 MPH, the vehicle started jerking and could not be driven any further. In addition, all the windows were independently opened and closed. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was pending a diagnosis. The ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 18, 2022
I received a message on my dashboard to turn the engine off and check the coolant when starting the vehicle each morning for the last two days. I brought the car into the Audi Dealership in Paramus/Fair Lawn, NJ. They stated the water pump was not working. I researched and found that a recall for ALL ROAD station wagons (Audi) had occurred for 2013-2017 for water pumps that could start a fire in t... Read more
AUDI
A3 CABRIOLET
(2015) - AIR BAGS
Feb 18, 2022
Incident date: Nov 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2015 Audi A3. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V198000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the passenger occupant detection system (PODS) warnin... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2021
All of Audi e-tron models do not have AM radio. You are not told of this during sales and in fact the dealer sales rep and service manager did not know this until they came to the car to show me how to turn it on. I consider this feature (AM Radio) a standard for over 50 years and is a safety measure as road side signs direct you to tune to AM radio for traffic or road conditions ahead. I think ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 3, 2021
Two issues: 1. Phantom braking, sudden deceleration, vehicle came to a rapid complete stop on road. Audi assist light came on. Road Conditions: clear, dry, very good visibility for night conditions. 2. While driving at highway speed, i.e. 65 MPH, the transmission disengaged temporarily for several seconds and causing the engine RPM to surge. Transmission re-engaged and operation became normal.
Incident date: Sep 3, 2021
Two issues: 1. Phantom braking, sudden deceleration, vehicle came to a rapid complete stop on road. Audi assist light came on. Road Conditions: clear, dry, very good visibility for night conditions. 2. While driving at highway speed, i.e. 65 MPH, the transmission disengaged temporarily for several seconds and causing the engine RPM to surge. Transmission re-engaged and operation became normal.
Incident date: Sep 3, 2021
Two issues: 1. Phantom braking, sudden deceleration, vehicle came to a rapid complete stop on road. Audi assist light came on. Road Conditions: clear, dry, very good visibility for night conditions. 2. While driving at highway speed, i.e. 65 MPH, the transmission disengaged temporarily for several seconds and causing the engine RPM to surge. Transmission re-engaged and operation became normal.
Incident date: Sep 12, 2018
On the afternoon of September 12, 2018, my 2013 Audi A8L 4.0T started with somewhat of a rough idle, but no warning lights or error codes were present on the dashboard. I owned the car for approximately 18 months at that point, and this had never happened before. As soon as I started to drive, the tachometer became steady and there were no other indications anything was wrong, even stopping at t... Read more
AUDI
A3 CABRIOLET
(2015) - AIR BAGS
Feb 17, 2022
Incident date: Sep 17, 2021
The contact owns a 2015 Audi A3. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH with her son sitting in the front passenger’s side seat, the passenger’s side air bag warning light illuminated intermittently. The contact continued to drive the vehicle. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V198000 (Air Bags) and the vehicle was taken to the dealer for the recall repair; however... Read more
Incident date: Feb 17, 2022
Vehicle engine would suddenly stop working, warning, "drive system malfunction: stop vehicle safely." It has happened 3 times within 3 days in the middle of the intersection. Dealers wouldn't take this issue seriously and they asked me to make an appointment online, which is scheduled to be 1 month away. The issue almost caused an accident twice. Adaptive cruise is also malfunctioning, engine ra... Read more
Incident date: Feb 17, 2022
Vehicle engine would suddenly stop working, warning, "drive system malfunction: stop vehicle safely." It has happened 3 times within 3 days in the middle of the intersection. Dealers wouldn't take this issue seriously and they asked me to make an appointment online, which is scheduled to be 1 month away. The issue almost caused an accident twice. Adaptive cruise is also malfunctioning, engine ra... Read more
Incident date: Feb 17, 2022
Vehicle engine would suddenly stop working, warning, "drive system malfunction: stop vehicle safely." It has happened 3 times within 3 days in the middle of the intersection. Dealers wouldn't take this issue seriously and they asked me to make an appointment online, which is scheduled to be 1 month away. The issue almost caused an accident twice. Adaptive cruise is also malfunctioning, engine ra... Read more
Incident date: Feb 2, 2022
MMI system stops working all of a sudden. This has happened multiple times and especially when it takes updates on its own. When called customer service they referred to the dealer stating they cannot do anything. Right after my call with them the car starts functioning back to normal. When I took it to the dealer for service and the problem, Dealer mentioned Audi has received complaints about the... Read more