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: Sep 24, 2021
My 2017 Audi A6 has approximately 50,000 miles on it. I am diligent about obtaining regular maintenance on my vehicle and visited the Audi dealership in Memphis, TN for a 50,000 mile inspection and service in June of 2021. Last week, just 3 months after my 50,000 mile services/inspection, my vehicle stopped operating correctly when making a turn from stopped at a stop sign and lost all power ste... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2021
Wife was driving and the tire suddenly lost pressure and she almost lost control. The tire sidewall had blown out and this is the second tire with the same problem.
Incident date: Sep 30, 2021
Vehicle tank was almost empty. Was unable to fill the tank because the gas station pump stopped constantly without being full. Took 15 minutes to fill the tank. Fuel came out of my tank and a very unpleasant fuel odor came into the car. When arrived home gasoline came out of the tank again, a significant amount of fuel came out. Fortunately the car didn't catch fire. Took it to a mechanic and the... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2021
I purchased a used 2019 Audi Q8 Prestige Plus, with Sportline Pkg on 9/7/21. Car had approx. 18,500 miles. The car attempts to shut off when deaccelerating at any speed below 3000 rpm. There is also a significant throttle delay between the time you push the gas pedal and when the engine responds. To be clear the car is in Dynamic mode and the Start/Stop mode is deactivated. It appears that under c... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2021
I purchased a used 2019 Audi Q8 Prestige Plus, with Sportline Pkg on 9/7/21. Car had approx. 18,500 miles. The car attempts to shut off when deaccelerating at any speed below 3000 rpm. There is also a significant throttle delay between the time you push the gas pedal and when the engine responds. To be clear the car is in Dynamic mode and the Start/Stop mode is deactivated. It appears that under c... Read more
Incident date: Sep 26, 2021
Two of my four kids were in the rear seat. My 7 year old panicked because her seatbelt came unbuckled and she couldn’t get it back. My initial reaction was to hit the breaks and slow down. My daughter was ejected from her seat into the passenger seat head first and then landed on the floor with her booster seat on top of her. I pulled over and checked the seat belt and it would not latch. I had ... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: Sep 29, 2021
Airbag light reads off while my husband is sitting in the seat
Incident date: Sep 29, 2021
The contact owns a 2017 Audi SQ5. The contact stated there was excessive heat coming from the engine. Additionally, there was moisture on the water pump. A message stating “Pull Over Immediately” was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the water pump failed and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure ho... Read more
Incident date: Jul 15, 2021
SOS module does not seem to work very well. This has been an issue on plenty of Audi cars and no recall has been made. While the car can operate the module goes off while driving causing some drivers to no focus on the road, they are distracted by the noise it make, the alerts that pop up. And it is not just one alert, it goes off at random, so perhaps every few seconds. And if the driver does cra... Read more
Incident date: May 21, 2021
1. What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? The component that malfunctioned was with the electrical system. It was the Shift Lever Microswitch. It is not available for inspection because the car has been repaired. 2. How was the safety or safety of others put at risk? There was a build-up of silicate on the... Read more
Incident date: Sep 20, 2021
The contact owns a 2004 Audi A4. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the rear windshield became detached from the soft top. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer to be inspected. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and was awaiting a response. The failure mileage was approximately 86,000.
AUDI
A3 CABRIOLET
(2019) - AIR BAGS
Sep 28, 2021
Incident date: Aug 1, 2020
The contact leased a 2019 Audi A3. The contact stated that the passenger’s side air bag warning light had failed to operate as needed. The contact then received a notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V198000 (Air Bags) however, the part for the recall repair was unavailable. The dealer had been notified about the recall and confirmed that the parts were not yet available. The manufacturer h... Read more
Incident date: Sep 13, 2021
Water pump failed at 42,xxx miles, well below the 50,000 mile warranty of the vehicle. Totally unacceptable for this type of luxury SUV and no support from Audi or my local dealer to cover any of the nearly $1500 charges to replace the water pump and refill / test the system with coolant. If the car wasn't in my garage at home, I could have been left stranded several hundred miles from any type o... Read more
Incident date: Sep 24, 2021
My 2021 Audi Q5 has a manufacturing recall (Safety Recall 42L1 - Rear Axle Trailing Arm Lock Nut) on it and my dealer cancelled my appointment and informed me that they will not perform the recall repair unless I schedule (something that I have to pay for) at the same time - they will not perform the recall repair otherwise. This was the Audi Minneapolis dealership located at 9393 Wayzata Blvd, Go... Read more
Incident date: Sep 24, 2021
My 2021 Audi Q5 has a manufacturing recall (Safety Recall 42L1 - Rear Axle Trailing Arm Lock Nut) on it and my dealer cancelled my appointment and informed me that they will not perform the recall repair unless I schedule (something that I have to pay for) at the same time - they will not perform the recall repair otherwise. This was the Audi Minneapolis dealership located at 9393 Wayzata Blvd, Go... Read more
Incident date: Sep 18, 2021
I was at a stop light and automatic engine shut-off turned the vehicle off. However, when the light turned green car would not start. I had to put it in park and then turn the vehicle on/off to restart the vehicle.
Incident date: Sep 18, 2021
I was at a stop light and automatic engine shut-off turned the vehicle off. However, when the light turned green car would not start. I had to put it in park and then turn the vehicle on/off to restart the vehicle.
Incident date: Sep 23, 2021
I have an audi 2008 q7, that has a gas leak of some kind. Local mechanic says that it could be fuel pump leak. I looked for recalls to this problem and found two for 2008 q7 gas leaks. When I contacted the local audi dealership and gave them my vin, they said no recalls on that vin. When I called Audi corporate, they said the same thing when I gave them my vin. I clearly see the recalls on line an... Read more
Incident date: Nov 3, 2020
The passenger side air bag warning light and/or passenger seat sensor mat has failed 3 times (twice since we've owned the car and once before). We purchased a used 2017 A4 Audi Sedan in October 2019. In early November 2020 the passenger side airbag warning light came on. After adjusting the front passenger seat, the light went off. Thereafter, the light would intermittently go on and off. We took ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 3, 2020
The passenger side air bag warning light and/or passenger seat sensor mat has failed 3 times (twice since we've owned the car and once before). We purchased a used 2017 A4 Audi Sedan in October 2019. In early November 2020 the passenger side airbag warning light came on. After adjusting the front passenger seat, the light went off. Thereafter, the light would intermittently go on and off. We took ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 24, 2021
I start getting coolant leak and it was at Audi dealership. Nothing was done just today get biger leak and took to shop and they say my water pump is broken. I think this is part of Audi A6 2013 water oump problems. Need to fix it
AUDI
A3 CABRIOLET
(2016) - AIR BAGS
Sep 23, 2021
Incident date: Sep 22, 2021
The contact owns a 2016 Audi A3. The contact received a recall notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V198000 (Air Bags) however, the dealer informed the contact that parts for the recall repair were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was notified of the issue. The contact had not experienc... Read more
Incident date: Jul 27, 2021
While traveling home on the interstate from the airport, my vehicle suddenly started to run very rough and the engine felt like it was going to stall at low idle. I had decreased acceleration capability. No warning lamps illuminated, but it was obvious something was wrong. I limped the car to my local Audi dealership and left it there for an inspection the following morning. I was contacted by a s... Read more
Incident date: Jan 8, 2021
January 2021 driving straight - 30 MPH. RECEIVED A NOTIFICATION DYNAMIC STEERING "STEERING DEFECTIVE. I PULLED INTO A PARKING STALL AND IT DID A TOTAL LOCK UP. THE STEERING WHEEL COULD NOT BE TURNED AT ALL. THE WHOLE STEERING RACK AND PINION HAD TO BE REPLACED COSTING OVER $3,000 BECASUE THE ELECTRONIC CHIP WASNT ABLE TO BE REMOVED ITSELF. CAR HAD UNDER 50K MILES. I ASKED HOW DOES THIS GO OU... Read more
Incident date: Aug 13, 2021
The rear view mirror on my car fell off of the windshield without warning.As a result,I nearly backed into a lady and her granddaughter in a senior living facility and a woman pushing a shopping cart at the supermarket.My adaptive cruise control isn't working nor is the sunroof.Th rain sensor and headlights have also been compromised.The manufacturer hasn't inspected it.My insurance company has lo... Read more
Incident date: Aug 13, 2021
The rear view mirror on my car fell off of the windshield without warning.As a result,I nearly backed into a lady and her granddaughter in a senior living facility and a woman pushing a shopping cart at the supermarket.My adaptive cruise control isn't working nor is the sunroof.Th rain sensor and headlights have also been compromised.The manufacturer hasn't inspected it.My insurance company has lo... Read more
Incident date: Aug 30, 2021
On August 30th 2021 around 12:45pm driving to work I experienced something I did not realize was possible. I was in the fast lane going 70-75mph when my steering wheel began to shake profusely, I felt like something was under my car and hitting/whipping the right passenger side of my vehicle. I lost control of my car, almost flipped and thought it was a blowout, while trying to come to a stop on... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Aug 30, 2021
I have filed multiple complaints with you all regarding my concern for safety and anxiety each time I get behind the wheel of my car. I contacted Audi, National, local dealer and no help with National safety recall. My car has been presenting random electrical concerns. It has shown numerous check engine lights telling me to shut engine down immediately, my AC will shut off, my speed declines at... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Sep 2, 2021
Water pump leaking very slowly. Dealer admitted that they had several cars with the same issue. Water pump failure could cause motor to seize Dealer confirmed water pump leak Warning message in the dash cluster warned of low coolant Searching the internet, there is a very large problem dozens of owners of Audi RS3 cars having water pump issues. Attached video from the dealer https://api.m... Read more
Incident date: Sep 15, 2021
Both turbos on my 2013 Audi S6 spontaneously blew after a month of ownership at 105,000 miles
Incident date: Sep 13, 2021
My wife was impacted on the drivers side very hard by another vehicle, enough to total the car, and the side airbags did not deploy
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Sep 10, 2021
Upper dashboard display (MMI) loses power, upon reboot, audio volume comes on full power momentarily. This loud noise is both startling and distracting to the driver. The failure is sporadic and Audi has been unsuccessful in resolving the issue.
Incident date: Sep 16, 2021
The contact owns a 2015 Audi A3 equipped with General Tires, Tire Line: G-Max AS-05, Tire Size: 225/40/R18, DOT Number: (Not Available). The contact stated that while his daughter was driving 70 MPH, the front driver’s side tire experienced a blowout. The contact's daughter informed him that she could see the tire tread blowing off the vehicle as she pulled to the side of the road. A state patro... Read more
Incident date: Sep 17, 2021
The passenger air bag keeps going off every time one of my kids is sitting in the front. I can not afford to leave that seat unoccupied since I have four children and the front seat is always occupied. There is no solution to the air bag problem.
Incident date: Mar 27, 2021
There has been an open recall on my car since March 2021 (NHTSA recall number 21V198) which prevents the passenger airbag from functioning properly. Because the airbag isn't working it also disables my forward collision assistance. It took Audi 2 months to mail notice of the recall and 6 months later there is still no remedy or timeframe for a remedy. A recall affecting an airbag should not ling... Read more
Incident date: Mar 27, 2021
There has been an open recall on my car since March 2021 (NHTSA recall number 21V198) which prevents the passenger airbag from functioning properly. Because the airbag isn't working it also disables my forward collision assistance. It took Audi 2 months to mail notice of the recall and 6 months later there is still no remedy or timeframe for a remedy. A recall affecting an airbag should not ling... Read more
Incident date: Mar 22, 2021
Recall StatusRecall Incomplete, remedy not yet available. The passenger occupant detection system (PODS) may detect a malfunction and switch off the passenger airbag even though the seat may be occupied. I have been waiting for the recall on my vehicle to be fixed since 03/22/2021. It has been 6months and the manufacture still doesn't have a remedy to fix my vehicle. I can't sale my vehicle or e... Read more
Incident date: Mar 22, 2021
Recall StatusRecall Incomplete, remedy not yet available. The passenger occupant detection system (PODS) may detect a malfunction and switch off the passenger airbag even though the seat may be occupied. I have been waiting for the recall on my vehicle to be fixed since 03/22/2021. It has been 6months and the manufacture still doesn't have a remedy to fix my vehicle. I can't sale my vehicle or e... Read more
Incident date: Sep 13, 2021
when using cruise control, the vehicle suddenly brakes. If set a 70mph it will jam on the brakes and reset to 45 mph. This has caused near rear collisions. This is a recurring problem,.Audi service tried 3 times to identify the problem. Google has other owners with the same problem.
Incident date: Jul 2, 2021
Noticed front Goodyear Eagle Sport 285/45R20 tread are cracking and peeling. This is my second set of at the same OEM tire having the same phenomenon as original tires that came with vehicle when purchase new. Per dealership, this is a known issue with Goodyear tires and was recommended to switch to Pirelli tires. Current tires are still under manufacture warranty but if there is a known issue,... Read more
Incident date: Sep 13, 2019
The contact owns a 2014 Audi A4 Allroad. The contact stated that water had leaked into several electrical components including the back-up camera and the sound system. The contact stated that the radio could not be turned off and remained on with the volume on high. The contact took the vehicle to a certified mechanic who stated that water had leaked through sunroof rails that opened and closed th... Read more
Incident date: Aug 3, 2021
On three different occasions, I have experienced automatic emergency braking of the car which, rather than keeping me safe, placed me in a very dangerous situation. Each time, I was in a controlled intersection on a green light and in the left turn lane, with oncoming traffic also having a green light. When it was amply safe to make the left turn, with oncoming traffic at a safe distance from the ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 7, 2021
The 2021Audi Q5 has a gateway module under the middle back seat. Any fluid that contacts this module will cause it to fail shutting the car down completely. In addition, immediately above the module are 2 drink car holders. It only takes a small amount of spilled drink to cause this to happen. This happened to me on Sept. 7 causing my car to come to a complete stop immediately after passing th... Read more
Incident date: Sep 3, 2021
Vehicle control module failed while driving. All car functions failed. Had a difficult time pulling off the road safely. Car towed to dealer. Found the module wet. However area around module was dry. They don’t know where the water is coming from. Audi is aware of the issue and is replacing the part free of charge. If we were on a highway when the module failed it could have been di... Read more
Incident date: Sep 9, 2021
The contact owns a 2021 Audi Q8. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle shutoff as the electrical problem, see local dealer warning message appeared on the instrument panel. The contact pulled off to the side of the highway and had the vehicle towed to a local dealer. The vehicle remained in the possession of the dealer and had yet to be diagnosed. The manufacturer had yet to be noti... Read more
Incident date: Sep 9, 2021
The contact owns a 2021 Audi Q8. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle shutoff as the electrical problem, see local dealer warning message appeared on the instrument panel. The contact pulled off to the side of the highway and had the vehicle towed to a local dealer. The vehicle remained in the possession of the dealer and had yet to be diagnosed. The manufacturer had yet to be noti... Read more
Incident date: Aug 24, 2021
AUDI BATON ROUGE INFORMED ME THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH COOLANT MIGRATION AT COOLANT TANK CONNECTOR (COOLANT COULD LEAK INTO WIRE HARNESS) AND CAUSE SEVERE DAMAGE TO ELECTRICAL SYSTEM WANT $300 +_ TO REPAIR. SINCE THIS IS NOT SOMETHING CAUSED UNDER NORMAL CONDITIONS OR NEGLIGENCE ON MY PART I DO NOT FEEL I SHOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR COST OF REPAIR, SHOULD BE A RECALL ON AUDI
Incident date: Aug 24, 2021
AUDI BATON ROUGE INFORMED ME THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH COOLANT MIGRATION AT COOLANT TANK CONNECTOR (COOLANT COULD LEAK INTO WIRE HARNESS) AND CAUSE SEVERE DAMAGE TO ELECTRICAL SYSTEM WANT $300 +_ TO REPAIR. SINCE THIS IS NOT SOMETHING CAUSED UNDER NORMAL CONDITIONS OR NEGLIGENCE ON MY PART I DO NOT FEEL I SHOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR COST OF REPAIR, SHOULD BE A RECALL ON AUDI