Reliable Auto DB

2013 Audi Q5 reliability

Is it reliable?

NHTSA's file on the 2013 Audi Q5 holds 92 complaints after 14 years, a rate of 7 per year. That is more complaints per year than most Q5 years here — over the median of the other years, which is 5. NHTSA has 5 recalls on file, including Cooling system, Wiring, and Fuel pump.

2012 Audi Q5
Photo by Clément Bucco-Lechat, resized from the original. Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 3.0
Complaints

92

Per year

7

Recalls

5

Years on the road

14

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Engine (34 of 92), then Steering (19) and Electrical system (11). Those filings include 1 that reports a crash, 4 that report a fire, and 1 that reports an injury.

Next to 2012 and 2014

The 2012 Q5 has 4 complaints, 0 per year, and the 2014 has 106 complaints, 4 per year. The 2013 has more complaints per year than the 2012. The 2013 has more complaints per year than the 2014.

The complaint rate is complaints filed in this year’s first 3 years on the road, divided by however many of those years have passed. Recalls are a separate count. The numbers are for the US-market 2013 Audi Q5. How we count. Data as of .

Recalls (5)

Recall engine and cooling, cooling system 2018-04-11 · NHTSA campaign 18V229000
Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2013-2017 Audi A5 Cabriolet, A5 Sedan and Audi Q5 vehicles, 2012-2015 Audi A6 vehicles and 2013-2016 Audi A4 Sedan and A4 allroad vehicles. These vehicles, equipped with 2.0l Turbo FSI engines, have an electric coolant pump that can either become blocked with debris from the cooling system causing it to overheat or can short-circuit from moisture within the pump.
Remedy Audi will notify owners, and dealers will replace the pumps, free of charge. The recall began September 14, 2018. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number's for this recall is 19N3/19N4. Note: This recall is in additional to the coolant pump software update applied as a remedy under recall 17V002.
Recall electrical system, wiring 2017-10-05 · NHTSA campaign 17V622000
Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2013-2016 Audi A5 Coupe, A5 Cabriolet, A4 Sedan, A4 Allroad and Q5 vehicles. Contact corrosion within the electrical connector for the auxiliary heater may cause the heater wires to overheat or melt.
Remedy Audi will notify owners, and dealers will replace the auxiliary heater and, as necessary, update the software, free of charge. The Recall began November 27, 2017. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 80C5 and 80C6.
Recall Fuel pump 2017-05-03 · NHTSA campaign 17V298000
Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2013-2017 Audi Q5 and 2013-2017 Audi Q7 vehicles. These gasoline-powered vehicles have a fuel pump flange that may crack, allowing fuel to leak.
Remedy Audi will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel pump flange if cracks are present. Flanges that do not have cracks will have a protective film applied. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began July 3, 2017. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 20Z8. Note: This recall is an expansion of recall 16V-660.
Recall engine and cooling, cooling system 2017-01-03 · NHTSA campaign 17V002000
Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2013-2017 Audi A5, A5 Cabriolet and Q5 vehicles, 2013-2016 Audi Allroad and Audi A4 vehicles and 2012-2015 Audi A6 vehicles. These vehicles, equipped with 2.0l Turbo FSI engines, have an electric coolant pump that can be blocked with debris from the cooling system, resulting in the pump overheating.
Remedy Audi will notify owners, and dealers will update the software so that the power supply to the coolant pump is deactivated if the pump becomes blocked with debris, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin February 20, 2017. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 19M1.
Recall visibility, sunroof 2017-01-03 · NHTSA campaign 17V001000
Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2011-2017 Audi Q5 vehicles. The sunroof drainage system may allow water to soak into the foam surrounding the side head air bag inflator canister resulting in the corrosion of the canister. If this happens, the corrosion can weaken the canister and the inflator could fracture without air bag deployment, propelling fragments into the passenger compartment, striking and causing serious injury to vehicle occupants.
Remedy Audi will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the inflator and either coat it or replace it, as necessary, after removing the surrounding foam, free of charge. The recall is expected to began March 2017. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69P1.

Complaints by component (92 total)

Engine
34
Steering
19
Electrical system
11
Structure
8
Fuel and propulsion system
6
Powertrain
6
Service brakes
6
Exterior lighting
2
Speed control
2
Suspension
2
Visibility
2
Air bags
1
Equipment
1
Hydraulic brakes
1
Latches, locks, and linkages
1
Seats
1
Visibility and wipers
1
Wheels
1
Show 10 more Show less
Crash-flagged

1

Fire-flagged

4

Injury reports

1

Death reports

0

Complaints filed per year

1320133201452015720169201710201812201992020320219202222023620242202522026
Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings
  • "There is considerable rust to the point that the subframe has been structurally compromised. I also contacted Audi USA regarding this issue, but they advised that they could not provide any assistance and closed my…"
    Unknown or other · filed 2026-05-20
  • "Oil leak/ and tire suspension icon keeps coming on after i fixed it"
    Unknown or other, Fuel and propulsion system · filed 2026-02-20
  • "Took vehicle in for state safety inspection. Found heavy rust on subframe nearly all the way through. Was told if it gets any worse it will not pass inspection next time. Apparently there are plastic rock shields on…"
    Structure · filed 2025-07-30
  • "When at highway speed, the vehicle veered hard to the left without any driver input, causing the car to cross several lanes of traffic and hit a concrete divider at ~65mph. The driver fractured her back, and one of…"
    Steering · filed 2025-02-07
  • "I was doing maintenance on car. Had new tires and alignment done. The alignment tech found rotted out rear sub-frame underneath plastic covers. Said that it was unsafe to drive. Had it fixed there. Mechanic had another…"
    Suspension · filed 2024-10-29

NHTSA crash ratings

Version Overall Front Side Rollover
2013 Audi Q5 HEV SUV AWD Not rated Not rated Not rated 4 stars
2013 Audi Q5 SUV AWD Not rated Not rated Not rated 4 stars

Stars are how this vehicle did in NHTSA crash tests. They are a safety result, separate from the complaint record. Not rated means that test was not run for this version.

Fuel economy

Trim Engine Transmission Drive City Hwy Combined Annual fuel cost
Q5 2L, 4-cyl Automatic (8-speed) All-wheel drive 20 28 23 MPG $3450
Q5 3L, 6-cyl Automatic (8-speed) All-wheel drive 18 26 21 MPG $3800
Q5 2L, 4-cyl Automatic (8-speed) All-wheel drive 20 27 22 MPG $3650
Q5 hybrid 2L, 4-cyl Automatic (8-speed) All-wheel drive 24 30 26 MPG $3050

Specs and fitment

8R Q5, 2012–2017
Body styles SUV
Oil 5W-30 full synthetic (common 2.0T fills; other engines may differ) , 5.3 qt capacity
Tire size 235/60R18 to 255/45R20 (trim-dependent)

Known issues for this generation

NHTSA campaign 17V-298 covers certain 2013-2017 Audi Q5 gasoline vehicles (with Q7 in the same campaign): the fuel-pump flange may crack and leak fuel; dealers replace cracked flanges or apply protective film. Campaign 17V-001 covers certain 2011-2017 Q5 vehicles where sunroof drain water can soak foam around the side head-air-bag inflator and corrode the canister so it can rupture; dealers inspect and coat or replace the inflator after removing foam. Campaign 17V-002 covers certain 2013-2017 Q5 vehicles with 2.0L Turbo FSI engines where an electric coolant pump can overheat if blocked; dealers update software to cut pump power if blocked.

Compare

Previous year 2012 Audi Q5 Next year 2014 Audi Q5 See every Audi Q5 model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2013 Audi Q5 reliable?

NHTSA's file on the 2013 Audi Q5 holds 92 complaints after 14 years, a rate of 7 per year. That is more complaints per year than most Q5 years here — over the median of the other years, which is 5. NHTSA has 5 recalls on file, including Cooling system, Wiring, and Fuel pump.

What are common problems with a 2013 Audi Q5?

The complaints owners file most often name Engine (34 of 92), then Steering (19) and Electrical system (11). Those filings include 1 that reports a crash, 4 that report a fire, and 1 that reports an injury.

Is the 2013 Audi Q5 more reliable than the years next to it?

The 2012 Q5 has 4 complaints, 0 per year, and the 2014 has 106 complaints, 4 per year. The 2013 has more complaints per year than the 2012. The 2013 has more complaints per year than the 2014.

Has the 2013 Audi Q5 been recalled?

The 2013 Audi Q5 has 5 recalls on file with NHTSA. See the recalls table on this page for dates, components, and remedies.

How many complaints have owners filed about the 2013 Audi Q5?

Owners have filed 92 complaints about the 2013 Audi Q5 with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2013 Audi Q5 get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2013 Audi Q5 is 23 MPG. See the fuel economy table on this page for city and highway figures by engine and transmission.

What generation is the 2019 Audi Q5?

FY Q5 generation (2018-on).

What oil does a recent Audi Q5 take?

FY US notes commonly list 0W-20 full synthetic; earlier 8R 2.0T fills often list 5W-30—confirm the VW/Audi oil standard in the manual.

What tire sizes does an Audi Q5 use?

Common US fits span about 235/60R18 to 255/45R20 depending on trim.