AI Damage2020 Audi A5: common problems
Owners of the 2020 Audi A5 filed 60 complaints with NHTSA, most often about electrical system and backover prevention. The maker issued 1,008 service bulletins for this year. Details by component below, with sources.
Key figures
- Owner complaints
- 60
- involving a crash
- 1
- Technical service bulletins (TSB)
- 1,008
What fails most often
- 1 Electrical system 68% of all complaints
- 2 Backover prevention 25% of all complaints
- 3 Lane departure 5% of all complaints
- 4 Visibility 3% of all complaints
- 5 Seat belts 3% of all complaints
- 6 Equipment 2% of all complaints
- 7 Wheels 2% of all complaints
- 8 Exterior lighting 2% of all complaints
- Electrical system: 41 complaints (68% of all); manufacturer bulletins for this component: 315.
- Backover prevention: 15 complaints (25% of all); manufacturer bulletins for this component: 10.
- Lane departure: 3 complaints (5% of all); manufacturer bulletins for this component: 2.
- Visibility: 2 complaints (3% of all); manufacturer bulletins for this component: 45.
- Seat belts: 2 complaints (3% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner; manufacturer bulletins for this component: 5.
Engines and transmissions
US-market versions per EPA. On the right: how many NHTSA complaints name this engine or transmission type.
- 2 L · petrol · turbo · 4 cyl
- dual-clutch (DCT), 7-speed
Drive: AWD
Symptoms owners describe
How many of the 60 NHTSA complaints mention each symptom (automatic count from complaint text; one complaint can mention several).
Components owners complain about
| Component | Owner complaints | involving a crash | Technical service bulletins (TSB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical system | 41 | 0 | 315 |
| Backover prevention | 15 | 0 | 10 |
| Lane departure | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Visibility | 2 | 0 | 45 |
| Seat belts | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| Equipment | 1 | 0 | 257 |
| Wheels | 1 | 1 | 21 |
| Exterior lighting | 1 | 0 | 15 |
| Air bags | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| Forward collision avoidance | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Structure | 0 | 0 | 103 |
| Steering | 0 | 0 | 53 |
| Powertrain | 0 | 0 | 46 |
| Suspension | 0 | 0 | 46 |
What owners report
Short excerpts of NHTSA complaints in the original wording. These are owner statements not verified by NHTSA; personal data removed.
My brother lost control from the tires being worn unevenly wich caused him to lose traction. The airbags in the car on the passenger side where the steel pole made contact, failed to deploy. The seatbelt was defective because he was seatbelted and the belt broke.
Audi USA sent me a recall letter/service action for Infotainment System Software. The system reboots and shuts down unexpectedly while driving. Took the car to a local Audi dealership and they informed me that they cannot repair the recall because they now want to change my SOS module in order for both to work.
Several times while reversing using my backup camera, the MMI has rebooted which causes the camera to go blank. This poses a risk to back up into an object or a person during this time. Also during this time, the Rear Cross Traffic Warning system is disabled until the system reboots.
The MMI which controls back up and 360 cameras, parking sensors, collision avoidance system, navigation, bluetooth, radio, etc reboots randomly without warning. There is no predictability and I have not been able to identify a trigger. There is no warning indicator on the dash or MMI before it happens.
My car’s Multi Media Interface (MMI) keeps restarting every 1 to 2 minutes everyday while driving the carThe MMI runs my navigation (not through my phone) and music by connecting to my phone with Bluetooth. It also shows me my backup camera and diagnostics with the car.
Once when I was backing up, the screen started resetting compromising the backup camera display and any cross traffic warning that may of been there.
It appears to be rebooting regardless use or radio, CarPlay, or nothing - even after the recent factory reset. Reboots appear to occur at random - sometimes once in 40 mins, or every 3-4 mins.
The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, it was noticed that the driver's side window had failed to remain up as intended. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed with a defective window regulator. The vehicle remained at the dealer unrepaired.
When owners complained
NHTSA complaints by filing year. The peak shows at what age the problems show up most.
Comparison
By complaint count this model year ranks 794 of 2,102 model years in the NHTSA data (top 38% most complained about).
On average one model year of the A5 has 8 complaints (12 years in the data). This year has 60, above average.
What to check before buying
- Electrical system. Scan all modules, test the battery and alternator, inspect connectors near the impact zone.
- Backover prevention. Rear camera and parking sensors after a rear impact.
- Lane departure. Windshield camera: calibration after windshield replacement.
- Visibility. Wipers, mirrors, defrosters, cracked glass.
Manufacturer service bulletins
Bulletin titles as filed with NHTSA.
- This bulletin states that technicians are required to report to the manufacturer when a vehicle has…
This bulletin states that technicians are required to report to the manufacturer when a vehicle has flooded, and specify the height to which the vehicle has been flooded.
- This bulletin provides information regarding fault finding and repair information for electric tailgate
- This bulletin provides information about billing for a broken sunroof glass panel
- This bulletin provides information about vibrations and rotational steering vibrations
- This TSB describes a corrosion issue due to outside influence and the prohibition of warranty in these cases
- This bulletin provides information when the rear parking sensor sometimes does not work, rear parking…
This bulletin provides information when the rear parking sensor sometimes does not work, rear parking sensor loose, rear parking sensor fault message.
- This bulletin provides informaiton when DTC B200FF0 is stored
- This bulletin provides information for reporting safety related information to the manufacturer
- This bulletin provides infomraiton abou the Audi frequency analysis application, which is available in the…
This bulletin provides infomraiton abou the Audi frequency analysis application, which is available in the App Store for Android and Apple phones.
- This bulletin provides information when the license plate mounting bracket threded inserts are stripped
- This bulletin provides service information regarding exterior glass cleaning
- This bulletin provides informaiton when the airbag warning lamp is active, event memory "B200000 - Faulty…
This bulletin provides informaiton when the airbag warning lamp is active, event memory "B200000 - Faulty control module, symptom 305".
NHTSA lists 1,008 bulletins for this year; the 12 newest are shown here.
Other years of this model
Questions and answers
What are the most common problems with the 2020 Audi A5?
Owner complaints to NHTSA most often mention: electrical system, backover prevention, lane departure. Total complaints: 60. The most frequent symptoms in complaint texts: infotainment or screen glitches (62%), rear-view camera (33%), driver assists: adaptive cruise, lane keeping (10%).
How many service bulletins (TSB) were issued for the 2020 Audi A5?
NHTSA lists 1,008 manufacturer service bulletins for this year. A bulletin tells dealers how to diagnose or fix a known issue; it is not a recall.
Should I buy a 2020 Audi A5 from a US auction?
Owner complaints describe defects, not crash damage. Before bidding, check the components listed above and review the lot photos: VinWind builds a report of visible and hidden damage by VIN.
Other 2020 models
Read also
Sources: public NHTSA data (USA): service bulletins and owner complaints; YouTube: links to videos credited to their authors. Complaints are owner statements not verified by NHTSA, and describe defects rather than crash damage. Data updated 2026-11-04.