MODELYEARINDEX

Audi SQ5

93 complaints across 3 scored model years and 11 recall campaigns.

Which years to avoid

Ownership label · Audi SQ5 Full report
C
Grade 2018–2021
2018 vs model median 1.1×
Model median3× median
Brakes 3
Drivetrain 2
Driver Assist 2
Weakest

2018 · 2019

Best

2019 · 2021

Year by year

Severity-weighted complaints filed in each model year’s first 60 months on the road, so every year is measured over an identical window.

Year Complaint volume vs median Reports Grade
2018
1.08× 14 C
2019
1.00× 14 C
2021
0.81× 13 C
2024 P
1.00× 10 B
2025 P
0.54× 10 B

P — provisional. These years have not completed 60 months on the road, so their totals are incomplete and they are excluded from the verdict.

What it costs to run

EPA figures for the most recent model year on record.

Combined MPG21.5
City / Highway19 / 25
Engine3L, 6 cyl
DriveAll-Wheel Drive
Annual fuel cost$3,525

Recalls

11 campaigns on record, 1 carrying a Park It or Park Outside warning.

Campaign Component Model years Units affected
21V947000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:BODY CONTROL MODULE/BCM 2018–2021 288,991
19V737000 STRUCTURE:BODY 2018, 2019 174,278
22V742000 BACK OVER PREVENTION:DISPLAY FUNCTION 2021 170,296
19V416000 WHEELS:HUB 2018, 2019 126,161
21V606000 SEAT BELTS:REAR/OTHER:RETRACTOR 2021 45,496
21V295000 SUSPENSION:REAR:AXLE:NON-POWERED AXLE ASSEMBLY 2021 40,993
22V034000 TIRES 2021 31,058
19V277000 SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:MASTER CYLINDER 2018, 2019 12,645

+ 3 further campaigns

Others in Compact SUVs

Same body and size class. Each grade describes that model against its own history — these are not ranked against each other.

Model Years to avoid Grade
Acura RDX
20192020
C
Audi Q5
20182021
C
BMW X3
20132019
C
Buick Envision
2017
C
Cadillac SRX
2013
C
Cadillac XT5
2017
C
Chevrolet Blazer
none flagged
C
Chevrolet Equinox
2011
C

How this was calculated

Every model year is scored over an identical window: complaints filed with NHTSA during the first 60 months after that model year went on sale. Without this, older cars look worse purely because they have had longer to accumulate reports.

Limitations. Complaints are unverified reports submitted voluntarily by owners; they are allegations, not findings, and reporting rates vary between models. Model years with fewer than 60 months on the road are marked provisional and excluded from verdicts. Cross-model comparison is withheld pending production-volume data.

Full methodology · Sources · Data vintage August 9, 2026

Working 2018 SQ5
Complaints in window
14
Severity-weighted
20
Model median (weighted)
19
vs model median
1.08×
Recall campaigns (weighted)
7
Open investigations
0
Score 58 C