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Audi · NHTSA safety record

2011 Audi S5

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

Owners have filed 8 safety complaints about the 2011 Audi S5 with the US government. Of those, no death is recorded. One recall campaign is open against it, covering the gasoline fuel system.

The most complained-about system is the air bags, named in 4 complaints, 50% of the total.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers July 2016 to April 2017 · How this is counted

What is on file

8 complaints on file

8

Complaints

0

Describe a crash

0

Mention fire

0

People injured

0

Deaths

A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.

A recall is the manufacturer conceding a defect, and the repair is free. Whether one covers your particular car is a question only its VIN can answer, because a campaign covers a production range rather than a model year.

Which system owners named

Complaints naming each system
AIR BAGS 4 · 50%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 3 · 38%
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 · 13%
POWER TRAIN 1 · 13%
0 4 8

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 8.

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2017 at 6.

8 6 4 2
16 17

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2016 to 2017.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA has not crash tested the 2011 Audi S5. Its New Car Assessment Program tests a selection of each year's vehicles and does not reach motorcycles, heavy trucks, motorhomes or most low-volume models, so an absence here says nothing about how the vehicle would perform. It is not a low score.

What owners have reported about this vehicle is below, and it is a different question: a crash test measures what happens to the people inside in a controlled impact, while a complaint records what broke during ordinary use.

Recall campaigns

1 on file

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:FUEL INJECTION SYSTEM:FUEL RAIL

15V019000 · January 20, 2015

The defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 Audi S4, S5, Q7, 2012 Audi A6, Volkswagen Touareg Hybrid, and 2012-2013 Audi A7 vehicles. In the affected vehicles the fuel injection system may experience a fuel leak.
The risk
A fuel leak in the injection system in the presence of an ignition source, increases the risk of a fire.
The remedy
Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel rails and corresponding seals, free of charge. The recall began on March 17, 2015. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-822-2834 or Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 24AP for Audi customers and 24BK for Volkswagen customers.

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. · up to 26,008 vehicles across all model years covered

In owners’ own words

Quoted from the complaint file

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

AIR BAGS
THE AIRBAG IN MY CAR NEEDS TO BE REPLACED BUT AUDI HAS OFFERED NO TIMETABLE AS TO WHEN THIS MAY BE POSSIBLE. NO SOLUTION IS CURRENTLY AVAILABLE. I FIND IT DISCONCERTING TO BE DRIVING A CAR THAT HAS AN AIRBAG THAT COULD CAUSE SIGNIFICANT INJURY. UPDATED 10/10/2017*JS

NHTSA complaint 10971077. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS
TL* TAKATA RECALL. THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 AUDI S5. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 16V078000 (AIR BAGS); HOWEVER, THE PART TO DO THE REPAIR WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. PARTS DISTRIBUTION DISCONNECT.

NHTSA complaint 10949017. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

75,000 miles

WHILE INSPECTING MY 2011 S5 AFTER PURCHASE I NOTICED THAT THE REAR WINDOW WAS DETACHING FROM THE TOP. THE DEALER REPAIRED AS A WARRANTY REPAIR. A FEW YEARS LATER THE TOP OF THE CONVERTIBLE ROOF ON THE INSIDE STARTED TO SAG. I CAN'T PROVE THE DEALER WAS AT FAULT BUT THEY WERE THE LAST TO WORK ON THE CONVERTIBLE ROOF. THE REPAIR IS NOT WORTH THE REMAINING VALUE OF THE VEHICLE AND THE DEALER WILL NOT INSURE THE REPAIR MORE THAN A YEAR. SO BE CAREFUL WITH THESE PARTS AND NOW MOST OF YOU KNOW THESE VEHICLES HAVE TAKATA AIRBAGS SUBJECT TO A RECALL WHICH AUDI HAS NOT PROVIDE A TIME TABLE FOR RESOLUTION.

NHTSA complaint 10948673. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

65,000 miles

IN 2014 I NOTICED THAT THE CARBON FIBER INSERT ON THE PASSENGER SIDE WAS PEELING OFF. THE DEALER REPLACED IT BUT THEN TOLD ME THEY REPAIRED IT BY ACCIDENT BECAUSE IT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN COVERED. A FEW MONTHS LATER THE CARBON FIBER INSERTS IN THE BACK SEATS STARTED TO PEEL OFF. AUDI COULD NOT EXPLAIN IT. I HAD TO TEAR THEM OFF BECAUSE THEY WERE SCRATCHING MY CHILDREN WHEN THEY SAT IN THE BACK SEAT. I PERSONALLY REPLACE THE INSERTS AND NOTICED THAT THE INSERT AROUND THE MMI WAS ALSO STARTING TO PEEL. SOMEONE SAID THAT UV RAYS AND HIGH HEAT COULD CAUSE THIS TO HAPPEN. I AM NOT HAPPY WITH THE QUALITY OF THIS PRODUCT.

NHTSA complaint 10948679. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS
TL* TAKATA RECALL. THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 AUDI S5. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 16V078000 (AIR BAGS). THE PART TO DO THE RECALL REPAIR WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS AWARE OF THE ISSUE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. VIN TOOL CONFIRMS PARTS NOT AVAILABLE.

NHTSA complaint 10948668. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)
UNABLE TO GET PARTS FOR FAULTY MSE TRANSMISSION CURRENTLY IN MY 2011. AUDI UPGRADED BECAUSE OF KNOWN PROBLEMS TO NSY MODEL TRANSMISSION AND EXPECTS OWNER TO PAY EXPENSE. THEY DID NOT AND HAVE NOT MAKE THE CUSTOMER/CONSUMER AWARE OF THIS UNTIL YOU FORCED TO TAKE IT IN FOR SERVICE DUE TO SENSORS AND LIMITED FUNCTIONALITY IN DRIVING CAPABILITIES. VEHICLE HESITATES AND DROPS GEARS WHILE IN MOTION. THIS OCCURRED ON A MAJOR HIGHWAY CREATING A HAZARDOUS EVENT, IN ADDITION THEY WILL ALSO CHARGE YOU FOR A DIAGNOSIS AND BOGUS SERVICE WHILE THEY ARE ALREADY AWARE THAT THE PARTS ARE NOT AVAILABLE FOR THAT TRANSMISSION. UPON RESEARCH I HAVE FOUND THIS IS NOT AN ISOLATED PROBLEM, OR DUE TO DRIVING,

NHTSA complaint 10946189, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Audi S5

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2025 11 2 —
2020 25 4 —
2018 26 2 —
2012 10 1 —

Other 2011 Audi models

Q5 143 A3 43 A4 Avant 32 S4 26 Q7 23 A6 21 A8 15 A5 Cabriolet 14

Complaints on file, same model year.

Every Audi on this site — 155 vehicles.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. How many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst