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Check by VIN to confirm the
exact model and see every recall for it.
Recalls are issued for a make, model and model year. Whether the repair has already been done on one specific car is known only to its manufacturer and dealers. Check your vehicle's official status at nhtsa.gov/recalls or with a dealer.
US recalls (4)
Tires
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2019-2021 Audi A5 Sportback, RS5 Coupe, RS5 Sportback, S5 Sportback, 2020-2021 A4 Allroad, A4 Sedan, A5 Cabriolet, A5 Coupe, A6 Allroad, A6 Sedan, A7, A8, Q5, S4 Sedan, S5 Coupe, S5 Cabriolet, S6 Sedan, S7, S8, SQ5, 2021 Q5 Sportback, Q7, Q8, RS6 Avant, RS7, RSQ8, SQ5 Sportback, SQ7, and SQ8 vehicles. The rear axle alignment may not have been inspected after the repairs for Recall 21V-295 (42L1) were performed.
Risk and remedy
Risk: Rear axle misalignment may cause premature or uneven tire wear, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect the rear axle, adjust the alignment as necessary, and replace any prematurely or unevenly worn tires, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 3, 2022. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 42L5.
Air bags: sensor, occupant classification
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2017-2020 A4 Allroad, A4 Sedan, 2018-2019 RS5 Coupe, 2019 RS5 Sportback, 2018-2020 A5 Cabriolet, A5 Coupe, A5 Sportback, S4 Sedan, S5 Cabriolet, S5 Coupe, and Audi S5 Sportback vehicles. The cable connecting the seat heater to the Passenger Occupant Detection System (PODS) may have a contact fault, causing the software to misdiagnose a malfunction and disable the passenger air bag.
Risk and remedy
Risk: A disabled passenger air bag increases the risk of injury in the event of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the connecting cable and either the heating mat or entire seat cover, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 7, 2022. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 74E3. This recall is an expansion of Recall 19V-547 (74D9). Vehicles previously repaired under 19V-547 will need to return for the new remedy.
Suspension: rear, axle
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2021 Q7, Q8, Q5 Sportback, SQ5 Sportback, RS6 Avant, RS7, RS Q8, 2020-2021 Audi S6 sedan, Q5, A8, S8, A7, A6 Allroad, A5 Cabriolet, A4 sedan, A4 Allroad, SQ5, S7, A6 sedan, S5 coupe, S4 sedan, S5 Cabriolet, A5 coupe, 2019-2021 RS5 coupe, A5 Sportback, S5 Sportback, RS5 Sportback vehicles. The lock nut on the trailing arm of the rear axle may break due to stress corrosion.
Risk and remedy
Risk: A broken lock nut may misalign the rear axle, causing a loss of control and increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the lock nuts and, if necessary, the associated bolts, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 4, 2021. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 42L1.
Exterior lighting: tail lights
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2021 Audi RS5 Sportback, 2020-2021 Audi A5 Sportback, and S5 Sportback vehicles. The wiring harness for the rear lights could be missing the anti-abrasion protection in the area of the spare wheel well.
Risk and remedy
Risk: Without the scuff protection, the wires may become damaged during a rear crash, disabling the doors from being opened from the outside, causing a loss of hazard lights, and increasing the risk of injury.
Remedy: Audi will notify owners, and dealers will apply scuff protection, free of charge. The recall began January 21, 2021. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 97EU.
Canadian recalls (4)
Show 4 Canadian recalls
Suspension
2022-01-26 · campaign 2022-022
Issue:
On certain vehicles, the rear wheel alignment was not checked during recall 42L1 (Transport Canada Recall 2021-249). As a result, the steering could pull to one side or another and the tires could wear unevenly. If you continue to drive the vehicle in this condition, there may be reduced traction. Eventually, a tire could fail and lose air pressure.
Safety Risk:
A tire failure could cause a loss of control and increase the risk of a crash.
Corrective Actions:
Audi will notify owners by mail and instruct you to take your vehicle to a dealer to inspect and adjust the rear wheel alignment, as necessary. Additionally, the dealer will inspect the rear tires for premature and uneven wear due to this issue, and replace them if necessary.
Airbag
2021-11-10 · campaign 2021-688
Issue:
On certain vehicles, the passenger occupant detection system (PODS) may malfunction. This could cause the airbag system to turn off the passenger-front airbag even when a passenger is seated. Note: This problem would cause an error message to display on the instrument panel and a warning chime to sound. The airbag indicator light would also display "passenger airbag off".
Additional note: For the 2020 model year A5 model, only the A5 Sportback is affected by this recall.
Safety Risk:
An airbag that is turned off could increase the risk of injury to a passenger in a crash.
Corrective Actions:
Audi will notify owners by mail and instruct them to take their vehicle to a dealer to inspect the front passenger seat. Depending on the seat type, the dealer will either replace the seat heating mat including the connecting cable or the entire seat cover.
Suspension
2021-04-26 · campaign 2021-249
Issue:
On certain vehicles, the lock nuts for the rear trailing arm bolts may be defective. If a nut breaks, there could be sudden changes in rear wheel alignment. This can cause a loss of vehicle stability.
Safety Risk:
Reduced vehicle stability could cause a loss of control and increase the risk of a crash.
Corrective Actions:
Audi will notify owners by mail and instruct you to take your vehicle to a dealer to replace the rear trailing arm lock nuts. If necessary, the associated bolt(s) will be replaced as well.
Electrical
2020-11-25 · campaign 2020-575
Issue:
On certain vehicles, a layer of protective tape may not have been installed around a wiring harness in the spare tire area. As a result, the wiring harness could become damaged in a rear crash. If this happens, it may not be possible to open the doors from the outside and/or the hazard lights may not work.
Safety Risk:
Doors that cannot be opened from the outside could increase the risk of injury after a crash. Hazard lights that do not work could make the vehicle less visible and increase the risk of a crash.
Corrective Actions:
Audi will notify owners by mail and instruct you to take your vehicle to a dealer to apply protective tape to the wiring harness for the rear lights.
Owner complaints (25)
Owners filed 25 complaints with NHTSA about the 2020 Audi S5. Among 17 model years of this model, it ranks #2 for the most complaints (median 6).
| Most-reported problem | Complaints | |
|---|
| Electrical system | 14 | |
| Unknown or other | 12 | |
| Back over prevention | 11 | |
| Forward collision avoidance | 6 | |
| Lane departure | 2 | |
Crash test ratings
NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings for the 2020 Audi S5.
| Version | Overall | Frontal | Side | Rollover |
|---|
| 2020 Audi S5 2 DR AWD | – | – | – | – |
Fuel economy
EPA ratings for each 2020 Audi S5 version.
| Version | City MPG | Highway MPG | Combined | Yearly fuel cost |
|---|
| S5 3.0 L Automatic (S8) | 20 | 27 | 23 | $3,550 |
| S5 Cabriolet 3.0 L Automatic (S8) | 19 | 26 | 22 | $3,750 |
| S5 Sportback 3.0 L Automatic (S8) | 20 | 27 | 23 | $3,550 |
Need this data in your app?
Recalls, complaints, crash ratings and fuel economy as a JSON API. Decode up to 50 VINs per call and get a daily feed of new recalls.
Explore the API →Sources: NHTSA recalls, complaints and 5-Star Safety Ratings, US EPA fuel economy and Transport
Canada's Vehicle Recalls Database (contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada).
Recalls updated 2026-10-30.