Reliability & cost of ownership
Audi S5 Reliability & Common Problems
How reliable is the Audi S5? Compare every model year side by side — NHTSA recalls, owner complaints, and crash-test stars — then open the year you're shopping for a full reliability and repair-cost forecast.
Audi S5 problems by model year
19 recall entries and 142 owner complaints on file across 17 model years, sourced from the federal NHTSA database.
| Year | Recalls | Complaints | NCAP stars | Full report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 S5 | 0 | 1 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2025 S5 | 2 | 11 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2024 S5 | 0 | 2 | No NCAP test | Full reliability report → |
| 2023 S5 | 1 | 3 | No NCAP test | Full reliability report → |
| 2022 S5 | 0 | 1 | No NCAP test | Full reliability report → |
| 2021 S5 | 5 | 1 | No NCAP test | Full reliability report → |
| 2020 S5 | 4 | 25 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2019 S5 | 4 | 6 | No NCAP test | Full reliability report → |
| 2018 S5 | 2 | 26 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2016 S5 | 0 | 1 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2015 S5 | 0 | 2 | No NCAP test | Full reliability report → |
| 2014 S5 | 0 | 6 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2013 S5 | 0 | 16 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2012 S5 | 1 | 10 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2011 S5 | 0 | 8 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2010 S5 | 0 | 20 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2008 S5 | 0 | 3 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
Most-complained-about components
Owner complaints filed with NHTSA against the Audi S5, grouped by the component each complaint names — the fastest read on where this model gives trouble.
- power train27 complaints
- unknown or other27 complaints
- electrical system26 complaints
- air bags25 complaints
- engine24 complaints
- forward collision avoidance14 complaints
- back over prevention12 complaints
- lane departure9 complaints