Go for an Audi A5 2.0 TDI with its cambelt done on time and, on 2009 or older cars, the injector recall carried out; avoid 2008 to 2015 1.8 and 2.0 TFSI petrols, which can burn oil heavily.
12 known faults, 9 rated high severity in our database; owners report 37.1 mpg, 77% of the official figure. Everything below is built from that data and the archived owner history, not from a press car.
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Paste the Audi A5 advert and we read it against its 12 known faults, the MOT history and the DVLA record, then tell you what to ask the seller and what to look at on the day. Free, about a minute, no card.
Check an Audi A5 advert (free) →The 2.0 TDI is the A5 to look for, because the 1.8 and 2.0 TFSI petrols from 2008 to 2015 carry a known piston ring flaw that makes them drink oil and can end in engine failure. Several owners have described getting through a litre in a few hundred miles. The diesel isn't trouble-free, but its known problems are an injector recall on 2009 and older cars and EGR or DPF faults rather than an engine that eats oil.
The gearbox needs as much thought as the engine. Manual cars from 2008 to 2014 have a known clutch and dual-mass flywheel weakness that shows between 40,000 and 100,000 miles, the seven-speed S tronic from 2010 to 2017 can suffer mechatronic failure between 40,000 and 80,000 miles, and front-wheel-drive Multitronic autos up to 2012 wear out their clutch packs. Pick the car whose paperwork shows the relevant clutch work or gearbox oil changes.
Treat a Cabriolet from 2011 to 2018 with more suspicion than a coupe or Sportback. Water getting past the roof seals and faulty drain channels is a known fault that soaks the footwells and can knock out the MMI and Bluetooth. The newest cars, from 2016 on, have only a handful of reports, but that's not proof they're better: the known S tronic, MMI and V6 TDI timing chain faults all run into those years, so check one the same way.
The 2.0 TDI is the lesser engine risk in the A5, as long as you check two things. On cars up to 2009, make sure the recall to replace injectors that could short out and cut the engine has been done. On 2008 to 2014 cars, look out for a flashing glow plug light or limp mode, which point to EGR and DPF trouble that's followed the emissions software update. It's a cambelt engine, with the belt listed at 60,000 miles or 60 months.
Steer clear of the 1.8 and 2.0 TFSI petrols from 2008 to 2015. Their piston rings are a known flaw that lets them burn oil, showing up between 50,000 and 90,000 miles, then fouling plugs and eventually wrecking the engine. The 2.0 TFSI runs a timing chain, and its tensioner can fail on 2008 to 2013 cars, starting as a rattle on a cold start and ending with the chain jumping teeth and a full rebuild.
The 3.0 V6 TDI has a known timing chain tensioner fault between 80,000 and 140,000 miles, and because the chains sit at the back of the engine, it has to come out of the car to fix. Listen for a metallic slapping from the rear of the engine on a cold start that lasts more than three seconds. One owner's S5 with the 3.0 V6 TFSI suffered a major engine failure at 60,000 miles.
None of the gearboxes gets a clean bill. The manual's clutch and dual-mass flywheel can go between 40,000 and 100,000 miles, and one S5 owner was on a fourth clutch by 100,000 miles. The seven-speed S tronic wants its first oil change at 35,000 miles and then one every 40,000, while the Multitronic CVT needs fluid and a filter every 40,000 miles despite being sold as sealed for life, so don't buy an auto without those receipts.
Check the oil level first, and since there's no dipstick, get the seller to bring it up on the MMI screen. On any 1.8 or 2.0 TFSI, ask for top-up records or the results of a dealer oil consumption test, and watch the exhaust for blue smoke when you accelerate hard. On a cold start, listen for a chain rattle on the 2.0 TFSI, or a slap from the back of a 3.0 V6 TDI that goes on for more than three seconds.
On the test drive, a manual that slips as you accelerate, judders pulling away or baulks going into gear needs a clutch and flywheel. With the S tronic, stop at a few junctions and crawl in traffic: creeping or shunting forward against the brakes, jerky changes or a rattling rumble when you rev it are mechatronic warning signs, so look underneath for gearbox oil leaks too. A Multitronic that shudders from rest, flashes its PRNDS display or won't come out of park is on its way out.
Lift the carpets in the driver's and rear passenger footwells of any Cabriolet and sniff for mustiness, because a leaking roof is a known fault, and a 'telephone not available' message can mean water has reached the electronics. Look for rubbing on the fabric roof diagonally up from each back window corner, where wear has shown up. On every A5, work the MMI, Bluetooth, reversing sensors, keyless locking and electric handbrake several times, as all of them have given owners grief.
Ask for proof of the recall work: the air-con auxiliary heater element that could overheat at its connectors (2007 to 2017), the software update that shuts down a blocked extra coolant pump on the 2.0 TFSI (2007 to 2017), and new injectors on 2.0 TDI cars up to 2009. A smell of burning plastic from the air-con points to that heater element. Then look for receipts for the cambelt, S tronic or Multitronic oil changes and any clutch replacement.
Paste the advert into the free check and it runs these against the listing, the MOT history and the DVLA record before you travel.
The B8's biggest weakness is its 1.8 and 2.0 TFSI petrols, which carry a known piston ring flaw that burns oil between 50,000 and 90,000 miles on 2008 to 2015 cars. Owners have reported a 2011 1.8 TFSI getting through a litre every 380 miles at 55,000 miles, and a 2010 2.0 TFSI that needed pistons and rings, with Audi supplying the parts and the owner paying £1,780 for the labour.
Manual clutches and flywheels are a known failure between 40,000 and 100,000 miles, and one 2.0 TDI coupe needed both at 50,000 miles. The seven-speed S tronic's mechatronic unit is a known fault from 40,000 to 80,000 miles; one 3.0 V6 TDI at 76,000 miles shunted forward at junctions and stalled a few times. Cabriolets from 2011 can let water in at 30,000 to 80,000 miles, and one S5 Cabriolet took five repair attempts and ended up with a whole new roof.
It's secure through corners, especially with quattro, but judge the ride on the drive. One owner found the Sport and S line suspension far too hard on UK roads, another had a loud thump from the rear over bumps on 18-inch wheels with drive select, and a 2011 Sportback on 17-inch wheels needed four new dampers at 36,500 miles. Cars on 19-inch wheels have also been reported as noisy on poor surfaces.
Inside, listen for rattles from the dashboard and rear parcel shelf, which more than one owner has mentioned, and check the frameless door windows for signs of water, as their seals have let rain in. In right-hand-drive cars the pedals are offset to the right, which can leave you sitting at an angle, so spend a proper stint in the driver's seat before you commit.
Real-world economy on this generation: Audi A5 36.1 mpg, Audi A5 Cabriolet 34.4 mpg, Audi A5 Sportback 38.2 mpg, Audi A5 37.2 mpg, Audi A5 Sportback 40.5 mpg, Audi A5 Cabriolet 36.0 mpg.
Sellers rarely admit these faults outright
Paste any Audi A5 advert and we check it against the faults, the MOT record and these figures in seconds.
Check an advert now (free) →Owners report 37.1 mpg across the Audi A5 engines with data, about 77% of the official figure, from 1,416 submissions.
Audi A5 Real MPG by engine →It's a solidly put-together car, and the materials in the cabin are good quality, so it feels sturdy inside. The boot's a large one, and the later Sportback adds excellent interior quality and more practicality than you'd expect, which makes it easy to live with.
On the road, the later Sportback is comfortable, quiet and refined, and it's got strong performance to go with that. If you want the roof down, the Cabriolet's a bigger car than the A4 convertible it took over from, and a more upmarket one as well.
Go for an Audi A5 2.0 TDI with its cambelt done on time and, on 2009 or older cars, the injector recall carried out; avoid 2008 to 2015 1.8 and 2.0 TFSI petrols, which can burn oil heavily. Our database holds 12 known Audi A5 faults, 9 rated high severity, and the sections above say which generation and engine carry them.
Check the oil level first, and since there's no dipstick, get the seller to bring it up on the MMI screen. Read the MOT history for repeat advisories and ask for invoices for any work the seller mentions. Then paste the advert into the free check, which reads it against every known Audi A5 fault before you travel.
Owners report 37.1 mpg on average, about 77% of the official figure, from 1,416 submissions. Belt (2.0 TDI, EA189, EA288): 60,000 miles or 5 years, whichever comes first, so budget for it if the history does not show it done. The known faults page lists a rough repair cost against each fault. Audi A5 Real MPG by engine.
If you used the Honest John car-by-car reviews before the site closed in 2026, this is where the Audi A5 buying advice now lives. It is written from the archived owner reports and model notes (archived page, 133 items read for this model), our own known-faults database, the confirmed service intervals and the Real MPG figures. Every number on the page comes from that data, not from the text. The same data feeds our free advert check.
CarAdCheck is not affiliated with Honest John or Volkswagen Financial Services. What happened to Honest John, and where each feature lives now.
The Audi A5 is one decision. Reading the advert, the history and the seller are the rest, and these cover them.
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