An Audi Q5 2.0 TDI is the lesser risk, as long as its emissions fix hasn't brought EGR trouble; treat any S tronic warily, since serviced ones have still failed, and insist on its oil change receipts.
6 known faults, 4 rated high severity in our database; owners report 36.3 mpg, 80% 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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Check an Audi Q5 advert (free) →A 2.0 TDI is the Q5 to aim for, because it's the lesser risk in a range where the petrol and the V6 diesel both carry serious known faults. It isn't clean either: on 2008 to 2014 cars the EGR valve and DPF can fail after the emissions software update, showing up between 60,000 and 100,000 miles, and two owners have had the EGR go soon after that fix.
The gearbox matters as much as the engine on an 8R. The seven-speed S tronic has a High-rated known fault on 2008 to 2016 cars, with the mechatronic unit or the clutches failing anywhere from 24,000 to 100,000 miles. Buy one only with receipts for its oil and filter changes, and treat them as the minimum rather than a guarantee, since one car with two changes on file still failed at 80,000 miles.
Don't buy a 2.0 TFSI petrol unless the paperwork answers its problems. The coolant pump recall covers it up to 2017, it carries a High-rated timing chain fault on 2008 to 2012 cars, and a known fault in the same years sees worn piston rings burn oil. The 3.0 V6 TDI has a known timing chain tensioner fault between 80,000 and 140,000 miles, and fixing it means taking the engine out of the car.
The FY from 2016, including the Sportback from 2021, has far less on record, and what there is covers brakes, seats and the pre sense system rather than engines or gearboxes. That's a short record, not a clean one: the coolant pump recall runs to 2017 and the V6 TDI chain fault to 2018, so an early FY needs the same checks as an 8R.
No Q5 engine is a safe bet, but the 2.0 TDI's the lesser risk, with one known fault to tick off. On 2008 to 2014 cars, EGR valves and DPFs have failed after the emissions software update, bringing a flashing glow plug light, the engine management light and limp mode, and two owners have had the EGR go that way. Another came back from the fix down on power. It's a cambelt engine, with the belt due at 60,000 miles or 60 months.
Diesels from 2011 use AdBlue, and that system has thrown up faults for several owners, with a dashboard warning counting down the miles until the engine won't restart. One owner paid £527 for a replacement part at 72,300 miles, and another paid £385 to fix a heater fault in the system at 35,000 miles. A dealer hadn't managed to cure a third car's AdBlue warning at all.
The 2.0 TFSI petrol and the 3.0 V6 TDI both carry High known faults. The petrol's extra coolant pump can clog and overheat, which a recall on cars up to 2017 deals with by software, and its chain tensioners rattle from cold on 2008 to 2013 cars before the chain jumps teeth and wrecks the engine. The V6 TDI's chain tensioners, at the back of the engine, wear out between 80,000 and 140,000 miles, and the engine has to come out to replace them.
The seven-speed S tronic's mechatronic unit or clutches failing is a High-rated known fault on 2008 to 2016 cars, and owners of both 2.0 and 3.0 cars have had it happen, so it's the gearbox to be wary of. Audi wants its first oil and filter change at 35,000 miles, then every 40,000. Audi treats the ZF eight-speed automatic as filled for life, but ZF, which makes it, publishes a procedure for changing its oil, and it's due every 60,000 miles or 96 months, so ask.
Hear the engine start from cold before anything else. A 2.0 TFSI with a timing chain rattle, or a 3.0 V6 TDI with a metallic slapping from the back of the engine lasting more than three seconds, is one to leave alone. Ask for the recall paperwork too: the coolant pump software on a 2.0 TFSI, the curtain airbag work on cars with a panoramic sunroof, and the air conditioning heater element that could overheat.
On an S tronic, reverse it up a slope, crawl through traffic and pull away from a few junctions. Owners' failing boxes have been sluggish or reluctant in reverse, lurched against the brakes at lights, juddered after standing, hesitated on roundabouts and flagged a gearbox fault with no reverse. Get the invoices showing the oil and filter changes at 35,000 miles and every 40,000 after that.
On a 2.0 TFSI, check the oil level and ask how often it's been topped up, as one owner was adding a litre every 1,500 miles. On the drive, a noise from the back that grows with speed sent one 75,000-mile quattro in for a new driveshaft, and another car juddered from 60mph upwards. Look behind the front wheels for split CV joint boots, which one owner's car had at 65,000 miles.
On any diesel from 2011, watch for AdBlue warnings on the dash, and ask which emissions software updates it's had, since EGR failures and a loss of power have followed the fix on 2.0 TDIs. Lift the boot floor on an FY, because it comes with a tyre repair kit rather than a spare wheel, and a car ordered that way doesn't get a jack or wheelbrace either.
Paste the advert into the free check and it runs these against the listing, the MOT history and the DVLA record before you travel.
A 2.0 TDI 8R is worth buying if the emissions fix hasn't left it with EGR trouble and any S tronic has its oil change receipts; the 2.0 TFSI is the one to skip. It's a five-star Euro NCAP car, and one 2.0 TDI owner had nothing go wrong with theirs until an AdBlue fault at 72,300 miles.
The S tronic has failed for owners at 24,000, 26,000, 42,000, 50,000, 80,000 and 84,000 miles, on 2.0 and 3.0 cars alike. One owner paid £2,000 for a new mechatronic unit that didn't cure a car struggling in reverse, and another spent £1,400 on a mechatronic repair that failed, with skipped gearbox oil changes blamed. A 48,000-mile box that had started jerking from rest was put right by a software update.
The 2.0 TFSI's reports are about oil and cooling. One owner was adding a litre every 1,500 miles and needed new piston rings at 43,000 miles, and another's engine failed completely after work on its oil use. One owner paid £1,568 for a new timing chain at 105,000 miles, only to learn the valves had hit the pistons. Another paid £778 for a water pump and thermostat at 40,000 miles, and the coolant pump recall covers 2.0 TFSIs up to 2017.
The diesels have their own list. EGR valves have failed after the emissions fix on 2.0 TDIs at 60,000 and 73,000 miles, and AdBlue faults have appeared from 35,000 miles. One quattro TDI needed a new driveshaft at 75,000 miles, another had split front CV boots at 65,000, and one 3.0 TDI owner found the steering went vague and then jerky below 5C. The 3.0 V6 TDI also carries the known chain tensioner fault between 80,000 and 140,000 miles.
Real-world economy on this generation: Audi Q5 34.8 mpg, Audi Q5 39.6 mpg.
Buy an FY if you want the newer Q5, but check a 2016 to 2018 car as closely as an 8R, since the coolant pump recall on the 2.0 TFSI runs to 2017 and the V6 TDI chain fault to 2018. Its owner reports so far concern brakes, seats and driver aids rather than engines or gearboxes, though that's a short record rather than proof of anything.
One 2018 owner felt vibration under braking at 12,000 miles and needed new pads and discs on both axles at 20,000 miles, and the vibration came back after that. Another's pre sense system flagged a fault, then set itself off twice at around 30mph with nothing ahead. On a 2017 car, the driver's seat leather rucked within two months, with a clicking from the driver's side rear when pulling away.
On the test drive, brake firmly from speed and feel for vibration through the pedal and wheel, and ask whether the discs and pads have been replaced. Look at the driver's seat leather for rucking, listen for clicks as you set off, and check the dash for pre sense warnings. One owner found the 19-inch tyres noisy, so listen for that on the motorway.
Sellers rarely admit these faults outright
Paste any Audi Q5 advert and we check it against the faults, the MOT record and these figures in seconds.
Check an advert now (free) →Owners report 36.3 mpg across the Audi Q5 engines with data, about 80% of the official figure, from 660 submissions.
Audi Q5 Real MPG by engine →The FY is a quieter place to sit than the car it replaced, with less wind noise at speed and the engine kept further in the background. It's a relaxed long-distance car too, because the ride stays refined on the motorway, which makes big mileages easy work and suits anyone who spends hours at a time behind the wheel.
The Sportback, from 2021, gives the Q5 a sleeker shape without giving much away inside. Its interior's a smart place to be and it gives up very little everyday usefulness against the regular Q5. You can have it as a petrol, a diesel or a hybrid, and the 2.0 TDI in the FY has plenty of pull in any gear, so overtaking doesn't need a downshift.
An Audi Q5 2.0 TDI is the lesser risk, as long as its emissions fix hasn't brought EGR trouble; treat any S tronic warily, since serviced ones have still failed, and insist on its oil change receipts. Our database holds 6 known Audi Q5 faults, 4 rated high severity, and the sections above say which generation and engine carry them.
A 2.0 TDI is the Q5 to aim for, because it's the lesser risk in a range where the petrol and the V6 diesel both carry serious known faults. On the fault record the FY (2016 on) carries no known faults against 6 on the 8R (2008 to 2016). Each generation's section above gives the detail. Audi Q5 faults by generation.
Hear the engine start from cold before anything else. 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 Q5 fault before you travel.
Owners report 36.3 mpg on average, about 80% of the official figure, from 660 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 Q5 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 Q5 buying advice now lives. It is written from the archived owner reports and model notes (archived page, 65 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 Q5 is one decision. Reading the advert, the history and the seller are the rest, and these cover them.
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