I leased a brand new 2025 Audi SQ5 3.0T from an authorized Audi dealer in Ontario, Canada in October 2025. $93,000 for what was supposed to be a premium driving experience. Instead, it has turned into a nightmare that I believe is putting my life at risk.
November 2025 (Visit 1): Within weeks of purchase, multiple driver-assist malfunction warnings appeared — adaptive cruise, emergency assist, lane departure, traffic sign recognition — plus the engine warning light. Dealer cleared the fault codes. Warnings came back.
December 2025 (Visit 2): Same warnings returned. Dealer cleared the codes again. $0 parts. $0 labor. No actual repair. Warnings came back.
January 2026 (Visit 3): Engine warning light stayed on for FOUR straight days. Dealer cleared codes again. Here's the kicker — the Audi A5 LOANER they gave me had the SAME warnings, and that car actually lost power and wouldn't move when I pressed the accelerator.
February 2026 (Visit 4): Same warnings again. Dealer says "unable to reproduce" but found stored fault codes. Cleared them. Reported "tested OK." Warnings came back. Again — $0 parts, $0 labor.
March 2026 (Visit 5): This time a RED warning appeared telling me to STOP DRIVING. Suspension locked up and became stiff. The dealer had to literally tear apart the entire interior of the car — seats, trim, carpet, center console — and found a BROKEN WIRE in the factory wiring harness. A manufacturing defect. They repaired it with a crimp connector. I thought the nightmare was over.
April 2026 (Visit 6): Nope. The red warning to stop driving came back. The wire repair didn't fix anything. The root cause was never actually identified.
May 4, 2026 (Visit 7 — Yesterday): THREE critical warnings appeared at the same time:
"P not possible. Risk of rolling away! Please contact Service" — the car CANNOT be put into Park "Drive system: malfunction! Limited vehicle performance" — drivetrain failure, speed capped at 10 km/h "Rear cross-traffic assist: limited availability. Brake intervention not possible" — the emergency braking system is DISABLED
The car was stuck in Neutral, engine light on, red triangle warning, red parking brake warning. It was completely undriveable. It had to be TOWED to the dealer. This car has only 10,500 km on it.
So to summarize: My brand new $93K Audi SQ5 with only 10,500 km can't drive, can't park, and can't brake. In 7 months I've had 7 dealer visits. The first 4 visits they just cleared fault codes and sent me home — $0 parts, $0 labor every time. On the 5th visit they found a broken wire and tore the whole car apart. And it STILL isn't fixed.
The safety concern that keeps me up at night: I've been in contact with another owner of a 2025 Audi A5 (same platform) who got the same red "stop driving" warning. In their case, the car completely LOST ALL POWER a few seconds later. Now imagine that happening at 120 km/h on the highway. That's the reality I face every time I drive this car.
What I've done so far:
- Filed a claim with CAMVAP (Canadian Motor Vehicle Arbitration Plan)
- Escalated to Audi Canada customer relations and the President of Audi Canada — multiple times, all ignored
- Filed a safety defect complaint with Transport Canada
- Filed a complaint with Consumer Protection Ontario
- Retained legal counsel to send a formal demand letter to Audi Canada
- In contact with a class action law firm that has previously litigated against Volkswagen Group
How Audi Canada has responded:
- This is the part that makes my blood boil. After I escalated to the President of Audi Canada, I received a reply from their Executive Customer Relations Specialist on April 12 promising a response within 5 business days. That deadline passed — nothing. I followed up. They promised again. Nothing. I sent another follow-up after the car was towed. Still nothing.
- Every time I contact Audi Canada, I get the same script: "Your concerns are under review and we will provide you with an update within a few days." Then silence. Then I follow up. Then another promise. Then more silence. Rinse and repeat.
- Meanwhile, I'm paying $1,055/month for a car that's sitting at their dealership because it can't move. I've now made over $8,000 in lease payments on a vehicle with a confirmed manufacturing defect that seven service visits have failed to fix. It's clear to me that Audi Canada's strategy is to delay, ignore, and hope I go away. I'm not going away.
Why I'm posting: I want to know — are there other 2025 Q5/SQ5 owners experiencing similar issues? Red warnings, driver-assist failures, engine lights, drivetrain malfunctions, power loss? I've already found forum posts from owners in the UK reporting nearly identical problems with the 2025 Q5 platform.
If you're experiencing these issues, I encourage you to:
- Document everything — photos, repair orders, dates
- File a complaint with your national vehicle safety agency
- Contact CAMVAP if you're in Canada
- Reach out to me — the more owners we connect, the stronger all of our cases become
This is a $93,000 vehicle. Seven visits and a tow in seven months is not acceptable. If Audi won't stand behind their product, consumers need to stand together.