2018 Audi Q5

Start/ Stop system malfunction shown on dash board. Took vehicle to Lynbrook Audi New York on 9/20/23. Water penetration causing multiple damage to electrical systems. Audi states water possibly entering through faulty skylight drain hose ? Quote service charge of 12,028.00 not including tax , declined service for a second opinion. Invoice # 207805. Paid 271.57 for diagnostic inspection. Vehicle was service at this location on 3/9/22 RO # 188998 Tag w107 Complete Complimentary Inspection on 3/9/22. Vehicle Certified ( pre-owned ) at this location on 12/20/2020 ( paid over 1,000.00)

Control modules located next to the gateway module that was recently recalled are getting wet and shorting out. Tail lights, brake lights, turning signals, license plate lights, and reverse lights all stop working. Once the area is dry, the lighting works only sometimes. I am not ever sure if the lights work or not while I'm driving and am concerned about getting rear-ended because of the lights being out and me not knowing.

The contact owns a 2018 Audi Q5. The contact stated that while driving his vehicle, a start/stop malfunction warning message appeared on the display screen. Once the contact made it to his destination, the vehicle failed to turn off after repeatedly pushing the start/stop button. The next day, the failure persisted and the vehicle was taken to a dealer where a diagnostic was performed. The diagnostic showed that water had traveled from the sun roof drains into the rear left panel and into the vehicle's wiring module. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed him that there were no recalls on the vehicle. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 72,000.

Warning lights on the dash began to light up about a minute after starting and driving the car. Pulled over, stopped the car and tried to restart but couldn't restart. Apparently water leaked in from the closed sunroof over night and flooded the spare tire well where a control module is located and shorted. Car was serviced by Audi as recommended during the entire time. Had to have the car towed to an Audi dealer and was charged $1,600 to correct after 10 days.

On 8/8/2023 my vehicle was outside in the driveway of our home in Truro, MA. A large storm moved through the area with torrential rain and lightning. Once the rain let up I looked out the window to find all 4 windows down 4-6 inches, the rear hatch was opened with the rear wiper and high middle brake light on. When I ran outside to close the windows etc. I could not start the car the MMI did not come on and I could only get 3 of the windows up. I had to manually close the rear hatch. I put a tarp over the drivers side window that wouldn't close and had AAA come out. They assessed that it was not a battery issue bit an electrical module issue. I filed a claim with my Insurance and after waiting for the adjuster to look at the car I had AAA tow it to an Audi Dealership. They ran a diagnostic test on it and found water had caused the Comfort Module and associated wiring to fail. The estimate to fix the issues was is nearly $12,000. Because of the cost my insurance company is sending another adjuster out to inspect the issues at the dealership. There were no prior issues or symptoms before this issue took place.

The comfort control module catastrophically failed. There is video evidence of the condition the module is in. The whole car shut down. Nothing electronic worked. Doors unlocked, trunk opened, gas cap unlocked, couldn't start car or change gears, roll up/down windows, or lock the doors. The dealership has confirmed the sunroof drains leaked water into the rear left wheel well filling it up with water into the trunk where the spare wheel well is with picture evidence of the amount of water. It rained the night prior. There were no prior warning signs or any issues. Everything was working fine until it was not. The comfort control module needs to be completely rewired and the sunroof drains need to be completely replaces. If this happened while I was driving I would have lost complete control of the vehicle as all power to the car was off.

In early July, 2023 various warning and fault lights began to show on the dashboard: engine start system, brake lights, start/stop system, and others - indicating malfunctions with systems important to safety. Also, the car alarm system sounded without cause and key pods would not lock/unlock the doors electronically. These warning lights proliferated over several days. We took our car into our local Audi dealership. They diagnosed the problem as follows: "Performed GFF and found code for 3393 comfort system control module replacement. Control module faulty due to control unit being submerged in water and fried the control unit. Water leak due to rear drains clogged causing the water to overflow. Performed/fixed the water leak, cleaned out the pools of water that have accumulated, replaced the control unit 3393 comfort system control module, performed control unit replacement test plan and program keys." The Audi Q5 is well known to have design/parts problems in the sunroof drainage system. As has occurred in thousands of other Q5s, those issues caused the rear cargo area to flood, frying an important electronic component and activating warning/fault lights for a range of other systems. Malfunctions in several of those systems could have caused critical safety issues. We are fortunate because we decided to take our Audi directly to the dealership service center. Repairs cost several thousand dollars.

Regarding my 2018 Audi Q5 34000 miles. Driving on a busy highway a few ounces of water spilled in the backseat. Car lights up like a xmas tree and car came to a screeching stop. Two lanes of high speed traffic on both sides. Fiance just had both hips replaced, Ends up popping one of them out of socket during ordeal. Recall was issued for installation of 'protective cover' over gateway control module. Car received recall work. Part still failed. Audi won't cover the part. I'm out of warranty. Total bill $1800. Dealer has had car 3 weeks. I've been out of pocket for rental car