2011 Audi A5 Cabriolet Recalls

Recalls on record Updated July 2026

The 2011 Audi A5 Cabriolet has 2 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 822,275 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 14 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the air bags. Last updated July 5, 2026.

Recall campaigns

AIR BAGS 18V082000 2018-01-30 162,782 affected
Defect

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2006-2013 Audi A3, 2007-2009 A4 Cabriolet and S4 Cabriolet, 2008 RS4 Cabriolet, 2009-2012 Q5, and 2010-2012 Audi A5 Cabriolet and S5 Cabriolet vehicles. Upon deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the…

Consequence

In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could explode with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy

Audi will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's frontal air bag inflator with an alternative inflator, free of charge. The recall began February 23, 2018. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69R6. Note: This recall partially…

AIR BAGS 16V078000 2016-02-10 659,493 affected
Defect

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2010-2014 Golf, 2007-2010 Passat sedans and wagon, 2012-2014 Passat sedan and Eos, 2009-2014 CC, 2009-2012 Audi Q5, 2010-2012 S5 Cabriolet and 2010-2012 Audi A5 Cabriolet vehicles. Upon deployment of the driver's frontal air bag,…

Consequence

In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy

Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's frontal air bag inflators, free of charge. Volkswagen issued an interim notification to owners on April 12, 2016, and will send a second notification when parts are available. Volkswagen will notify owners again once parts are available.…

Complaints by component

AIR BAGS
12
ENGINE
1
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
1
Total complaints14

What owners report

Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal information removed.

“My 2011 audi a5 2.0t has experienced low compression on piston number 1 which is a sign of engine failure and requires the engine to be redone. Since then I have checked with audi mechanics and online reviews and it seems like my model of audi has a common problem with the engine. The fact that…”

ENGINE · reported 2018-06-02

“Takata recall. Audi of america inc. Keeps sending out recall notices and the dealer keeps claiming there are no replacement airbags available. Enough already, either make replacements available or stop sending notices.”

AIR BAGS · reported 2018-02-14

“Tl* takata recall. The contact owns a 2011 audi a5 cabriolet. The contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 16v078000 (air bags); however, the parts do to the repair were unavailable. The contact received the recall notice over a year ago. The dealer (audi fairfield, 435 commerce dr,…”

AIR BAGS · reported 2017-11-02

“The soft tops for this vehicle are extremely defective.I aquired my vehicle at 65000 miles and the top would act funny every now and then but it would snap out of it and work fine.the back window completely detached from the top and has not operated since.going back and forth with audi I was told…”

UNKNOWN OR OTHER · reported 2017-07-07

“Takata recall. I have call for the past year to have this recall fixed and have not been able to find an audi dealership that has the parts. They keep telling me they will call when the parts are in. As I mentioned it has been a year, and I have checked in with them several times.”

AIR BAGS · reported 2017-03-01

“Takata recall. I am trying to trade in my car and dealership will not repair/replace my airbag.”

AIR BAGS · reported 2016-12-31

“Takata recall. It has been almost 11 months and per conversation with my dealer today, they do not have the parts or any idea when they will be available. This is not acceptable for a life safety issue.”

AIR BAGS · reported 2016-12-01

“Takata recall the dealer/ manufacturer has not offered to replace the airbags-- they claim the repair is not yet available. Nhtsa shows my car, located in california is at high risk and repair should be done by december 2016”

AIR BAGS · reported 2016-08-09
Sources & methodology

Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL, FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2011 Audi A5 Cabriolet as of July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.