Verified government source

NHTSA complaint #11564589

This page summarizes an official U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration owner complaint. Use the verification links below to confirm the record directly with NHTSA.

Vehicle

2019 AUDI Q5

Manufacturer

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

Components

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

Dates

Incident: 12/01/2023
Filed: 01/10/2024

Owner complaint summary

I was driving on the highway in the early morning hours and several warnings appeared stating that the left and right tail lights, left and right brake lights, and center brake lights where faulty. It was dark outside and raining, and I immediately had no rear lights of any kind driving on the highway. The dealership was able to correct the issue with a technical service bulletin, but given the extreme danger involved in not having any working rear lights, I would expect this to be a recall and done free of charge, regardless of warranty status. Because my vehicle was 10K miles beyond the warranty, I had to pay a flat diagnostic fee which simply doesn't make sense. If there is service bulletin, why isn't this update made proactively?

This is an owner complaint filed with NHTSA (ODI #11564589). It is not automatically an official recall, investigation outcome, or manufacturer admission unless the complaint text itself describes one.

Official record ID (ODI): 11564589. This page is the human-readable source link used across afterwarranty. The raw JSON link proxies NHTSA's public API for machine verification; prefer this page when reading the complaint.