2025 Audi Q5 Seat Belt Pretensioner Recall (26V266)

Recall 26V266 at a glance

What is wrong with the 2025 Audi Q5 in recall 26V266?

The driver and front passenger seat belts may have been manufactured incorrectly, and fail to properly restrain occupants during a crash.

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Audi) is recalling certain 2025 Q5, Q5 Sportback, SQ5, and SQ5 Sportback vehicles. The driver and front passenger seat belts may have been manufactured incorrectly, and fail to properly restrain occupants during a crash.

Is it safe to drive a 2025 Q5 with recall 26V266?

NHTSA has not told owners to stop driving, but the risk is real: Improperly restrained occupants have an increased risk of injury during a crash.

NHTSA describes the risk this way: Improperly restrained occupants have an increased risk of injury during a crash.

NHTSA has not issued a do-not-drive or park-outside warning for this recall. Still, get the repair done as soon as it is available, and stop driving if you notice symptoms related to the pretensioner.

Which vehicles are included in recall 26V266?

Recall 26V266 covers 7,425 vehicles: 2025 Audi Q5; 2025 Audi Q5 Sportback; 2025 Audi SQ5; 2025 Audi SQ5 Sportback.

NHTSA lists 7,425 vehicles in this campaign, built July 13, 2025 to December 14, 2025. Not every vehicle of these models and years is included, so check your VIN.

What is the fix for the Q5 seat belt pretensioner recall?

Yes. Dealers will replace the driver and front passenger seat belts as necessary, free of charge.

Dealers will replace the driver and front passenger seat belts as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 29, 2026. Owners may contact Audi's customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Audi's number for this recall is 69GT.

When was recall 26V266 announced?

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. reported recall 26V266 to NHTSA on April 24, 2026. NHTSA lists the owner letter date as May 29, 2026.

This recall was filed 5 months ago, and vehicles were built over a span of 154 days. If your Q5 was built in that window, the VIN check below is the way to confirm it is included.

How do I check if my Q5 is part of recall 26V266?

Enter your 17-character VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. If recall 26V266 is open on your Q5, it will be listed there.

Enter your 17-character VIN at NHTSA’s recall lookup. It shows any open safety recall on your vehicle, including 26V266000. Your VIN is on the registration card, the insurance card, and the driver side of the dashboard where it meets the windshield. Recent recalls can take a few days to appear in the lookup.

What should Q5 owners do about recall 26V266?

Check your VIN, schedule the free recall repair, and keep a repair order for every dealer visit.

1. Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to confirm recall 26V266000 applies to your Q5.
2. Call a Audi dealer and schedule the recall repair. Ask how long the repair takes and whether parts are in stock.
3. Get a repair order for every visit, even if the dealer only inspects the vehicle. Read it before you leave and make sure your complaint is written the way you described it.
4. Write down when symptoms involving the pretensioner happen: date, mileage, speed, weather and what you felt or heard. Photos and short videos help.
5. Count the days the vehicle is at the dealer. Days out of service add up toward California's 30-day presumption.
6. If the problem comes back after the repair, return to the dealer and contact a lemon law attorney.

What are Q5 owners reporting to NHTSA?

Owners have filed 49 complaints with NHTSA about these vehicles since 2020, 4 of them about the seat belts.

Too few NHTSA complaints about the seat belts have been filed since recall 26V266 was reported (2) to say whether the fix is holding.

NHTSA’s public complaint database lists 49 owner complaints filed since 2020 for the vehicles in this recall, and 4 of them involve the seat belts. Complaints are reports from owners and have not been verified by NHTSA, but a high count for the same component is a sign the problem is widespread.

• 2025 Audi Q5: 42 complaints in total, 4 about the seat belts
• 2025 Audi SQ5: 7 complaints in total, 0 about the seat belts
• 2025 Audi Q5 Sportback: 0 complaints in total, 0 about the seat belts
• 2025 Audi SQ5 Sportback: 0 complaints in total, 0 about the seat belts

A few excerpts from owner complaints filed with NHTSA (unverified, lightly trimmed):

The air bag keeps showing it's not working and that's it's turned off, there's a driving system malfunction, and warning lamp flashing emissions-related fault malfunction are not working.

2025 Audi Q5 owner, TX, NHTSA complaint 11720316, filed February 24, 2026

My car was not operating effectively and was displaying many dash lights. I brought it to the local Audi dealership and they kept it for several days – they did a software update but most of the dash lights stayed on.

2025 Audi Q5 owner, VT, NHTSA complaint 11733352, filed April 23, 2026

The seat belts are sometimes locked when they should not be. I understand that the seat belts are designed to lock when the vehicle stops quickly, preventing the driver from leaning forward. However, sometimes my seat belts are locked while I am driving and have not made a fast stop.

2025 Audi Q5 owner, MD, NHTSA complaint 11745650, filed June 22, 2026

Can recall 26V266 make my Q5 a lemon in California?

Not by itself. A recall repair that fails, or repeat dealer visits for the same defect, can support a California lemon law claim.

Recall 26V266000 does not automatically make your Q5 a lemon. California's Song-Beverly Act asks two questions: does a warranty defect substantially impair the vehicle's use, value or safety, and did the manufacturer fail to fix it in a reasonable number of tries (Civ. Code 1793.2(d))?

A seat belt that does not latch or retract correctly on the 2025 Audi Q5 affects safety directly, and a failed recall repair is a repair attempt under California law.

The recall repair is available at dealers. If it works, great. If the same symptom comes back, the recall visit is one repair attempt and the next visit is another.

California law presumes a reasonable number of attempts has been made if, within 18 months or 18,000 miles of delivery, the same problem was repaired two or more times for a defect likely to cause death or serious injury, four or more times for any covered defect, or the vehicle was out of service for repairs more than 30 days in total (Civ. Code 1793.22(b)). Some of these require written notice to the manufacturer. A claim can still succeed outside that window.

An owner who prevails in a lemon law case can recover reasonable attorney fees and costs from the manufacturer (Civ. Code 1794(d)). You pay nothing, win or lose. We are paid only if you win, and the manufacturer pays our fees, including in settlements. If a case is lost, our firm covers the costs.

Frequently asked questions about recall 26V266