Volkswagen’s EV battery recall reaches over 85,000, with Audi now included — SkimNews
Get the Energy newsletter
Daily energy & climate — solar, EVs, oil, the policy fights and tech bets shaping the transition. Free.
- Volkswagen Group expanded its battery recall to 85,402 EVs globally after adding 12,734 Audi Q4 E-Tron and Q4 Sportback E-Tron vehicles on October 27, including one in Germany.
- Volkswagen Group of America said its October 23 NHTSA letter covers 9,048 Q4 E-Tron and Q4 Sportback E-Tron vehicles in the U.S. for model years 2024-2025; authorized Audi dealers can run battery diagnostics and apply a temporary 80% charge cap if needed.
- An earlier NHTSA recall covered 22,524 Volkswagen ID.4 electric SUVs from model years 2023-2026; Volkswagen’s safety report says certain charging profiles combined with a state of charge above 80% may trigger thermal propagation.
- KBA is investigating three recalls covering 72,668 VW Group EVs worldwide, including 9,881 in Germany; affected batches span ID. Buzz, ID.3, ID.4 and ID.7 vehicles produced from 2022-2025 and Cupra Born vehicles from 2022-2024.
- Audi found that the Q4 E-Tron shares the same battery and production characteristics as affected VW Group EVs after its Product Safety Committee was informed of thermal events in other models using those batteries; most of the Q4 vehicles were produced for North America.
- Audi is not aware of any claims, crashes, fires, injuries or deaths associated with the Q4 E-Tron’s battery issue; the root cause is unknown, and Audi says a remedy is not yet available.
- Volkswagen Group said it intended to apply a temporary 80% charging setting unless owners opted out by October 21; Audi expects to mail interim owner notices on December 18, 2026, with additional letters once a remedy is available.
Why it matters: U.S. Audi Q4 owners face a dealer diagnostic and reduced full-charge capability, with no final remedy yet available. The recall covers 9,048 model-year 2024-2025 vehicles, and owners are advised to cap charging at 80% while the root cause remains unknown.
Ask SkimNews
